Stuck with green, unripe tomatoes at the end of the growing season? Turn them into a sauce base with this recipe.
Do you have a home garden? If you're like me, you grow a nice variety of tomatoes. We grow chili peppers of all kinds, but there is nothing like walking out to a garden full of fresh tomatoes.
We grew four different varieties this year but at the end of the season, we are always left with a number of tomatoes that just didn't ripen. And for some reason, this year was worse than normal.
We wound up with several pounds of green tomatoes still sitting on the plants and the freeze was upon us. Once the freeze hits, forget about saving those tomatoes. Which leads us to the big question...
What Can I Do With All of My Fresh Green Tomatoes?
The best way to use up a lot of fresh green tomatoes is to make a sauce out of them. This sauce is not so much a sauce that you'll pour over everything, but more of a sauce or a soup base that you can freeze and incorporate into any number of recipes.
Use it as a starter for your next green table sauce, a salsa verde, a base for chili, maybe even a stew. I've even squeezed in some lime juice and used it as a simple topping for fish and it works great.
Fresh Green Tomato-Chili Pepper Sauce Ingredients
- Green Tomatoes.
- Green Chili Peppers.
How to Make This Green Tomato Sauce - The Recipe Method
- First, thoroughly clean the tomatoes and peppers. I used 7 pounds of green tomatoes and 1 pound of fresh green chili peppers for this recipe.
- Next, coarsely chop the tomatoes and peppers and set them into a pressure cooker or a large pot.
- Pressure cook for 30 minutes at high pressure. Allow to cool. If using a large pot, cook the tomatoes and peppers down for 1 hour or longer, or until the ingredients break down and release their liquids.
- Process the tomato-pepper mixture with a food processor or stick blender.
- Freeze in containers.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Pressure Cooker Saves Time. We used our pressure cooker for this, but if you don't have one, cook them over the stove on medium heat. Let them simmer for about an hour or longer until everything is nice and soft. Then process as needed.
- Fresh Tomatoes. I do this with fresh tomatoes as well. I have a ton for the winter! Honestly, I think Patty and I are going to need to get ourselves a second freezer in the house for all of the preserving going on.
- Chili Peppers. We used sweeter green peppers here to keep the resulting sauce more on the mild side. You can always spice it up later if you'd like, but this works well with just about any chili pepper you want to preserve. I mostly wanted a nice green color and that is what we achieved.
Storage & Leftovers
Storing your Fresh Green Tomato-Chili Pepper Sauce in an airtight container in the fridge may allow to keep it for up to 1-2 weeks. To maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate your sauce promptly.
Also Try These Recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Fresh Green Tomato-Chili Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 7-8 pounds green tomatoes
- 1 pound green chili peppers
Instructions
- Thoroughly clean the tomatoes and peppers.
- Coarsely chop the tomatoes and peppers and set them into a pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook for 30 minutes at high pressure. Allow to cool.
- Process the tomato-pepper mixture with a food processor or stick blender.
- Freeze in containers.
Nutrition Information
Bill says
Hi Mike. I picked most of my green cayenne and Korean peppers due to an upcoming freeze as well as a few green tomatoes. Can I ferment these to make a hot sauce?
Mike H. says
Yes, you can, Bill! Let me know how it goes.
Paulette Salisbury says
Hi Mike
Tried this one yesterday with 4 pounds of green tomatoes. Added 2 big green Anaheim peppers and only one jalapeno. 5 cloves of garlic all in the slow cooker for about 4 hours. (I actually lost track) . Needed some water to help break down the tomatoes as most were little and very firm. No problem. Stick blended and tasted. Needed salt.....so I added some and my favorite smoked salt. Still seems kind of bland, but I will let the jars set in the fridge to mellow a bit. As you say, you can always add more flavors or punch later.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Mike Hultquist says
Great! Glad you enjoyed it, Paulette! It's a great way to save all those green tomatoes. I had to do it again this year because we had an early frost. UGH.
Cindy says
Hi,
I don't have a pressure cooker, Can this be done on a conventional stove?
Would love to try it.
Thanks for all the great recipes!!
Mike H. says
Yes, absolutely. If you don't have one, cook them over the stove on medium heat. Let them simmer for about an hour or longer until everything is nice and soft. Then process as needed. Enjoy and let me know how it goes.
The Bishop says
Can you use tomatillos instead of green tomatoes? What will be the flavor difference.
Mike Hultquist says
You surely can, yes. Tomatillos are a bit tangier, but the flavors are very close. Enjoy!
Cat says
Hi, I'm new to pressure canning and would love to make this and can it to save space in my freezer. Any idea how long I'd need to pressure can for?
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
Cat, I like to refer to the National Center for Home Food Preservation for pressure canning. Here is a link: https://nchfp.uga.edu/tips/summer/home_preserv_tomatoes.html
Mari says
Hello Mike,
Would this recipe work with green cherry tomatoes and a combo of unripened tabasco and cayenne peppers?
Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
It surely would, Mari. Enjoy!