Fresh Tomato Relish
Homemade tomato relish is a condiment full of fresh, sweet, tangy flavors. This delicious recipe requires no cooking or canning and is the perfect way to top tacos, burgers, protein, bowls, and more.
Looking for more tomato condiments? Try my tomato bacon jam, tomato paste pizza sauce, tomato butter (dairy free), or tomato confit.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make cherry tomato relish:
- Red wine vinegar
- Organic cane sugar
- Celery seed
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh tomatoes – I love cherry tomatoes, but you could also use grape tomatoes or any summer tomatoes.
- Fresh chives
- Fresh dill
How to Make Tomato Relish: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
1. In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, celery seed, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and fresh herbs. Season to taste with more salt or pepper as needed. Stir to combine then transfer the tomato mixture and juices to an airtight jar or glass container. Let chill for 1-2 hours before serving for the best flavor.
Helpful Tips
- Use any variety of tomatoes either alone or a combination. If using large tomatoes such as beefsteak or heirloom varieties with smaller cherry tomatoes, cut the tomatoes into somewhat similarly small pieces.
- This tomato relish has the best flavor the next day when all the flavors have melded together.
Quick Tip: For an even more tangy flavor, reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon.
Storage
Store it in an airtight container or pint jars in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this tomato relish recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No red wine vinegar? – I recommend using sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar.
- No organic cane sugar? – use white or brown sugar.
- No chives? – although it doesn’t have as delicate a flavor, you can use green onion.
- No celery seed? – use a different seasoning for a different flavor profile such as mustard seeds or cumin seeds,
- Add-ins – red pepper, shallot, or red onion.
Variations
- Green tomato relish – use green tomatoes instead of red tomatoes.
- Spicy tomato relish – add red pepper flakes, cayenne, or hot sauce for a kick.
How to Use
This tomato relish has tons of uses. There are many different ways to enjoy it, plus it’s a great way to use up end of the season tomatoes. It’s delicious on top of shrimp or fish tacos, any white fish, chicken, white beans, etc.
You can use it on top of burgers or hot dogs as you would an onion relish, added to burrito bowls, taco salad bowls, and breakfast tostadas, or mixed into a pasta salad or a green salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tomato chutney is typically slow-cooked until the ingredients become very soft and broken down whereas tomato relish is cooked quickly to retain its texture.
Although some relish is cooked gently on the stove, I find it not to be necessary for tomato relish because the vinegar tenderizes the tomatoes, which softens their texture.
More Tomato Recipes
I hope you love this Tomato Relish! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Fresh Tomato Relish
Ingredients
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar or white sugar
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt plus more to taste, start with ¼ teaspoon if using anything else
- couple cracks of freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 ¼ pounds fresh tomatoes – any variety cut into small pieces (about 3.5 cups of whole cherry tomatoes)
- ⅓ cup sliced fresh chives
- ⅓ cup fresh dill minced
Instructions
- In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, celery seed, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and fresh herbs. Season to taste with more salt or pepper as needed. Stir to combine then transfer the tomato mixture and juices to an airtight jar or glass container. Let chill for 1-2 hours before serving for the best flavor.