Reap the rewards of a bountiful harvest with this Simple Roasted Tomatoes Freezer Recipe.
Nothing beats oven-roasted tomatoes. This freezer-friendly recipe is the perfect addition to so many dishes. Wonderful intense, robust flavour.
Roasting tomatoes in the oven is so much easier than canning them in jars. All you need is olive oil, fresh tomatoes, and herbs.
We use a lot of tomato recipes in our house. Pasta sauces, pizza sauce, soups, and of course chili. Fresh tomato puttanesca is a favourite for dinner here.
I love having these ready in the freezer. Perfect for making my easy tomato crab bisque.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for roasting and freezing tomatoes are at the bottom of this post.
Slow roasting tomatoes is my favourite way to preserve them. Super easy to make. The oven does all the work, and your house smells like a little country kitchen in the heart of Italy.
In fact, I roast most of my veggies (other than grilling). YES, I do boil potatoes for making mashed potatoes, but that is about it. Roasting veggies is our favourite way to enjoy them. From side dishes to incorporating them into recipes. Here are a few of our family favourites:
Roasted Tomato Ingredients
Easy to find ingredients that produce amazing results. You will need:
- fresh tomatoes
- olive oil
- fresh herbs
- garlic
- salt and pepper
- seasoning
I absolutely LOVE my (affiliate)*Pampered Chef stoneware baking dish. In fact, I have two at a time in the oven during this slow roasting process.
They are super easy to clean at the end of the day. I simply scrub them with some (affiliate)*coarse salt, rinse with hot water and they are good to go.
How To Roast Tomatoes For Freezing
Roasting and freezing tomatoes is simple. Nothing fancy or complicated. You can’t get these flavours out of a can, even the fire-roasted tomatoes would be second place here.
Here is the condensed version, you will see just how easy it is:
- Visit the market and get a big bag of fresh tomatoes (I used Roma)
- While you are there, grab some garlic and fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary)
- Wash the tomatoes, and cut them up (the size is up to you, the bigger they are, the longer they need to cook)
- Put them in a roasting pan in a single layer (be sure not to overcrowd them)
- Coat them nicely with olive oil, salt, and pepper (I even used garlic powder and Italian seasoning too)
- Add in some garlic cloves and the fresh herbs
- Place in the oven and roast away (for about 1 1/2-2 hours)
- Give them a stir now and again while they roast
- Once they are done, you can leave them in chunks, or give them a mash (like I did)
- Measure out into freezer bags
- Seal and date
- DONE!
Tomato Ideas
This is the fun part, so many places to use this roasted tomato recipe. In case you were wondering, here are a few:
- tomato soup
- roasted tomato sauce
- tomato salsa
- bruschetta
I use my freezer tomatoes in:
They would also be great in a sauce on top of homemade potato gnocchi.
Tips For Roasting And Freezing Tomatoes
As for the best kind of tomatoes to roast, honestly, I don’t think there is a wrong kind.
I used Roma (also known as plum or paste tomatoes), but you can also use cherry tomatoes, Campari (on the vine), or whatever your garden grows.
Some people core larger tomatoes to remove the seeds. I did not, I find the Roma tomatoes have fewer seeds anyway.
As for freezing I just measure the amount in (affiliate)*measuring cup and pour into (affiliate)*freezer bags. I try to get ALL the air out and make the bags flat. They stack in the freezer nice and neat.
Be sure to write the date on the bag. This makes it much easier to know which to use up first.
This easy recipe for freezing tomatoes is perfect for creating wonderful, delicious recipes all year long. ENJOY!
Here are a few great recipes using roasted tomatoes from some of my blogging friends:
- Homemade Roasted Tomato Soup
- Israeli Couscous Salad
- Asparagus and Fontina Quiche
- Pesto Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes
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Roasted Tomatoes Recipe For Freezing
Ingredients
- 6 pounds tomatoes (I used Roma)
- 6 cloves garlic (or more if you like)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper (I used spicy garlic)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400º F
- Wash tomatoes, and cut into chunks. You can also just cut in 1/2 or leave whole if you prefer. The large the pieces, the longer they take to cook.
- Divide the tomatoes into 2 roasting pans (you don’t want to crowd them)
- Divide the oil and seasonings between the two pans, distribute and mix well to coat.
- Add garlic cloves and fresh herbs to each pan.
- Roast for about 1 1/2-2 hours. **Depending on the size you have cut your tomatoes,the amount of tomatoes you have placed in your baking vessel, and the heat of your oven, you may need to reduce the temperature to 375º after 30 minutes to avoid burning**
- Depending on the amount of moisture you still want in the tomatoes, the time will vary slightly. Also if you removed the seeds, you will have less moisture to cook out.
