I have had great success growing tomatoes over the last few years. We can only eat so many fresh tomatoes and salsa though, so I thought I would share my favorite ways to use and preserve tomatoes from the garden.

Fresh

Fresh tomatoes are so delicious. I love a good salsa or chili made fresh. We are big football fans, so these are both great options for the weekend. Diced tomatoes can be used up in soups, stews, or dips. There are endless options, but if you have several tomato plants, you will quickly need to find another option.

Canning

We use a big amount of diced tomatoes over the winter, especially in soups, stews, and chili. I have also found that crushed tomatoes work just as well and are simple to can without any chopping. Last year I made about 12 pints of crushed tomatoes and they were gone by January, so we are trying to get about triple that this year. Any time I can reduce my grocery trips, I’m a happy mama. We have also loved having tomato sauce, although it does take a bit more time to make. I haven’t found a salsa recipe for canning yet that I love, but I’m open to ideas. Let me know if you’ve got a good one! For my canning recipes, I always reference the Ball Blue Book first.

Dehydrating

This was the first year I have dehydrated tomatoes. I plan to use them to hide vegetables in the kid’s food. For the most part, they love vegetables, but I’m never opposed to adding a little more without their knowledge. I’m most excited to try adding them to scrambled eggs for the boys. I will also grind some into a powder to use as tomato paste (just add water) or as a thickener. I think it will work great mixed in with tomato sauce to make a thicker pizza sauce for the homemade pizza pockets we love too.

Freezing

You can freeze whole tomatoes (I hear the skin comes right off if you go this route) but I prefer to freeze my tomatoes as sauce or in soup. Tortilla soup and chili both freeze really well and are easy to make in a crockpot. I make big double batches of these for dinner and freeze the leftovers. It is a great way to use up a lot of tomatoes while making entire meals to enjoy later in the winter. It also gives me an opportunity to use up fresh onions, corn, garlic, etc. I have also made and frozen spaghetti sauce to be used later. If you have room in your freezer, fill it up!

We are still drowning in tomatoes, so tell me your best uses! I am open to more ideas and I don’t mind putting in a bit of work. Leave a comment below! Happy harvesting!