How to Peel Tomatoes: The Quickest and Easiest Way

🧂 Ingredients

• 7-8 ripe tomatoes

  or as many as needed – medium-large work best (like Roma tomatoes), large cherry tomatoes will work, too
• water

  for the blanching and the bowl of ice water
• ice

  for the ice bath

Instructions

• 1 Using a small, sharp paring knife, slice a shallow crisscross (an "X") at the
  bottom of each tomato (opposite to the stem end).
  
  You can also optionally cut out the stem end, if preferred. Note that this
  method works best with medium to large tomatoes that are ripe but not
  soft/mushy.
• 2 Fill a large saucepan with enough water to fully immerse a layer of tomatoes
  (don't add them just yet) and bring it to a boil over high heat.
  
  Also, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with cold water and a large
  handful of ice. Then set aside.
• 3 Working in small batches, carefully add a single layer of tomatoes to the
  boiling water and blanch them for 30-60 seconds – until the peel loosens/cracks.
  
  It’s important not to add too many tomatoes to the saucepan at once, or it will
  affect the water temperature and cause uneven blanching.
• 4 Use a slotted spoon to transfer the blanched tomatoes to the ice bath
  immediately and leave them to cool for 5 minutes or until they’re cool enough to
  handle by hand and the peels shrivel.
  
  While they are cooling, continue to blanch any further batches of tomatoes. By
  the time these are cool enough, the next batch will be ready for the ice bath.
• 5 At this point, the tomato skins should basically slip right off. If any tomato
  peel is a little stuck, use the paring knife to slip under the peel to remove
  it. Be careful not to squeeze the tomato too much.

Nutrition Info