I was introduced to a tomato jam when I was in Seattle at the beginning of the year. I had ordered a healthy breakfast and it was an egg white omelet with poblano peppers and tomato jam on top. Trying just this one recipe I was instantly hooked.
Later that day I sourced some tomato jam while we were at the Pike Place Market. Now that it is long gone I have to source my own Tomato Jam Recipe.
We had an abundance of little cherry tomatoes this summer so I decided to make my own recipe using them. You could also use Roma tomatoes.
We love to can tomatoes here or make them into a salsa so canning this tomato jam recipe was easy. Once you get into canning you will be hooked. Also, try our Fig Jam that is great with savory dishes and charcuterie.
This is a good recipe as it is simple and you don’t have to spend time seeding and peeling tomatoes which can always be a chore.
This is not a spicy tomato jam but one that is sweet and savory. I think I have just the right amount of heat with a scant teaspoon of red pepper flakes. It just gives a warming feeling to it.
To make a great tomato jam recipe you simply need great produce. Make sure your tomatoes are wonderful tasting and that is half the battle. You want fresh tomatoes that are unblemished and ripe.
To know if a tomato is ripe it will yield slightly to pressure when gently squeezed and have a slightly fragrant aroma. If they have a pungent aroma they are probably overripe and shouldn’t be used.
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What Goes into Tomato Jam?
Lots of easy ingredients go into making this tomato jam but the end result is amazing!!
Ingredients
Cherry, Roma, or plum tomatoes
Medium onion
Green pepper
Cloves of garlic
Granulated sugar
Red pepper flakes
Pickling or canning salt
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Allspice
Cider vinegar
How Do You Make Tomato Jam?
The recipe comprises tomatoes, onions, green pepper, and garlic, which are all pretty standard.
It is then spiced up with red pepper flakes, sugar, pickling salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cider vinegar. All of these ingredients make the perfect tomato jam recipe, you will love it.
Another tip that you need to know is that you can’t use iodized salt for canning. Use a pickling salt which can also be called canning salt or preserving salt. Pickling salt is a pure granulated salt (sodium chloride). Iodized salt can turn your produce black in color and your liquid cloudy.
Kosher salt can also be substituted but because it is so much coarser you need more salt, about 50% more and it also takes longer to dissolve. 3/4 tsp. of Kosher salt would equal 1/2 tsp. pickling salt. I just stick to using pickling salt so I don’t have to change measurements in the recipe.
Would you like it a bit spicier? Just amp up the amount of red pepper flakes! You can always taste this as it goes to see the spice level that you are comfortable with.
There is no need for any pectin in this recipe, it will thicken as you cook. Use a heavy bottom large pot and just heat and simmer gently while stirring occasionally at the beginning. Then stir frequently until the mixture is just thick enough to mound on a spoon.
What Do You Eat with Tomato Jam?
We have had a tomato chutney or chili many times and have always loved it with Tourtiere for the holidays! This thick jam is very similar to these and goes perfectly with the savory meat pie.
So what do you use this sweet tomato condiment for along with the amazing omelet I had or tourtiere? Try it with these yummy choices:
- Add it to a grilled cheese sandwich or a ham and brie!
- Dollop onto soup along with sour cream, great with a Middle Eastern lentil soup.
- Try it with eggs of any kind, scrambled, sunny side up, omelet.
- Makes a great condiment for a burger!
- Douse it onto a hot dog!
- Smear it on fish or pork!
- Use it with cream cheese on a bagel.
- Serve it with a charcuterie.
- Slather it on a cracker with cheese as shown above.
- Spread on as a base for a savory tart or a pizza.
- Mix it into cream cheese with mayonnaise as a party dip.
- Use it in a meatloaf instead of BBQ sauce or ketchup.
- Make it in small 4 oz. jars and give it as a gift.
- Serve it with Tourtiere (savory meat pie) for the holidays
Printable for Water Bath Canning
Can You Freeze Tomato Jam?
If canning is just not your thing don’t get your buns in a knot, you can freeze this tomato jam just fine and use it jar by jar or give it away as gifts.
How long does tomato jam last? Stored in the refrigerator the tomato jam will also last for about 3-4 weeks after opening.
Another thing to note is that you have to adjust cooking times for high-altitude canning. This is required here in Calgary as we are above 3,000 feet. It is an easy solution if you follow this guide.
You can easily make double batches of this recipe if you would like to make more. Some other of our recent favorites for canning are Pickled Green Beans, Quick Pickled Onions, and Spicy Refrigerator Pickles.
Jams, jellies, and mustards have been popular too, both sweet and savory. Recently we made a Blueberry Rhubarb Jam and also in the past Brandied Cinnamon Apple Preserves, Crabapple Jelly, Red and Green Pepper Jelly, Jalapeno Jam, and Homemade Sweet Hot Mustard.
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!
Tomato Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups cherry or roma tomatoes chopped (or a combination of both)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1/2 green pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 scant tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 tsp. pickling or canning salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
- 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
Instructions
- You can skin the larger roma tomatoes by putting an "x" in the bottom of them with a knife. Drop them in boiling water for a minute and then remove them to an ice bath. This will allow the skin to just peel off. I left the cherry tomatoes with the skins on.
