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Home » Recipes » Salad Dressings & Dips

Easy Crushed Tomatoes at Home (No Peeling + Freezer Friendly)

September 9, 2023 by Suzie J. 8 Comments

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Want to make easy crushed tomatoes at home without the hassle of removing the tomato skin? Well, you're in the right place. This simple recipe walks you through the process of transforming your fresh garden tomatoes into flavorful garden fresh crushed tomatoes, made perfect for freezing!

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⭐ Why You'll Love This Recipe

  • No peeling or seeding of tomatoes is required!
  • An easy way to preserve fresh garden tomatoes.
  • No canning equipment is needed; this recipe was created for the freezer!
  • Made for smaller batches of tomatoes.
  • Makes a great base for tomato sauces and soups.
  • A great way to elevate recipes that call for canned, crushed tomatoes!


🍅 Why You Shouldn't Peel Tomatoes When Making Sauce

This is a personal preference thing. I love leaving the tomato skins on for homemade sauce, and I hate peeling tomatoes, so it's a win-win for me. Here are a few more reasons why you should feel good about leaving the skins on in this recipe:

  1. Adds more flavor and texture. In my opinion, it always tastes better than crushed tomatoes that have been peeled. I love how the tomato flavor concentrates with the skin on.
  2. The skin has a ton of vitamins and minerals - According to this article on Well + Good tomato skins are chalked full of antioxidants as well as calcium, zinc, and selenium. Who knew making things simpler would be so much healthier?!
  3. Time is money - We are busy people who want to make the best food possible with the little time we have available!

Hopefully, some of these reasons will convince you to try this lazy sauce-making!

ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT: If you can't stand the texture of the skin, you can blend these crushed tomatoes with an immersion blender. It will technically be a tomato puree or sauce, but it is still going to taste a million times better than canned tomatoes!

🥘 Equipment You'll Need

Dutch oven or stock pot

Potato Masher

Wooden spoon

Freezer containers or mason jars

🧂 Crushed Tomatoes Ingredients

  • Tomatoes—fresh tomatoes! Preferably from your garden..so good. You can use any type of tomato for this recipe. I used heirloom tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, pear, and cherry tomatoes! Trust me, this recipe is easy, and there are no hard and fast rules so get creative!
  • Salt - just a little bit to enhance the flavor of the tomatoes
  • Fresh Basil (optional) adds an herbal freshness to the crushed tomatoes.

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🥫 How to Make Crushed Tomatoes

Wash tomatoes, remove stems, and cut them into ½-inch chunks. They do not need to be precisely the same size, but they should be around the same size.

  1. Add chopped tomatoes to a Dutch oven or stock pot.
  2. Place over medium-low heat with the lid on. Allow the tomatoes to come to a simmer and turn the heat to low. Add the basil, if desired.
  3. Simmer for 60 minutes, on low, with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
  4. After a nice sauce has formed, crush the tomatoes with a potato masher. If you prefer a concentrated sauce, simmer with the lid off for 10-20 minutes or until the desired flavor is reached.

🥡 How to Store

Refrigerator: Store covered, in an airtight container like a mason jar, in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Freezer: Store in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers in the freezer for up to 1 year.

🌡️ Thawing Frozen Crushed Tomatoes

  1. Refrigerator (Recommended): Put the container or bag in the refrigerator and allow it to thaw slowly over 24 to 48 hours. This is the safest method, as it prevents the growth of harmful bacteria and preserves the quality of the tomatoes.
  2. Cold Water: Submerge the bag or container in a large bowl or basin of cold water. Make sure the tomatoes are fully submerged, changing the water every 30 minutes to ensure it remains cold. It should take about 1 to 3 hours for the tomatoes to thaw.
  3. Microwave (for Immediate Use): Transfer the frozen tomatoes to a microwave-safe container. Use the defrost setting, or low power setting and microwave the tomatoes in short 30-second to 1-minute intervals. Stir the tomatoes frequently to prevent them from cooking. Repeat until thawed.
  4. Cooking Directly from Frozen (if you're making a cooked dish): You can use frozen crushed tomatoes in a recipe while you are cooking, just add them directly to the pan while they are still frozen. As they begin to thaw, break them up with a wooden spoon.

Use within 3 days of defrosting. Refreezing tomatoes that have been thawed is not recommended unless they have been cooked into a dish first. Repeated freezing and thawing can affect the texture and flavor of the tomatoes.

🍝 Ways to Use Crushed Tomatoes

Use these homemade crushed tomatoes in sauces like this blush sauce for a nice, easy pasta dinner. Or use it to make chicken parmesan, meatballs, pizza, shrimp Diavolo or chili. Use it in soups to make a garden-fresh tomato basil soup or minestrone.

Make homemade tomato sauce by quickly sautéing these crushed tomatoes with olive oil, fresh garlic, and basil to make a dipping sauce for focaccia bread or mushroom fries.

The options are endless! Read ways to use crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce for a few more dinner ideas.

Whatever way you decide to use these crushed tomatoes; I hope you love them!

Recipe

A white dutch oven filled with homemade crushed tomatoes and a wooden spoon showing the texture of the tomatoes.

