How to Make Fire Roasted Tomatoes in the Oven

This is an update of a 2014 post with some newer photos -- but I've only changed my method up slightly from the original post and have been making homemade fire roasted tomatoes this way every year since, using Roma tomatoes from my garden. They're just that good, and just that easy! So without further ado, here is how to make fire roasted tomatoes in the oven.

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For this next episode in our Attack of the Killer Tomatoes series, I was looking at the latest batch of tomatoes that just keep coming from the garden and thinking, well, what tomato products do I use the most? Across the chilly fall and winter months, that would be either tomato paste or fire roasted tomatoes, in chili, soup, and more. Well, tomato paste requires both a food mill and more patience than I possess, so... fire roasted tomatoes, it is!

You'll need 18-25 small to medium Roma tomatoes to fill a quart Ziploc freezer bag nicely, which results in about one 28 oz can's worth. (Since I use these in big batches of soup, chili, etc. I'm not worried about exact proportions, but you could use a measuring cup to more precisely fill your bags if you like.)

So... make it, or buy it? Well, cost-wise: It takes a good number of tomatoes and a 30 minute time investment to make one batch of these, making it more cost effective to pick up a can on sale at your local grocery store. Flavor-wise? There's really no comparison, and fire roasting is a great way to preserve some of your excess garden bounty in a good year for tomatoes.

So, I'm going to call it a draw today. Here's how to make fire roasted tomatoes for freezing, if you want to give it a try with your own garden tomatoes this year!

How to Make Fire Roasted Tomatoes in the Oven

Ingredients

18-25 small to medium Roma tomatoes (enough to fill a cookie sheet when halved).
Olive oil

Directions

Wash tomatoes. Cut off the stem ends, then cut tomatoes in half lengthwise.

Place tomatoes cut side down on a baking sheet and drizzle them lightly with olive oil. Broil on high for 20 minutes or until tomatoes are nicely charred, rotating the pan halfway through for more even baking.

Let tomatoes cool for a bit until they are easier to handle, then chop the tomatoes along with their skin to maximize that fire roasted flavor and get the blackened bits in there.

Freeze your chopped fire roasted tomatoes in a quart freezer bag for up to six months. (I like to stand a freezer bag up in a mug or small container to help hold it open while filling.)

Note: The tomatoes will  be very soft, so you'll be doing less chopping than smooshing and will be left with something in between diced fire roasted tomatoes and crushed fire roasted tomatoes, if you're used to using the canned versions. The skin will slide off very easily, so you can discard some of that if you prefer a little less of it in your final batch.

How's that for easy homemade fire roasted tomatoes?

Fire roasted tomatoes are so easy to make with fresh garden tomatoes, and they are amazing in recipes -- they'll really kick the flavor of your soups and chilis up a notch! I try to freeze a few batches over the summer to have handy for recipes all winter, helping to bring a taste of summer into those cold dark months. Plus, here you don't get the salt or extra additives that you sometimes see in canned fire roasted tomatoes.

A few favorite recipes using fire roasted tomatoes

How do I use these? Well, anywhere you'd use a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes to kick up the flavor of a recipe will do! A few of my own favorites include:

• Leftover chicken soup with butternut squash and kale
• Rustic mushroom lentil soup
• Chocolate chipotle chili
• Vegetarian three bean + lentil chili
• Garlic shrimp with roasted cauliflower, white beans, & tomatoes
• Slow cooker chipotle chicken chili

Homemade fire roasted tomatoes go beautifully in so many soups and chilis -- plus, every time you pull a bag out of the freezer for a winter recipe, you'll smile and think of gardens and growing and long summer nights.

You can also make fire roasted tomatoes on the grill

This is back from 2014, because I don't bother with the grill any more -- it's easier and faster to do this in the oven. You'll get pretty much identical results, though, whichever method you prefer: Above on the left, fire roasted tomatoes from the oven. On the right, fire roasted tomatoes from the grill. The slight variation in color is actually mostly due to lighting, since I did these batches at different times of the day.

How to make fire roasted tomatoes on the grill

That's the artist formerly known as MashupDad at the grill; I don't have man hands 😉

Brush grill with olive oil. Place whole tomatoes directly on rack, and grill covered over medium heat for 8-9 minutes a side.

Remove from grill with tongs and place in bowl, cover with foil, and let cool. Remove skins and chop tomatoes. Freeze in freezer bag.

Fire Roasted Tomatoes in the Oven, printable recipe

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How to Make Fire Roasted Tomatoes in the Oven

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How to make fire roasted tomatoes in the oven: It's so easy to make homemade fire roasted tomatoes from fresh garden tomatoes, and they're amazing in recipes -- they'll really kick the flavor of your soups and chilis up a notch!

Course ingredient

Keyword fire roasted, how to, tomatoes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 28 oz

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

rimmed baking sheets

quart freezer bags

Ingredients

• 18-25 small to medium Roma tomatoes enough to fill a cookie sheet when halved.
• Olive oil

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Instructions

• Wash tomatoes. Cut off the stem ends, then cut tomatoes in half lengthwise.
• Place tomatoes cut side down on a baking sheet and drizzle them lightly with olive oil. Broil on high for 20 minutes or until tomatoes are nicely charred, rotating the pan halfway through for more even baking.
• Let tomatoes cool for a bit until they are easier to handle, then chop the tomatoes along with their skin to maximize that fire roasted flavor and get the blackened bits in there.
• Freeze your chopped fire roasted tomatoes in a quart freezer bag for up to six months.  (I like to stand a freezer bag up in a mug or small container to help hold it open while filling.)

Notes

The tomatoes will  be very soft, so you'll be doing less chopping than smooshing and will be left with something in between diced fire roasted tomatoes and crushed fire roasted tomatoes, if you're used to using the canned versions. The skin will slide off very easily, so you can discard some of that if you prefer a little less of it in your final batch.

More Make it or Buy It Ideas

If you’re looking for more “make it or buy it” type ideas and recipes, read more here:

• Frugal Homemade
• Make It or Buy It?
• Sunday Scratchups

Anything else you’d like to see covered in these categories? Comment here!