If you’re an avid gardener like me, you may find yourself in a similar situation as I do this time of year – we grew way too many tomatoes, and I’m tired of making sauce.  It’s been record level hot here in Southern California for the past week, so the thought of having tomato sauce simmering away on my stove for hours on end sounded downright unpleasant.  So, what’s a girl to do with her bumper crop of cherry tomatoes?  Pop em in the freezer and deal with them later – that’s what.

I discovered this method through an Instagram account that I follow for gardening ideas (shout out to Cheryl of mybrentwoodgarden for this great idea!).  Ever since this discovery, this has become my go-to method for saving cherry tomatoes for later.  It truly couldn’t be easier – just wash and dry your cherry tomatoes, take all of the tops off, toss them in a Ziploc bag, and toss the bag in the freezer.  The tomatoes will freeze into little rock-hard gems ready to be turned into soups or sauce in the dead of winter.  I love this no-cook tomato storage solution, and I’m very excited at the thought of using my frozen cherry tomatoes long after my plants are done for this year.

This method works best if you are planning on cooking the tomatoes after the freezer, by making a quick sauce or using them as a pizza topping.  I wouldn’t plan on thawing these and eating them raw, as I’m sure they will release a good amount of water upon thawing and would probably have a bit of a different texture compared to fresh.  So, plan on using these for future cooking and not snacking, and you’ll be good to go!

I just wanted to hop on and share this idea here on the blog in case anyone else out there is at their wits end with tomato preservation for the year!  I’ll include some recipes down below that would be great to use your frozen tomatoes in for some inspiration.  In the meantime, get to freezing those extra cherry tomatoes, friends!

Try making these items with your frozen cherry tomatoes!  Click the link to access the recipes:

• Recipe: Simple Summer Tomato Sauce
• Recipe: Tomato Sauce from Scratch
• Recipe: Butterflied Chicken Breast with Tomatoes and Onions
• Recipe: Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner with Roasted Cauliflower, Fennel, and Tomatoes
• Recipe: Garlicky Chard with Tomatoes
• Recipe: Potato Tomato Pizza with Caramelized Onions
• Recipe: Italian Sausage Ragu