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Tomato juice is a delicious and versatile drink that can be served as a refreshing beverage, as an ingredient in recipes, or as a soup base. But did you know that it’s also super easy to make at home?
This Homemade Tomato Juice recipe tastes similar to V8 but is SO much better! Serve it chilled or hot—either way, you’re going to love the zesty flavor and fresh taste of this homemade tomato juice.
Made with Home Grown Tomatoes
I love growing tomatoes in our garden each summer for canning. I love preserving the tastes of summer for those cold Winter months. If you love canning as much as I do, I hope you will enjoy this and all of our other easy canning recipes!
Homemade Tomato Juice is so rich, delicious, and filling! It tastes so much better than V8 Juice, and probably a lot better for you since you know exactly what is in it. I am not even kidding, this stuff is like liquid gold at our house. Even the kids love drinking it! I like it best drinking it ice cold, but I save plenty to use in all sorts of recipes and as a base for many soups. If you’re not sure about making your own tomato juice, read on. It’s really quite simple and it tastes so much better than those store bought varieties.
Ingredients in Homemade Tomato Juice
Obviously the key ingredient for homemade tomato juice is tomatoes. The better the tomatoes, the better the juice. I always use fresh tomatoes from my garden but tomatoes from a local farm or farmer’s market will work just as well. Try to buy your tomatoes in the late summer months in your area, when they are at their peak (most are between June-September). Season your tomato juice with salts, onion salt, and celery salt (or powders) to your liking. You can also try adding pepper, basil, or oregano for different flavor variations.
How to Can Tomato Juice
When canning tomato juice, follow the directions in the recipe card below, but make sure to leave about a half inch to one inch of air space (or as some say an inch headspace) at the top below the lids. Store it in a cool, dry place and you’ll be able to enjoy this juice for up to two years. If you are looking to make a LOT of juice (which I like to make at least 25 quarts at a time) you will want to save yourself some frustration by getting a Tomato Strainer. I also have the little attachments. This will save you a lot of time having to press everything by hand through a colander.
I have seen cheaper ones on Amazon and even one that attaches to a Kitchen Aid— I am sure all of them are great (I am really tempted by the Kitchen Aid one because you don’t have to manually turn the crank… if I cave and get it I will let you know). Anything that keeps you from having to do extra work is a winner in my book.
Benefits of Drinking Tomato Juice
According to the National Institute of Health, food sources that are high in lycopene, such as tomatoes, have many potential health benefits. Lycopene may reduce the risk of certain cancers, help with cardiovascular disease, and get this… reduce the risk of SUNBURN. These are just a few of the potential health benefits from drinking tomato juice. Read more about the health benefits from the source at the National Institute of Health.
In a study done by the Department of Nutrition in China, and published by the National Institute of Health, it was found that tomato juice supplementation significantly reduced body weight, body fat, waist circumference, and BMI in healthy women between the ages of 20-30. Pretty cool. Right?! Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3850026/
Reduced Sodium Tomato Juice:
Did you know that store-bought tomato juice can be VERY high in sodium? This causes the store-bought juice to lose some of it’s health benefits. By making tomato juice from scratch at home, you have full control over the amount of sodium that is added! Reduce the salt in your juice to your specifications in this recipe and enjoy your healthy drink!
Make It A Virgin Bloody Mary
Turn this tomato juice into a non-alcoholic Bloody Mary by simply adding a squeeze of fresh lemon and a few drops of hot sauce (such as Tabasco sauce). Serve with ice cubes, fresh parsley, celery, or pickles.
Frequently Asked Questions
When it comes to juicing tomatoes, it’s always a good idea to use nice, beefy, juicy varieties, but you almost can’t go wrong with any kind. Some of our favorites are Park’s Whoppers (these grow GREAT in our area, so this one is a favorite), Early Girl, Beefsteak, Better Boy, Celebrity, or Brandywine. Check your local nurseries to see what varieties grow best in your area.
If you are making it fresh and storing it in your refrigerator in an air-tight bottle or jar, tomato juice can last 2-3 days. If you decide to can your tomato juice, it can last 12-18 months after it has been canned. After the jar has been opened, it can last 2-3 days, refrigerated– same as if it were fresh.
Both pint jars and quart jars work great! Just make sure they have been cleaned and sanitized before using.
Read Next: Easy Dinner Ideas
More Canned Tomato Recipes
We end up with bushels of tomatoes from our garden each year and it seems they go bad before we can use them all. Here are some of our favorite ways to can tomatoes so we can enjoy them all year long. Try a few for yourself!
Recipes that Use Homemade Tomato Juice
Use this delicious homemade tomato juice as a base for so many rich recipes, like these:
- Cafe Zupas Tomato Basil Soup
- Sirloin Steak with Tomato Basil Sauce
- Mom’s Cheater Chili
- Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Sausage
Tomato Juice Recipe
Ingredients
- 23 pounds tomatoes 3 ¼ pounds per quart or 23 pounds per canner load of 7 quarts
- water approximately ¼ cup to 1 cup
Per Quart of Juice:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
Instructions
- Wash, core, and remove blemishes from tomatoes.
