Homemade Tomato Powder: How to Freeze Dry Cherry Tomatoes
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Tomato powder turns a pile of cherry tomatoes into a pantry staple you can stir into almost anything. I made mine in a freeze dryer, and it is one of my favorite ways to preserve what we grow.
I bought my Harvest Right used off Facebook last year. I wanted a cheaper machine to make sure I would use it the way I planned. And I have! I knew I wanted it for preservation. I love canning and I love canned foods, but anyone who preserves food knows jars get heavy and take up a lot of space. Plus, you cannot safely can everything.
However, you can safely freeze dry a lot of things. You may only think of a freeze dryer as a machine for doomsday preppers. I am here to tell you a freeze dryer helps you preserve more of the food you grow. You also do not have a one year window to use it up, since freeze dried food that is stored properly can last up to 25 years.
Getting the food back is simple too. Add water or broth and the powder turns into tomato paste, sauce, or soup. I share the exact ratios below.
Ginger’s Thoughts
Freeze drying is often less work up front than canning. With these tomatoes I did not peel or deseed a single one. I cut them in half and laid them skin side down on the trays. I love my Harvest Right so much I have even freeze dried candy in it, and it comes out light, airy, and crunchy.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes: enough to fill your freeze dryer trays
Equipment You Will Need
- Harvest Right Medium Freeze Dryer (5 tray): the machine that freezes, then dries the tomatoes. Mine holds five trays.
- Freeze dryer trays with lids: the trays hold the tomatoes in the freezer and in the machine.
- Freeze dryer tray mats (parchment): keep the tomatoes from sticking to the trays.
- NutriBullet Personal Blender: grinds the dry tomatoes into fine powder.
- FORJARS Canning Funnel Set: the wide mouth funnel that gets powder into the jar without a mess.
- FORJARS 16 oz wide mouth mason jars: a pint jar holds the powder you will use soon.
- LOVE MOMENT Electric Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer: pulls the air out of the jar after every use.
- Avid Armor USV20 Chamber Vacuum Sealer: seals the mylar bag after the oxygen absorber goes in.
- Oxygen absorbers: one goes in the jar and one goes in the mylar bag.
- Mylar bags: long term storage for the rest of your powder.
- SUPVAN T50M label maker: prints the labels so you know what is in the jar and when you made it.
- Round label tape: the labels that go on top of the jars.
- Rectangular label tape: the labels that go on the mylar bag.
- Kitchen scale that reads in single grams: for the weight check on your mylar bag.
- Cutting board and sharp knife: for halving the tomatoes.
How to Make Tomato Powder
Step 1: Rinse the cherry tomatoes
Rinse your cherry tomatoes under running water. I used a mix of red, orange, and yellow tomatoes from our garden. You do not need to peel them.
Step 2: Cut the tomatoes in half
Cut each tomato in half. Halving opens the inside so the moisture has a way out in the freeze dryer. You do not need to deseed them either.
Step 3: Lay the halves on your trays
Lay the halves skin side down, cut side up, in a single layer on trays lined with parchment tray mats. Leave a little room between pieces. I did not weigh my tomatoes. I filled my freeze dryer trays and moved on, which is the beauty of freeze drying.
Step 4: Pre-freeze the trays
Put the lids on your trays and stack them in your home freezer. I froze mine overnight, about 15 hours. You can freeze for as little as 5 hours if you add extra freeze time on the machine. I explain why in the tips below.
Step 5: Load the freeze dryer
Move the frozen trays into your freeze dryer. Work quickly so the tomatoes stay frozen on the way from the freezer to the machine.
Step 6: Set your freeze dry cycle
These are my settings: initial freeze at -10 degrees, 2 hours of extra freeze time, a dry temperature of 115 degrees, and 6 hours of extra dry time. My machine ran for a total of 28 hours. Do not interrupt the cycle.
Step 7: Check that the tomatoes are fully dry
When the cycle ends, pull out a tray and pinch a piece of tomato. It should crumble and feel dry all the way through. If any piece feels cold or soft in the center, run more dry time before you go any further.
Step 8: Gather the freeze dried tomatoes
Pull your trays as soon as the cycle finishes. Freeze dried tomatoes start pulling moisture out of the air right away, so go straight to grinding.
Step 9: Grind the tomatoes into powder
Fill your NutriBullet cup with the dry tomato halves and blend until you have a fine powder. Repeat with the rest of your tomatoes.
Step 10: Collect the powder in a bowl
Pour each batch into one large bowl and stir it together so your powder has the same texture throughout.
Step 11: Funnel the powder into a jar
Set a wide mouth funnel on a pint jar and pour in the powder. I filled one pint jar with powder for the pantry.
Step 12: Add an oxygen absorber to the jar
Wipe the rim of the jar clean, then drop an oxygen absorber on top of the powder.
Step 13: Vacuum seal the jar
Set your electric jar sealer on the jar and seal it. I reseal the jar after every use.
Step 14: Fill a mylar bag for long term storage
Pour the rest of your powder into a mylar bag, add an oxygen absorber, and vacuum seal the bag. My second pint of powder shrank down even more once the air was out.
Step 15: Weigh and label
Weigh your sealed mylar bag with everything inside and write the weight on the label. Put a label on the jar top with the name and the date. I labeled mine “Tomato Powder, September 2026.”
