This tomato jam (use any tomato variety you have on hand!) is one of the most popular recipes I’ve ever published. I can’t even take credit for it, the recipe came to me from a friend! It’s better than the most delicious ketchup you’ve ever tasted. I’ve updated the photos, but the recipe is the same.
I used to have a fantastic coworker named John. He was calm in the face of chaos, had a buoyant sense of humor and knew how not to take things too seriously. And, his wife Amy just happened to be my kitchen soulmate. You’ve got to love a coworker who comes attached to good people.
Amy was the first person to introduce to me tomato jam and now I can’t go back to a life without it. She gave me a jar with the recipe attached, and I am forever grateful. I use it in place of ketchup (with turkey burgers), as well as in places where ketchup wouldn’t dare to tread (try it with a soft, stinky cheese. It is life changing). I also love serving it with roasted root vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots.
For those of you who are accustomed to preserving tomatoes, you’ll notice that this recipe does not call for you to peel these tomatoes. That is not a mistake.
The first time I made a batch, I thought I could improve on things and peeled and seeded the tomatoes prior to cooking them down. However, without those bits, the finished tomato jam was too sweet and entirely without texture. It needs the skin and seeds. Don’t take them out.
A few things to know about this jam.
Don’t double the batch. This jam doesn’t use any additional pectin and so gets to the proper texture through reduction and sugar concentration. If you increase the batch size, the cooking time will greatly increase and it will be much harder to get to the proper texture before the bottom of the pot begins to burn.
Tomato choice matters. The yield of this jam can vary widely depending on the variety of tomato you use. Meaty tomatoes like paste, Roma, or San Marzano will produce a higher yield. Super watery tomatoes like heirloom slicers will produce a smaller yield. Any tomato can be used, but the yield can vary up to a full depending on your choice.
Wider pots are better. The more surface area you give the jam, the faster and more efficiently it will reduce. Stock pots are designed to prevent evaporation, so they aren’t the best choice for this recipe. A low, wide Dutch oven or soup pot is a better option.
Homemade Tomato Jam for Canning
Ingredients
- 5 pounds fresh tomatoes finely chopped
- 3 1/2 cups sugar
- 8 tablespoons bottled lime juice
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce temperature to a simmer. Stirring regularly, cook at a low boiluntil it reduces to a sticky, jammy mess. This will take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours, depending on how high you keep your heat.
- When the jam has cooked down sufficiently, remove from heat and fill jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Wipe rims, apply lids and twist on rings. Process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from water bath and allow them to cool. When jars are cool enough to handle, test seals. Store jars in a cool, dark place for up to one year.
This recipe is the greatest. I started out making one batch but ended up making 5 in total. It will replace ketchup for me and maybe even become a favorite for BBQing.
I have a glut of tomatillos and I am wondering how well they would work in this recipe? Any suggestions or tried and true recipes for tomatillos? I’m making multiple kinds of salsa verde and looking for something different.
Thanks!
Marissa, thank you for this recipe; it arrived at the same time as my 7 lbs of CSA tomatoes.
I have a couple of questions, since this is the first jam I’ve ever tried canning:
1. I processed it for too long – left it in there for 30 minutes, not 20. Does that cause problems?
2. Do I need to let it “age”, like pickles, for a couple of weeks before I open it? Or is it good to eat right away?
Thank you for your wonderful blog – I’ve made quick pickles before, but I started canning this summer, and you have been a big help. Keep up the good work!
Don’t worry about the overprocessing. It shouldn’t have done any harm. With more sensitive jams and jellies, overprocessing can cause a too-firm set but this one should be fine. Also, this jam does not need to age. You can eat it immediately.
I googled the weight-to-volume issue and came up with 2.5-3 lbs to yield a quart of chopped, unseeded tomatoes. So, I went with 2 quarts, and my jam is simmering now!
Oops, I’m way behind in my question answering.
Make My Day: This is definitely more jam than chutney. However, if you’re looking for a tomato chutney recipe, I’ll have one up later this week.
Naomi: As far as I know, there’s no easy way to determine just from looking how many tomatoes will make up a pound, because tomatoes vary so much in size.
Emily: It would be just fine to halve this recipe.
Pete: I didn’t measure volume as I chopped, so I don’t know what the volume was. Maybe 12-14 cups? If anyone else measured as they went, please let us know!
Another Marisa: I think you could use all romas without a problem. They were the tomato specified in the original recipe.
Kathleen: From what other people have said, a slow cooker should work just fine.
Arugulove: Huh, I don’t know why your batch made so much. You must have had some meaty tomatoes. It will keep a couple of months in the fridge.
