If you have a recipe that is calling for canned tomatoes, but you have an abundance of fresh tomatoes you would prefer to use instead, there’s actually an easy way for you to make your own canned tomatoes to be substituted into your recipes.
Canned tomatoes have actually been slightly cooked, which is what gives them a slightly different taste and texture from purchasing something like diced tomatoes instead. This is why you can’t just use straight fresh tomatoes as a substitute directly for can tomatoes.

Make your own fresh canned tomatoes recipe
if you have plenty of fresh tomatoes, it is easy to use fresh tomatoes as a substitute for canned tomatoes, if you follow these steps first. This recipe will make the equivalent of one can of canned tomatoes so you may need to adjust your proportions based on the amount of canned tomatoes the recipe is calling for.
Ingredients
- 1-1/3 cups fresh tomatoes
Instructions
- Simply wash the tomatoes and then core the top where the stem attaches, and place them into a saucepan. Simmer the tomatoes for 10 minutes, although you may need to increase with simmering time if you are doing a much larger batch of canned tomatoes.
- Allowed to cool if necessary, otherwise use directly into your recipe in place of canned tomatoes
Notes
When you are making your canned tomatoes, you are welcome to add other ingredients into the simmering process, such as fresh garlic or fresh basil or other herbs to impart flavors for the dish using the tomatoes.