Canning tomato juice at home gives you something store-bought never will: control. Control over the tomatoes you use, the thickness you want, and the flavor you build from there.

It is also one of the easiest canning projects you can take on. If you can boil water and push tomatoes through a food mill, you already have the skills. A bushel of ripe tomatoes yields 15 to 18 quarts of juice that will stay good on the shelf for a year or more.

And if you make Bloody Marys, home-canned tomato juice changes the game entirely. Most store-bought mixes are pre-seasoned juice. You are locked into someone else's recipe before you even pour. When you start with your own juice and add a seasoning-based concentrate on top, you get to decide the heat, the salt, and the savory depth. That is the difference between a drink someone made for you and one you built yourself.

This guide covers everything from picking tomatoes to sealing jars, whether you are using a water bath canner or a pressure canner.

Best Tomatoes for Canning Juice

Not all tomatoes produce the same quality juice. The variety you choose affects flavor, texture, and how much liquid you actually get out of a batch.

Roma and San Marzano tomatoes are the go-to for most home canners. They are meaty, low in water content, and produce a thick, rich juice that does not taste watered down. If you want juice that doubles as a base for soups, sauces, and chili, these are your best bet.

Rutgers and Celebrity are solid all-rounders. They have balanced acidity and sweetness, and they are bred specifically for canning reliability. If your garden or farmers market has them, grab them.

Heirloom varieties like Brandywine and Cherokee Purple offer more complex flavor profiles, but they tend to be juicier and less meaty. You will need more tomatoes per quart, and the juice may be thinner. Blending heirlooms with paste tomatoes gives you the best of both worlds.

One tip that saves frustration: pick tomatoes at peak ripeness. Firm, deep-colored, slight give when you press them. Skip anything bruised, cracked, or overripe. Bad tomatoes do not improve in the jar.

Equipment You Need

You do not need a professional setup. Here is what you are working with:

A canner. Either a water bath canner or a pressure canner. Water bath canners work for tomato juice as long as you add citric acid or bottled lemon juice to each jar (more on that below). Pressure canners give you shorter processing times and work for lower-acid recipes. Either method is safe when done correctly.

Canning jars, lids, and rings. Standard Ball or Kerr mason jars in pint or quart sizes. Always use new lids. Rings can be reused if they are not bent or rusted.

A food mill or fine-mesh sieve. This separates skins and seeds from the juice after cooking. A food mill is faster. A sieve works if you do not have one.

A jar lifter, wide-mouth funnel, and bubble remover. The lifter keeps you from burning yourself. The funnel keeps things clean. The bubble remover (even a plastic chopstick works) prevents air pockets that can ruin your seal.

Arrange everything within arm's reach before you start. Once the juice is hot, you do not want to be hunting for a lid.

How to Make Tomato Juice for Canning

Prep the Tomatoes

Wash your tomatoes under cool running water. Trim away stems, blemishes, and any bruised spots. Cut into quarters.

Cook and Extract the Juice

There are two approaches, and the one you choose affects whether your juice separates in the jar.

To prevent separation: Work in batches. Put about one pound of quartered tomatoes into a large pot and heat immediately to boiling while crushing with a wooden spoon or potato masher. Keep the mixture at a hard boil as you slowly add the rest of your quartered tomatoes, crushing and stirring constantly. Once everything is in the pot, simmer for five minutes.

This method works because cutting tomatoes releases an enzyme called pectinesterase that causes the liquid and solids to separate. Heating them quickly after cutting destroys the enzyme before it can act. It is the single biggest tip for juice that looks clean in the jar.

If separation does not bother you: Quarter all your tomatoes, dump them in the pot, crush, heat to boiling, and simmer for five minutes. Easier. The juice will have a layer of clear liquid at the bottom and pulp at the top. Just shake the jar before using it.

After simmering, run everything through your food mill or press through a fine-mesh sieve. Skins and seeds go in the compost. Juice goes back in the pot.

Adding Acid: The Step You Cannot Skip

This is the most important safety step in the entire process.

Tomatoes sit right on the edge of the acidity scale. Depending on variety, ripeness, and growing conditions, some tomatoes are not acidic enough to safely process in a water bath canner without added acid. The National Center for Home Food Preservation requires acidification for all canned tomato products, including juice processed in a pressure canner.

For quart jars: Add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice OR 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid.

For pint jars: Add 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice OR 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid.

Add the acid directly to the jar before filling it with juice. Use bottled lemon juice, not fresh. Fresh lemons have variable acidity. Bottled lemon juice is standardized to around 5% and will not surprise you.

Salt is optional. One teaspoon per quart if you want it. It is for flavor only, not preservation.

Canning Tomato Juice: Step by Step

Filling the Jars

Bring your strained juice back to a rolling boil. Keep it hot while you fill.

Using a wide-mouth funnel, ladle hot juice into each jar. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace from the top. This gap allows for expansion during processing.

Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp cloth. Any residue on the rim can prevent a good seal. This two-second step saves you from cracking open a jar in December and finding it spoiled.

Sealing

Place a new lid flat on the rim of each jar. Screw on the ring until fingertip tight. That means snug, not gorilla-strength. Air needs to escape during processing to create the vacuum seal.

Water Bath Processing

Lower sealed jars into the canner. Make sure water covers the jars by at least one to two inches. Bring to a rolling boil.

Processing times (at 0 to 1,000 feet elevation):

• Pints: 35 minutes
• Quarts: 40 minutes

If you are above 1,000 feet, add 5 minutes for every 3,000 feet of elevation. In Nebraska, most locations fall within the 0 to 1,000 foot range, so standard times apply.