Easy Crushed Tomatoes at Home

This easy crushed tomatoes recipe is quick, low maintenance, and made for the freezer, so you don't have to worry about canning anything! No peeling necessary! Have lots of small tomatoes? Try making these easy roasted tomatoes for a rich sauce or spread.
4.67 from 9 votes

Click the stars to rate.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

*Easily adjust serving size to your liking by clicking the number under servings or with the boxes below in the ingredients section.

Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
cooling 1 hour hr
Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Course Condiments
Cuisine Italian
Servings 60 ounces
Calories 429 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch Oven or Stock Pot
  • 1 Potato Masher optional
  • Immersion Blender optional
  • 1 Chef's Knife
  • Freezer-Safe Containers or Mason Jars
  • wooden spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 16 cups Fresh Tomatoes diced
  • 1 tsp Salt or to taste
  • 1 stem Basil optional
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Instructions
 

  • Wash tomatoes, remove stems, and cut them into ½-inch chunks. They do not need to be precisely the same size, but they should be around the same size.
  • Add chopped tomatoes to a Dutch oven or stock pot. Place over medium-low heat with the lid on. Allow the tomatoes to come to a simmer and turn the heat to low. Add the basil, if desired.
  • Simmer for 45-60 minutes, on low, with the lid on, stirring occasionally. After a nice sauce has formed, crush the tomatoes with a potato masher. (To achieve a smoother sauce without the texture from the skin, use an immersion blender to puree it until completely smooth). If you prefer a concentrated sauce, simmer with the lid off for another 10-20 minutes or until the desired flavor is reached.
  • Allow to cool for 1 hour and store in mason jar or freezer-safe containers.

Notes

This recipe makes about 60 ounces.  You can adjust servings at the top of the recipe card.
If you can't stand the texture of the skin, you can blend these crushed tomatoes with an immersion blender. It will technically be a tomato puree or sauce, but it will still taste a million times better than canned tomatoes!

Storing Crushed Tomatoes:

Refrigerator: Store covered, in an airtight container like a mason jar, in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Freezer: Store in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers in the freezer for up to 1 year.

Nutrition

Calories: 429kcalCarbohydrates: 93gProtein: 21gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 2445mgPotassium: 5654mgFiber: 29gSugar: 63gVitamin A: 19911IUVitamin C: 327mgCalcium: 242mgIron: 6mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elyssa Sanchez

    January 02, 2025 at 4:46 pm

    2 stars
    I am so bummed out, I don’t know what I did wrong but mine is insanely watery and has a very bitter taste to it. I put the whole stem of the basil but other than that I followed the directions exactly.

    Reply
    • Suzie J.

      January 02, 2025 at 6:04 pm

      I'm sorry about your experience Elyssa. Unfortunately, January isn't the best time to make these crushed tomatoes from garden tomatoes. If the tomatoes have experienced some frost, they will be bitter to begin with, and it can be hard to remove the bitter flavor, even by turning them into a sauce. To balance the bitterness, you can add a little baking soda or sugar or both and let it cook down longer (lid off) to reduce the amount of water. Hope this helps! X Suzie

      Reply
  2. Niki

    August 24, 2024 at 9:21 am

    5 stars
    Great flavor from a great time saving recipe. Any size, any variety works and the recipe can easily be modified to fit the tomatoes I have on hand. I feeze in 15 oz can equivalents in vacuum sealed bags.

    Reply
    • Suzie J.

      September 07, 2024 at 8:44 am

      I'm so glad this recipe works for you, Niki! I LOVE that you freeze them in vacuum-sealed bags, that's brilliant! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
  3. Melissa D

    August 18, 2024 at 2:32 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for the confidence to finally do something with the giant basket of tomatoes from my garden! I cooked them down longer and blitzed them with an immersion blender at the end, but I’m so happy to have done something productive with the tomatoes instead of them going to waste.

    Reply
    • Suzie J.

      August 20, 2024 at 5:49 am

      You're welcome, Melissa! That's exactly why I created this recipe; I was tired of watching my beautiful tomatoes slowly rot. I'm glad I could help you! Thank you for your lovely review. Cheers, Suzie

      Reply
  4. Eric

    August 03, 2024 at 5:39 pm

    5 stars
    I've been using this as a base for my Italian tomato sauces. My wife grows tomatoes and we always have a ton. I found using an immersion blender instead of the masher helps break down the skins. Now if I can only get my wife to stop eating them before they're done.

    Reply
    • Suzie J.

      August 10, 2024 at 10:15 am

      Thank you, Eric! I use the immersion blender too when I don't want the skins' texture in the sauce. I will add this information to the recipe card to help anyone who wants to make these crushed tomatoes without the skin texture. I greatly appreciate your input and thank you for the wonderful review. Cheers! Suzie

      Reply
4.67 from 9 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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Hi, I'm Suzie!

I'm the recipe creator, photographer, and official taste tester here! I create everyday recipes inspired by dishes I've had from my favorite restaurants around Sonoma, Napa, and beyond.

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A group of different types of tomatoes on a white marble background.
Crushed tomatoes in a mason jar on a white marble background.
A white dutch oven filled with homemade crushed tomatoes and a wooden spoon showing the texture of the tomatoes.
A white dutch oven filled with homemade crushed tomatoes and a wooden spoon showing the texture of the tomatoes.

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