Tomato Jam is both savory and sweet with a deep rich flavor. Chunks of fresh tomatoes are cooked down into an incredibly luscious jam!
Making this easy and delicious Tomato Jam is an annual ritual at our house.
We typically cook up a batch every summer, when we have an abundance of tomatoes from our backyard garden. We eat some of the jam right away and can the rest – always thinking that those jars will last us all winter and spring until tomato season arrives once again.
But our Tomato Jam is so delicious we always go through it much quicker than we anticipate!
Why is Tomato Jam so good?
Tomato jam is both savory and sweet with deep rich color, and flavors reminiscent of a chunky gourmet ketchup or a tomato chutney – but SO MUCH better!
Tomatoes and onions are slowly cooked down in a mixture of granulated and brown sugars, cider and balsamic vinegars, lemon juice, salt, coriander and cumin. We also add a generous amount of chopped basil to the mixture which really sends this Tomato Jam over the top.
Your taste buds won’t know what hit them after your first taste. Tomato Jam is fantastic on lots of foods: burgers and hot dogs, grilled steak and pork chops, buttered English muffins, or even baked into these buttermilk corn muffins as a savory-sweet filling. I also think this would great on a grilled cheese sandwich, or with crackers and cheese on a charcuterie board.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Fresh tomatoes – We show Roma tomatoes in our photos below, but any fresh tomato can be used in this recipe, including small cherry or grape tomatoes.
- Sugar – We add both white granulated and brown sugar to the jam mixture. Both add sweetness, while the brown sugar adds a deeper, molasses-like caramelization.
- Lemon Juice – A splash of lemon juice brightens sweetened tomatoes.
- Apple Cider Vinegar & Balsamic Vinegar – Each vinegar helps balance the overall flavors of the jam, and the balsamic vinegar adds depth and richness.
- Spices – A combination of ground cumin and coriander adds more depth of flavor.
- Fresh Basil – The flavors of fresh basil and tomatoes go so nicely together, and this jam is no exception. Don’t skimp on flavor by using dried basil – it won’t be the same.
How do you make Tomato Jam?
- If using larger tomatoes, blanch, peel and de-seed them before roughly chopping. Then place the tomatoes in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. If you are using cherry or grape tomatoes – just add them to the pot – skin, seeds and all. (The tender skins will cook down, giving the Tomato Jam a nice chunky consistency.)
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot – chopped onions, fresh basil, both sugars, both vinegars, cumin, coriander, salt, and lemon juice.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for two or three hours (or more if needed – juicier tomatoes will need more time) until the mixture reduces to a thick jam. Be sure to stir fairly frequently so the mixture doesn’t burn.
- Once reduced and thickened, you should have about four cups of Tomato Jam in the pot. Note that the jam will thicken more once it’s chilled.
- Ladle into eight-ounce jars and refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Or, ladle into sterilized jars and can for longer storage. (We used the water bath method and boiled for ten minutes.)
Frequently Asked Questions
- My jam has reduced but it doesn’t seem “jammy”. Is that going to be a problem? No – as mentioned above, the jam thickens more once it is chilled. There is no pectin in this recipe so the consistency is more like a thick relish than a fruit jam. As long as you’ve reduced the liquids, you should be good!
- Can I make this Tomato Jam with canned tomatoes instead of fresh? We haven’t tried making this jam with canned tomatoes ourselves, so I can’t say for sure how this jam will turn out. I suspect you’d need to make some other adjustments to the recipe to make it taste the same.
- Can I freeze this jam instead of canning? We haven’t tried freezing this jam ourselves – but it could work. (I’d suggest try it with a small batch first to see how it thaws.)
- Can I make Tomato Jam in a slow cooker? No, this won’t work in a slow cooker. Since a slow cooker is a covered cooking vessel, it won’t allow the liquids to reduce to the jam consistency that you want.
This post originally appeared on A Family Feast in August 2013. We’ve updated the photos and post but the delicious recipe remains the same. (Scroll down to read all of the rave reviews!)