Lelo: I hear you, I love making preserves with a specific use in mind.
Jasmine: Tomatoes do vary a great deal in water content, so that may be why it took so long to cook down and why your yield was so low.
Sandi: You can certainly cut the sugar. It will take longer to cook down with less sugar, though.
Sandi, I adjusted the sugar when I made it; I used about 2 1/2 cups of sugar, and though it took longer to get to jammy (about 2.5 hours, though part of that was that my stove was on really low for the first hour), the flavor was perfect. I made cheeseburgers last night to use some that didn’t get canned, and it was fantastic on those. I think I need to make more.
I tried this Saturday — I didn’t quite get to jammy — more like a thick sauce — my bad, I’m quite sure. My yield was 6 – 8oz jelly jars. It’s a bit sweeter than I am used to, but will certainly use it on meatloaf and Panini sandwiches with a sharp cheese and meat. Oh yes, and probably with sweet potato fries. The flavors together are wonderful — can I adjust the sugar when I try again?
I made a batch of this yesterday and it was amazing! I found myself digging in with a spoon before it was even ready and then completely devouring the overrun jar within minutes of filling my jars. It’s amazing on crackers with some goat cheese and I mixed it into some couscous for lunch today to give it an extra kick. I definitely plan on making these again before the tomoatoe season ends this year.
Note: my mixture took about 2 hours to fully cook down to a ‘sticky mess’, this may have been because the tomatoes I used were not super soft just yet.
Thanks again for posting an amazing recipe!
This is AWESOME! My tomatoes have bit the dust or rather the bugs have bit them and they are rotting on the vines, so will soon be chicken treats!
However, this sounded so good that I traveled yesterday to a couple roadside stands to get some tomatoes to use for it and the effort was well worth it. I’m going to have to see if I can find more to make for some gifts.
The idea of putting in the crockpot is wonderful and would let me go about my day w/o having to be on top of it.
For a person just starting out canning, this is delicious and easy! Thanks so much!
I just finished a batch of this, and the flavor is fantastic. I decreased the sugar a little, and added a little chipotle for the smoky flavor, and I love it. However, I had to cook my jam a lot longer than an hour and a half for it to get thick and jammy, and I ended up with about 6 half pint jars. Maybe my tomatoes were just extra watery and needed more time to cook the water off (and therefore I got a lot less yield)? I used a combination of early girls and San Marzanos. I’m really happy with the tastes that I’ve had from the pot, though, and am already looking forward to using it with a nice sharp cheddar.
I didn’t understand tomato jam (never tried it) until you said “ketchup substitute” and then, I realized I could try out a meatloaf recipe that I had seen. This was my second jam and canning experiment and I’m happy with how it turned out. I had started it cooking in my dutch oven and ended up throwing it in the crockpot on low so that I could actually leave the house. I may have cooked it down a little more than I should have, oops. My meatloaf has an extra kick to it. Thanks!
I made the tomato jam last night and am thrilled with it! I added in a few sprinkles of dried onion flakes and a little celery seed. Oh man! This is just SO good.
Have you made tomato preserves? The sweet stuff? I found a recipe here: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/7/AuntDellasTomatoPreserves61735.shtml and made it exactly except I omitted the cinnamon. WOW, another terrific tomato goodie. I also added a combination of under-ripe tomatoes and orangey tomatoes. I’d love to know if you have a tomato preserve (sweet) tucked in your grandma’s recipe box somewhere.
Thanks for all you do here.
jody
Oh.my.god this is SO good!!! I threw everything in the crock pot, put it on high until boiling, then down to low for 24 hours. At about hour 16 the flavor changed to a wonderful, warm, smokey sweetness that I absolutely adore.
I used an immersion blender and pureed the whole thing at about hour 20, then let it cook down from there. It’s now a bbq sauce consistency, and would probably be amazing on chicken. I’ve got another batch in the crock pot right now, and will be canning both batches once that’s done.
So excited…this will be perfect to barter for some of my neighbor’s canned corn, too!
Thank you so much!
I made this a few years ago and really enjoyed it: it’s very different and you have to think how you’ll use it. I think I may make it especially for a niece who will graduate from high school next spring and who has requested a tea party like foods for her graduation party. She’s very much a foodie and I think homemade tomato jam, with good stinky cheese on little toasts, maybe a carmelized onion piece or two, would make her feel very fancy. I love canning with events in mind. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipe. Last time I used Mark Bittman’s and I don’t think it had the chili flakes?
