Having a stash of homemade tomato soup concentrate in your pantry is like doing a favor for your future self. Portioning it out in 26 ounce jars from Fillmore Container makes it look extra snazzy!
My tomato preservation approach is one that is forever evolving. I make a point of trying at least one new-to-me tomato recipe to each season, always hoping that I’ll discover something particularly delicious and worthy of my time, resources, and shelf space.
This year, there were two experimental recipes. The first was this barbecue sauce (which is quite delicious, but probably won’t be something I make every single year). The second is the tomato soup concentrate that I’m sharing today. I’m already hoping that when I get home from the trip I’m currently on (I’ve been away for a week, which accounts for the blog silence), I’ll be able to get enough tomatoes to make another batch.
Recipes for tomato soup concentrates that are safe for the boiling water bath canner aren’t always easy to find. I did a lot of reading and worked out more math problems than is typically required for a basic canning recipe in order to bring this to you today. I built my recipe upon the framework laid out in the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s water bath safe Tomato and Vegetable Juice recipe.
The thing in that recipe that made everyone here possible is the fact that it specifies that, “Not more than 3 cups of other vegetables may be added for each 22 pounds of tomatoes.” Taking my cue from there, I used 15 pounds of tomatoes, and a scant two cups of diced onions. I felt comfortable doing that, because I was keeping to their approach while reducing the batch size by one-third.
From there, it was a matter of chopping the tomatoes and cooking them down with the onion. Once they were soft, I pushed them through a food mill fitted with its finest screen. At that point, I had approximately 24 cups of flavorful tomato juice.
I added Italian seasoning and granulated garlic, and cooked it down until I had a thick, tasty 16 cups. Once I was finished cooking, I added salt to taste (it’s always best to wait until you’ve finished cooking something down before salting it. Otherwise, you can end up with something inedible).
Then I portioned 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid into five square sided 26 ounce jars from Fillmore Container and filled them up with my soup concentrate. I added five minutes to the processing time required by the NCHFP for the tomato and vegetable juice, to compensate for the increased thickness.
I love canning tomato products in these square sided jars because they give it a more professional look, and I find that the squared off sides make them easier to grab when I’m moving quickly. The 26 ounce size is also great from a portioning perspective. Reheated with a bit of milk, there’s just the right amount for two people to enjoy bigs bowls with a side of cheesy toast or garlic bread.
Oh, and if you find yourself liking the looks of the square shape, know that they’re also available in 8 ounce and 16 ounce sizes.
Disclosure: Fillmore Container is a Food in Jars sponsor. Their sponsorship helps keep the site afloat. They provided the jars you see here at no cost to me. All opinions expressed are entirely mine.
Tomato Soup Concentrate
Ingredients
- 15 pounds of tomatoes
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt plus more to taste
- 2 1/2 teaspoons citric acid
Instructions
- Wash the tomatoes and cut them into quarters. Heap the chopped tomatoes into a large pot and add the diced onion.
- Add about a cup of water to the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching. Place the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil.
- Cook, stirring occasionally for about an hour, until the tomatoes have lost their structural integrity and the pot contains nothing but super saucy tomatoes.
- Remove the pot from the stove. Fit a food mill with its finest screen and position it over a large heatproof bowl.
- Working in batches, start pushing the cooked tomatoes and onions through the food mill. You will probably need to stop three or four times to empty out the bowl into a clean pot.
- Once all the tomatoes are milled, add the granulated garlic and Italian seasoning. Set the pot on the stove and bring to a low boil.
- Cook for one to three hours, until the soup concentrate has reduced by at 1/3 and hopefully a bit more.
- When you're pleased with the consistency, stir in the salt. Start with a tablespoon. Taste and add more as needed.
- Divide the citric acid between five jars 26 ounce jars (the Ball brand 24 ounce Pint & Half jars are also a great choice for this one).
- Funnel the finished soup concentrate into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 45 minutes (if you live above 1,000 feet in elevation, please adjust your processing times accordingly).
- When the time is up, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortable handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
Delicious and easy to make
Thank you!
