Homesteading with Hyacynth: The Easiest Way to Preserve Tomatoes

Welcome to Homesteading with Hyacynth! Homesteading with Hyacynth is a monthly look at ways to lead a healthy, greener, more sustainable life. My intent with Homesteading with Hyacynth is to offer genuine, practical experiences and humorous and helpful tips. Of course, I am not a medical professional so these are my tips and what worked for my family.

Homesteading with Hyacynth

If your garden is anything like mine, you’ve got more tomatoes than you’ve got almost anything else.

And that’s great because who doesn’t love a good tomato … or 40?

While I do enjoy tomatoes and almost all foods made from them, I don’t enjoy canning. There. I said it.

The process is just so time consuming.

But behold the slow cooker.

While most of us are well-acquainted with our slow cooker for making meals, I discovered by accident how to make the slow cooker work for tomato harvest and preservation.

I’m sure I’m not the first to discover it, but I’m sharing it with you so you won’t be the last because this harvest preservation method is not only easy. It’s also delicious. I give you Slow Cooker Tomatoes. {And if winter is going to be anything like they say it’s going to be, you may be very very thankful you prepared!}

Easiest Way to Preserve Tomatoes

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Lots of fresh tomatoes — enough to pack into a slow cooker or two
• One large fresh onion
• Several cloves of garlic
• Fresh parsley and basil {optional}
• Dried Italian herbs
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Here’s how to do it:

1. Wash tomatoes
2. Peel onion and garlic cloves
3. Chop onions and garlic finely and toss them into the slow cooker
4. Dice tomatoes into large chunks and toss them into the slow cooker
5. Wash parsley and basil, chop, and put into the slow cooker
6. Add a few tablespoons of dried Italian herbs
7. Cook for 8 hours on low
8. Can as normal

This recipe is great for chili and soup bases, and we also use it for lasagna. We may venture into using it for chunky spaghetti sauce this fall, too. Give it a go! You’ll be glad you did!

Want more easy and fun recipes? Find all our favorite recipes here.

by Hyacynth Worth
Hyacynth Worth is a wife to John and a mother to three boys and three girls. She writes about motherhood, healthy living, and faith at Undercover Mother. She is a local writer and the author of Homesteading with Hyacynth. She promises to be candid, amusing, and only slightly neurotic. Most of the time.