You know I’ve tried tomato jam last summer and I think once was enough. It just seems too much like very sweet ketchup for my liking. Mind you, weirdly enough, it was just amazing on scones with cream. But then I have so many other jams that work very well with scones and cream that I’m not prepared to make jam just for this purpose. I think I’ll be sticking to using my tomatoes in ketchups, chutneys and relishes in future
It should keep at least a couple of months in the fridge. I had my original jar open for at least three months.
So I just finished making this. Well, the cans are in the water bath as I type. I wound up with about 6 1/3 pints. Not exactly sure why I got so much more jam, but I’m guessing the culprit is the dry farmed tomatoes I used, perhaps less water to boil off? I am new to canning (this is only my second thing), so I’m hoping I didn’t screw up the ratios of stuff in the process. Anyone know?
I only processed 4 pint jars, thinking I’d just stick the extra half pint or so in the fridge. Now I’ve got more than 2 jars to go in there. How long will it keep in the refrigerator?
The jam tastes AMAZING though, so I’m really excited. Thank you again for the idea!
I made this jam today and it’s wild–I love it. My dried peppers are for some reason over-the-top hot, so I reduced the amount to 1 teaspoon, and it was perfect. I ended up with 5 and a half half-pints. Thanks for the recipe, think I’ll repeat it tomorrow, when I get some more limes!
Ok, so I thought the tomato jam would be the end of it for this year – maybe some pears – and maybe sauerkraut next month. Then I decided to use some of the tomatoes for Molly’s Conserva from your previous post. So, so, so GOOD! Now I’m using the rest of the tomatoes to make 2 more batches and will run out tomorrow to grab the last of the tomatoes in the market to make jam. Thank you so much, Marisa, for inspiring me. I’ve been canning & jamming for years, but you get me excited to try new things. And you’re opening a whole new world for so many people. You’re an absolute jewel.
Anyone know if I can make this in freezer jam jars?
This looks delicious! I had a tomato / basil jam (or maybe jelly? can’t remember) at Kitchen Kettle in Lancaster. Totally made me into a tomato jam convert.
Although it will be sweet and not savory, this may inspire me to try the tomato jam recipe I had saved from an old Ozark cookbook. It calls for tomatoes, sugar, lemon juice and rind, and ginger. I had been leery up till now, but will have to give it a go!
This looks great. We went on our honeymoon in Portugal and there was lots of tomato jam there, served with their delicious sheep milk cheeses. I can’t wait to reproduce it and this looks really easy. I’m going to make it this weekend!
This recipe looks awesome, but since I’m very busy this weekend do you think it would cook down with limited attention in a crock pot? I came into a lot of tomatoes from a co-worker and promised to make something yummy to share. Reviewing a few recipes, but this one is at the top of my list.
I’ve been resistant to tomato jam; not sure why. But I am trying this tonight – your pictures & description are too gorgeous to resist. And, how jealous am I of those wide-mouth Kerr half-pints? VERY.
Yum! I love your website. It’s becoming invaluable. Tomato jam is high on my list of canning this year. Thanks!
Marisa, it was meant to be. After reading your reply to my question about Molly’s Conserva I ran off to the local cooperative extension to pick up my pressure gauge. When I came out of the office, a gentleman with a case of gorgeous tomatoes and several grocery bags of sweet corn said that the guy he grew them for rejected them as too ripe and did I want them. Both the tomatoes and the corn were at the perfect peak of ripeness so I swooped it all up and came home to make Molly’s Conserva. When I had the tomatoes pureed it filled my giant turkey roaster 2/3 full and took 24 hours to cook down. OMG! This stuff is awesome! I got six 6 oz jars out of it. So worth the time it took!
Seattle- we barely had summer- okay we didn’t – so green tomatoes are all over my backyard—any recipes??
Holy cow, this looks fantastic! And a great Christmas gift idea, too. Someone might just be buying every last tomato at the farmer’s market next week…! Yum.
BTW, I made “sun-dried” tomatoes Monday using your tips. Thank you! They’re delicious and are a great way to use up my bountiful harvest of Romas.
Fabulous! We use (sadly store-bought) tomato jam on our turkey burgers too and I’ve been looking for a recipe to make it on my own. I’m wondering if you’ve considered making this in your slow cooker, since the long slow simmer seems just perfect for a slow cooker?
We just made Chuck Williams Tomato Jam — check it out:
http://lucindaville.blogspot.com/2010/09/tomato-confiture.html
Love your site!
My first bout ever with tomatoes was disappointing – wrong choice of tomatoes I’m quite sure for a pasta sauce. After reading this recipe I just have to take a big breath and go for it — can’t wait for the weekend. Any particular type of tomato to use? And also, halving recipe would be okay?
