Easy Tomato Jam
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.
Get the Recipe: 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.
348 Comments on “Easy Tomato Jam”
I’m currently making my third batch since I found this recipe! I use it on sandwiches. I add it to sautéed vegetables. My favorite use is adding it to scrambled eggs. Thank you for sharing!
I love to hear this! Thank you so much for your comment!
Do you peel and seed the tomatoes?
I do no!
Delicious, especially with Bellavitano cheese! I wish I would have skinned the tomatoes first as I was fishing out lots of little sticks of curled skin. Also took at least an hour to simmer, and that was on medium heat stirring most of the time. Made two half pint jars—one for me & one for a neighbor.
So glad you loved it! I have to try that cheese!
Can I can the tomato jam with a water bath?
I haven’t tested it to say for sure.
I have a crop of cherry tomatoes so I tried you tomato jam. Everyone loves it!!! The sweet, the spicy….
I have A LOT of tomatoes and have already stocked my freezer full of stuff for the winter. Can I freeze the jam? I would make a huge batch!
Thanks.
So glad to hear that! You can definitely freeze the jam…..it’s always stocked in my freezer over the winter months.
The only downside to this is that now I am EXPECTED to make this for friends and neighbors because everyone loves it so much.
It’s always a hit….I’m so glad you tried it! Thank you for commenting and have a great day!
Just made this today with my bounty of Roma tomatoes. I peeled the tomatoes prior to cooking. I made the recipe exact and it is delicious. I put some on a cracker spread with cream cheese…yummy! I ended up with 2 cups.
Sounds wonderful with the cream cheese! Thank you so much for your comment.
This recipe looks amazing! My garden is producing SO many cherry tomatoes and I can’t wait to try this recipe! I think it will be awesome in the fall/winter with goat cheese and crackers, so I plan on freezing it. I do have a question though. The recipe calls for cored tomatoes, do I also need to seed the tomatoes? I only ask because I see seeds in the picture of your jam.
I just remove the core but leave the seeds because I’m lazy. LOL! I kind of like the texture of the seeds, too. Enjoy!
I am so glad I made this wonderful recipe! I was looking for a recipe that did not call for lemons, because I was out, and we live too far out in the country to run to the store for one ingredient! Our garden is producing more tomatoes than it ever has and I was desperate for tomato ideas. This jam is a hit with my husband, parents, and kids, I am already planning on making another batch! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your comment!
This was delicious! My mother in law said her mom used to make a spicy ketchup that was delicious — she still craves it but has never found anything similar. When I told her about your tomato jam recipe, she thought it could be that long-lost flavor she misses. I hope so!
What a great find! I hope she enjoys it!
Can this jelly( jam) be frozen?
Yes! It, actually, freezes beautifully!
Looks like I’m kind of late to the party. I was looking for a tomato jam recipe to use up ~12 oz. of Cherub cherry tomatoes that were past their prime. I found your recipe and followed it exactly only I cut down the ingredients to 1/3. I will say that I used my immersion blender after about 10 minutes…..it’s hard to core and seed cherry tomatoes. The house smells divine! Plan on putting it on grilled cheese for dinner tonight. I can think of many different uses for this jam. Goat cheese and toasted baguettes, toasted and buttered biscuits, maybe a dollop on cheese grits. Endless possibilities. Thanks.
Fashionably late. 🙂 So glad you found it and loved it as we do!
I’ll rate the recipe as soon as I’ve made it… Tomorrow. I’m using Xylitol and hope it turns out fabulous. The tomato jams disappeared from our shelves, it used to be such a South African thing!
I’ll keep you posted!
Corlia
Oh my gosh, this is so good. Had small yellow tomatoes to use up and bam tomato jam. Had about 2cups of tomatoes and just adjusted the amounts of everything else.
Thank you! What a great way to use up yellow tomatoes, too!
I made it twice in as many days. One with light brown sugar, one with Swerve. Both turned out perfectly. Will make it again with Swerve. I don’t need all that sugar. Couldn’t tell the difference in taste.
I’m so happy you posted about using Swerve! That’s wonderful to hear it worked well, so many others will find this useful, too. Thanks again!!
Hi.
I use both Swerve and Pyure and was curious if either of those would work.
Did you use powdered Swerve or granulated?
Did you make just the refrigerated or did you can with a water bath?
Thanks!
Hi! I’ve never tried it with a sugar substitute and I just refrigerated it.