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Tomato juice is a delicious and versatile drink that can be served as a refreshing beverage, as an ingredient in recipes, or as a soup base. But did you know that it’s also super easy to make at home?
This Homemade Tomato Juice recipe tastes similar to V8 but is SO much better! Serve it chilled or hot—either way, you’re going to love the zesty flavor and fresh taste of this homemade tomato juice.
Made with Home Grown Tomatoes
I love growing tomatoes in our garden each summer for canning. I love preserving the tastes of summer for those cold Winter months. If you love canning as much as I do, I hope you will enjoy this and all of our other easy canning recipes!
Homemade Tomato Juice is so rich, delicious, and filling! It tastes so much better than V8 Juice, and probably a lot better for you since you know exactly what is in it. I am not even kidding, this stuff is like liquid gold at our house. Even the kids love drinking it! I like it best drinking it ice cold, but I save plenty to use in all sorts of recipes and as a base for many soups. If you’re not sure about making your own tomato juice, read on. It’s really quite simple and it tastes so much better than those store bought varieties.
Ingredients in Homemade Tomato Juice
Obviously the key ingredient for homemade tomato juice is tomatoes. The better the tomatoes, the better the juice. I always use fresh tomatoes from my garden but tomatoes from a local farm or farmer’s market will work just as well. Try to buy your tomatoes in the late summer months in your area, when they are at their peak (most are between June-September). Season your tomato juice with salts, onion salt, and celery salt (or powders) to your liking. You can also try adding pepper, basil, or oregano for different flavor variations.
How to Can Tomato Juice
When canning tomato juice, follow the directions in the recipe card below, but make sure to leave about a half inch to one inch of air space (or as some say an inch headspace) at the top below the lids. Store it in a cool, dry place and you’ll be able to enjoy this juice for up to two years. If you are looking to make a LOT of juice (which I like to make at least 25 quarts at a time) you will want to save yourself some frustration by getting a Tomato Strainer. I also have the little attachments. This will save you a lot of time having to press everything by hand through a colander.
I have seen cheaper ones on Amazon and even one that attaches to a Kitchen Aid— I am sure all of them are great (I am really tempted by the Kitchen Aid one because you don’t have to manually turn the crank… if I cave and get it I will let you know). Anything that keeps you from having to do extra work is a winner in my book.
Benefits of Drinking Tomato Juice
According to the National Institute of Health, food sources that are high in lycopene, such as tomatoes, have many potential health benefits. Lycopene may reduce the risk of certain cancers, help with cardiovascular disease, and get this… reduce the risk of SUNBURN. These are just a few of the potential health benefits from drinking tomato juice. Read more about the health benefits from the source at the National Institute of Health.
In a study done by the Department of Nutrition in China, and published by the National Institute of Health, it was found that tomato juice supplementation significantly reduced body weight, body fat, waist circumference, and BMI in healthy women between the ages of 20-30. Pretty cool. Right?! Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3850026/
Reduced Sodium Tomato Juice:
Did you know that store-bought tomato juice can be VERY high in sodium? This causes the store-bought juice to lose some of it’s health benefits. By making tomato juice from scratch at home, you have full control over the amount of sodium that is added! Reduce the salt in your juice to your specifications in this recipe and enjoy your healthy drink!
Make It A Virgin Bloody Mary
Turn this tomato juice into a non-alcoholic Bloody Mary by simply adding a squeeze of fresh lemon and a few drops of hot sauce (such as Tabasco sauce). Serve with ice cubes, fresh parsley, celery, or pickles.
Frequently Asked Questions
When it comes to juicing tomatoes, it’s always a good idea to use nice, beefy, juicy varieties, but you almost can’t go wrong with any kind. Some of our favorites are Park’s Whoppers (these grow GREAT in our area, so this one is a favorite), Early Girl, Beefsteak, Better Boy, Celebrity, or Brandywine. Check your local nurseries to see what varieties grow best in your area.
If you are making it fresh and storing it in your refrigerator in an air-tight bottle or jar, tomato juice can last 2-3 days. If you decide to can your tomato juice, it can last 12-18 months after it has been canned. After the jar has been opened, it can last 2-3 days, refrigerated– same as if it were fresh.
Both pint jars and quart jars work great! Just make sure they have been cleaned and sanitized before using.
Read Next: Easy Dinner Ideas
More Canned Tomato Recipes
We end up with bushels of tomatoes from our garden each year and it seems they go bad before we can use them all. Here are some of our favorite ways to can tomatoes so we can enjoy them all year long. Try a few for yourself!
