I’ve always wanted to can seasoned tomatoes, but most years after I finish canning salsa, spaghetti sauce, and soup, I usually end up just canning plain tomatoes as I’m getting tired of looking at them. But this year, the tomatoes ripened in batches, so it didn’t seem as if I was constantly in the kitchen working on them. I looked online at different recipes, but ultimately, I used the recipe from Ball’s Complete Book of Home Preserving. It lists 3 different kinds of spice blends for its herbed seasoned tomatoes, and I used that, but I wanted crushed tomatoes instead of doing quartered tomatoes as the recipe showed. It doesn’t really matter what form your tomato is in just as long as you put lemon juice in the jars.

The Ball recipe gives spice blends for Italian, Mexican, and Cajun. I just did Italian and Mexican, but I’ve listed all three here so you can use whichever one(s) you prefer. The recipe says that you will have enough spice blend for 6 pints of tomatoes, but I doubled and even tripled the amounts just to make sure I had enough made up since I was working with way more tomatoes than 6 pints. If you would prefer to use an already made Italian spice blend, use 4 tablespoons in place of the basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and sage in the recipe. If you have any spice blend left over after you’ve finished, just put the extra in a Ziploc baggie and use in your favorite recipe.

Seasoned Crushed Tomatoes

12 cups tomatoes, peeled and cored

Spice Blend (see below)

Bottled lemon juice

Salt (optional)

Italian Spice Blend

4 teaspoons basil

2 teaspoons thyme leaf

2-1/2 teaspoons oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons rosemary

1-1/2 teaspoons sage

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)

Mexican Spice Blend

6 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (optional)

Cajun Spice Blend

3 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons paprika

1-1/2 teaspoons onion flakes

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1-1/2 teaspoons thyme leaf

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Peel and core the tomatoes. Working in small batches, heat a few prepared tomatoes in the bottom of a large stockpot, crushing with a potato masher to get the tomatoes to release their juices. As they release the juice, keep adding tomatoes and crush with the potato masher until you have all the tomatoes in the stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes.

While the tomatoes are heating, to each pint jar add 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of canning salt (if using), and 2-1/2 teaspoons of the prepared spice blend you are using.

Ladle hot tomatoes into jars, add lids, and tighten rings just until finger tight. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, reduce heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let set on the counter for 12 hours. Check to ensure jars have sealed. If you have some that did not seal (lid will pop back up when you test – you can usually see it before you even test), put those jars in the refrigerator and eat them within a few days. Remove rings, wash jars, and store sealed jars in a cool, dry, dark place.

Visit Canning and Cooking Iowa Style’s profile on Pinterest.