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 this be “processed”, hot water bath for how long? Self life?
We keep it in the refrigerator or you can freeze it for up to 5 months. I haven’t tested it for water bath canning.
Can you can this for the winter
I haven’t tested it for canning but I have frozen it for the winter.
I have made a double batch of this every year for 3 years at least- it’s EXCEPTIONAL!
About to try the recipe until I read that it’s only good for 10 days? Or is that after it’s been opened?
That’s after it’s been opened. We keep our’s for about a month or even more but for safety reasons I would recommend using your best judgment after 10 days. You’ll probably use all of it before that time. 🙂
It’s still cooking. The finger taste is super delish! Are we supposed to keep the lid off of the pot? Thanks for this recipe and beautiful pictures of your food!! 🙂 I’m so excited. The spices are spot on for my taste buds.
Hi! Yes, I don’t put a lid on the pot so it cooks down faster.
I made this last year and used it for a pizza sauce. Love it !! Making enough this year to can some up for later.
That’s a great suggestion to use as pizza sauce! Holy YUM!
I am not a great cook, but even for me this was super simple to make ! Thank you !
You’re very welcome! So happy you liked it!
This recipe is amazing! First time trying tomato jam and making it. Will definitely make more to share because I can eat ALL of this by myself! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for trying it!
I have been looking for a recipe to match the Tomato Jam that is used on top of the Quiche Lorraine at the 1886 Bakery in Austin. I’m so excited to have found this recipe! The only change I made was replacing the ginger for crushed garlic. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much! That sounds amazing on quiche.
Is it possible to make tomato jam without seeds? I would love to have this but can’t have seeds or nuts. Thank you
You could scoop them out with a spoon before you cook the tomatoes. It’s easy to do but does take a bit of time.
Tomato jam is so delicious. I had it for the first time recently on a lamb burger
It is amazing!
I have a bag of baby plum tomatoes I want to use to try this recipe – do I still need to core them? Sounds so delicious I can’t wait to try this
I would still remove the core, it may not break down enough when you cook the jam.
I followed the recipe completely, I used 2 lbs of small yellow pear tomatoes.
The tomatoes were frozen whole from last fall.
I had to cook them down for about 2.5 hours. My wife loves this jam!
Not to mention how pretty it looks in the jars.
Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you for trying it! I have found that frozen tomatoes take a little longer to cook down. Enjoy!
I need something for a Christmas potluck at work. Do you think this would be good if I mixed cream cheese and goat cheese together (just goat cheese might be too strong for some people) then poured the tomato jam on top (and have extra on the side) and sprinkled with some chives or green onions? I’d have crackers on the side for spreading the cheese/jam on.
YES!!!! That would be so amazing. Enjoy!
I made this yesterday completely as written. Very tasty! I’ll be putting it on top of your mini cheesecakes. I noticed that the skins of the tomato are a bit on the non editable side. Would it be wise to remove the skins first? I could have possibly cooked the jam longer but it was the perfect consistency. Any suggestions?