Recipes that Use Homemade Tomato Juice
Use this delicious homemade tomato juice as a base for so many rich recipes, like these:
- Cafe Zupas Tomato Basil Soup
- Sirloin Steak with Tomato Basil Sauce
- Mom’s Cheater Chili
- Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Sausage
Tomato Juice Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 23 pounds tomatoes 3 ¼ pounds per quart or 23 pounds per canner load of 7 quarts
- water approximately ¼ cup to 1 cup
Per Quart of Juice:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
Instructions
- Wash, core, and remove blemishes from tomatoes.
- Cut into small sections.
- In a large stock pot, add tomatoes and very little water (at most 1 cup).
- Bring to a boil.
- Put through colander to remove seeds and skin (see above notes for tips).
- Discard seeds and skin.
- Return juice to the stock pot and bring to a boil again, adding salt, onion salt, and celery salt according to how many quarts of juice you have yielded.
- If canning, pour 2 tablespoons lemon juice into sterilized quart-sized jars to bring up the acidity to make it safe for canning. Add tomato juice, leaving about 1/2" air space at the top of the jar.Process in a hot water bath canner according to canner directions for 40 minutes.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- When canning tomato juice, follow the directions in the recipe card below, but make sure to leave about a half inch of air space at the top.
- Store it in a cool, dry place and you’ll be able to enjoy this juice for up to two years.
- If you are looking to make a LOT of juice (which I like to make at least 25 quarts at a time) you will want to save yourself some frustration by getting a Tomato Strainer. THIS is the EXACT one that I use.
- I also have the little attachments, seen here. This will save you a lot of time having to press everything by hand through a colander. I have seen cheaper ones on Amazon and even one that attaches to a Kitchen Aid— I am sure all of them are great (I am really tempted by the Kitchen Aid one because you don’t have to manually turn the crank… if I cave and get it I will let you know). Anything that keeps you from having to do extra work is a winner in my book.
can you put the tomatoes through the grinder to remove the skins and seeds before boiling. what happens if you dont boil first. will it still be safe to use.
I haven’t tried it that way, but I think that should be fine. The tomatoes will still cook when you simmer the sauce.
Growing up I loved V8 juice but never thought I could make it myself! This recipe has reminded me of something I used to love and I’m excited to try making it from home! Printing this recipe now!
The perfect drink! I love knowing exactly what I am putting in my body so making my own drinks is perfect, thanks for the idea!
This was delicious!!! Followed recipe exactly except used a Weston tomato press to squeeze the juice. Wonderful recipe. Sometimes for a smaller batch I don’t can it, just put it in the fridge. It never lasts long. Larger batches get canned proper. A+.
This was our first time at making tomato juice. Just used every variety of tomato we had in our patio garden. Canned a bunch and sampled what didn’t fit in to the jars. In the words of Guy Fieri, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Wouldn’t change a thing.
Don’t throw away the pulp and seeds. Dehydrate them for tomato powder. Tomato powder is the best of ever, It can be used in so many things. Meat loaf, soup, mixed in your hamburgers, etc.
I’ve never heard of that before! I will have to try it!
Instead of straining to remove the seeds and skin, can it all be pureed in a blender? If so, does it still taste good?
We have not tried it that way, so I can’t definitively say how it would affect the taste or texture. Let us know how it turns out if you do try it!
I fix mine like that leaving the skin an seed it was really good
So do I. It is really good and makes it thicker. I make really good juice and have done this for years.
How do you seal the jars?
Can it be frozen instead of canning?
Sure!
I use a Foley Food Mill for processing foods with skins and seeds like tomato juice, grape preserves, etc.
Haven’t actually made your tomato juice yet, just started cooking about 2 quarts of yellow grape tomato juice that I juiced using my blender. Next I will run the cooked juice through the Foley Food Mill before adding the spices.
Where dose it say anything about lemon juice in the recipe? I just started the water bath and didnt put any lemon juice in the jars!? How is this going to affect the juice? Will it keep?
To be safe, you always want to add lemon juice to the bottom of your jars. It just helps with the acidity levels. You may want to re-process your jars if you are worries about it or if you think you will use them soon, you can keep them refrigerated.
I made this juice and let me say……. ‘It’s DELICIOUS!! I’ll definitely be making more of it!! It would make a great Bloody Mary, a base for vegetable soup or chili and it’s so good over ice!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Hi Dee! I am so glad to hear you like this recipe! We love using it as a base for soups too! SO tasty! Thank you for sharing your nice comment and thanks for the 5-stars!
Just a helpful hint. I have a very large electric cooker, looks like a giant crockpot. I put it on 250 degrees and put quartered and if large tomatoes I cut more. I put them in the crock pot and every few hours I ladle of the juice. I now have tomatoe juice and sauce ready to can.
Delicious, but I’m not adding but 1/4 tsp salt to quarts next batch and add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice or use citric acid. Little too salty for me.
It is fine to leave the salt out, just don’t leave out the lemon juice unless you are substituting it with something that can bring up those acidity levels. Just for safety reasons. Glad you liked it! Hope this helps!
