Can You Freeze Tomato Sauce?

Wondering if you can freeze tomato sauce to keep it for longer? Does it freeze well? Will the texture and taste change after freezing? Let’s find out!

What can be better than taking a sweet red tomato from the tomato bush and eating it? You can enjoy it during the whole summer.

It is such a short period, and tomatoes won’t grow forever. So, people created many ways of storing them in different forms.

They can be kept fresh, stewed, baked, canned, and so on. Every way of keeping them has its advantages and disadvantages.

If you have a big harvest of fresh tomatoes, you need to do something with them. They won’t keep forever. The easiest and the most reasonable way to cope with a lot of fresh tomatoes is to make a delicious homemade sauce that you can use later in your dishes.

As this sauce is very versatile and can use in many dishes as an essential ingredient, you will need it in large quantities. Because of that, I recommend you prepare your homemade delicious tomato sauce and freeze it. If you need to keep it for a longer time, consider canning the tomato sauce.

Let’s find out if you should freeze the tomato sauce or pick other storage options for it.

Can You Freeze Tomato Sauce?

Yes, you can freeze the tomato sauce for at least 6 months or even longer if you will use a deep freeze. Wait until the sauce cools down completely, put it into smaller freezing bags or airtight containers that are freezer-safe, and stick on them the today date and 3-4 months from now as the expiration date.

Other Ways to Store Tomato Sauce:

There are not so many ways of keeping tomato sauce. The most widespread and the safest for health and cooking is freezing.

At the same time, what to do if you don’t have enough space in the freezing camera?

There are some alternatives:

• Keeping sauce in a cool basement;
• Re canning after opening;
• Shock freezing.

Perhaps, you have heard that our grandparents preferred to build basements in their houses. One of the advantages of such places was the ability to keep cool temperatures constantly. This is one of the best ways to keep cans there.

So, if you have enough tomato sauce, you can put it in the jars and place it in the basement. Due to its low temperature, tomato sauce will be good for cooking and eating for at least one year.

You may consider canning tomato sauce when you need to keep the sauce for longer. You should be safe for at least one year by canning the sauce, usually for even longer. The downside of the canning method is that it will take you longer.

Re-canning is another way of storing tomato sauce. So, if you use only a small portion of tomato sauce, you can keep it further.

You just need to add some oil to the sauce and close the jar. Shock freezing is quite close to traditional freezing. The main difference is the process of doing it.

So, using shock freezing, the product is influenced by extremely low temperatures, and the sauce freezes very quickly.

Due to this fact, the product is safe for quite an extended period. You can make small portions so as not to defrost the whole amount if you don’t need it.

The downside of shock freezing is that you should have a special freezer.

How Long Does It Last in the Freezer?

Tomato sauce can be kept in the freezer for about 2 years without defrosting and refreezing. Make sure that you keep them in airtight containers or freezing bags.

This period can be even longer if you use deep freezing. At the same time, it is not reasonable to keep anything more than 2 years.

Even if the expiration period is long and nothing wrong can happen with the tomato sauce, making a fresh tomato sauce will always be a better idea.

Does Freezing Change The Taste?

If you put tomato sauce in the freezer just after the time it has been cooked and cooled down, there will be no problems.

The problem can appear only if it is kept in the kitchen on the countertop for quite an extended period. The influence of sun rays and air can spoil the product.

If you use some tomato sauce, close the jar and put it in the refrigerator. And it is even better to put it in the freezing camera as soon as possible if it is extremely hot outside.

How to Defrost Properly?

The process of defrosting things can be different. Some products can be defrosted with the help of a microwave oven; some should be placed in cold water.

Everything depends on the consistency and what you plan to do with it later.

If for you is crucial only the taste of the tomato sauce, then you can defrost it quicker by putting the airtight container or freezing bag in a deep bowl with water.

Or, you can start simmering it in a saucepan on low heat, which will thaw in just a few minutes.

If you need to keep also the texture from the sauce, or you have a large container with tomato sauce, then you should let it overnight to thaw in the fridge.

If you have only a small jar or freezing bag, you can leave it on the countertop for 30-60 minutes.

Can You Refreeze It?

This is a tricky process that is not recommended for many products as it can change the texture and taste of the product.

So, tomato sauce is one of the products that rapid temperature drops can badly influence. If you defrost tomato sauce once, you’d better not freeze it again.

The main problem that can appear is breaking the texture of the product. It is not the main trouble here. The most unpleasant thing here is the loss of taste. Well, it generally remains, but it becomes a bit watery.

How to Know if It Goes Bad?

The main signs of the product, if it is good or bad, are:

• Appearance;
• Smell;
• Structure.

A good product must look red as if it was cooked a minute ago. Besides, it shouldn’t produce any disgusting smell. If you feel a terrible odor, it means that something went wrong.

Don’t subject your health to risks. It is better to throw it away. No less important is to pay attention to the structure.

It must be homogeneous, without layers’ division.

Answering Your Questions:

Conclusion

If you want to make as much tomato sauce as possible at home, do it! You can easily store it in the freezing camera. It is wonderfully kept in small airtight containers or freezing bags.

You should always have enough in the refrigerator. The most important thing is not to refreeze it. Just divide it from the beginning into smaller portions.