This Canned Stewed Tomatoes recipe is a great way to use up an abundance of garden fresh tomatoes.
During the peak of our garden harvest season, we typically gather 2-3 bushels of tomatoes every day.
Although we eat a lot of fresh tomatoes right off of the vine, it is impossible to eat them all before they begin to go bad.
So of course, we do a lot of preserving in the months of July, August and September.
We will use fresh tomatoes to make large amounts of soup. One of our favorites is Campfire Garden Chili.
But we also use the tomatoes to make Vegetable Soup and Tomato Soup.
Then we freeze them in quart size rectangular containers. Once they are solid, we transfer the soup ‘brick’ to our food saver bags.
Therefore any time throughout the Winter and Spring, when we are missing fresh food from the garden, we simply heat up our homemade soup.
But we not only make soup from our garden tomatoes. We also make and can tomato juice, diced tomatoes, Rotel-tomatoes, salsa, picante sauce and more!
However, it occurred to me that I had never shared our Canned Stewed Tomatoes recipe.
Canned Stewed Tomatoes
So what exactly are canned stewed tomatoes?
They are different from diced tomatoes as stewed tomatoes are canned with larger chunks of tomatoes. And they also have diced celery, onion, and green peppers added to the mixture.
They are perfect to use in soups and stews as they give you that classic stewed tomatoes taste. But they also have the additional flavor of the vegetables that make them fantastic to use in recipes.
We will also add them to beef roasts and chicken recipes for that classic comfort meal taste.
How to Make Canned Stewed Tomatoes
Honestly, making canned stewed tomatoes is one of the easiest canning recipes out there.
The most cumbersome and time consuming part is peeling the tomatoes.
Although you don’t necessarily have to peel the tomatoes, it is highly recommended. It improves the consistency when adding the stewed tomatoes to other recipes.
If you leave the skins on, they will come off and curl up. And no one wants strands of tomato skins throughout your recipe.
Plus it really is an easy process to peel tomatoes. Simply bring a large pot of water to a boil and put your whole tomatoes in the pot.
Let it boil for 1 minute and immediately remove to an ice water bath. As soon as the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, the skins will peel right off.
Then cut them in large chunks and add them to your pot! Next mix in the diced vegetables and heat the mixture to boiling.
After it boils for 10 minutes, you are ready to begin the canning process!
Pressure Canning
Because of the addition of the vegetables changes the pH content of the Stewed Tomatoes, you MUST pressure can this recipe.
It is important to remember that although you may have been canning for decades, or you have a recipe from your grandmother that you want to use, today vegetables are much different than 30 years ago.
Therefore, the canning process may need to be different as well.
And that definitely the case for this canned stewed tomatoes recipe. Again, the only safe way to can this recipe is to use a pressure canner.
We bought a Presto Weighted Pressure Canner many years ago and still use it today.
This one time purchase will last you years and allow you to safely can a variety of recipes. And to be honest, it is much faster than using the recommended hot water bath times approved by the National Center For Home Food Preservation, USDA Agency.
We are able to can this recipe in pint jars, using 10 pounds of pressure for 15 minutes.
Believe me, it is worth the time and effort knowing that your canned food is safe to eat.
Enjoy!
Mary and Jim
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Canned Stewed Tomatoes
Peeled chunks of stewed tomatoes with onion, celery and green peppers that is perfect to use in soups, stews, roasts, and more!
Ingredients
- 4 quarts peeled and cored tomatoes, cut in large chunks
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced onion
- ¼ cup diced green pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
- 2 teaspoons salt, optional
- 7 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Instructions
Prepare the Tomatoes
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully drop whole tomatoes into the boiling water for 1 minute. Immediately remove and place in an ice water bath. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins with your hands. Core and cut into large chunks.
Stew Tomatoes and Vegetables
- In a large pot over medium-high heat add the tomatoes, celery, onions, green pepper and salt/sugar if using. Heat, stirring frequently until boiling. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Heat canning lids and sterilized pint sized mason jars. Add the recommended amount of water to your pressure canner and add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the water.
- After the mixture has boiled for 10 minutes, ladle into warm pint jars using a funnel. Once the jar is half full,add 1 teaspoon of bottled lemon juice to each pint jar. Continue to fill the mason jar until there is ½ inch headspace.
- Wipe the rim clean and add a warm lid. Secure by adding the band just until finger tight.
- Using a jar lifter, lower each jar into the pressure canner.
- Secure lid and increase the heat to medium-high. Once steam begins to release from the valve, wait 10 minutes. Then apply 10 pounds of weight (11 pounds dial guage).
- Once the weight begins to rattle, pressure can for 15 minutes for pint jars.
- Remove from heat and wait until valve releases before carefully opening the pressure canner.
- Using a jar lifter remove the jars to a countertop with a thick towel. Wait 24 hours and check to see if the jars have been sealed properly by pressing on the center of the lid. If it moves the jar did not seal properly and place the jar in the refrigerator. All sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
Notes
Use in soups, stews, roasts, and any recipe that calls for stewed tomatoes. If using quart size jars, increase lemon juice to 2 tablespoons per quart jar and increase pressure canning time to 20 minutes. Recipe courtesy of Old World Garden Farms
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g