I canned tomato juice but ended up with the juice at the bottom and tomato pulp at the top. This has never happened to me in over 40 years of making juice. With the hurricane I had to use tomatoes I purchased and not the ones from the garden. A few of them were bruised but I cut all the bruised part completely out. About five quarts actually had white stuff at the top. I did everything just the way you have in your recipe and this has never happened before. When I shook the jars up all the junk settled back down in the jar and the white disappeared. I opened a pint and everything smells fine. I am actually scared to taste of it. Any suggestions or should I just throw them all away. The first cooking that I did some of the jars were okay. The last cooking all of them looked bad.
Hi Marilyn– I have never experienced white stuff when canning tomatoes before. I’m not sure how to advise you there. :/ However, I have done a batch or two where it has separated a little bit– nothing drastic but I have definitely seen a little separation. That is nothing to be worried about. If it separates, we just shake it really well before opening and it is fine. The white stuff though..? I’m not sure. I don’t know if that is from the tomatoes or contamination or what? If it were me I would err on the side of caution and probably toss out those ones. Hope this helps!
I just read the instructions but you didn’t mention if you waterbath canned this or pressure can. And for how long.
We usually only water bath or steam bath. It takes about 40 minutes to process each batch. Hope this helps!
Our recipe uses tomatoes, green peppers. onions, sugar, salt, and pepper. We cook the vegetables first, then run them through a strainer, simmer the juice, then pour the juice into jars, and process the jars in a pressure canner for twenty minutes. My husband drinks it as juice, or we heat it for soup. Sometimes I add thickening made from butter, flour and a little tomato juice. It is really good. We have it with grilled cheese sandwiches every Sunday. It is important to process the jars in a pressure canner, though. Check for a recipe in the Ball Blue Book or talk to your extension service, because the recommended times change as knowledge grows.
Thanks for sharing, I realy enjoyed this recipe
Processing is referring to the sterilization of the jars?
You will want to clean and sterilize the jars first– “processing” is so the lids seal onto the jars, making it safe for long-term storage.
Can you use cherry tomatoes?
I don’t see why not!
Boil for how long
You just need to bring it to a boil each time. Once it is boiling (even as you stir it), it should be up to the right temperature. Hope this helps!
Is it 1 cup of water per quart or total
1 cup total. You only use the water for cooking the tomatoes.
When you say process for 25 minutes, are you talking about processing in a pressure cooker or a water bath?
Water bath or steam… pressure cooker would be different (I don’t know how different because I don’t have a pressure cooker … :/ )
pressure cooking tomato products is typically 5# of pressure for 15 minutes.
I am making your spaghetti sauce right at this moment. I have processed my tomatoes with my Kitchenaid vegetable / fruit strainer. Your recipe says for 25 lbs of tomatoes. I have no clue how many lbs I used. I just haul them in from the garden and processed them. Do you know how many gallons is 25 lbs of tomatoes?
Generally 1 lb is about 2 cups (16 oz.)
We used a strainer like yours called a Squeezo for years. My husband was always trying to figure our how to motorize it because sometimes we would do 5 or more gallons at a time. We finally got the attachment for my Kitchenaid. It is great but does not have a screen fine enough for blackberries. We wore our first attachment out. The bushing wears out and allows the juice to flow back into the mixer. Looks like leaking grease. Hubby used directions found on Pinterest to dismantle and clean mixer. We never cook our tomatoes first. Do raw, then bring to a boil in pot. We only add salt but will try the onion salt and celery salt. Throw in a tobasco pepper before you seal and let age if you want it spicy. In your directions you say throw away the pulp. That comes through the screen with the juice. You are just throwing away the skin and seeds. Throw those in the garden for a great crop of volunteer tomato plants next year (if you did not precook). We use an heirloom Roma type tomato for lots of pulp.
Thank you so much for your comment, especially about the Kitchen Aid attachment… very good to know! Also, thank you for spotting that typo– I will fix it now!
Because tomatoes are a borderline low-acid food you need to acidify the tomato juice with lemon juice or citric acid before you waterbath can the quarts to safeguard against botulism. To each quart of tomato juice add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid. Then process them for 40 minutes in a WB canner….not 25. (Depending on your altitude.) Here’s a link to the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s directions. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_juice.html
Can you just put the lemon juice in the whole pot while you cook it before you water bath it
You probably could– just by putting them in each jar you know there is enough acid in each individual jar.
I use a Tomato Juicer and you don’t loose anything. It is quick and separates pulp etc. Much much quicker
Was given some quarts of canned tomatoe juice…It is to sweet for us.
What can i do to fix it?
Was given to me by my mother in law….Desperate for a way to fix it.
Could you add some salt, onion salt, and/or celery salt?