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot add all ingredients and stir well. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring often. Reduce heat and cook for about 45 min. or until mixture mounds on a spoon.
- Ladle into sterilized jars to 1/2" below the rim. Remove air bubbles and add more jam as needed. Wipe rims and place on sterilized lids. Tighten rings to fingertip-tight.
- Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 min. submerged in 1" of water over the lids. Take lid off of the pot and turn off stove but leave jars in the water for 5 min.
- Transfer jars to a towel-lined surface and let rest until they come to room temperature. Make sure jars have sealed. You will hear them popping.
- Refrigerate any unsealed jars for up to 3-4 weeks.
Equipment
Video
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Best of Bridge Home Preserving.
Comments & Reviews
Kristin says
I’ve made 4 batches of this with cherry tomatoes from my garden. It is so good! The first time I made it, I didn’t let it thicken enough, but it is still tasty. Every other batch I’ve let simmer longer than 45 minutes and it’s perfect consistency. It’s amazing on everything I have tried it on: burgers, brats, scrambled eggs, crackers with goat cheese. I’m going to give away some jars for gifts and I’ve already told some other gardening friends about this recipe. It’s amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Tara Noland says
I am so glad you liked it, the second I tried some I was in love, had to make it.
Karen says
Looking forward to making your tomato jam. Currently I’m following a keto diet and was wondering if the sugar could be substituted with a granular sugar substitute. If so would it still thicken up or would I have to add xanthan gum? Thanks
Tara Noland says
I have not used a sugar substitute so I am sorry I can’t answer your question.
Karen says
Thank you for getting back to me. The first batch will be your recipe and if I have enough tomatoes to make a second batch I will do an experiment with sugar substitute and let you know. Looking forward to tasting this delicious recipe! Cheers
Tara Noland says
Good luck and would love to hear the results.
Laurie says
My great grandmother was born in 1887 and your recipe is very similar to her recipe for Chili Sauce, something each generation has canned for over 125 years and enjoyed with beef and meatloaf. The difference between the recipes? Our family recipes includes brown sugar, ground cloves and both red and green bell peppers. The yield is larger, too- 60 tomatoes, 10 onions, 5 bell peppers etc. and a daylong simmer. Yum!
Tara Noland says
Oh wow, that sounds delicious too. Have you checked out my chili sauce also? This is yet another variation that has been around forever. https://noshingwiththenolands.com/sweet-heat-homemade-canned-chili-sauce/
Susan Burnett says
I’ve been searching for a shelf stable tomato jam recipe and yours sounds delicious! Have you tried using poblano peppers instead of green peppers? I plan on making your recipe tomorrow with tomatoes, poblano peppers and onions from my CSA share for this week. I don’t think it will affect the acidity and should add a nice smoky flavor.
Tara Noland says
I think it would be delicious with a poblano. Come and tell me what you think after you make it.
Susan says
Hi Tara – I blistered two small poblanos, removed skins, chopped and added them to the jam mixture in lieu of the green peppers. I also added about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. The jam is incredible! I will be serving it with cream cheese and crostini at our book club next week. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. P.S. – I’m also going to try your sweet hot mustard recipe.
Tara Noland says
Awesome, so glad you like it and it turned out well with the poblanos. Happy Canning! Check out this recipe too, we love it with tourtierre. https://noshingwiththenolands.com/sweet-heat-homemade-canned-chili-sauce/
Cathy Varone-Smith says
Ideas in using the tomato jam, I use it with cream cheese for an appetizer. What else is used for? Thank you
Tara Noland says
I love it with eggs like an omelette or scrambled. You can use it on a sandwich, with chicken, pork etc.
Lesley says
I made this yesterday. Cooked it for 2+ hours and it never thickened. I finally drained off some of the liquid and put in jars. (I didn’t process this time. Wanted to wait till I got the recipe right!) Can I add some liquid pectin next time? Do you think that would work?
Tara Noland says
Your tomatoes may have been very juicy and then liquid just hadn’t boiled off yet. Make sure you aren’t putting a lid on while cooking. I don’t like to use liquid pectin as you have to use a higher amount of sugar. I use Pomona’s pectin if need be as it doesn’t need as much sugar to gel.
Gai Ndow says
So interesting and help in food sustainability
Paula Spilsbury says
So, I also have a recipe for tomato-bacon jam that the university extension office said I cannot can for shelf stability and it has to be frozen instead. Is this because of the bacon? I used your recipe last year and added bacon and sealed with a water bath- turned out great and no one got sick. Were we just lucky?
Tara Noland says
I think you may have dodged the bullet there. Canning meat is a whole other ball game and you need to use a pressure canner, etc which is not my expertise but to get around that freezing works.
Don Woodyatt says
Getting ready to make a batch this year. It is so good. Fyi – I just found a couple jars in the freezer from last years batch. Thawed them and I think they are just about as good as when I made it 1 year ago.
