How to Can Diced Tomatoes – Full Guide For The Freshest Tomatoes

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Learn how to can diced tomatoes with this easy recipe and tutorial. It’s easier than you think to eat garden tomatoes all year long. This recipe yields 7 quarts of canned tomatoes.

3 mason jars of Canned Diced Tomatoes with 2 fresh tomatoes on the side

There’s something special about being able to pick fresh tomatoes yourself and still have plenty left over to use later. Canning them yourself is also more cost effective and less wasteful than buying canned tomatoes at the store. It is so nice to have a stash of diced tomatoes to add to your recipes at home throughout the year. It is one of those must-have items that will help you save on groceries!

Ingredients in Canned Diced Tomatoes

  • Tomatoes – plum tomato varieties work the best for canned tomatoes because of their their thick skin and sturdy texture. Try Roma, San Marzano, or Amish Paste tomatoes.
  • Lemon Juice
  • Kosher Salt

How to Use Diced Tomatoes

Diced tomatoes are one of the most versatile ingredients in our pantry, making it a staple in our house. You can use them in all kinds of cuisine types. They can be used in marinara sauce along with garlic, onion, peppers, a bit of tomato paste, a splash of olive oil and Italian seasoning for Italian dishes and pasta dishes or a delicious sauce for homemade pizza. Add them to homemade soups and casseroles for a hearty meal, or blended up in salsa. Top your favorite Mexican food entrees like tacos and enchiladas with diced tomatoes. Or, use these tomatoes with diced green chiles to make a substitute for ro tel tomatoes. Used them along with beef, red beans, and chili powder in your favorite chili recipe. Don’t forget to top it with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and extra diced tomatoes!

A Few Tips on Canning Diced Tomatoes

  • You will probably find that the tomatoes and tomato juices will separate after processing. This is totally normal. Just give the jars a little shake before opening to combine or give them a good stir after opening.
  • For easier peeling, boil whole tomatoes for about a minute, then plunge into an ice water bath. The skins should easily come off after this process.
  • Chop up the tomatoes into the size you like, then add some salt and lemon juice to maintain freshness.
  • To ensure safety before canning any type of food, review the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Canning Crushed Tomatoes

You can easily bottle up crushed tomatoes the same way as diced tomatoes. Peel and cut the tomatoes and add them to a large pot. Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Bring the pot to a simmer for about five minutes, then add the mixture to your jars. It’s that easy. Make sure to leave about half an inch of air space at the top of each jar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you can diced tomatoes in water bath?

Yes, see the recipe card below for instructions on water-bath canning.

How do you cut diced tomatoes?

Cut the tomato into slices, then cut the slices into strips. Next, cut each strip into cubes.

Are canned diced tomatoes cooked or raw?

All canned tomatoes are cooked. They cook as part of the canning process.

Read Next: Savory Salsa Recipe for Canning

More Canning Recipes

How to Can Diced Tomatoes

3 mason jars of Canned Diced Tomatoes with 2 fresh tomatoes on the side

How to Can Diced Tomatoes

4.67 from 9 votes
Can diced tomatoes with this easy recipe and tutorial. It's easier than you think to eat garden tomatoes all year long! Yields 7 quarts.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Gardening
Cuisine American
Servings 56

Equipment

  • Glass jars, quart size
  • Canning pot

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare quart jars and lids:

  • Sterilize canning jars by running them through a cycle in the dishwasher. Additonal information on this can be found here.
  • Place the canning lids in a pan of warm water on the stovetop. Bring the water just to a boil and simmer until ready to use.
  • Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons salt to each sanitized quart jar before adding tomatoes.

Remove tomato skins:

  • Fill a large stockpot about half full with water and bring to a rolling boil. Add whole tomatoes about 5-10 at a time and boil for about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, quickly remove the tomatoes and plunge in an icewater bath. This will make the skins easy to remove.
  • Using a sharp knife, remove skins, bruises, and tough parts of the tomatoes and cut into quarters.