You may enjoy these other tomato recipes:
- Green Tomato Relish
- Italian Tomato Sauce
- Tomato Pie
- Stewed Tomatoes
- Poached Cod with Tarragon and Cherry Tomatoes
Tomato Jam
Tomato Jam is both savory and sweet with a deep rich flavor. Chunks of fresh tomatoes are cooked down into an incredibly luscious jam!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 tablespoons 1x
- Category: condiment
- Method: simmered
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
4 pounds plum tomatoes, or other tomato varieties such as grape or cherry
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup sweet onion such as Vidalia, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 cup cider vinegar
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
Juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Clean tomatoes, removing any stems. Cut an X in each tomato end with a sharp knife.
- Prepare an ice water bath.
- Bring four quarts of water to a boil in a non stick pot. Keep the heat on full and drop the tomatoes in. When the skin starts to peel, remove them to the ice bath. Empty the water, you will reuse the pot.
- Work over a sheet pan and peel the skins off the tomatoes. Then squeeze the stem end to pop out the stem. (It’s a squeeze, twist and pull motion to remove the stem. Depending on the variety of tomatoes, you may also need to squeeze out the seeds.) Roughly chop the tomatoes and place them back into the dry pot.
- Add all of the other ingredients to the chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Lift the pot up and place a heat diffuser down, then set the pot back over the diffuser. Cook the mixture for about two to three hours or until it reduces to a thick jam. Make sure you don’t let it burn. The cooking time depends on the amount of liquid in the variety of tomatoes you use so the timing is not an exact science however the finished product will be about 4 cups (one quart).
- Store in 8 ounce glass canning jars (follow complete canning steps shown here) or store in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Oh my, this is an awesome recipe! I added a little more onion and also tried chopped garlic. anxious to try it. I absolutely love the tomato jam. Kuddos!
Thanks Kim!
Can minced garlic be added to this recipe if I am canning it?
I’m not sure Kim. There are lots of different articles online about canning garlic – some say it should not be canned, some say only if the garlic pickled, etc. It all has to do with the acidity level and safe canning practices. You could try calling Ball Canning for more expert advice but from what we’ve read, canning garlic can be problematic. (I’m also not sure if adding garlic to this jam will taste very good.)
I love this recipe and have been using it for 3 seasons now. I ended up making a double batch and gave them as Christmas gifts. Everyone that tries it LOVES it!!!
Thanks so much Tracy!
Please disregard my question. I read through the entire recipe. However once I got to the actual water and blanching directions I completely forgot the top saying the cherry tomatoes can just be thrown in skins and all.
Let us know if you have any other questions Crystal!
When using cherry or grape tomatoes, do they also get skinned after blanching or can the skins be left on?
Hello, I’m eager to try this recipe, but it’s past tomato season. Can you recommend a canned tomato to use instead of fresh?
Thanks,
Jenny
Hi Jenny – We’ve only made this recipe with fresh tomatoes. I can’t say for sure how it will come out with canned tomatoes. Sorry we can’t be more help.
We made this today – it is sooo good! And pretty. Even my picky mom loved it. I used a mix of red and green tomatoes, replaced balsamic with balsamic drizzle, because that’s all I had, and added red pepper flakes. I let it simmer for 3 hours; it reduced and thickened nicely. The recipe filled 5 – 8 oz jars.
So glad you enjoyed the jam Jennifer!
can’t wait to make the tomato jam.
Hope you love the jam Shirley!
This stuff is AMAZING! I only had enough to make half a batch with tomatoes from my potted plants and I didn’t have any fresh basil but it turned out great. I’m getting ready to make a big batch. Thank you so much for this recipe, I’m sure to be using it for years.
Thanks Nora – so glad you enjoy the jam as much as we do!
As I’m allergic to balsamic vinegar can I just double the cider vinegar or just leave it out? Thank you for the recipe and your attention to my problem.
Hi Heather – The balsamic vinegar adds a rich sweetness to the jam. After searching around for alternatives for you, you can use either more apple cider or red wine vinegar, plus a teaspoon of brown sugar, sugar or honey to offset the lost sweetness from leaving out the balsamic vinegar. Hope that helps!