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Tomatoes cooked down until sticky sweet, this Easy Tomato Jam is simple to make. Tangy, sticky and perfect for entertaining. All you need is a little time, patience and some will-power….so you don’t eat the whole batch all by yourself.
It’s raining tomatoes. At least in my area it is. I found this amazing, secret farm stand just around the corner from my house about a month or two ago…..just in time for the end of summer.
And I’ve lived here for two years now, this is the first I ever stumbled upon it. I really need to open my eyes when I drive around, I’m missing out on all kinds of things…like a cheese shop that I keep driving by and everyone says is fabulous.
But I have yet to venture inside because I’m afraid I may never leave. I mean, it’s a cheese shop. The only thing better than a cheese shop would be a butter shop and I haven’t come across one of those yet.
Back to the farm stand….they sell a bazillion tomatoes and every time I show up they have bushels of them for $5. Yes, $5. FIVE DOLLARS! It’s crazy, so I’ve been whipping up sauce, all kinds of sauce…Bolognese Sauce, Stovetop Marinara, you name it.
I shipped some off to Penn State this weekend….it was a Vodka sauce and now that I think about it, I should have shot some photos and posted the recipe for you. I’ll add it to the ever-growing list of things I want to share with all of you…my lovely internet friends.
Because you ARE my friends….you keep coming back here to eat with me and listen (um….watch…read?) to me yammer on about crazy stuff that’s going on in my present, past and possible future. See….I’m off track again.
Since my freezer is adequately stocked for winter like we’re a family squirrels (except tomatoes instead of nuts…because we’re already nuts) I had to do something with the 30 bushels of tomatoes sitting around.
I whipped up a tomato and goat cheese crostata and paired it with a fresh bloody mary, then I imagined myself eating a crisp, buttery cracker topped with goat cheese and tomato jam. The problem, I didn’t have tomato jam so I played around with a recipe I had printed out a while ago with every intention of making it…canning it…and squirreling it away for winter. Let me tell you this….there’s no need to can it.
What is Tomato Jam? (Or tomato marmalade for that matter.)
Tomato jam is a sweet spread made with fresh tomatoes, sugar and a bit of spices. It’s cooked down to a jammy consistency and is perfect on top of that avocado toast everyone is posting on Instagram lately.
How do you make a Sweet Tomato Jam recipe?
Much different than a Savory Tomato Jam, which reminds me of a tomato sauce that’s overly thick, this sweet tomato jam is earthy and tangy and sticky and sweet.
You simply stir together the tomatoes, sugar and spices then cook down for a bit until it’s thick, sticky and….well, sweet. You can do this with regular tomatoes or make a cherry tomato jam recipe just the same way with those cute as a button cherry or grape tomatoes.
Why, you ask? Because it’s so good (and doesn’t make that much to begin with) you will eat all of this Easy Tomato Jam before it has a chance to go bad. And it’s so simple, with easy to find ingredients….it has a little kick to it from cayenne pepper and a beautiful spice from fresh ginger.
It goes swimmingly with the goat cheese I mentioned a little while ago and it would be amazing on some avocado toast for a quick, healthy breakfast. You really should make this very soon….really….go…go now.
If you’re not really in the tomato mood then you should DEF try this Easy Orange Marmalade recipe, it’s like the best ever with a little hint of vanilla OR whip up this super simple Strawberry jam, it’s so amazing and so incredibly easy. The the best ever refrigerator jam. And this FIG Jam is always a hit….great to save for the winter months as an epic freezer jam.
And I just used up the rest of the summer blueberries for this EASY Blueberry Jam that’s going in the freezer until winter. Cause I’m a planner like that….for now.
Easy Tomato Jam
Ingredients
- 2 pounds very good ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped, ( I used roma tomatoes)
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a heavy bottom saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from burning.
- Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of jam. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Would it be possible to use canned tomatoes? Unfortunately all I have at the moment. This looks fantastic!
Hi Sarah, I never tried it with canned tomatoes so I can’t be sure but if I were to try it, I would use whole plum tomatoes and drain them, squeeze out the juice/seeds and then go from there. You’ll definitely have to cook it much longer since they have more moisture to reduce down.
I have cherry tomatoes and am wondering if I need to core them?
Nope! If you use cherry tomatoes you can just toss them in to the pot. They may need to cook a little longer to get the jammy consistency but they’ll still work and taste just as amazing.
Made this today and absolutely love it! This was perfect on toast for breakfast. Excellent spice profile. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Omg wow this stuff is so amazing! I wasn’t sure what I was getting into but I was pleasantly surprised. Currently preparing myself a late night snack of leftover rotisserie chicken as an excuse to eat some of this jam
I followed the recipe as written except I left out Cloves as I didn’t have any.
Love! I’m so happy you liked it!
Absolutely LOVE this jam!!! We’ve never heard of it until I found this recipe. I am making a send batch using our cherry tomatoes from our garden.
I’m so happy you like it! It is a gem, for sure.
HELP! I’ve used a combination of Roma and heirloom tomatoes and I cooked it for about 3 hours. I’ve refrigerated it… and it still did not set. Any hints?
Heirloom tomatoes take much longer to cook down. You have to cook it until it starts to thicken. You can put a plate in the freezer for 15 minutes and then put a drop of jam on it. If it sets up, it’s ready.
Followed as directed. Consistency is perfect. Way too spicy for my taste. Anything I can do after it’s been reduced to sweeten it? Thanks!
Hi Kristi, Unfortunately, after it’s jam consistency there’s not much else you can do. My suggestion is to make another batch without any spices and then do a half spicy and half not spicy mixture when you transfer to your jar. Or just find your favorite fruit jam and blend in a bit of that. I’m sorry you found it to be too spicy.
Hi Kellie~ thanks for your reply. The jam lost some of its spiciness after a few days. Super tasty! I made the recipe again according to directions and can’t wait to share it.
LOVED this recipe!
Can it be used as freezer jam without any adjustments?
We do freeze it with great results and no modifications are needed.
I thought this recipe would make more than it did. It doesn’t say how much it makes after you cook it down it only makes 1- pint sad because it tastes so good now I have to start all over again to make more
Hi Tim, I didn’t give an end amount because every tomato will cook down differently so it’s hard to make promises. I’m happy you liked it enough to make another batch though. Enjoy!
So delish!! Would I be able to waterbath can this?
Hi Crissy! I haven’t tested it for canning so I’m not comfortable giving you an answer on that but we do freeze it!