For diced tomatoes:

  • Add tomatoes directly to jars. You will want liquid to cover the tomatoes, so if needs be, add boiling water to the jars to cover the tomatoes, leaving about 1/2″ of airspace at the top of the jar (in my last batch there were enough juices from the tomatoes that adding water wasn’t necessary).

For crushed tomatoes:

  • After the tomatoes are peeled and cut, add the tomatoes to a large pot and crush with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer and stir for about 5-7 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes to jars leaving about 1/2″ airspace at the top.

Now it’s time to process:

  • Make sure jar rims, lids and rings are clean before placing the lids on the mouth of the jars. Place the lids on and gently screw on the rings– not too tight, just snug.
  • Process the jars in a water-bath or steam canner and process accordingly depending on your altitude: 40 minutes for up to 1,000 feet, 45 minutes for 1,001-3,000 feet, 50 minutes for 3,001-6,000 feet, and 55 minutes for 6,000+ feet.
  • After jars have been processed, remove from canner and allow to cool. Check seals (making sure the lid has popped down) before storing.

Notes

  • You will probably find that the tomatoes and juices will separate after processing. This is totally normal. Just give the jars a little shake before opening to combine or give them a good stir after opening.
  • For easier peeling, boil whole tomatoes for about a minute, then plunge into an ice water bath. The skins should easily come off after this process.
  • Chop up the tomatoes into the size you like, then add some salt and lemon juice to maintain freshness.
  • To ensure safety before canning any type of food, review the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 41kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 685mgPotassium: 540mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1889IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 1mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

    1. I have a lot of “flash” frozen plum tomatoes. Can I use them with this recipe? How would I modify the recipe?

      1. We don’t recommend using frozen tomatoes for canning diced tomatoes. The texture of frozen tomatoes is a little off. I would suggest canning tomato juice or tomato sauce instead.

    1. Yes, but you’ll have to adjust the processing time. I would look for a recipe that uses pint jars to get accurate info.

  1. So glad to find this recipe as I do use a lot of diced/stewed tomatoes throughout the year and I have already canned a dozen jars of spaghetti sauce. I filled seven jars using 17 pounds of tomatoes.

  2. Hello. I tried your recipe. But forgot the salt and lemon juice, and canned them. Are they going to be on?

    1. Unfortunately, we have only approved our exact recipe for canning safety. We cannot safely recommend any additions or omissions.

  3. 5 stars
    I’m so glad I came across this recipe! My garden is bursting with tomatoes, and this is perfect for making sure they don’t go to waste. Thanks for all the tips!

  4. I usually buy the Italian diced tomatoes from the store. It has basil and oregano in it i think. Would it be okay to add these to this recipe?

    1. Those tomatoes will stay good in the can as long as they would after canning them with this recipe. I would just leave them in the can if it was me!

  5. 5 stars
    This is fantastic! I always make sauce or cook the tomatoes to preserve them, and never thought to just can them diced to use like that. Love this, thanks for sharing.

    1. For processing pint jars, the time isn’t reduced by much. Usually just 5 minutes less. So about 40 minutes would be just about right. Hope this helps!

  6. I used citric salt instead of lemon and kosher salt is that okay? I filled my jars but after water bath canning one jar has at least an inch to inch 1/2 of head space. Is it still good?

    1. I am not familiar enough with citric salt to be sure to tell you for sure. You may want to contact someone from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They may be better suited to answer this for you– here is the ink to their site: http://nchfp.uga.edu Hope this helps!

      1. I LOVED you added that link, I check to make sure it’s referenced whenever I use a website for credible information in canning! Thank you so much! Food just isn’t the same anymore and it’s not safe to be tweaking recipes that haven’t been tested! Love this! I’ve had food poisoning once (not from canned food) from fast food and I wouldn’t ever want it again!
        Can’t wait to try these!!

  7. You mentioned steam canner. I bought one this summer but can’t find any info about how safe they are to use. Are they comparable to the water bath for processing. I did some salsa with my steam canner. Hope it will be ok.