Canning Stewed Tomatoes

Personally, I use a lot of stewed tomatoes. I eat them as a side dish. I serve them on macaroni. I add them to chili.I add them to spaghetti sauce. I make a stew out of stewed tomatoes, black beans, and corn.

A nice feature is that you can have variety just by changing the spices. Add hot peppers and cumin and you have a batch of Mexican style stewed tomatoes. Add oregano and rosemary and you have a batch of Italian style stewed tomatoes.

I use enough of them that it is worthwhile gardening and owning a pressure canner, just to save on stewed tomatoes.


You can add celery to this recipe, or replace the bell pepper with celery.

Stewed Tomatoes (makes 3 quarts or 6 pints)

4 quarts coursely chopped tomatoes
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp basil
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp canning salt (optional)
2 Tbs sugar

Combine all ingredients, and cook until soft. Fill hot jars, leaving one inch headspace. Add lids and process with the pressure canner method. Process pints for 15 minutes, quarts for 20 minutes. For altitudes below 1,000 feet use 10 pounds pressure. Above 1,000 feet use 15 pounds pressure.