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This sweet and sour Green Tomato Relish is the perfect way to use up end-of-season, green garden tomatoes.
We’ve been enjoying a warm, mild Fall season here in New England. With such warm weather over the last month, our backyard garden tomato plants have still been producing fruit – although most of the tomatoes were still green.
But cooler temps – and the first major frost – finally hit us this week. So, before the impending frost killed the garden, my husband Jack gathered up all of the green and slightly-ripe tomatoes off the vine. Then, he challenged me to come up with some way to cook with them.
We’ve made some great green tomato recipes already – a classic fried green tomato recipe, a creamy and delicious green tomato soup with Black Forest ham, and even a green tomato salsa recipe we were given by a neighbor. (All great options!)
Then I found this Green Tomato Relish recipe, and I decided to give it a try. We had quite a few green tomatoes to use up (7 pounds!) and this recipe makes a big batch. But if you have fewer green tomatoes on hand, feel free to cut this recipe back to make a smaller quantity.
Reader Review
“My husband and neighbors loved this relish. Husband is guarding last jar. Time to make more!!!” – Jan
How do you make Green Tomato Relish?
It’s actually quite easy! You’ll finely chop green tomatoes, red and green peppers, as well as yellow and red onions in a food processor. Place in a large strainer, then sprinkle with canning salt – a pure salt that doesn’t include any of the anti-caking ingredients that are in table salt. (Affiliate Link: You can buy canning salt online, but -FYI – a box is only a couple of dollars at stores like Walmart.) Let the vegetables drain for a few hours and give up their liquid.
Then simmer the chopped vegetable mixture in a pickling liquid of apple cider vinegar, sugar, celery seed and mustard. Once the mixture cooks and thickens (after about 30 minutes) ladle it into canning jars and process in a water bath for about 15 minutes.
A few helpful tips and tricks when making this Green Tomato Relish
- As mentioned above, this recipe makes a large batch (8 to 10 pints) so you’ll need a large stock pot for cooking the mixture. A 12-quart stock pot or dutch oven will work great.
- We really recommend using a food processor to finely chop the vegetables for this relish. (I suppose you could chop by hand – but it will take you a long time!) Even using a larger, 14-cup food processor, it took us several batches to chop all of vegetables.
- You’ll need a large strainer (even two!) to strain all of the vegetables of their liquid. We have a strainer similar to this one and it worked perfectly.
- Place the strainer over a taller bowl or pot, leaving enough space under the strainer so that the liquids will drain out below. Avoid having the bottom of strainer sit in the liquid – it will just slow the draining process.
- Use a large spoon or even a smaller, mesh strainer with handle to press the vegetables down in the strainer – this will release the liquid more quickly.
- The original recipe gave a yield of 8 pint jars – but we filled 10 pints of green tomato relish ourselves (our onions were very large) so have a few extra canning jars on hand, just in case the yield varies.
- This recipe is very forgiving – so you can change up the quantities of onions, peppers and tomatoes a bit, based on what you have on hand.
How do I serve Green Tomato Relish?
This Green Tomato Relish has a nice sweet and sour kick to it – so the sky’s the limit. It’s great on hot dogs or hamburgers (of course). I added a spoonful as a topping to tossed salad. And, another idea is to add relish to your favorite meatloaf recipe for a nice savory kick of flavor.
You may enjoy these other green tomato recipes:
- Peg’s Green Tomato Salsa
- Green Tomato Salsa Verde
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Green Tomato Soup with Black Forest Ham
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Green Tomato Relish
Ingredients
7 pounds green tomatoes (we used a variety of green cherry/grape, beefsteak and Roma tomatoes – no need to peel or remove the seeds), cut into quarters (cherry tomatoes can be left whole)
4 large yellow onions, skin and root ends removed and cut into wedges
2 large red onions, skin and root ends removed and cut into wedges
3 large green bell peppers, stem, seeds and core removed and cut into wedges
2 large red bell peppers, stem, seeds and core removed and cut into wedges
4 teaspoons canning salt
5 cups apple cider vinegar
4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons celery seed
4 teaspoons mustard seed
Instructions
In a food processor, process tomatoes, onions, and peppers in batches until finely chopped. (We found it easier to get more uniform chopping if we didn’t mix the vegetables together in the food processor.)
Combine vegetables in a large bowl and stir in canning salt. Divide the vegetable mixture in two large strainers, and place the strainers over a deep bowl to drain – being careful to avoid having the bottom of the strainer sit in the drained liquid.
Let the vegetables sit for about 3 hours to drain. If you’d like, use the back of a large spoon or the back of a smaller mesh strainer with handle, press on the vegetables and encourage them the drain more quickly.
Discard liquid that the vegetables released during the draining process. Pour drained vegetables in a large 12-quart stockpot. Add in vinegar, sugar, celery seed and mustard seed, then stir to combine.
Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a moderate simmer and cook uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring frequently. The mixture should be thickened with most of the liquids simmered off.
While the relish mixture is simmering, prepare a boiling water bath canner. Heat pint jars in simmering water until ready to use. Wash lids and bands, as well as a ladle and funnel with warm, soapy water. Set aside until ready to use.
Once the relish mixture has simmered and thickened, carefully ladle the hot relish into the prepared pint jars, leaving a ½-inch head space. Remove air bubbles and wipe rims clean. Place lids on the jars; screw on bands until finger tight.
Place jars in water bath canner with simmering water, making sure that the top of the jars are covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Carefully remove jars and cool on a rack – checking to make sure that the jars are sealed once cool.
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Gail says
Thankyou! The cold temps came b4 the tomatoes ripened and so I discovered your Green Tomato Relish!! Yumyum
Martha says
You’re welcome Gail – glad you enjoyed the relish!
Jessica says
Can you substitute white vinegar for the cider vinegar?
Martha says
No…white vinegar has a much harsher flavor and will impact the taste of the relish.
Jane says
I love this recipe – and I made the green tomato relish from the huge number of green tomatoes off my Roma tomato vine before the weather turned. I followed your recipe and used all the ingredients it called for except I didn’t have the exact spices and had to use pickling spices that I had on hand. It turned out great and tastes so good. I have 12 jelly jar sized jars full and a quart jar. Anyway, thanks for the recipe and for being very explicit on how to do it. It was easy and even without the exact canning tools I was able to get it done and had a lot of fun doing it.
Martha says
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Jane!
Natalie Brown says
I used half the amount of sugar and it was still sickly sweet… 4 cups of sugar should’ve sent red flags up… What a waste of all my ingredients and money! It was inedible.
Martha says
Sorry you were disappointed Natalie.
Katie says
Such an awesome way to use up green tomatoes from the late-season garden! Recipe is great and cans beautifully. We especially love this relish on top of crockpot pinto beans and also as a hot dog topping.
Martha says
Thanks Katie!
Beth Gardener says
Great recipe for my abundance of veggies from my garden. Great flavor.
Martha says
Thanks Beth!
Stella says
I have similar recipe but I also add cauliflower which gives it that crunch
Martha says
Thanks for the suggestion Stella!
Steven Alexander says
Just finishing the final simmer. This tastes wonderful. We have 12 pint jars ready to fill and 2 qt. Just in case. Thanks for a easy to read recipe as this made a first timer doing this at ease. Thanks again.
Now only 10 more pounds to go!
Martha says
You’re very welcome Steven (that’s a lot of tomatoes!)
Chris says
This taste just like my grandma used to make. I’ve give 3 jars away and they all loved it. I added 4 whole jalapeños and it’s almost perfect
Martha says
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Chris!
Joetta Ayers says
This was very simple to make and the taste was delicious.
Martha says
Thanks Joetta!