Easy Pickled Balsamic and Basil Cherry Tomatoes
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Once the garden is on and you’re drowning in cherry tomatoes, this easy recipe is one that’ll tickle your tastebuds, has pretty simple ingredients, and is a great way to really work through some cherry tomatoes right quick! Â If you’re anything like me, you need maybe two cherry tomato plants and you plant 5 because you’re so concerned you might not have enough cherry tomatoes LOL Â we always have puhllenttyyyy. Â We love us some good quick pickled cherry tomatoes in this house. Â
The mixture of fresh basil with balsamic vinegar is a match made in heaven, keeping it tart with some apple cider vinegar and white wine vinegar as well is the BEST FLAVOR. Â I have created this recipe to be per pint jar utilizing a raw pack method, so you simply pack your jar layered with fresh cherry tomatoes and fresh basil leaves, add the seasonings and vinegar and go! Â We let the canning process make the pickling brine for us instead of making the hot vinegar mixture in a separate saucepan. Â This comes together very quickly and doesn’t bother with mixing a pickling brine on the stove top. Â I’m savin’ ya on dishes; yer welcome!
For this recipe, I enjoy using a variety of cherry and grape tomatoes. Any of the small ones. Mixing different colors looks really pretty in the jar! You can use diced up big tomatoes, but they just don’t turn out as good in my (not always so) humble opinion. I grow black cherry and yellow inglehearts and some different red heriloom cherry tomatoes that look so pretty all mixed up in the glass jar sitting on the shelf! After a good, cold winter, I’m ready for the time of the year where I’m picking loads of fresh summer tomatoes from the garden and making these easy pickled cherry tomatoes!
How I Use Them:
- Homemade Pizza
- Stromboli filling
- Pasta salad with fresh mozzarella
- Sourdough bread mix-in
- Pasta Dishes (add to chicken alfredo with bacon… delightful!)
- Piled on chevre and baked for a bruschetta style dip
- Charcuterie board
What is Steam Canning?
You’ll see in most of my high acid canning recipes that call for water bath canning that I usually include steam canning or even in my social media reels and posts I am usually using my big metal steam canner contraption. Â What gives? Â Most folks want to know what the heck I’m doing. Â I recently upgraded from using big pots for water bath canning and moved to a steam canner. Â
A steam canner is a shallow pan you place the jars into on a rack with a larger tight-fitting lid you place overtop to collect steam. Â Steam canning utilizes trapped steam to heat the jars through instead of submersing under water at a rolling boil. Â Steam canning uses significantly less water, meaning you can heat and cool your batches faster. Â It’s pretty amazing and I recommend it to everyone! Â The steam canner I have has a gauge on the lid that indicates when there’s enough trapped steam for my elevation for me to start the processing time which makes it super fool proof. Â
Steam canning and water bath canning use the same processing times. Â The only downside to steam canning is since the pan is so shallow, you can’t process things that require more than about 45 minutes since the pan could potentially go dry. Â That’s not all that bad since there’s really not much (approved anyway) that requires longer times.
Let’s Pickle Some Maters!
Equipment You Might Want
- Water bath canner or steam canner
- Large mixing bowl
- Pint canning mason jars
- Lids & bands
- Jar Funnel
- Jar Lifter
Ingredients
- cherry or pear tomatoes (any small tomatoes you have)
- fresh basil leaves
- unrefined raw sugar
- garlic
- salt
- balsamic vinegar
- white wine vinegar
- apple cider vinegar
- hot water
Step 1: Prep
Select firm and ripe cherry tomatoes for this recipe. Any split or blemished tomatoes shouldn’t be used. Don’t worry about removing tomato skins on these small tomatoes; they’re perfectly fine.
Wash cherry tomatoes in cold water. Rinse well and drain.
Slice fresh tomatoes in half and place into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Rinse fresh basil and pick the leaves off the stems. Set aside.
Step 2: Fill Jars
This recipe is PER PINT JAR. I repeat, PER PINT JAR.
Using a clean, room temperature jar, add sliced cherry tomatoes and alternate with basil leaves, using 6-8 leaves in each jar. If you want to use quart jars, double all the ingredients.
Tap the bottom of the jar to settle the contents and add more tomatoes if needed, keeping below 1/2-inch headspace. Do not press down on tomatoes or overpack!
To each pint jar, add:
- 1 tablespoon raw, unrefined sugar
- 1 tsp minced garlic cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup 5% apple cider vinegar
Add hot water to fill remainder of jar to 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles, add more hot water if needed to maintain headspace.
Step 3: Canning
Place jars in a water bath canner or steam canner and process for 10 minutes at a full rolling boil, adjusting time for altitude if needed.
Once processing time is complete, shut off heat and remove jars to cool on a towel lined, heat proof surface to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
Step 4: Store
Once cooled, remove bands and test seals. Any jars that did not seal can be refrigerated for later. The pickling process contains a lot of vinegar and they will keep in the fridge for months.
Wash jars, label, and store in a cool, dark area away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. Shelf life is until you eat it. If the seal is good, they’re good. Aim to use foods within 2 years for best nutritional value, but they will keep for far longer than that, especially pickled foods like these.
Allow jars to sit to flavor for about 3 days before opening, but the longer they sit, the better they get!
Notes:
- If you don’t have fresh basil, you can use dried. Just substitute about 1 teaspoon of dried basil per pint jar. It isn’t as great as using fresh herbs but it works!
- If you don’t have white wine vinegar, feel free to just substitute it with apple cider vinegar or even red wine vinegar if you enjoy that. Don’t skip the balsamic, that’s a flavor profile you need here!
- Do NOT substitute white vinegar for any of the vinegars listed above. It will NOT taste good. Ask me how I know :D
- Fresh oregano is delightful layered in if you enjoy the flavor. Red pepper flakes add a bit of heat. Play around with using different herbs and spices that you enjoy!
This is the best way to preserve a bumper crop of tomatoes. Enjoy :)
Equipment
- pint canning jars
- Lids & Bands
- jar lifter
Ingredients
This recipe is PER PINT JAR
- cherry or pear tomatoes any small tomatoes you have
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves
- 1 Tbs unrefined raw sugar
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup 5% apple cider vinegar
- hot water
Instructions
- Wash and slice tomatoes in half lengthwise. Layer into pint jar, keeping below 1/2″ headspace, alternating with basil leaves to spread throughout. Be sure not to overpack.
- Add sugar, minced garlic, and salt to jars.
- Pour over balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar.
- Add hot water to fill remaining jar to 1/2″ headspace, debubble, and add more water if needed.
- Waterbath or steam can pint jars for 10 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed. Since we’re making the brine in the jar, be sure and start with the canner warm and heat slowly to prevent siphoning and jar breakage.
- After process time, allow jars to cool 18-24 hours before removing rings, testing seals, and storing. Jars are best if allowed to flavor for 3 days, but the longer they set, the better they get!
