Homemade Rotel Tomatoes Recipe-Little Sprouts Learning (2024)

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Homemade Rotel is so easy to make in your kitchen! Using fresh tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers from your garden, this recipe for Rotel comes together quickly.And there are so many recipes with Rotel, that you’re going to want to make a lot!

In this post, you’ll learn what is in Rotel tomatoes, how to make homemade Rotel for freezing, and recipes to use your Rotel.

My little sprouts and I have harvestedover 100 pounds of tomatoes this year. What are we doing with all of those tomatoes? We are eating themlike crazy as well as freezing themto use later.

The kids have also been taking some home and I have been sharing with family, friends, and neighbors. I have made multiple quarts of roasted tomato sauce to put in the freezer to use throughout the year.

But one of my favorite ways to use garden-fresh tomatoes is to make homemade Rotel.

What is Rotel?

Rotel is the brand name for canned diced tomatoes and diced chili peppers. It is an ingredient often used in soups, sauces, queso, and casseroles. It’s a convenient way to add extra flavor to recipes that require diced tomatoes.

Making homemade Rotel tomatoes is simple and healthier than the canned version. I use it for many things. It brings a ton of flavor to dishes and it’s super versatile.

What are the benefits of making homemade Rotel instead of using canned?

• Using your own fresh, free ingredients from your garden
• Better flavor
• Better quality
• Chemical-free produce
• More nutritious produce

When you grow something, you know what’s in it, what’s been on it, and how it’s been handled. It’s great to make a batch of homemade Rotel for freezing instead of letting your wonderful produce go to waste.

How to Make Rotel Tomatoes

The recipe for Rotel couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is finely dice one onion, two to three hot peppers (you can use whatever kind you have on hand), and about two cups of tomatoes. The finer you can dice them, the better. I like a petite dice on my tomatoes especially.

Mix the diced ingredients together well and you’ve made homemade Rotel!

Homemade Rotel for Freezing

If you have a lot of tomatoes and peppers from your garden, make a large batch of homemade Rotel for freezing. You will only have to do the dicing and cleaning up one time. And once your Rotel is done, you’ll have a freezer full of flavor!

After dicing up the onion, peppers, and tomatoes, mix well and toss them in a Ziploc bag. Get out as much air as you can to prevent freezer burn. It lasts in the freezer for months and tastes fresher than canned in your recipes.

I make tons of Rotel for freezing. When I need a can of Rotel tomatoes, I just grab a bag from the freezer and drop it in my recipe. Easy peasy!

Using Rotel in Recipes

Many people wonder, “Is salsa the same thing as Rotel?” No. Salsa contains more water and additional spices and flavorings. You can’t usually substitute salsa for a can of Rotel or bag of homemade Rotel in a recipe.

So stick to your homemade Rotel when making these delicious dishes:

• Rotel dip made with real cheese
• This makes the perfect topping for Cheese Dip Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches too!
• We have been making these slow cooker Rotel pork chops and they are the bomb!
• We also make this spicy tuna casserole with homemade Rotel.
• The most popular soup I make for the kids is this taco soup recipe with Rotel. They just love it!
• Making chili with Rotel couldn’t be simpler. You just need some meat, beans, and your frozen Rotel. The magnificent flavor is going to blow you away!
• Or if you love a bit of kick in your soup, check out this smokey pork soup with leftover pork roast!
• One of our favorites is chicken rotel spaghetti. We call it crack chicken. Without velveeta so we know the ingredients are healthy too!
• These black bean quesadillas are a favorite of the kids and adults around here.
• Click here for a ton more recipes using Rotel tomatoes.

As I have stated before on this blog, USDA and DHS regulations prevent me from serving home-canned foods to my kids, so I freeze as much of our produce as I can to use throughout the year. My homemade Rotel tomatoes are easy as can be and super handy to have on hand to add flavor to many dishes.

What is your favorite way to use your garden tomatoes? Click here to find more ways to use your excess tomatoes from the garden. And excess hot peppers from the garden as well. There are so many other recipes for hot peppers you can make.