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”
Can you make tomato jam with canned tomatoes
I haven’t tried it but my educated guess would be yes! Now you have me intrigued….definitely going to test this out soon.
Just made this and it’s amazing. You’re right it won’t last. I’ve loads more tomatoes so will have to make another batch. I omitted the cloves, not a fan, reminds me of old fashioned dentists
I’m so glad you loved it….and ha, ha with the cloves!! That’s a very good point. 🙂
How can the tomato jam recipe be adapted to a canned product that will last in your fruit cellar rather for 10 days or so in the fridge?
I haven’t canned this recipe so I can’t be sure.
Made this twice now and it’s super dee-lish, exactly as stated: sweet, savory, tangy. Amazing with veggie burgers and eggs especially!
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m so happy you loved it!
I am going to try your easy tomato jam recipe but note that no pectin is required?
No pectin! I try not to use it in any of my jam recipes so this is more of a refrigerator jam in that it tightens up when it’s chilled.
Have this on my stove right now – never heard of it til I googled “what to do with excess tomatoes!” One thing I may have done wrong – I voted them as I would normally do which I thought meant to just remove the stem & core but in one post you said to remove seeds which I didn’t do – hoping it still works!
It will still work….just with seeds which isn’t a problem at all. 🙂
This is soooo good! I literally had tears of joy when I ate it. It’s delicious!
Yay! I love recipes that create tears of joy!!! I’m so glad you liked it.
Do you peel the tomatoes?
It depends on my mood.
A-MAZING ! I have tons of tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes, so that’s what I used. After simmering awhile, I just used an imersion blender to blend up the skins. Love it ! I’ll definitely be making it again and trying the Romas and big tomatoes too.
I will definitely try with cherry tomatoes! Thank you for your comment!
This is really great. I canned it, used Pomona’s Universal Pectin, I will add the Pomona’s earlier next time to reduce the fluid reduction. Oh we also halved sugar, tripled ginger, jalapenos(no seeds added), doubled spices (except cumin) and lime. : )
Thank you so much for your tips! I love seeing how everyone is making this recipe their very own. Bravo! Love the jalapeno addition!!!
Just made the tomato jam,so good .Tomato jam.
Thank you!
This is soooo good. I would love to can it. How would you do that?
Just using a standard water bath canning method would work.
Amazing! This was my first time ever making tomato jam and I will be making it again soon! I ate it on some grilled chicken with goat cheese and I spread the jam on top! Amazing!! Thank you!
What a great way to enjoy it! I’ll be trying that for sure!
This jam tastes delicious, but the tomatoes are in terrible need of blanching and peeling before using.
Some tomatoes may have a thicker skin requiring you to peel them but most plum tomatoes or smaller tomatoes do not require that step.
Would it be ok to use frozen tomatoes?
Thanks.
Yes! You can definitely use frozen tomatoes.