Are you in possession of more cherry tomatoes than you can consume? Gardeners who like growing this delectably sweet kind of tomato often notice that all cherry tomatoes mature simultaneously.
This results in an excess of tomatoes. What to do with the excess ones? Can you freeze cherry tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes keep well in the freezer for around 6 months. Once rinsed, place them on a baking dish and freeze. When they are completely frozen, place them in a bag and put them back in the freezer for long term storage.
Is It Possible To Refreeze Cherry Tomatoes? No
Do Cherry Tomatoes Freeze Well? Yes
How To Freeze Cherry Tomatoes
When freezing larger tomatoes, you would often peel them first, but when it comes to cherry tomatoes, this can get very fiddly, and you lose a lot of tomatoes in the process.
Luckily, cherry tomato skins can be a little softer than larger plant varieties, so it shouldn’t cause you too much of a problem. You can still choose to peel if you prefer but be aware that it will take some time.
So how do you freeze cherry tomatoes? Let’s take a look:
Wash
Wash your cherry tomatoes thoroughly. Remove the stems. And allow the tomatoes to drain. They need to be dry before freezing.
Spread onto a Baking Tray
Grab yourself a baking tray and place the cherry tomatoes onto the tray. Make sure that they are placed apart, and the tomatoes are not touching. This step is to ensure that the tomatoes don’t clump together in the freezer. It makes it much easier for you to grab the amount you need out of the freezer.
Flash Freeze
Put the tomatoes into the freezer. The tray needs to be kept flat and still at the top of the freezer until the tomatoes are frozen.
Bag Up
Once the cherry tomatoes are frozen, you can take them out of the freezer and transfer them from the baking sheet into a freezer bag or container.
Label
Label the bag or container with the date and name of the contents.
Freeze
Pop the bag containing the cherry tomatoes back into the freezer until you need them.
Whenever you need a handful of delicious cherry tomatoes, you can grab the amount you need out of the bag or container and then reseal the rest for use at a later date.
3 Tips for Freezing Cherry Tomatoes
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing cherry tomatoes to have the best results:
Cook Them
Unfortunately, cherry tomatoes that have been frozen will not be suitable for eating raw in a salad, for example. Instead, you’ll want to cook them to hide any texture changes that have occurred during the freezing process.
Make a Pasta Sauce
One of the best ways to freeze cherry tomatoes is in a pasta sauce. Slowly cook tomatoes, garlic, basil and some olive oil over a low heat to break them down, whizz it up in a blender then freeze. Having a ready-to-go meal is a huge time saver.
Mix with Other Tomatoes
Don’t limit yourself to cherry tomatoes. All types of tomatoes can be frozen, so mix them and freeze them in bags.
How Long Can You Freeze Cherry Tomatoes?
If you are like many other gardeners, you will be glad to know that you can keep your cherry tomatoes in the freezer for up to six months. Plenty of time to use up all of those tomatoes and ensure that none go to waste.
How Do You Defrost Cherry Tomatoes?
The best way to defrost your cherry tomatoes is slowly. You can do this by grabbing the amount you need out of the freezer and popping them into a bowl. You can either put this bowl of tomatoes into the fridge to defrost slowly.
Or, if you need them a little quicker, you can put the bowl onto the kitchen counter instead.
If you add tomatoes to a soup, stew, casserole, or sauce, you can also get away with adding the cherry tomatoes in frozen. Super easy, and it works just as well as defrosting them beforehand.
Can You Refreeze Cherry Tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes will lose their shape and texture in the freezer. They will become soft and mushy, which is great for sauces, but it does mean they won’t refreeze very well.
The more often you freeze, the more degradation of shape and flavor there will be.
If you have thawed out and cooked your cherry tomatoes, you could freeze the cooled sauce or meal without too many problems.
Do Cherry Tomatoes Freeze Well?
Cherry tomatoes don’t freeze particularly well if you are expecting to use them in salads or whole. The texture change is considerable, and they won’t even retain their tomato shape!
However, the taste should be fine, so as long as you plan to cook with the cherry tomatoes, their soft texture shouldn’t be a problem, and your meal will be delicious.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing cherry tomatoes or tomatoes in general, then these may help:
Can You Freeze Roasted Tomatoes?
Like most roasted vegetables, roasted tomatoes can also be frozen with great success. You can choose to freeze them before roasting them (marinaded in herbs and seasoning) or after roasting them.
If you want to discover how then check out our article on freezing roasted tomatoes.
Can You Freeze Tomatoes In General?
The good news is that all tomatoes can be frozen, no matter their size, color, or shape. The process for freezing tomatoes, in general, is the same as the one we have outlined on this page for freezing cherry tomatoes.
Can You Freeze Green Cherry Tomatoes?
You can freeze green cherry tomatoes using the same method as outlined on this page. Remember, however, that your tomatoes will not ripen in the freezer, so when you thaw them, they will still be green and unripe.
This is fine if you plan on making a green tomato chutney or salsa, but no good if you want to use them in a salad or pasta sauce.