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.
DIY fresh herb salt is also a great seasoning for these flavourful tomatoes. You can even use it in tomato jam too.
Roasting tomatoes in the oven is so much easier than canning them in jars. All you need is olive oil, fresh tomatoes, and herbs.
I love having these ready in the freezer. Perfect for making my easy tomato crab bisque.
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. Jarred sauces are convenient for sure, but nothing beats the taste of using fresh ingredients. Give this blistered tomato pasta sauce a try and see for yourself.
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 ½-2 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
Roasted Tomatoes Recipe For Freezing
Ingredients
- 6 pounds tomatoes (I used Roma)
- 6 cloves garlic (or more if you like)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoons pepper (I used spicy garlic)
- 1 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoons 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 ½ 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 ½-2 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!
Melissa
Fresh farm produce is so much better! Store bought tomatoes are so sad. I love this idea to save the best of the summer for later in the year! And so many good ways to use them.
Homemade & Yummy
Totally agree….I need to buy more I think. I hate running out before next harvest.
Shernell P Cooke
Anything homemade makes me think of great food. I use a lot of tomato sauce,so this would come in handy,thanks for sharing.
Homemade & Yummy
I think I need to pick up another box of tomatoes at the market…and make more.
Veena Azmanov
I love roasting tomatoes and this sounds like the best way to store them for months. I usually have extra tomato sauce in the house for those busy days but this simple and easy sounds just as good.
Homemade & Yummy
This is super easy. The oven does all the work…and your house smells amazing too.
Vanessa
I wish we had a good harvest of tomatoes from our home garden. This recipe would’ve been perfect since we cook with tomato sauce a lot! I’ll keep your recipe in mind next time I’m in a farmer’s market or grocery store. It will save time to have pre seasoned tomato sauce when cooking. Thanks
Homemade & Yummy
I think I will pick up more tomatoes at the market this weekend. I hate running out of these before next season.
Michelle
My favourite thing about roasting tomatoes is the smell that fills up the entire house, my kids just love it also, great recipe!
Homemade & Yummy
OMG the aroma is fanastic….and so are the tomatoes. I think I need to visit the market and make more. I hate running out before next harvest.
Kelly Anthony
I’ve never roasted tomatoes but this looks so easy. I can’t wait to make and freeze my own tomatoes. Thanks for sharing this simple recipe.
Homemade & Yummy
HAHHA….if it wasn’t super easy…I wouldn’t to it. Give it a try and see….you will love the results.
Adriana Lopez Martin
This idea is a genius way to preserve the harvest! I grow tomatoes at home, and sometimes I find challenging finding to preserve all the bounty, so I end up giving away a lot of the veggies I grow. It is a great thing to share but still, I want to keep some too. I will start doing roasting and freezing I bet this works for many veggies not only tomatoes.
Homemade & Yummy
I LOVE making these. So easy, and although canned tomatoes are good….these are BETTER!
Mel@avirtualvegan.com
I love roasting tomatoes. The flavour is just amazing and they are so handy to have on hand for all sorts of wonderful recipes, or just to serve simply on toast with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh herbs!
Chef G
That is so true….this was the first year I have done this. I truly loved the smell of the garlic cooking…it actually helped my cold at the time.
Marissa @ OMG FOOD
You just can’t beat homegrown tomatoes or getting them from the local farmers’ market. This is one of my favorite things to do with them!
Chef G
This was actually the first time I did this…it was soooooo easy and the house smelled wonderful!!
Ange
So much flavour in roasted tomatoes. I never thought to freeze them! Brilliant tip, thank you.
Chef G
Thanks…give it a try…sooooo easy!!
Elaina Newton (@TheRisingSpoon)
You’re making me wish I had done this now! Every year I swear I’m going to roast some tomatoes to tuck away in my freezer for a bleary winter day and always end up eating them all fresh. They’re hard to resist, but oh-so-good when roasted. .
Chef G
I know…it was the first time I actually did it myself…so easy…so yummy!!
Whitney
How easy is this!?!? Definitely going to whip up a big batch to freeze!
Chef G
I know…so easy it’s crazy!!
Julia (@Imagelicious)
Great idea with preserving the tomatoes. For some reason I always thought that preserving tomatoes would mean making and canning sauce, but your way is so much easier!
Chef G
I know right….my mom always did it the hard way. Me…I look for easier and for this I think tastier ways!! The oven does all the work…you reap the rewards.
Sammi W
Yum! They look so caramelised, the flavour would be divine!
Chef G
Yes roasting brings out such a wonderful robust flavour!!
sweetashoneynz
This is a great idea to prepare large batch and freeze them! so much healthier than the canned one. Lovely pics too 🙂
Chef G
This was the first time I did it. No effort at all really….awesome results!!