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This green tomato recipe is perfect for those left over green tomatoes from your summer harvest!
As the days start to get cooler and the leaves start to turn yellow, one of the few things that tend to stay green is the tomatoes that remain on the vines in the garden. This year we had a bumper crop of tomatoes that provided a bunch of great meals all summer. We had a bounty of tomatoes that led us to have more than we knew what to do with!
Green Tomatoes
Of course, once the weather starts turning cool, those tomato vines that were producing such a bounty keep putting on fruit. But, without those hot summer days to turn them red, in most gardens these green tomatoes will end up going to waste. In our house, we hate to see that produce go to waste. We started thinking of how we could use some of the gallon buckets full of green tomatoes! We just didn’t want to throw them all away!
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What Ingredients are Needed for the Green Tomato Jam?
- Green Tomatoes
- Brown Sugar
- Lemon
- Sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Zest
We aren’t big fans of that southern favorite fried green tomatoes. So, the past few years we have given a few away to friends then dumped the rest into the compost and called it a day. This fall however was going to be different after having a green tomato preserve at the bed and breakfast we stayed at last year in Napa.
The preserve we had was a rich golden color, an intriguing combination of tart and sweet. The flavor was reminiscent of tomatoes and citrus. It was a great spread on toast and was a wonderful compliment to all kinds of breakfast foods (can we just say green tomato jam and bacon… to die for!)
Having this green tomato jam made us decide that this years crop of green tomatoes were not going to go to waste!
Are Green Tomatoes Safe to Eat?
Tomatoes have a bit of a reputation that they can be poisonous. This is thanks to being related to the nightshade family. Ripe red tomatoes are highly nutritious, but the unripe green tomatoes can have a toxin that in a large enough quantity can make you sick. The safe answer is: Never eat raw green tomatoes! Make sure they are cooked before consuming!
We were searching for a recipe for tomato sauce in an old Italian cookbook when we ran across this recipe for a green tomato jam. The recipe called for a base of Wild Flower Honey and sugar to make a rich golden base. Since we didn’t have enough honey, we substituted in some brown sugar, which ended up making the base rich and caramely.
Fresh squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest give a fresh citrus burst! This balances out the sweetness of the sugar base and brings the tartness of the tomatoes out.
Use this as a spread on toast, compote with a Petrified Wood Cheese Board, or as a complimentary topping for a crostini. Try this recipe and you might just find yourself looking forward to those fall days where the tomatoes stay green!
Like this recipe? Try these below, too!
Tomato Water Bloody Mary Cocktail
Summer Breakfast – Bacon, Tomato Onion Egg Sandwich
Other Green Tomato Recipes
- Green Tomato Soup – Epicurious
- Green Tomato Salsa Verde – Montana Homesteader
- Grilled Green Tomatoes – White on Rice Couple
- Southern Fried Green Tomatoes – Divas Can Cook
- Fried Green Tomato and Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich – Spicy Southern Kitchen
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Green Tomato Jam
A delightful fall recipe that makes use of those green tomatoes you don't know what to do with!
Ingredients
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- fresh lemon zest
- 6-8 medium green tomatoes
Instructions
Rough chop the tomatoes and place into a non-reactive sauce pan.
Add salt, sugar and lemon juice to the pan and place pan over medium heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring all the while to help break down the tomatoes and fully mix the ingredients.
Once at a boil, reduce heat to medium low, allowing the mixture to simmer for 35-40 minutes, stirring regularly to keep the mixture from scorching.
With about 5 minutes left on the simmer, add in vanilla and lemon zest. Stir until fully incorporated.
Pour the hot mixture into a strainer and remove the seeds and skin.
Place the strained mixture into a mason jar and allow to cool.
Will keep in the fridge for about 1 week.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
32Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 69 Total Fat: 0.1g Saturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 38mg Carbohydrates: 17.9g Fiber: 0.3g Sugar: 17.6g Protein: 0.2g
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This look really good! Do you think I could replace the brown sugar with honey?
The original recipe called for a mix of sugar and honey. You would probably have to play with the recipe a bit, but you can probably use all honey if you needed to.
How interesting! I hate throwing away the green tomatoes. I am going to have to give this a try.
It will go well with some of your baked good we have seen!
I’ve never tried Green Tomato Jam before. It looks delicious. I have so many extra tomatoes from my garden right now. I’m always looking for great ways to use them up. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you enjoy! Good luck with all your tomatoes!
Green tomato jam? That’s definitely a new one for me but it looks pretty good.
Hope you give it a try!
Gaaaaaaaah this looks so good! I once had a tomato jam from Florence Italy and it was amazing. I’m sure this is too – can’t wait to try it!
This is based off of an Italian recipe, so hope this is as good as the one from Florence!
I woIi would never have put all that together and it looks amazing. You come up with some of the greatest recipes and food ideas. 🙂
Thanks!
What a great idea. Our tomato plant has really slowed down. Should have made jam with the green tomatoes to preserve their existence just a little bit longer. 🙂
What a great way to make use of green tomatoes! (I can only fry so many…)
Not being a big fan of the fried green tomatoes we couldn’t let them all go to waste! This seemed to work out great!
Holy guacamole! The green tomato jam looks absolutely divine.
Thanks! Hope you give it a try!
This sounds delicious! Never thought to use green tomatoes to make a jam, but the brown sugar sounds like it made extra delicious!
Great combination of sweet and tart! I think the brown sugar made it a bit richer.
That’s a great idea. I have a few green tomatoes in my backyard. I think I will give your recipe a try and see what comes out of it lol. Thanks for sharing!
Hope you enjoy it!
Love this idea – green tomatoes with lemon and brown sugar – thanks so much for the recipe. It is right up my alley. Small communities spread out here in Big Bend and when I can I like to participate in the Bountiful Baskets, where we just get large surprise baskets of fruits and veggies – jams are the best for big bushels!
Hope this can help spread some of the love out there in the Big Bend!
Can I “can” this recipe to preserve it all fall and winter?
We aren’t canning experts, but I would expect you should be able to can it and see no problems!
I canned mine last year only have one left will be canning more soon.
That’s fantastic! Hope you enjoy this batch too!
Great with brie cheese in a good grilled cheese
Oooh, that sounds delightful! What a great combo!
Can you use orange juice instead of lemon? or would it be too sweet?
Brenda, yes, absolutely! Let us know how it turns out!
I made this today and added rosemary. Turn out wonderful but the next time I would leave out the vanilla as it seems to over power it.