How to Peel Tomatoes for Canning | Boiling Water Blanch

I have peeled a lot of tomatoes in my lifetime! Peeling tomatoes for canning is a pretty common event in my kitchen. Blanching in boiling water is one tried and true method.

In this short video, I’ll show you exactly how to blanch and peel tomatoes step-by-step. No fancy tools, just simple kitchen basics to make your canning day go smoother.

Links Mentioned in the Video:

• Stock pots
• Polder blanching basket

Peeling Tomatoes with Blanching: The traditional Method

Why Use the Blanching Method?

You can just use a knife to peel a tomato if you have just a couple. It’s a bit messy and tedious. Probably not the easiest way if you have pounds and pounds of tomatoes.

Blanching is pretty easy. You simply dip the tomatoes in boiling water for a short time, then transfer them to cold water. This basically cooks the very outside which loosens the skins making them easy to pull off. If done right, the texture of the tomato meat doesn’t change.

What You’ll Need

Here’s what I used in the video:

• A stock pot filled with boiling water
• A straining basket or blanching insert (mine’s the Polder brand, but any kind works)
• A large bowl of cold water or ice water
• A container for peels
• Fresh clean tomatoes, sorted by size

Having everything ready makes the process smooth and mess-free.

Step-by-Step directions: Peeling Tomatoes with Blanching

1. Prepare Your Setup

Start by filling one pot with water and bring it to a boil. Have another bowl for an ice bath, or a sink with cold water for cooling. Have your tomatoes washed and ready.

2. Blanch the Tomatoes

Place your tomatoes in the straining basket and lower them into the boiling water.

• Let them sit for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on ripeness.
• Gently swish them around so hot water circulates evenly.
• Watch for the skins to split — that’s your cue they’re ready.

Tips

• I don’t always do this but if you cut an X in the bottom of each tomato, that will often cause it to split sooner. Which is a good thing. Just slice the skin so it will show that it is peeling back. No need to fully cut into the meat of the tomato.
• Do this blanching step in batches. Have enough water that it doesn’t stop boiling or comes back to a boil fairly quickly. If the water cools too much. Either add more water, or dip less tomatoes at a time.

3. Cool the Tomatoes

Lift the basket and immediately plunge the tomatoes into the cold water bath or rinse. This stops any cooking and cools the tomatoes off.

My go to method is to simply dump the tomatoes either into my (clean washed) sink of cold water or another large pot of water placed in my sink. Change water often so it stays cold. Having things in the sink makes clean up easy and is lower than your counter so it is easier to manage.

4. Peel and Core

Once they’re cool enough to handle, use your fingers or a small coring tool to remove the stem end. The skins should slide right off!

Roma tomatoes, in particular, are very easy to peel — just pinch the end and the skin practically falls away.

What’s Next?

After peeling, you can:

• Put them in a pot for another recipe like stewed tomatoes (like I did)
• Pack them directly into jars for canning tomatoes
• Use them in other recipes like pasta sauces or soups
• Run them through a Food Mill to remove the seeds if desired.

Here are all of our canning recipes that use tomatoes.

Peeling tomatoes with blanching is only one way to get the job done.

If you are not in a hurry you can freeze your fresh tomatoes as you harvest. Then when you have time (or your freezer is full!) you can pull them out to peel. As the tomatoes thaw, the peels come right off. No need for blanching.