Easy Homemade Rotel (Copycat Rotel Tomatoes Recipe)

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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 Rotel tomato recipe comes together quickly. And there are so many recipes with Rotel, that you’re going to want to make a lot!

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Rotel Recipe

• A perfect way to use extra garden tomatoes
• Ready in just a few minutes
• Easy to freeze for later recipes
• Made with simple fresh ingredients
• Adds amazing flavor to soups, dips, casseroles, and chili

My little sprouts and I have harvested over 100 pounds of tomatoes this year. What are we doing with all of those tomatoes? We are eating them like crazy as well as freezing them to 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. 

What to Do With Too Many Tomatoes

If your garden suddenly produces more tomatoes than you know what to do with, you’re not alone. Tomato plants can be incredibly productive, and it’s easy to end up with baskets of ripe tomatoes all at once.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to use excess garden tomatoes:

• Make homemade Rotel for the freezer
• Roast tomatoes for homemade pasta sauce
• Freeze chopped tomatoes for soups and chili
• Make fresh salsa
• Add diced tomatoes to taco soup or casseroles
• Share extra tomatoes with neighbors and friends

Preserving tomatoes while they’re fresh allows you to enjoy the flavor of your garden long after summer is over. Making homemade Rotel is one of the easiest ways to turn a pile of tomatoes into something incredibly useful for everyday cooking.

What Are Rotel Tomatoes Made Of?

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

What is Rotel?

Rotel is the brand name for a canned tomato mixture with diced green chiles. Cans of Rotel are often used in soups, sauces, queso, and casseroles. 

Rotel-style tomatoes are 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. 

Ingredients in Homemade Rotel

Traditional Rotel contains diced tomatoes and green chiles. This homemade version uses simple ingredients you probably already have if you grow a garden.

You only need:

• Fresh tomatoes
• Onion
• Hot peppers or green chiles

You can adjust the spice level depending on the peppers you choose. Mild bell peppers make a gentle version, while jalapeños or serranos create a spicier Rotel.

What are the benefits of making homemade Rotel instead of using canned ones from the grocery store?

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

When you grow something with your own hands, you know what’s in it, what’s been on it, and how it’s been handled. 

It’s great to make this homemade version of Rotel for freezing instead of letting your wonderful produce go to waste. I use it in many of our favorite recipes. 

It brings a ton of flavor to dishes and it’s super versatile.

If you want to read the full story of how we got started growing our own food at Little Sprouts and get all the basics to start yourself, check this out. The Journey of the Little Sprouts: A Guide for Growing a Better Tomorrow.

How to Make Rotel Tomatoes

My Rotel recipe is so simple, and it’s easy to customize to your preferences. You only need three main ingredients. 

• 1 onion
• 2-3 peppers (bell pepper, green chili peppers, or whatever you have on hand)
• 2 cups of tomatoes

Some people prefer their Rotel to be chunkier, and other people like small pieces. You can choose what size to cut your veggies, depending on your tastes.

You can also choose the level of heat you want in your Rotel. I like to use bell or green peppers, but you can use a jalepeño or even serrano peppers if you like a little heat! 

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 for easy, healthy recipes.

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! 

Can You Can Homemade Rotel?

Yes, you can can homemade Rotel tomatoes, but it’s important to follow safe canning guidelines. Tomatoes are naturally acidic, but the acidity level can vary depending on the variety and ripeness. Because of this, most safe canning recipes recommend adding a small amount of lemon juice or citric acid to ensure the mixture is safe for water bath canning.

If you plan to can homemade Rotel, make sure to:

• Use tested water bath canning recipes for tomato products
• Add the recommended acid (lemon juice or citric acid)
• Process jars according to USDA guidelines

Many people prefer freezing homemade Rotel instead because it is faster and requires no special equipment. Freezing also helps preserve the fresh flavor of the tomatoes and peppers.

For my kitchen, freezing works best. I simply portion the diced tomato mixture into freezer bags or containers so I can grab exactly what I need when a recipe calls for Rotel.

Either way, preserving homemade Rotel is a great way to enjoy the flavor of garden tomatoes and peppers all year long.

Water bath canning is another great option to preserve your tomatoes. Because of the amount of citric acid in tomato products, they are generally a safe canning recipe. 

However, as I have stated before on this blog, USDA and DHS regulations prevent me from serving home-canned foods to my kids. I freeze as much of our produce as I can to use throughout the year. 

Freezing is so easy, and there’s no worry or stress about the process! 

How Long Homemade Rotel Lasts

Homemade Rotel will last:

• 3–4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container
• 4–6 months in the freezer for best flavor

Freezing in small portions makes it easy to grab just what you need for recipes.

Ways to Use Homemade Rotel

Once you have homemade Rotel in your freezer, you can use it in dozens of easy meals. It adds instant flavor to many dishes.

Here are some favorite ways to use it:

Recipes That Use Rotel Tomatoes

Many people wonder, “Is salsa the same thing as Rotel?” No. 

Salsa contains more water and additional spices and flavorings, such as fresh cilantro or lime juice. You can’t usually substitute salsa for a can of Rotel or a bag of homemade Rotel in a recipe. 

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

• Easy Rotel dip recipe made with real cheese, add ground beef for homemade chili con queso and serve with tortilla chips
• 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 cheese so we know the ingredients are healthy too!
• And for a taste like nothing you’ve EVER had, try this Leftover Brisket Chili in the Crock Pot. It will blow your mind! The smoky flavor in the brisket permeates every bite of chili in the most fantastic way!
• These black bean quesadillas are a favorite of the kids and adults around here.
• We love making Rotel Boat Dip with homemade Rotel too!

My homemade Rotel tomatoes are easy as can be and super handy to have on hand to add flavor to many dishes. It’s also a budget-friendly way to serve veggies to your family. 

What is your favorite way to use your garden tomatoes? I hope the next time you have an abundance of them, you’ll think to give this recipe a try!  

• 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.

Having homemade Rotel ready in the freezer makes weeknight cooking much easier.

How to Make Homemade Rotel