If this is a concentrate, what is the ratio to add milk or water for serving? Or is it just to your personal taste?
It is really to your personal taste. I find that I add about half a jar’s worth of water or milk to thin it out.
Can lemon juice be subbed for the citric acid?
I keep one in the house but not the other.
Yes. One tablespoon of bottled lemon juice has the same acidifying power as 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. Just know that it may impact the flavor slightly.
I just roasted my tomatoes with onions garlic and olive oil. May I can them after I have blended it all together?
The proportion of tomatoes to onions/garlic/olive oil are critical for safety. If you are just winging it, I would not recommend canning the finished product.
can this soup concetrate be frozen for storage /
Sure.
Do I increase citric acid and time if I use a pint 1/2?
Thanks
Do you the Ball Pint & Half jars? Those hold 24 ounces, which is just two ounces less than the jars I used here. If you use those, everything remains the same. In fact, the citric acid and processing times I used for this recipe are high enough for even quart jars.
I already peeled, cut up and partially deseeded my tomatoes before finding your recipe. Can I use the same weight for the tomatoes or should I adjust it? Thank you!
I would just use the same weight.
When using this concentrate, do your you one part concentrate to one part water or milk, like Campbell’s soup?
I typically dilute with water or milk, but I only use half as much water or milk as concentrate, as it’s not as concentrated as Campbell’s.
Hi Marisa! I can’t wait to try this recipe. We are huge tomato soup lovers in my family. I have a quick question. I love having a celery flavor in my tomato soup. Do you think it would be ok to swap out a portion of the onions and swap in celery, like maybe 1 cup onion and 1 cup celery, instead of 2 cups of just onion? I’m guess as long as the proportions are correct that should be ok, but wanted to check with an expert. Thank you for this recipe. I have followed you for years and love all your content so much!
Can this recipe be made using onion powder instead of the diced onions?
Yes. Most bottles tell you how much powder equals fresh.
I am looking forward to trying this recipe for tomato soup concentrate. My question is …… instead of the citric acid, can lemon juice be used instead.I am guessing 1-3 tsp per pint ( pint for my house ) I would imagine the flavor of the soup might change a little bit. And I am ok with that. I am not sure of the reasoning for the citric acid except to up the acidity for water bath canning ?
You can use bottled lemon juice in place of the citric acid. You are right to assume that it in included in the recipe because it is boosting the acid content in the concentrate. Two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice will give you the same acidification as 1/2 teaspoon citric acid.
Marissa,
I am wondering how you heat up the soup and then add milk? Do you add milk after soup has cooled down a bit so that it doesn’t curdle? Or do you add a little baking soda to the tomato soup before putting milk into the soup?
I just heat it gently and put a little milk in once I take the pot off the heat so that it doesn’t curdle. I’ve never heard of putting baking soda in to prevent curdling.
Nice blend of ingredients make for a very tasty soup that we will enjoy this coming winter. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome!
If I used pint jars, how much citric acid per jar? Or, should I just mix it into the batch right before I get it into jars?
I would still use 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per jar, even for the pints. It doesn’t impact the finished flavor much and the safety boost it provides is invaluable.
I’ve not canned with citric acid yet. Food In Jars recipes use lemon juice to get the tomato acid up. When you suggested using smaller Ball jars for tomato soup, you did not say to reduce the amount of citric acid in each jar. What if the jars are way smaller than 26 ounces, like one-pint jars?
I”m making tomato jam now and look forward to trying tomato soup next.
I would use the same amount of citric acid for the pint jars, just to be safe.
May I pressure can this concentrated tomato soup recipe instead of water bath? Thank You
Sure. I’d go and consult the National Center for Home Food Preservation for pressure canning times for tomato puree.
Soon I’ll have tomatoes piling in from the garden and this soup recipe looks like a perfect solution! Do I see that to serve, it’s just a matter of reheating some of the concentrate w a bit of milk or cream??
Yep, just reheat with a little water or milk. The amount really depends on how much you cook down the concentrate.