Canning Green Tomatoes for Pickles & Preserves
Summer in a Jar.
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Start canning green tomatoes with these ideas and recipes using home-canned tomatoes. Learn how to pickle green tomatoes and make homemade tomato jam or preserves.
by Rita Heikenfeld
Does this sound familiar to you? Summer’s here and your tomato bounty knows no bounds. You’ve sauced, canned, and eaten them fresh in myriad ways.
Well, how about enjoying “summer in a jar” long after the season ends?
Take those extra tomatoes and turn them into spicy and sweet tomato jam. The bonus is you need really ripe tomatoes and any kind will do. This is where cracked, “not perfect” tomatoes come in. Cut out the bad parts and you’re good to go. Trendy restaurants now have this addictive, aromatic jam on their menu!
If you’re more of a traditionalist, my mom, Mary Nader’s, simple tomato preserves are for you. Making these preserves transports me back to her tiny suburban kitchen where the aroma of tomatoes and spices would waft through the window into the yard.
Both jams and preserves are perfect for spooning over soft cheese, mixing into mayo for a sandwich, dolloping on shakshuka, or adding to other egg recipes. I like to add a bit of jam or preserves to BBQ sauce to kick it up a notch.
Okay, so we’ve taken care of ripe tomatoes. What about those green tomatoes that seem to linger on the vines? Put green tomato pickles on your to-do list. Crunchy and tangy, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill pickles. They’re yummy on a charcuterie tray or added to potato salads.
I hope I’ve inspired you to use your bounty of this beloved summer vegetable. Make extra for holiday gift-giving!
Spicy and Sweet Tomato Jam
Smells heavenly as it cooks.
Makes 3 pints
Ingredients:
- 5 pounds tomatoes, cored, finely chopped
- 3-1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 to 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
Instructions:
- Stovetop: Bring all ingredients to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium.
- Cook at gentle boil until shiny and thick, stirring regularly, up to 1 to 1-1/2 hours or so. Watch closely during final 15 minutes because it can scorch easily.
- Slow cooker: Bring all ingredients to a boil and cook about 5 minutes.
- Place in lightly oiled slow cooker on low and cook, uncovered, until jammy consistency, up to 8 hours.
Ladle into Jars
For both methods, ladle jam into hot jars, wipe rims clean, and cap.
Storing
Keeps at least 3 months refrigerated.
To store in pantry up to a year, pour into sterilized jars, and process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Roasted Spicy and Sweet Tomato Jam
Everything’s the same but the cooking.
Instructions:
- Mix ingredients together.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pour into shallow oiled baking pan.
- Roast, uncovered, stirring and checking every 30 minutes as jam reduces. Roast until jam starts to jell and looks real sticky. This took about 2 hours in my oven.
- Test by spooning some on a plate. Let cool, run your finger through. It should hold a path.
- Ladle into hot jars, wipe rims clean, and cap.
For storing, follow instructions above for stovetop version.
Mary’s Simple Tomato Preserves
Lemony tomato goodness.
Makes 3 pints
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds smallish tomatoes, peeled
- 3/4 cup water
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 cup thinly sliced lemon
Instructions:
- Pour water into pan. Add sugar and lemon and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and cook gently until tomatoes become transparent, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat.
- Cover and let stand 12 to 18 hours.
- Remove tomatoes and lemon from syrup.
- Cook syrup several minutes to thicken.
- Return tomatoes and lemon to syrup and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Skim foam.
- Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust caps.
- Process 20 minutes in boiling water bath.
Spice It Up!
Add a small cinnamon stick to each jar.
Put 1 tablespoon pickling spice and 1/2-inch smashed ginger root in cheesecloth. Add this to water mixture and remove before cooking syrup the second time.
Pickled Green Tomatoes
I like to use whole green grape or cherry tomatoes. But you can use larger ones, quartered. Just be sure to use firm, green tomatoes.
The recipe is a master one in that you can pickle tomatoes in a simple vinegar solution or gussy them up with garlic, peppercorns, dill, bay, whatever! Chunks of hot or sweet pepper are tasty additions, as well.
Sometimes I’ll add a wild grapevine leaf to each jar. The tannins in the leaves made for crispier pickles.
Ingredients:
- For every 2 pounds tomatoes (enough to fill about 3 pint jars)
- 1-1/2 cups 5 percent acid distilled white or cider vinegar (clear vinegar produces a “cleaner” look)
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 4 tablespoons kosher or pickling salt, or 3 tablespoons regular salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
Instructions:
- If using whole grape or cherry tomatoes, prick each one all the way through so brine can penetrate.
- Place tomatoes in jars.
- Bring vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Turn heat off. You want the brine hot but not boiling since that can cause the tomatoes to cook a bit, which may result in soft pickles.
- Pour hot brine over tomatoes, making sure it covers tomatoes.
- Run a knife around inside edges to release air bubbles.
Wipe rim of jar clean, then cap. Let cool to room temperature, and refrigerate for 2 days at least. Pickles keep two months or so, refrigerated.
Gussy It Up
To each jar, add one or more of the following (or your favorite herb or spice):
- 1 teaspoon dill seed or couple sprigs dill
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed a bit
- 1 small hot pepper — make a horizontal split for brine to penetrate
- Chunks bell pepper
- Dash red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
Tip: Parchment paper to the rescue!
If you wind up with a jar that isn’t full of tomatoes, after pouring brine on, scrunch a piece of parchment paper up and place on top of brine, then cap. This keeps the tomatoes under the brine.
More Canning Recipes for Your Garden Harvest
Rita Heikenfeld comes from a family of wise women in tune with nature. She’s a certified modern herbalist, culinary educator, author, and national media personality. Most importantly, she’s a wife, mom, and grandma. Rita lives on a little patch of heaven overlooking the East Fork River in Clermont County, Ohio. She’s a former adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati, where she developed a comprehensive herbal course. AboutEating.com column: rita@communitypress.com
Originally published in the July/August 2025 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