When processing is done, turn off the heat. Let jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes. Then lift them out with the jar lifter and set them on a towel-covered counter. Do not tighten the rings. Do not touch the lids. Let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.

Pressure Canner Processing

If you prefer the pressure canner method, process pints or quarts at 11 PSI (dial gauge) or 10 PSI (weighted gauge) for 15 minutes. Remember to vent the canner for 10 minutes before closing the vent to build pressure. Let the canner depressurize naturally when processing is complete. Do not force-cool it.

Acidification is still required even when using a pressure canner.

Checking Seals and Storing

After the jars have cooled completely, press the center of each lid. If it does not flex or pop, the seal is good. If it bounces back, that jar did not seal. Refrigerate it and use the juice within a week.

Remove the rings for storage. This prevents rust and lets you spot a bad seal early (a lid that loosens over time is a sign of spoilage).

Store jars in a cool, dark, dry place. A pantry shelf or basement works. Avoid anywhere near a heat source or direct sunlight. Properly sealed home-canned tomato juice keeps its best quality for 12 to 18 months.

Label each jar with the date. You will thank yourself next August when you are wondering whether that jar is from this year or last.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using overripe or damaged tomatoes. Lower acidity, higher bacteria risk, and off flavors. Stick with firm, ripe, blemish-free tomatoes.

Skipping the acid. This is not optional. Every jar needs citric acid or bottled lemon juice regardless of canning method.

Using fresh lemon juice instead of bottled. Fresh lemon acidity varies too much to be reliable for canning safety.

Under-processing. Set a timer. Do not estimate. Processing times exist because they have been tested to kill harmful bacteria at specific temperatures for specific durations.

Tightening rings after processing. This can break the seal. Fingertip tight before processing. Do not touch them again until the jars are fully cooled.

What to Make with Home-Canned Tomato Juice

The obvious answer is to drink it straight. Home-canned tomato juice tastes nothing like the stuff from a carton. It is thicker, more flavorful, and actually tastes like tomatoes.

But the real versatility shows up in the kitchen and behind the bar:

Bloody Marys. This is where home-canned juice and a Stu's concentrate pair perfectly. Because Stu's is all seasoning and no juice, your canned tomato juice becomes the base and the concentrate adds the heat, salt, and savory depth. You control both sides of the equation. Try a Classic Original for a traditional Bloody Mary, or Smoked Jalapeno if you want some smoke and kick. A Michelada with home-canned juice and Stu's concentrate is a completely different experience than anything made with store-bought mix.

Bloody Mary chili. Swap the canned tomatoes in your chili recipe for home-canned juice. Add a tablespoon of Stu's concentrate for extra depth.

BBQ sauce. Tomato juice makes an excellent base for homemade barbecue sauce. The natural acidity helps balance sweetness from brown sugar or molasses.

Spicy bone broth. Add a cup of tomato juice to your next batch of bone broth for a savory, slightly acidic note that rounds out the flavor.

Soups and stews. Tomato soup made from home-canned juice tastes like it came from a restaurant, not a can. Use it as a base for minestrone, vegetable beef soup, or a simple cream of tomato.

Marinades. Tomato juice makes a great tenderizing marinade for steak, chicken, or pork. The acidity works on the proteins while the tomato flavor permeates the meat.

From Your Garden to Your Glass

Canning tomato juice is one of those projects that pays off all year. You spend one afternoon in late summer processing a bushel of tomatoes, and you end up with a shelf full of ingredients that make everything from soups to Bloody Marys taste better.

If you are already growing tomatoes and canning juice, consider what you are pairing it with. A seasoning-first concentrate lets your tomatoes be the star instead of hiding behind pre-made mix. You did the hard work growing and canning them. The seasoning should work for the juice, not replace it.

FAQ

How many tomatoes do I need to can tomato juice?

Plan on about 3 to 3.25 pounds of fresh tomatoes per quart of finished juice. A full bushel (around 53 pounds) yields 15 to 18 quarts. For a standard 7-quart canner load, start with about 23 pounds.

Can I can tomato juice without a pressure canner?

Yes. A water bath canner works perfectly for tomato juice as long as you add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to each jar. Process pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes at sea level. Adjust for elevation.

Why does my canned tomato juice separate?

Separation happens when an enzyme called pectinesterase is released by cutting tomatoes but not immediately neutralized by heat. To prevent it, heat and crush a small batch of tomatoes to boiling first, then add remaining tomatoes gradually while keeping the pot at a hard boil. This destroys the enzyme before it can cause separation.

How long does home-canned tomato juice last?

Properly processed and sealed tomato juice keeps its best quality for 12 to 18 months when stored in a cool, dark place. It remains safe to consume beyond that as long as the seal is intact and there are no signs of spoilage like bulging lids, off odors, or mold.

Do I have to add lemon juice when canning tomato juice?

Yes. Acidification is required by the USDA for all canned tomato products, including juice. Tomato acidity varies by variety and ripeness, and some modern varieties are not acidic enough for safe water bath canning without added acid. Use 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart jar.

Can I use home-canned tomato juice for Bloody Marys?

Absolutely. Home-canned tomato juice makes a better Bloody Mary base than store-bought because you control the flavor and thickness. Pair it with a seasoning-based concentrate like Stu's that adds heat, salt, and savory complexity without diluting your juice. You get a Bloody Mary that actually tastes homemade because both the juice and the seasoning are.