Freeze Dried vs Dehydrated Tomato Powder
Freeze drying beats dehydrating for tomato powder. Freeze dried tomatoes grind into a much finer powder. The powder keeps far longer, up to 25 years in mylar. Freeze drying holds the bright red color and fresh tomato flavor. Heat dehydrating leaves tomatoes darker with a caramelized taste. A freeze dryer is the better way to make tomato powder.
How to Use Tomato Powder
Tomato powder rehydrates with water or broth. Here are my ratios, written as parts powder to parts liquid:
- 1 part powder to 1 part water makes tomato paste.
- 1 part powder to 2 parts water makes tomato sauce.
- 1 part powder to 4 parts water makes a soup base or tomato juice.
Most recipes never call for a whole can of tomato paste. When a recipe asks for that dreaded 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, I pull out my jar of tomato powder and mix it 1 to 1 with water. I get the paste I need without wasting the rest of the can or freezing it and never finding it again in the freezer. I also stir a few tablespoons into dishes like cabbage soup for more tomato flavor.
Tips for Making Tomato Powder
- Freeze in your home freezer first. Your freezer is already cold, so the tomatoes freeze faster. About 5 hours is enough if you add extra freeze time on your Harvest Right. The extra time lets the machine reach temperature and refreeze any tomato that started to thaw while it cooled. Your freeze dryer can do all the freezing for you, but that takes longer and uses more electricity.
- You do not need to weigh your tomatoes. Freeze drying has no safe weight requirement like canning does. Fill your trays.
- Do not stop the cycle early. Halved cherry tomatoes hold more moisture than thin slices. My cycle ran 28 hours with 6 extra hours of dry time. For the basics of how a cycle works, read my freeze dried cucumbers post.
- Grind right away. Powder pulls moisture from the air fast. Pull the trays, grind, and seal.
- Test a piece before you grind. It should crumble and feel dry all the way through.
- Use a scale that reads in single grams. A small moisture gain in a mylar bag is easy to miss on a scale that rounds to the ounce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to peel or deseed the tomatoes?
No. I rinsed my cherry tomatoes, cut them in half, and laid them on the trays. Nothing else.
How many tomatoes do I need?
Fill your freeze dryer trays. There is no set weight. I filled my trays and ended up with two pints of powder.
Can I freeze the tomatoes in the freeze dryer instead of the freezer?
Yes. The machine will freeze your food for you. It takes longer and uses more electricity. I like to freeze in my home freezer first and add a few hours of extra freeze time on the machine.
Why did my cycle take so long?
Halved cherry tomatoes hold a lot of moisture. My cycle ran 28 hours with 6 extra hours of dry time. My cucumber chips finished in 16 to 18 hours.
Is freeze drying better than dehydrating for tomato powder?
Yes. Freeze dried powder is finer, keeps longer, and tastes more like fresh tomatoes.
How do I turn tomato powder into paste, sauce, or soup?
Mix 1 part powder with 1 part water for paste, 2 parts water for sauce, or 4 parts water for soup or juice. Broth works too.
Do I need an oxygen absorber?
Yes, for long term storage. I add one to the jar and one to the mylar bag.
How long does tomato powder last?
Mylar bags sealed with an oxygen absorber are rated for up to 25 years when stored in a cool, dark, dry place. My jar stays in the pantry for one year. See the storage section below for my weight check.
How to Store Tomato Powder
Room Temperature
Store your sealed mylar bag in a cool, dark, dry place. Bag makers rate sealed bags with an oxygen absorber for up to 25 years. That is the manufacturer rating, and I sealed this batch in September 2026, so I cannot speak to year 25 yet.
Here is how I check a bag before I open it. Weigh the sealed bag with everything inside and write the weight on the bag. Weigh it again before you open it. If the weight is the same, nothing got in. If the bag weighs more, moisture got in and mold is likely, so do not use it.
For the jar, I follow the same rules as any other jarred food. I vacuum seal the jar after every use and keep it in the pantry for one year.
Refrigerator
The dry powder does not need the refrigerator. After you add water, treat it like any tomato paste or sauce. Refrigerate it in an airtight container and use it within 3 to 4 days.
Freezer
You do not need to freeze the powder. If you rehydrate more than you need, freeze the extra paste in small portions and thaw only what you use.
Freeze Dried Tomato Powder
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse the cherry tomatoes.
- Cut each tomato in half.
- Lay the halves cut side up in a single layer on lined freeze dryer trays.
- Cover the trays and freeze them in your home freezer for 5 to 15 hours.
- Load the frozen trays into the freeze dryer.
- Run the cycle: initial freeze -10 degrees, 2 hours extra freeze, dry temp 115 degrees, 6 hours extra dry time. My total run time was 28 hours.
- Pinch a piece to check it crumbles and is dry all the way through.
- Pull the trays right away and grind the tomatoes in a blender until fine.
- Funnel some powder into a jar, add an oxygen absorber, and vacuum seal the jar.
- Pour the rest into a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber and vacuum seal the bag.
- Weigh the sealed bag, write the weight on the label, and store it in a cool, dark, dry place.
Notes
Final Thoughts
Tomato powder is one more way a freeze dryer helps you keep what you grow. If you love preserving, try my freeze dried cucumbers, my sun-dried tomatoes, or my guide to preserving herbs from your garden.
My Go-To Canning and Food Preservation Tools
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