Water Bath Canning Diced Tomatoes
I sure love canning. It’s a great way to capitalize on the great sales at the grocery store and be able to save money on produce for the rest of the year. Diced tomatoes are one of those great items to can as well, because they can be used in just about everything you. Diced tomatoes are great in chilis, soups, tacos, enchiladas, or even casseroles.
And even if you don’t want diced tomatoes, but just need a way to preserve them until needed so they don’t go bad, canning is great. You can always use them later to make tomato soup, tomato paste, pasta sauce, tomato sauce, ketchup, or whatever strikes your fancy.
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When I buy tomatoes, I usually buy 100 to 150 pounds and I always use up the last of my tomatoes like this so I have a huge store of them for whatever we need. And they are so easy to can, you hardly need any water, the tomatoes themselves just about make everything you need for the job. Let’s see how I did it!
Prepare your canning station. You’ll need at least 7 pint canning jars, canning supplies, a water bath canner, a ladle, a cutting board and knife, and some towels.
Next, pour one tablespoon of lemon juice into each of your pint jars.
Chop all of your tomatoes into small pieces, pouring them into a large bowl while chopping the rest. They will create a lot of juice that you will use.
Fill each jar to the bottom of the neck of the jars with tomatoes and juice.
Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp washcloth to remove any liquid of residue, and top with a lid and ring. Only twist the lid until you get the slightest resistance.
Make sure your canner is at least half full of water, and load your jars in with your jar lifter. If you buy a water bath canner, it will likely come with the insert to keep the jars off the bottom of the pot, otherwise you’ll need to buy one. This is the one I bought. If you don’t have one right now, it’s okay. Just put a hand towel into the bottom in the water, to set the jars on, so they don’t touch the pot.
Turn the heat on the stove to the setting just below the highest number and cover the pot. When it reaches a rapid boil, tilt the lid on the pot, turn the heat down a couple of numbers, and set your timer to 35 minutes.
When the timer is up, remove your jars with your jar lifter, and set them aside on a towel to cool.
Related Recipes:
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Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons lemon juice
- about 28 Roma tomatoes
Instructions
- Start by setting out your canning station. You’ll need at least 7 pint canning jars, canning supplies, a water bath canner, a ladle and some towels.
- Chop up all of your tomatoes into small pieces and keep them in a large bowl until you are finished.
- They will create a lot of juice and that’s okay. We’re going to use it.
- Before starting to fill your jars, pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into each one.
- Now, using your canning funnel, fill each jar to the bottom of the neck of the jars with diced tomatoes and juice.
- Wipe the rims of each jar with a damp washcloth to remove any liquid or food debris.
- Now place a brand-new canning lid on each jar. If you are using brand-new jars, you can use the lids they came with.
- Now place a ring on each jar. You’ll want to screw them on only to the point where you feel the least resistance. Do not tighten them, as air needs to be able to escape during the canning process.
- Now fill your water bath canner half full with water and turn the heat to the highest setting below the biggest number.
- Load all of your jars into your canner with your canning jar lifter.
- Fill the canner with water until all jars are covered by at least an inch or two of water.
- Cover and wait for a rolling boil.
- When the water starts boiling rapidly, tilt the lid on your canner and turn the heat down a couple numbers. Set your timer for 35 minutes.
- Your jars should remain in a rolling boil the entire cooking time to process correctly.
- When the timer is up, carefully remove your jars with the jar lifter and set them aside on a towel to cool.
- Your jars need to cool for a full 24 hours. As they start to seal, you’ll hear popping noises.
- At this time, if you would like to load more jars into the canner, go for it and repeat the process again.
- You’ll know the jars have sealed because the middle of the lids will be down and they will ping when you tap on the top.
- If one or two did not seal, you’ll want to put them in the fridge and use within a couple days. If four or more have not sealed, you can reprocess them again with new lids.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 | |
| Calories | 13 |
| Calories from Fat | 0 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 0 g | |
| Saturated fat 0 g | |
| Unsaturated fat 0 g | |
| Carbohydrates 3 g | 1% |
| Sugar 1 g | |
| Fiber 2 g | 8% |
| Protein 1 g | 2% |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | |
| Sodium 6 mg | |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Now all you need is to can some black beans and corn and you’ll be ready to make some super quick and easy meals any time you’re in a pinch. I think I made 5 rounds of diced tomatoes easy with the remaining tomatoes I had after making pasta sauce and tomato soup.
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These will likely last us the rest of the year and more. If you would like more details on water bath canning, or want to learn how to do it yourself, check out my Water Bath Canning online course. It’s chock full of tons of great text and video lessons, as well as some great bonuses, like my Water Bath Canning cookbook.
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If you end up not having enough juice for all the jars do you just add water?
Yes. I always have a pot of boiling water going on the side to fill all of my jars. I never have enough natural tomato juice to fill all of my jars.
Is the processing time really 35 minutes?
Yes ma’am. it would be much shorter in the pressure cooker.
i love chicken. i will definitely try a new one. thanks for the recipe. i will go look around a bit. have a Happy Thanksgiving!! ( :
Happy Thanksgiving!