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A Paleo and Whole30-friendly grownup alternative to ketchup! Great as a flavorful topping on burgers and as a way to use those beautiful in-season tomatoes!
Tomato Jam. It's like a wonderful, grown up version of ketchup and can be used as a way to elevate a hamburger or to even just be smeared on some crackers.
One thing I've noticed since eating Paleo is that since we don't eat burgers with a bun, we've figured out so many creative ways to dress up a burger. It's gotten to the point that I don't even WANT a bun since why do that when you can just eat it with these awesome toppings?
It's a great recipe to make now since nice, ripe, juicy tomatoes are in season here in the US and they actually have some flavor as a opposed to middle-of-the winter grocery store tomatoes.
TIME IT TAKES TO MAKE
I'd either make this ahead of time or while the burgers are grilling. It only takes 30-40 minutes total to make and minimal prep so I'd just get it on the stove and make the rest of your dinner and then take it off as you need to serve the dinner.
I will caution you though that it depends on what kind of tomato you use – a normal grocery-store variety might take a little less time than a big heirloom due to the water content, etc.
So don't freak out if it does take you 40 minutes to thicken your jam up, and you can always pour out a little tomato juice midway through cooking if you need to speed things up a bit.
STORING AND CANNING THIS JAM
Use the tomato jam within a week of making.
You can also can this using a hot water bath for 15 minutes at sea level with 1/4 inch headspace. Just multiply the recipe by the amount you want to make. When I can this I typically put it into either 4 oz or pint jars for my family of 4.
Tomato Jam Recipe
If you make this tomato jam, I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
Tomato Jam
Ingredients
- 1 lb Tomatoes (diced with the skin on and keeping the seeds)
- 1/4 Onion (diced)
- 1/2 Lemon (juiced)
- 1/4 Apple ( diced finely)
- 1 tbs Honey (omit for Whole30)
- 1 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Coriander
- 1/8 tsp Cumin
- 1/8 tsp Allspice
- 1/8 tsp Ground Ginger
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to a good simmer and stir occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, 20-40 min (more watery tomatoes will take longer – you can always pour out a bit of tomato juice if you need it quicker).
- Remove from heat and if you desire, use a hand immersion blender or put into a blender/food processor to get a smoother consistency.
- Either use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Hi! I’ve been following you on Instagram for awhile 🙂 I saw your post about having the biopsy on your face a few weeks ago and having been thinking about you since. I hope your results came back ok. I had a melanoma 9 years ago and am always encouraging people to get things checked out. I read your ‘about me’ posts (they were great!) and I also have Hashi’s and have been Paleo for almost 3 years.
I used to work full time and decided to stay home when I had my first, it took a while to figure out what to do with myself! Now it’s great! They get home from school, have a snack, do their homework, help me make dinner then we usually play outside or walk to the park, then it’s time for bath and bed. Our afternoons go pretty fast! I hope you adjust to being home quickly, it just takes time to get a routine 🙂 Thanks for all the information you have shared!
Thanks Vanessa! I haven’t yet found out my biopsy results, argh! It’s so frustrating. It’s been a week and a half! Hope that doesn’t mean anything bad. But thanks so much for the support and for the tips on what to do with the kids. It does seem this last week my son has gotten more homework so that is helping for sure 🙂