How to Peel Frozen Tomatoes (the easiest way)

Use this simple trick to peel frozen tomatoes, so you can use them in homemade tomato sauce, tomato soup or spaghetti sauce. No food mill required! 

Anyone who grows their own tomato plants has faced overwhelm during tomato season. Homegrown tomatoes are wonderful to have on hand, but the fruit doesn't wait for anyone.

Regardless of the tomato variety, fruits won't last long on the vine...or in the house. 

When you're dealing with a large amount of tomatoes, there isn't always time to peel and preserve the fruits before they spoil. 

This is particularly true if you use the "old school" method of peeling tomatoes. 

The old method involves blanching whole tomatoes in a boiling water bath, plunging them into cold water, then removing the peel before canning or saucing. 

It takes a lot of time and effort. 

If you want to use your tomatoes for making tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato soup or even tomato juice, our modern-day freezers will make the job a lot easier! 

Better yet, it entirely eliminates the need for a food mill. 

Helpful tip: freezing the tomato harvest is an easy way to put up pounds and pounds of tomatoes, so you can make sauce later in the winter season. 

I teach you all about freezing tomatoes in my article: How to Freeze Whole Tomatoes Without Peeling

If you need to peel tomatoes for making sauce, it's time you learned how to freeze whole tomatoes and peel the fruits by hand when they thaw!

​This is especially helpful if you don't have a good food mill.

Best Way to Freeze & Peel A Lot of Tomatoes

Let me give you a quick summary of how it works: 1) take whole tomatoes, 2) remove the stem end, 3) toss fresh tomatoes into freezer bags and 4) drop them into the deep freeze. 

When you want to use them in a recipe or make a big batch of sauce for canning?

Pull frozen tomatoes from the freezer and let them thaw for 30 minutes or so.

I should mention that you do still want your tomatoes to be frozen for this procedure. If the tomatoes get too soft, you'll have a juicy mess on your hands!

Run the fruit under hot water, and you can pull the skin away using your fingers.

Just like that, tomato skins will slip off and you'll have a beautifully peeled tomato! 

No boiling water on the stove. No blanching. No ice baths. 

Really, it's a no-hassle way to go prepare tomatoes for saucing.

Why Peel Tomatoes for Homemade Sauce?

You don't have to peel tomatoes before making sauce. I teach you how to skip peeling altogether in my tutorial: How to Make Homemade Tomato Sauce with Frozen Tomatoes

My guess is that peeling tomatoes became popular on account of home canning. If you preserve whole or halved tomatoes in the water bath canner without peeling the fruit, you'll end up with very tough skin that rolls up and is almost impossibly to chew.

So folks pre-peeled their tomatoes. 

But when you're making tomato sauce, pasta sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato soup or anything else "saucy-like," you can freeze, peel and sauce. It's as simple as that! 

How to Peel Frozen Tomatoes

1. Pull whole tomatoes from the freezer and place them in a large bowl. 
2. Let them sit on your kitchen counter to thaw for about 30 minutes (time is very flexible). 
3. Take a tomato in hand and run it under hot water at the kitchen sink. 
4. For easy peeling, use your fingers to pull the smooth skin away from the tomato flesh.
5. Set the peeled tomato aside and continue to work your way through the batch. 

How to Make Sauce with Peeled Tomatoes

​How do you make sauce with peeled tomatoes? It's easy!

1. Place peeled tomatoes in a large pot. There's no need to add water. 
2. Warm tomatoes on the stove under medium heat.
3. Cover with a lid and stir every so often to avoid burning. 
4. Heat until the tomatoes are bubbling and you know they are warm throughout. 
5. Let tomatoes slightly cool, then run everything (tomatoes and juices) through a kitchen blender to puree (you can also mash them by hand with an old fashioned potato masher).
6. When everything has been pureed, cook the sauce down on your stove under medium heat, until you reach the desired thickness. 
7. You can refreeze the sauce, dehydrate it or preserve in mason jars in the canner. 

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Commonly Asked Questions 

Is it possible to freeze and peel any type of tomato? 

Yes, it is. Just remember that peeling tomatoes does take time, so it makes more sense to peel big roma tomatoes, vs tiny cherry tomatoes! 

Can I freeze and peel tomatoes from the grocery store or farmer's market?

Yes, as long as you're dealing with a ripe tomato, the freeze-now-peel-later technique should work. 

Does it work to freeze and peel tomatoes that ripened indoors?

Absolutely! Gardeners who live in colder climates often bring green tomatoes indoors at the first threat of frost, because tomatoes will continue to ripen inside at room temperature.

As they turn red, you can pop them into freezer bags and freeze. When all the tomatoes have ripened, you can make big batches of tomato sauce and preserve it in the canner or freezer.

Of course, you can also prepare the sauce as you need it, if desired.

If I want to pre-peel my tomatoes before freezing, how would I do that?

Don't do it. 🙂 There really isn't any reason to pre-peel tomatoes before freezing.

Frozen tomatoes are very soft when thawed, so they aren't suitable for canning whole, in halves or even for homemade salsa. All you can really use them for is a sauce, soup base or tomato juice and it's much easier to peel them after they've been frozen.

Do I need to pre-peel my tomatoes if I'm going to use a food mill?

No. If you're using a food mill, just let your tomatoes thaw until they're soft throughout, then run them through your food mill. The mill will catch the seeds and skin for you.