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Turn your fresh tomatoes into rich, flavorful homemade tomato juice with our easy to follow recipe. It’s perfect for canning and tastes so much better than store-bought juice.
Skip the Store Bought Tomato Juice
At our house, this stuff is like liquid gold. We drink it ice cold straight from the fridge, but I also save plenty to use as a base for soups, stews, sauces, and other recipes throughout the year. A simple blend of salt, onion salt, and celery salt gives it a traditional flavor (kind of like V8 but better), but you can easily customize it with pepper, basil, oregano, or your favorite seasonings. If you’ve never made your own tomato juice before, don’t worry. It’s surprisingly easy, and once you taste it, you’ll never look at store-bought tomato juice the same way again. I’m so excited for you to try it!
🩷Erica
Ingredients in Homemade Tomato Juice
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes are all you need to make rich, flavorful tomato juice. 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.
- Water: A small amount of water helps prevent the tomatoes from sticking while they begin to cook down. Once heated, the tomatoes will release plenty of their own juices and a lot of the water that you added will just evaporate out anyway.
- Seasonings: I usually just use salt, onion salt, and celery salt when I season my tomato juice. Add the seasonings after measuring your finished juice and adjust to taste if desired.
Made With Home Grown Tomatoes
There is nothing quite like homemade tomato juice made from fresh garden tomatoes. The better the tomatoes, the better the juice, which is why I love making this recipe in late summer when tomatoes are at their peak. Look for ripe, deeply colored tomatoes that feel heavy for their size and have a sweet, fresh tomato smell. I grow tomatoes in my garden every year specifically for canning and preserving, but tomatoes from a local farm stand or farmer’s market are great too.
Tips for Making Tomato Juice at Home
Use a tomato strainer if you’re making a large batch. If you plan on canning more than a few quarts at a time, a Tomato Strainer is well worth the investment. It quickly separates the juice from the skins and seeds and saves a ton of time compared to pressing everything through a colander by hand.
Don’t worry about peeling the tomatoes first. The skins and seeds are removed during the straining process, so there’s no need to blanch and peel the tomatoes beforehand.
Use bottled lemon juice or citric acid for canning. Tomatoes vary in acidity, so an acidifier is needed to make them safe for water bath canning. Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon citric acid per quart jar (or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon citric acid per pint jar). I prefer lemon juice because it has a consistent acidity level, it’s cheap, I usually have it on hand, and you really can’t taste a difference.
Store jars in a cool, dark place. Properly canned tomato juice can last up to 18-24 months when stored in a cool pantry or basement.
New to canning? We can walk you through how to can this tomato juice step-by-step with our easy-to-follow guides. Check out our Canning 101 Guide, Water Bath Canning guide, and our guide on How to Can Whole Tomatoes (canning times will be the same).
Reduced Sodium Tomato Juice:
Store-bought tomato juice can be VERY high in sodium. 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
Almost any ripe tomato can be used for juicing, but I prefer using a mix of varieties for the best flavor. Meaty tomatoes like Roma and San Marzano produce a thicker juice, while slicing tomatoes such as Celebrity, Early Girl, and Park’s Whopper add plenty of juice and great tomato flavor. The most important thing is to use ripe, flavorful tomatoes that are free from bruises and blemishes. Garden-fresh tomatoes always make the best tomato juice! Be sure to talk to your local nursery to see what varieties grow best in your area. They will give you the best advice!
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:
Tomato Juice Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 23 pounds tomatoes, (yields about 7 quarts tomato juice)
- 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 tomatoes thoroughly. Remove cores, bruises, and any blemishes. Cut tomatoes into quarters or large chunks.
- Place tomatoes in a large stockpot. Add ¼ to 1 cup water, just enough to prevent sticking. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.Simmer until the tomatoes are very soft and broken down, about 20-30 minutes.
- Working in batches, press the tomatoes through a food mill, tomato strainer, or colander to remove the skins and seeds. Discard skins and seeds.
- Return the strained tomato juice to the stockpot and bring back to a gentle boil.
- Measure the amount of juice you have. For each quart of tomato juice, add 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon onion salt, and ¼ teaspoon celery salt.Note: The amount of juice you get will vary depending on the variety and juiciness of your tomatoes, so always measure the finished juice before adding seasonings.
- Simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the seasonings to blend into the juice.
For canning:
- Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each sterilized quart jar (or 1 tablespoon per pint jar).Note: Do not skip the bottled lemon juice. Tomatoes vary in acidity, and the added lemon juice ensures the tomato juice is safe for water bath canning. Don't worry, it won't affect the taste at all. You won't even know it's there.
- Ladle hot tomato juice into jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Wipe rims clean and apply lids and bands.
- Process in a boiling water bath canner for:Pint jars: 0-1,000 feet: 35 minutes , 1,001-3,000 feet: 40 minutes, 3,001-6,000 feet: 45 minutes, above 6,000 feet: 50 minutes.Quart jars: 0-1,000 feet: 40 minutes, 1,001-3,000 feet: 45 minutes, 3,001-6,000 feet: 50 minutes, above 6,000 feet: 55 minutes.For detailed canning instructions, check out our Canning 101 Guide, Water Bath Canning guide, and our guide on How to Can Whole Tomatoes.
- Remove jars and allow to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Check seals before storing.
Notes
- Plan on about 3 to 3½ pounds of tomatoes for each quart of finished juice.
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Is it normal for the tomatoes to look separated after the water bath? 1st time trying this.
If you don’t reduce it down to remove the excess water, it will separate after it is canned. There is nothing wrong with it, just some extra water in the jar.
Do you put jars in a water bath after canning?
Yes, that will help seal the lids. 40 minutes for quarts (35 minutes for pints). Hope this helps!
Do you use regular table salt or use canning salt?
We used regular table salt!
Thank you
Ripe tomatoes here are around 4$ per pound. So 23lbs of tomatoes is $92. So if this makes 7 quarts this is $13 per quart. I guess this is just for people that grow tomatoes.
try roadside farm stands and farmers markets you can purchase a bushel of tomatoes for far less than grocery stores. Cut out the middleman
I’m going to try this recipe this week. How long should one boil during steps 4 and 7? Thanks!
You just cook it until it comes to a boil. Hope this helps!
Quick question!!
When canning do you put 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into each quart jar?
Thank you!
You add the lemon juice before adding the tomato juice. You put the lemon juice in the clean, empty jars. Hope this helps!
I have the sieve attachment for my KitchenAid mixer and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I use it for tomatoes, fruits (I make lots of pear butter because I don’t have to use sugar) and anything that needs to be pureed.
Get one, you’ll be glad you did!
I have the KitchenAid attachment. What a game changer. No blanching, no peeling ~ just AWESOMENESS!!!!!!
I’m buying tomato juice in stores. But had no clue this was so easy to make at home. Thanks! I will definitely give your recipe a try. Looks so healthy and super simple.
I had no idea I could make tomato juice at home! Homemade bloody mary, here I come!
Are we talking about adding lemon juice to raise the acidity of tomatoes?! COOKED and processed tomatoes? Yikes.
Hi Chef! This is how we’ve done it in our kitchen for years! Do you have a different way of doing it?
OMG! This tomato juice is absolutely amazing! We had lots of tomatoes this year and canned 17 quarts of tomato juice. So much better than store bought. Super simple to make. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Perfect tomato juice for Bloody Marys! I also have a super fantastic recipe for tomato cheddar biscuits which requires tomato juice. This is the BEST for that!
I love tomato juice and never thought to make it myself, but this recipe was amazing, super easy to make, and perfect, I love that I know 100% of the ingredients that were used to make it!
This is really good, I can’t wait to try it in Bloody Marys next!
How long to process in the water bath canner?
40 minutes for quarts (35 minutes for pints). Hope this helps!
23 lbs tomatoes? I’m thinking must be 2-3 lbs?
This is a canning recipe so it makes a lot. 23 pounds is correct!
This is a fabulous recipe for tomato juice. Delicious!
I drank homemade tomato juice as a kid and have always wanted to make it myself. I’ll plant some extra tomato plants this year and make some delicious juice.
I served this and people wanted to know what brand it was. When I said that I made it, one of my guests was astonished. She didn’t know you could make tomato juice. Excellent recipe canning it keeps it stable for a very long time.
Does the Tomato juice taste like lemon? I’ve never used that before.
I don’t think it tastes like lemon. If you are worried about it, you can reduce the amount.