- Cut into small sections.
- In a large stock pot, add tomatoes and very little water (at most 1 cup).
- Bring to a boil.
- Put through colander to remove seeds and skin (see above notes for tips).
- Discard seeds and skin.
- Return juice to the stock pot and bring to a boil again, adding salt, onion salt, and celery salt according to how many quarts of juice you have yielded.
- If canning, pour 2 tablespoons lemon juice into sterilized quart-sized jars to bring up the acidity to make it safe for canning. Add tomato juice, leaving about 1/2" air space at the top of the jar.Process in a hot water bath canner according to canner directions for 40 minutes.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips
- When canning tomato juice, follow the directions in the recipe card below, but make sure to leave about a half inch of air space at the top.
- Store it in a cool, dry place and you’ll be able to enjoy this juice for up to two years.
- If you are looking to make a LOT of juice (which I like to make at least 25 quarts at a time) you will want to save yourself some frustration by getting a Tomato Strainer. THIS is the EXACT one that I use.
- I also have the little attachments, seen here. This will save you a lot of time having to press everything by hand through a colander. I have seen cheaper ones on Amazon and even one that attaches to a Kitchen Aid— I am sure all of them are great (I am really tempted by the Kitchen Aid one because you don’t have to manually turn the crank… if I cave and get it I will let you know). Anything that keeps you from having to do extra work is a winner in my book.
I think this recipie deserves 10 stars , it’s delicious
I’ve saved / froze my home grown tomatoes till I had enough to make the juice
I added a few some cans that I wanted to use up as well
The Juice has the nicest tang to it ,I’ll most certainly be making more next summer
( I’m Australian ) so we are just heading into Autumn .
Thanks for adding you delicious recipe
So glad you liked this recipe! I am jealous you are on your way into tomato season, we still have a long way to go here in the States. Thank you for the nice comment and also for the 10-stars!
Good recipe. I also add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce to taste. Found 12 quarts of raw tomatoes run through a Lem processor will yield approximately 8 quarts juice.
Looked hide and wide, but no source local or online for Jack’s Whopper tomatoes you recommend as best. Only find Park’s Whopper. Different? Same?
Sorry for the confusion – this was a typo on our end. The correct name is Park’s Whopper!
Why is it that when I drink tomato juice or V8 that I drink the whole can all at once?
Anybody?
It says for Canning, to follow the recipe card below… but then there’s no recipe below. So how long do you water bath can after adding the lemon juice & salt? I even clicked on the print option to see if it was noted there, but says the exact same.
Try this link for the recipe card: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/homemade-tomato-juice/#wprm-recipe-container-20180
The step for canning should be step 8.
It doesn’t say how long to process in the canner.
Process for 40 minutes for quart jars for altitudes below 1,000 feet. If you live above 1,000 feet you’ll have to check specific times online for your altitude.
So easy. I just cut up tomatoes and used my kitchenaid fruit and vegetable strainer. Done in no time. Froze it raw. Now I just pull out a jar and process for any recipe. This tomato juice recipe is quick and easy. Thanks!
I’m so glad you like the recipe! You will enjoy the fresh taste over the winter. So good!
My husband and I just made a batch and we got 10 quarts delicious ❤️ thank you for sharing this recipe
So,
I used 30 pounds of San Marzano tomatoes. Yield 14 quarts. Followed the recipe. Delicious! Thank you. Only thing I did differently was I pressure cooked the tomatoes and then pressure cooked the juice. Why? I remember reading somewhere that you lose less nutrients that way. True? I don’t know. But it turned out great so who cares?
I also had a Kitchen Aid so I bought the grinder and the strainer as you suggested. Worked perfectly and cut down on the work. From washing the tomatoes to canning the juice took 4 hours.
I certainly agree with purchasing the Kitchen Aid food processor. It’s so easy to use and saves time.
I would plain celery seed and plain onion powder. This recipe turns out very salty. I should have gone with my gut on this one.
Hey Ladies!
Thank you so much for all the inspiration and deliciousness you provide foodies like me!
I made you tomato juice the week of August 12. I did not have enough tomatoes left to put myself through the canning process so I eliminated the lemon juice and canning instructions. How long do you think it’s good in the fridge? I haven’t tried or smelled yet; just hoping you’ll say like 3-6 months in the fridge. Not sure so thanks for any reply and help!
*Homemade Tomato Juice*
Homemade tomato juice is only good in the fridge for about 2-3 days, sorry!
Excellent!
Hi, can you freeze tomato juice?
Thanks
Chris
Yes! Just make sure you leave room in the container for expansion as it freezes.
So good! I added cayenne pepper and garlic powder too!!
Do you have to water bath the juice after packing in the jars?
No, you don’t have to water bath.
Does the lemon juice alter the flavor?
No, it doesn’t alter the flavor, it just balances the pH for canning!