Oh my! I have been drying to try out a tomato jam recipe since I took a cooking class where the chef raved about how it’s delicious and goes with everything. I cannot wait! Thanks Marisa!
Your recipes are always so crave-worthy – yum! Quick question – it looks like you have a mix of romas and heritage slicing tomatoes. Do you think all romas would work as well, or would it cook down too much? Thanks 🙂
Have enjoyed tomato preserves/jam for many decades. It was one of the few things Mom actually cooked! She did not add spices, and we just used it a any other jam. BUT, I’ve been using a spicied recipe lately, and will try your version as well.
Question: about how much volume are you talking here on the chopped tomatoes? I usually just sort of semi-puree it (seeds, skin and all) in the VitaMix and call it a day. Since getting into that habit, I tend to go more by volume than weight.
Thanks!
That sounds so awesome. This is definitely going on my ‘to make’ list!
I am trying to wean my family off ketchup – this might be the answer!
Thanks,
Rachel
I just made an almost similar tomato jam for the first time and I am hooked!!!
After making tomato chutney (from Jennifer Perillo’s blog), I have realized how absolutely amazing tomato products can be. The idea of something that’s not quite ketchup but not quite as chunky as chutney sounds amazing. I may have to halve this recipe (if advisable) and make soon. Yummmm!
I LOVE this!! I was just looking at my tomato plants this morning, full of ripening fruit and having already made all the salsa we can eat for the winter, was wondering what to do with them. This is perfect, and will be my weekend project. Thanks for sharing!
We made juice with 2 bushels of tomatoes. The leftover skin and pulp and seeds looked to have some value and the home economist in me did NOT want to toss the approx 10 cups uncooked tomato parts. I made a batch of chutney with part of it and will do the jam with the remainder. Homeric!
I would like to have more recipies or ideas using all parts of vegies. can u help me out?
I am *SO* going to hunt down tomatoes now. I thought that my canning frenzy was done, but it appears that there is more to do because I must have this in my pantry for the winter!
Oh I want to try this! My husband is insisting I take a weekend off from canning, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to find tomatoes the following weekend 🙁
I am so all over this recipe! I had inclinations to make ketchup, but was dreading the skinning and seeding of a ton of tomatoes. (I recently just got over a bushel+ of peaches and I just can’t take it)This looks perfect for a ketchup-y replacement. Or with crackers and cheese. mmm.
Hi! I’m very new to canning, and I LOOOVE your blog!! I’m still in school, so because I have a very small kitchen and only so many medium-sized pots, I need to scale back recipes. Which brings me to my questions – is there a simple way to determine how many tomatoes (or apples or pears or whatever) make a pound? Thanks!
tomatoes are mostly water, so if you chop them up, 1 Lb of chopped tomatoes, equals 1 Pint, or 2 cups. Of course, many recipes that call for Lbs of veggies give that as the weight before you cut the cores out of them. However, for good tomatoes, the cores are negligible, so I use the 5 Lbs = 10 cups method.
Onions and peppers are less dense, so it takes more volume of them to make a Lb.
another recipe for me to put in my ‘need to make’ file of favourites. I love a nice tomato chutney in the place of ‘tommy’ sauce…how would you say this tomato jam compares to chutney?
This is what I’m doing with my 3 pounds of tomatoes!! It sounds so tasty!
Oooh, this looks amazing! I wish I had an overabundance of tomatos so I can try this recipe!
If I didn’t love you before (which I did, mind you), I surely do now.
I was just thinking to myself that I needed a tomato jam recipe. And then you come to the rescue…thank you!
I have an unrelated question, though the tomato jam looks great I’ve been experimenting with ketchup and I’ll have to try this recipe. Raspberries are coming into season out where I am wondering if you have any exciting recipes.
Liv, I just read your question on the tomato jam page from last fall. Have you ever tried the green tomato/raspberry jam? It tastes just like raspberry/ jalapeno jelly!! Let me know and I’ll email you the recipe.
We live where tomatoes never get ripe, but raspberries do. Could you send me that green tomato raspberry jam recipe? 🙂
Green Tomato Raspberry Jam- sounds absolutely delicious! Would you please email me the recipe.Thank you,looking forward to topping a BL(T) Biscuit with this wonderful jam :}
hi Lisa ,i just read your reply about green tomato / rasberry jam could i also get the recipe please….its sounds very interesting…is it made with green tomatos as in not yet ripe or with ripe green tomatos? thank you,
debbie
What a great idea. I love tomatoes and am always looking for ways to make them go even further. I’ll definitely try this – and it’s great that there is no peeling or de-seeding necessary. Thanks.