Tara Noland says
Awesome, thank you for sharing that as people do wonder how long it lasts for.
Dianne Pearce says
Oh, I cooked it in a cast iron Dutch oven on the stovetop – which took about 4 hours. Maybe a crock pot would be a better, easier choice. Baby – cook it down! Absolutely worth it. I think my 3 varieties of cherry tomatoes made a huge difference in the flavor. I’ll say it again – worth the wait!
Tara Noland says
So glad you loved it!!
Dianne Pearce says
THIS IS AMAZING!!!!! Made a batch from the abundance of cherry tomatoes in my garden. I may plant ONLY cherry tomatoes next year – had 3 varieties and the 6 (or so) cups used made 6 half pint jars of amazing yummy treat. I can imagine this blended abit and used as a barbecue sauce. The flavor is so complex – sweet, sour, some heat, tomato-y. This is a keeper! Thank you so much for sharing this gem
Tara Noland says
This was my exact reaction the first time I tried tomato jam. I had to come home and make it for my family ASAP. We only plant cherry tomatoes now as I have such great success with them.
Kristina Ziehr says
This is the absolute best thing I have ever tasted. I couldn’t stop myself taking little bits while it was reducing and just letting it sit in my mouth for 10 seconds while enjoying the multitude of flavours!
I called it “Kick-Ass Tomato Jam” and immediately made another batch, but it didn’t taste the same, probably because I used romas the second time and mainly cherry/vine tomatoes the first. So I have given the second less tasty (but still verrrrry tasty) batch to friends and am jealously hoarding the original batch. I’ll never use ketchup again!!
Thanks!!!
Tara Noland says
You sound like me Kristina the first time I tasted Tomato Jam. I was instantly hooked, so glad you liked it!!
Noah says
I’m going to try out this Jam, because we are overloaded with Cherry Tomatoes this year. My question is, could I possibly add a pouch of liquid pectin to this? To save time on simmering/Cooking down for an hour?
(Just a though, since a lot of regular jams/jellies I’ve made call for pectin)
Tara Noland says
I rarely use pectin and I am not sure this recipe will work if you just add in pectin, I have never done it before. Pectin needs a certain amount of acid and sugar to work.
Juliane says
On the tomato jam, I am going to freeze instead of canning the jars. Do I still need the pickling salt? Thank you.
Tara Noland says
I would do the recipe just as is but you could use Kosher salt instead.
Brigitte says
I didn’t care fir the recipe , way too much vinegar fir the tomatoes , 3/4 cup vinegar would have been enough . Luckily I am a good cook and I will be able to use this ketchup in chicken or pork recipes …but it’s not balanced right .
Tara Noland says
I guess it is always a personal preference if you like it sweeter. I loved this balance and so many others did also.
Alysia says
I made this last night and it is out of this world delicious! Got four half-pints from a 1.5 times recipe. It did take two hours to cook down nice and thick, but it is so darn good I’d turn around and make it again today! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
Tara Noland says
That is so awesome to hear. So glad you love it!!
Renee P. says
Hi – just came across this recipe the other day and tried it. WOW! Very delicious!
Thank you for sharing.
Renee
Tara Noland says
So glad you love it, I fell in love with tomato jam the first time I tried it.
Kay says
Your salt amounts are incorrect. If you are using 1/2 teaspoon of pickling salt, the equivalent amount of kosher salt is 3/4 teaspoon, which is one and a half time’s the original amount. You said one needed 50% more of the kosher salt, but in your blog post you have recommended 3 times the amount of kosher salt.
The recipe looks good and I will try it with the corrected amount of kosher salt, which I use because I always have it on hand.
Tara Noland says
Thank you for pointing this out, I have updated the error in the post.
Heather says
I tried this recipe using cherry tomatoes and did not peel them. The jam is delicious, but when I make it again I will peel the tomatoes, even the cherry. As it cooks down, you get these little rolls of skin floating around. They are soft, but detectable as skins, not tomato flesh. I have a very picky eater at my house, so I’m finding myself trying to fish them out as it cooks. Might not be an issue for most, but thought I’d comment for the benefit of other texture sensitive folks out there. Can’t wait to try it on a sandwich!
Tara Noland says
Thanks for the comment, they didn’t bother us in the least but if you have issues then peeling them is the best. This may help, https://noshingwiththenolands.com/how-to-remove-a-tomato-skin/
Jennifer A says
Just made this and I love it! I only got 3 8oz jars out of it (and a smidge to try on a sandwich) but I would make it again in a heartbeat. I love the spices and the slight sweetness. I realized too late that I was out of apple cider vinegar so I used some white vinegar and some red wine vinegar and it worked well. Plus, my kitchen smells amazing right now! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Tara Noland says
Sorry it didn’t yield as much for you but so glad you liked it. Canning isn’t an exact science when veggies can be so different depending on the growing year. We love this recipe too and so enjoy making it. You might like this one also, https://noshingwiththenolands.com/sweet-heat-homemade-canned-chili-sauce/ as it is similar to the tomato jam.