- Be sure to mix several times during roasting.
- Once done, remove from oven.
- Remove any large stems from the herbs.
- If you like, you can leave your tomatoes in large chunks, or mash slightly with a potato masher. Mash the garlic cloves too.
- When cool, measure into your desired amount, place in the freezer bags, seal, date, and place in freezer.
- DONE!
Harriett Louise Rice
Easy prep for freezing. Delicious.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is the only way I prepare tomatoes for storage. Love them.
Stephanie
How long can this store in your freezer?
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I have no issues with a year in the freezer.
Justine
This is absolutely amazing! Thank you! I used Roma tomatoes and big boy (garden harvest leftovers), lots of fresh rosemary, and chives. I baked at 400 for 2 hours and it was perfect. This is a MUST make again. Thank you!!! Would love to make a big batch again and can it.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I am so glad this recipe was a hit. This is the only way I preserve tomatoes. Great in so many recipes.
Dorcas
400 F too hot. Followed the recipe. Looked forward to saving some of my fresh heirloom tomatoes in the freezer! Used one metal cookie sheet and one cooking stone (bar pan with a rim from pampered chef). Preheated to 350 first to avoid shock on my stone. Forgot to turn it up to 400. At 30 min stirred the pans, looked good, turned it up to 400. 30 min later, went to stir again and the cooking stone batch had started to burn. 😢. So sad. All those chunked up tomatoes gone. I managed to salvage a little bit of it. The metal cookie sheet was okay. The fresh basil leaves were black, but the rest was okay. So…don’t use a stone? Or leave them at 350?
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I am sorry to hear about your results. I will say my Pampered Chef pans do get black when I make this recipe. I have to scrub them with some salt. All ovens run at different temperatures (some higher or lower than what they say). I often place an oven thermometer to check. Depending on the size of the tomato pieces, the type of tomato, and the amount of tomatoes in the pan, you may need to reduce the oven temperature after 30 minutes to avoid burning. I have never had an issue. I have only ever used Roma tomatoes and cut them into quarters.
Caroline
Made this to have over spaghetti squash with bit of parmesan cheese. I will be serving it in a couple of hours. It tastes so good, that I can’t stop taste-testing it. Hoping to have enough left for dinner guest. LOL. Will make a double batch next time.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
So glad you love this recipe. It is my favourite way to preserve tomatoes.
Kara
Hi! I’m just wondering if I could store the finished roasted tomatoes in mason jars instead?? I have no bags but plenty of jars lol
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Since this is a “freezer” recipe, they will not last in jars on the shelf. That would require popper canning procedures. You could place these in plastic containers in the freezer. Of course, if you want to freeze them in jars that should work as well.
Suzanne
Great idea! I used a combination of varieties harvested from my garden, and I only used olive oil and a little salt & pepper. No garlic or herbs, and the flavor was amazing. This way I can use the tomatoes with other types of recipes, such as Thai or Indian curries.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Sounds like you got this under control. I know you will love these in all your delicious recipes.
Kerri
Just wondering if you remove the skins after roasting or leave them on when you mash up the tomatoes? They seem to show in one pic, but appear to be gone later.
Thanks!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I leave the skins on and use an immersion blender to grind them up. Feel free to remove them if you like.
Natalie
This is such a lovely easy recipe and great way to preserve all the garden tomatoes I have now. I just saved it and will make a few bags and save it for the winter.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. I use it every year….always a hit.
Jo
This is amazing recipe to use all the fresh tomatoes from the garden and store it away for longer. I love the simplicity of the recipe and roasted tomatoes never fail.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
This is one of those recipes when simple is best….and these are THE BEST for sure. Enjoy!
Jamie
This was so delicious! We made a batch this weekend and had it with pasta for dinner! Everyone loved it!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Love using these tomatoes in all kinds of recipes….pasta, pizza, stew, soups….the list goes on.
Sam
Roasting and preserving all those summer tomatoes is the best. I love having homemade tomato sauce any time of year! You make it so easy with this recipe.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
This really is super easy to do….and your house will smell amazing too.
Eileen Kelly
We have so many tomatoes to harvest. I have been making sauce and this was a great recipe for roasting my tomatoes. So easy to follow the instructions and everything fits so nicely in my freezer.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Yes, making the bags flat it a great space saver for sure.
Debbie
Who needs canned tomatoes when you can roast them and freeze them . So much easier than canning. I have a ton of tomatoes that are almost ripe for picking . I know exactly what I am doing with them. I am so exciting knowing I will have roasted tomatoes in my freezer when I need them!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I know you will love this recipe. The perfect way to preserve those tomatoes.