My MIL gave us a bunch of homegrown tomatoes that I’m afraid we won’t eat before they go bad. What is a quick way to skin and then freeze them for use in casseroles and sauces?

I do not have the resources (or time) for canning and I don’t have a dehydrator.

Can I blanch them in hot water, take off the skin, chop and freeze?

You do not have to skin them. Place them on a cookie sheet in your freezer. Once froze, put them in a bag together. They are great then for making sauces, using in stews and soups.

I freeze many of ours because when I have a good garden (not this year), they produce so fast I can't keep up to them.

btw - the reason you freeze them on a cookie sheet first, is so that they don't get stuck together, just as when you freeze strawberries, etc.

You can also take the skins off by putting tomatos in boiling water for a few min, then in ice water, and then chop and put in containers and freeze as well. I still have some in my freezer done that way.

Funny you should ask....last nite I blanced 3 gallons of tomatoes for the same reason, only these came from our garden. I dipped them in almost boiling water for about 30 - 45 seconds, took them out (doing only 2-3 at a time) and peeled them. Left them whole and put in Gallon freezer bags. It's not hard at all and you will love how they taste in sauces or stews or hot sauce! Tip, wear an old shirt that a few little tomato spots won't hurt!

Today I washed and blanched all the tomatoes, skinned them, chopped them, and put most in freezer bags for later use.

I will use some tonight in a pasta dish I am making for dinner.

Thanks for the help!

It seems to me that when you cook with canned or frozen fresh tomatoes you have to simmer longer to disperse the tomatoe flavor.

Homesteadmama, do we have to blanche them before freezing? I know that loosens the skin. We can ours just because it's harder for us to fill the bags and we always end up with some leaky ones. Your method sounds too easy! We've got plenty put up for winter now, but I'd like to try this now for next year.

Betsy, canning them is easy, fill the jars and water bath for 20 min. We like the tomato juice we get!