Name: Homemade Tomato Puree {Best Way to Preserve Tomatoes}
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 1.5 lb tomatoes, frozen or fresh

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Homemade tomato puree using either frozen or fresh whole tomato is so easy and healthy. If you are searching for ways of preserving tomato harvest, search no more. Freeze the tomato and then turn them into tomato puree when you need it for various dishes.

homemade tomato puree {easy healthy way}

It is perhaps the easiest and most versatile way of preserving tomatoes. You can so many delicious dishes out of it. The well-liked Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple {Gu Lao Rou 古老肉} is just one example.

My journey of preserving tomato harvest

If you are like me, we grow a lot of tomato plants in our vegetable garden each year. Tomato is truly an amazing plant. Not only they are superfood vegetables loaded with nutrients and antioxidants, but the plant itself also requires very little maintenance and is extremely productive.

Tomatoes growing on the vine in our vegetable garden — Tomatoes growing in our backyard garden

While garden fresh tomatoes taste delicious and you can add to your favorite salad, when you have harvested loads of them, you will need to figure out a way to preserve them.

I surely have tried many methods. Canning is definitely one viable solution. However, I have to say it is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and needs some learning curves as well.

I then found out tomatoes are quite freezer-friendly for soup. When I add frozen tomatoes to the soup, they taste fine. Since tomato seeds and skins can get a little annoying in the soup, I started pureeing them first before adding to the soup.

I am so glad I did. Homemade tomato puree works like a charm for soup or cooking sauce. It is so easy too, almost effortless. I simply wash tomato harvest and then put them in Ziploc freezer bags and store them in the freezer to use in the next 12 months.

If you have a food saver and can spare some time to vacuum pack the tomatoes first, I highly recommend it. This will help further preserve tomatoes’ flavor and taste. And you might store tomatoes in the freezer longer too.

How to preserve tomato harvest and turn it into homemade tomato puree?

If you are using fresh tomatoes, you can go to the x

Tip No.1 is to instant freeze tomato harvest

Wash tomatoes and then pack in freezer-friendly bags. I recommend using a Food Saver and vacuum sealer bags to vacuum pack them if possible. No worries if you don’t have one or can’t spare the time.

When not using a vacuum sealer bag, try to squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing the Ziploc freezer bags.

Tip No.2 is to cook tomatoes in a saucepan

When you are ready to make a puree out of frozen tomatoes, no need to thaw the tomatoes first. Add the frozen tomatoes into a quality saucepan, turn the heat to medium and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. You then mix and fold the tomatoes to ensure even cooking, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Once there is enough liquid in the saucepan, turn the heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes and turn the heat off. Let the cooked tomatoes cool to room temperature.

Tip No.3 is to blend the cooked tomatoes for homemade tomato puree

Once the tomatoes in the saucepan cools to room temperature, pour them into a blender and blend into a paste.

Last but not least is to puree the tomato blend

The tip is to use a strainer that has bigger holes. Strainer with fine mesh won’t be ideal. This is because I only want to filter out tomato seeds and skins, and would like to keep as much as the rest of the goodies.

I recently got this stainless steel colander/strainer, and am very impressed. It is exactly what I was looking for.

Homemade Tomato Puree is good in the refrigerator for 2 days. If possible, try to make it the same day when you cook dishes.

Homemade Tomato Puree {Best Way to Preserve Tomatoes}

Yield: 2 cups

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Homemade tomato puree using either frozen or fresh whole tomato is so easy and healthy. It is perhaps the easiest and most versatile way of preserving tomatoes.

Ingredients

1.5 lb tomatoes, frozen or fresh

Instructions

If using fresh tomatoes, simply wash the tomatoes and trim the bottom. If using frozen tomatoes, remove them from the freezer and rinse under the running a couple of times. This is assuming you have already washed the tomatoes and trimmed the bottom before freezing.
Turn the heat to medium and add tomatoes into the saucepan. Cook for 2 minutes and then flip and turn and cook for another 2 minutes.

Once there is enough liquid in the saucepan, turn the heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes. Use bamboo or wooden spatula to stir from time to time for even cooking.
Turn the heat off. Let the cooked tomatoes cool to room temperature. Once the tomatoes in the saucepan cool to room temperature, pour them into a blender and blend into a paste.
Place a stainless steel colander micro-perforated mesh colander over a large mixing bowl. Make sure it fits the large mixing bowl so that the tomato puree doesn't spill. Pour the tomato blend into the colander.
Use bamboo or wooden spatula to continuously churn and press the tomato blend until the tomato puree flows into the mixing bowl beneath the colander.
Press tomato blend to squeeze out as much juice as possible. There is some tomato puree stuck on the bottom of the colander on the outer side. Use a silicone spatula to scrape them off the bottom into the mixing bowl.
Use the tomato puree to cook the dish right away, recommended. Or store them in a glass jar to cook a dish the following day.