Garden, Recipes, Vegetables

Drowning in Tomatoes? Here are 11 Ways to Use Your Harvest!

It’s easy to get caught up in growing a ton of tomatoes. They’re a garden favourite and growing multiple varieties seems like an easy decision. But as it gets late in the season you can become overwhelmed with tomatoes that you need to use. And there’s a lot of them that you want to avoid going to waste. Sometimes a slice of tomato on bread just won’t cut it.

So, if you have too many tomatoes and you don’t know what to do with them, this is for you. Whether you have too many cherry, beefsteak or paste tomatoes, you’ll find a recipe that works for you. All of these recipes allow you to make large batches that will last you through winter and they range from easy ways to use your tomatoes to more time consuming, or require a bit of knowledge. No matter your skillset or tomato variety, if you have too many tomatoes you’ll find an option here.

Choosing the Right Tomato Variety for the Right Recipe

principe borghese tomato growing, red ripe cherry tomatoes

Although tomatoes are super versatile, there are certain varieties that do best for certain recipes. Principe Borghese is a great variety for sun-drying because they are a sweet tomato that holds its flavour when dried. Paste tomatoes have less seeds in them which makes them great for tomato sauce, paste, ketchup, juice and soup. However, you can use any type of tomato you have on hand in many of these recipes.

When we grew White Currants, we used them in our tomato soup because we couldn’t keep up with the harvest. Even though they’re small cherry tomatoes loaded with seeds, it still turned out great. So don’t think you have the wrong tomato, when it’s all about experimenting and preference.

1. Bruschetta

This is always a fun option if you’re hosting anyone for dinner or lunch. Even if it’s just for you, you can make it and keep it in the fridge to use over multiple days. Bruschetta is simple to make with just a few simple ingredients that can also be grown in your garden.

All you need is tomatoes, basil, garlic, oil, salt and some balsamic vinegar and you have an amazing bread topping!

2. Tomato Soup

I love making tomato soup – and you can use any tomato variety you want. When I’m drowning in tomatoes I always turn to tomato soup since you can freeze it for future meals. I prefer to broil my tomatoes first to give it that extra flavour. I find the process of preparing tomatoes to broil simple, so it’s easy to get them in the oven and avoid procrastinating.

When you bring your tomatoes in from the garden you just have to pull off the stem, give them a rinse and stick them on a baking sheet with some garlic, olive oil and salt. Once they’re nicely browned you can throw them in a soup pot and blend them to a puree. Here’s a tomato soup recipe that is similar to the one I use and you can see just how easy it is!

3. Salsa

a food processor is filled with homemade, garden fresh salsa

Salsa is a great way to use up your tomatoes and you can either make it as a chunky salsa, a pico de gallo or a pureed salsa. Broiling the vegetables first is a great way to boost the flavour and you don’t need to know how to can or preserve in order to make salsa.

You can also make salsa and can it – just make sure you find a reputable recipe to use to ensure that you follow all safety precautions.

Continue growing your garden knowledge

4. Sun-dried Tomatoes

a hand holds a sun-dried tomato that is fully dried

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This is my favourite way to use tomatoes and I grow Principe Borghese tomatoes specifically to dry. There are two ways you can process them, totally dry in a jar or you dehydrate them and partially rehydrate them in oil to store.

Sundried tomatoes are super expensive in the grocery store which means that drying them at home is a great way to use up your extra tomatoes, and save a bunch of money. I have the Cosori dehydrator, I chose it because of the amount of shelves it has, which means I can dry a lot of tomatoes at once. It also is almost completely plastic free making it a sustainable appliance that will last a long time.

5. Tomato or Pasta Sauce

a woman holds a jar of tomato sauce with 6 jars infront of her that she made from water bath canning

Making tomato sauce was one of those things that I wanted to learn so badly but was always nervous to do. However, once I learned, I realized how easy it actually is! Making tomato sauce is one of the best ways to use a ton of tomatoes. You can make tomato sauce and freeze it, rather than can it if you don’t want to can your tomatoes. However, making sauce allows you to have food for months, and saves some money on groceries.

If you’re new to tomato sauce and want to learn how to make and can it, you can watch my step by step video below. It’s the perfect video for beginners as it covers every step, and every question, you could think of.

6. Ketchup

Who doesn’t love ketchup? Maybe your family goes through a ton of it – so why not make your own at home. The nice thing about ketchup is you can use it fresh or frozen. If you’re worried about shelf life or you want to make a bulk batch, freezing it allows you to make a large portion to use for later.

7. Tomato Paste

Although tomato paste is cheap to buy, making your own uses up a lot of your tomatoes and allows you to always have it on hand. Certain varieties of tomatoes will make your paste taste better, so look for varieties like Roma or San Marzano to give you that punch of flavour.

Since you’re making a paste, it means that you need a lot of tomatoes, and time. So make sure to plan for an afternoon of making the paste since it requires time to remove all of the water to get that thick consistency.

8. Canned Whole Tomatoes

If you don’t have a ton of time to make tomato sauce or tomato paste, you can also can tomatoes whole. Peeling them first is helpful, which can be done quickly by cutting an X in the skin and boiling them. The skin will peel off quite quickly after a short boil. From here you can can them whole, or even diced. Use a reputable recipe to ensure food safety guidelines are followed and then you’ll have whole tomatoes to use for curries or soup later in the year.

9. Freeze Them Whole

two clear bags sit on a green cloth. Both are filled with whole, frozen tomatoes

Okay, this is the easiest way to deal with a boatload of tomatoes because you can just throw them straight into the freezer. You don’t need to do anything to them but if you have the energy, removing the stem and coring huge beefsteaks is helpful for later on when you want to use them.

10. Tomato Juice

If you are someone who enjoys tomato juice then why not make some! If you make cocktails, or enjoy it in the morning then you can make juice to use up your harvest. Again, you can make tomato juice and freeze it if you want to make a bulk amount or you can make it in batches as your tomatoes ripen.

11. Give them away

Giving garden harvests away to friends, neighbours or the food bank is one of the greatest joys of gardening.

“Not to brag but… I grew that”

Having fresh produce that is local and organic isn’t in reach for many people. When you gift your produce to others, you are showing them the value of gardening and what it can offer them! You can also check with your local food bank to see if they are in need of fresh produce and you can drop it off there as well. Gifting food to others is a great way to use up your excess harvests.

Enjoy your tomato harvest and congratulations on having so much to harvest!