Canning Tomato Juice:
A Tested Recipe from Your Garden

What You Need for Canning Tomato Juice

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• Tomatoes: firm, ripe, disease-free tomatoes. Don't use tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines, or overripe, bruised, or moldy ones.
• Bottled lemon juice or citric acid: required in every jar.
• Equipment: a boiling water canner or pressure canner, canning jars with new lids and bands, a large pot, and a food mill or fine sieve to remove seeds and peels.

New to canning? See our canning vegetables guide for the basics of jars, lids, and canners.

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How to Can Tomato Juice, Step by Step

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1. Wash and cut. Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and blossom ends, and cut them into quarters.
2. Heat quickly. Put about a pound of quartered tomatoes into a large pot and bring them right to a boil, crushing them as they heat. Keep adding and crushing more quartered tomatoes, keeping the pot boiling. Heating them fast keeps the juice from separating in the jar.
3. Simmer. Once all the tomatoes are in, simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Juice. Press the hot tomatoes through a food mill or fine sieve to remove the seeds and peels.
5. Add the acid. Put 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice (or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid) in each hot quart jar, or 1 tablespoon (or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid) in each pint. Add up to 1 teaspoon of salt per quart if you like.
6. Reheat and fill. Bring the juice back to a boil, and fill the hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.
7. Seal. Wipe the jar rims clean, and put on the lids and bands.
8. Process. Process in a boiling water canner or a pressure canner, using the times below.
9. Cool and check. Let the jars cool for 12 to 24 hours, then check that every lid has sealed. Refrigerate any that didn't, and use them within a few days.

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Processing Times for Tomato Juice

Boiling water canner (time starts when the water returns to a full boil):

Pressure canner: process pints or quarts for 15 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure in a dial-gauge canner, or 10 pounds in a weighted-gauge canner, at 0 to 1,000 feet. At higher altitudes, the pressure goes up; follow your canner's instructions or the tested tables from your local Extension office.

Not sure of your altitude? Your county Extension office can tell you.

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Tomato and Vegetable Juice Blend

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This tested blend is like a homemade vegetable juice cocktail. It makes about 7 quarts.

• 22 pounds tomatoes
• No more than 3 cups total of finely chopped celery, onions, carrots, and peppers, in any combination (for example, 3/4 cup each of carrots, celery, and green pepper, and 1/2 cup onion)
• Bottled lemon juice or citric acid
• Salt, if desired

1. Make the tomato juice base. Crush and heat the tomatoes the same way as for plain tomato juice.
2. Add the vegetables. Stir in the chopped vegetables, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Juice. Press the hot mixture through a food mill or sieve.
4. Acid, fill, and process exactly as for plain tomato juice: the same acid, 1/2 inch of headspace, and the same processing times.

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Seasoning Your Tomato Juice

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Keep the canned juice plain, and season it when you open the jar. That way the flavor stays fresh, and the recipe stays safe.

• Herb tomato juice: stir in fresh chopped basil, dill, or parsley when you serve it.
• Spicy cocktail juice: add hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, celery salt, and a squeeze of lemon to a chilled glass. It also makes a good base for Bloody Marys.
• A pinch of sugar softens the acid if you like it mild.

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More Tomato Preserving Guides

This page is part of our Preserving Garden Vegetables hub. Label your jars with our free printable canning jar labels.

For tested recipes, processing times, and food safety information, see Penn State Extension's Let's Preserve: Tomatoes.

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