Canning cherry tomatoes sounds simple until the actual instructions show up. A permies.com forum member posting as Matt McSpadden described growing Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomatoes. That variety produces so heavily it becomes a preserving problem fast.
That kind of production is exactly what pushes a gardener toward canning in the first place. The tested method for canning whole tomatoes was written with beefsteaks in mind, though. It was not written for a colander of pea sized fruit.
This guide covers what the official method actually asks of a cherry tomato harvest. It also covers the real processing times and how real canners work around the tedious part.
The short version
Cherry tomatoes can be canned using the same tested methods as full sized tomatoes, whole or halved. The official raw pack method calls for peeling every tomato first. That turns into real work at cherry tomato scale.
Processing time depends on which method gets used. Raw packed jars with no added liquid need 85 minutes at sea level, notably longer than most people expect.
Real canners often sidestep peeling altogether. Running a heavy cherry tomato harvest through a strainer into juice or sauce uses a different method entirely, and it processes faster too.
What the tested method actually requires
The National Center for Home Food Preservation’s raw pack method starts the same way regardless of tomato size. Wash the tomatoes, then dip them in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, until the skins split.
A cold water dip follows, then the skins slip off by hand. NCHFP’s instructions call for tomatoes left whole or cut in half. They get packed into jars with bottled lemon juice or citric acid added for acidification.
Jars get pressed firmly enough that juice fills the gaps between the fruit. A half inch of headspace stays at the top. A teaspoon of salt per quart is optional and only affects flavor, not safety.
The processing time that surprises people
Raw packed tomatoes with no added liquid need a genuinely long time in the canner. NCHFP lists 85 minutes for both pints and quarts at sea level in a boiling water bath.
That time climbs further at altitude, reaching 100 minutes above 6,000 feet. A weighted gauge pressure canner cuts that down to 40 minutes. That is still longer than many gardeners expect for a jar of small fruit.
Packing tomatoes hot, in tomato juice instead of raw, runs faster. This site’s canning guide covers that hot pack method in full. Pints need just 40 minutes and quarts need 45 at sea level.
The part nobody mentions: peeling dozens of tiny tomatoes
A beefsteak tomato takes one dip, one peel, one tomato in the jar. A cup of cherry tomatoes is dozens of individual fruit. Each one needs its own dip and peel under the letter of the tested method.
Real canners have found their own ways around this. On a permies.com thread about canning efficiency, a member posting as M Ljin described a shortcut for a heavy harvest of Sungold cherry tomatoes. A KitchenAid mixer’s fruit and vegetable strainer attachment did the work, which that poster called a huge time and hand saver.
That approach turns the fruit into sauce or juice rather than whole canned tomatoes. It still uses NCHFP’s tested juice method afterward, and it avoids peeling a single tomato by hand.
Two more real tricks for the peeling problem
Freezing first is a second real workaround. On that same permies.com thread, a member posting as pollinator described freezing tomatoes whole. The frozen fruit then goes straight into boiling water, where the skin slips right off.
The freezing step cracks the skin. That makes the boiling water dip even more effective than it is on fresh fruit. A member posting as Jan White confirmed the same trick works on small tomatoes specifically.
Jan White also described roasting halved tomatoes until the edges brown. The skins slip off easily afterward, with better flavor as a bonus. Either trick still leads back to the same acidified, tested canning process.
When juice or sauce beats whole jars
A big harvest of small tomatoes is often better suited to juice or sauce than to whole packed jars. This site’s canning guide notes that tomato juice processes faster than whole tomatoes. Pints need 35 minutes and quarts need 40 at sea level.
Running a cherry tomato glut through a strainer, food mill, or juicer skips the individual peeling entirely. It produces a base for sauce, soup, or juice all winter. For a gardener buried in cherry tomatoes, that trade is often worth making.
Frequently asked questions
Can you can cherry tomatoes whole?
Yes, using the same tested raw pack method as full sized tomatoes. Each tomato still needs to be blanched and peeled first. Processing then runs 85 minutes at sea level in a boiling water bath.
Do you have to peel cherry tomatoes before canning?
The tested method calls for it, yes. Real canners often work around the tedium by freezing the tomatoes first. That trick makes the skins slip off more easily during a quick boiling water dip.
Is canning cherry tomatoes faster than regular tomatoes?
Not necessarily. The raw pack processing time is the same regardless of tomato size. A jar of cherry tomatoes takes just as long in the canner as a jar of beefsteak halves.
What is the fastest way to preserve a big cherry tomato harvest?
Run the tomatoes through a strainer or food mill into juice or sauce first. Canning that using NCHFP’s juice method processes in 35 to 40 minutes at sea level and skips peeling each tomato by hand.
Do cherry tomatoes need to be acidified before canning like other tomatoes?
Yes, every jar, with no exceptions. This site’s canning guide covers the exact amounts of bottled lemon juice or citric acid required per jar size.
Bottom line: canning cherry tomatoes uses the same tested methods as full sized fruit. The official raw pack instructions call for peeling every single tomato, though, which turns tedious fast at cherry tomato scale. Processing runs 85 minutes at sea level for raw packed jars, longer than most people expect. Real canners get around the peeling grind by freezing the tomatoes first or running a big harvest through a strainer into juice instead of whole jars. For the exact acidification amounts and jar prep basics, see this site’s canning guide at https://knowtomato.com/canning-tomatoes/.
SOURCES
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Whole or Halved Tomatoes, Packed Raw Without Added Liquid. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/how-do-i-can-tomatoes/whole-or-halved-tomatoes-packed-raw-without-added-liquid/
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Tomato Juice. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/how-do-i-can-tomatoes/tomato-juice/