Tomato Bacon Jam

Making Tomato Bacon Jam is a side dish that is a little savory and a little sweet. It pairs well with crostini, pretzels, scrambled eggs… the possibilities are endless.

This is an out of the box condiment that goes well with many different dishes that can be served on a tray of appetizers. It’s a little sweet and a little savory. And best of all, it’s easy to make!

This tomato bacon jam cooks down quickly and will work well with either canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes.

How to Make Tomato Bacon Jam

Making this Tomato Bacon Jam is actually quite easy and it will definitely impress your friends. I served this jam with pretzels but you can serve yours as a condiment. Make a large batch so you will always have some at the ready in your fridge.

1. Take your bacon and render it down until it’s crispy. You will want it crispy enough so that it is able to easily crumble. Set aside.
2. In the leftover bacon grease, fry the onions until desired doneness. I like mine to be a bit caramelized.
3. Once onions are darkened, add in tomatoes and crumbled bacon. Add in the spices, sugar and vinegar.
4. Bring to a simmer and let reduce for about half an hour.
5. Taste the tomato bacon jam and adjust seasoning if needed. Add more salt, vinegar or sugar if needed.

Variations and Substitutions

Not a fan of bacon? There are ways to make this dish vegetarian and vegan.

If you do want to make this a vegan recipe, instead of frying the bacon in your pan, substitute for some olive oil. Heat the olive in your pan until it’s nice and hot and then add in your aromatics – the garlic and onion. Let the garlic and onion fry for about 2 minutes and then add in your tomato, spices and sugar. Cook down, reduce and taste. Add in more acid or sugar to your liking.

Now, if you want more meat in this recipe, there’s a variation for that as well. Simply crumble more bacon into the jam as it’s cooking. I would recommend trimming off the visible fat however, since it will become soft in the jam as it cooks. No one wants to eat a wet piece of bacon fat. Another way to add more protein to this recipe is to add breakfast sausage and to compliment the sausage by adding in fresh sage.

Another way to add in more flavor to this jam is to add broth to the jam as it’s reducing. It will add time to the reduction time, but it will add another layer of savory flavor. I recommend using a low-sodium chicken broth, since chicken isn’t as heavy in flavor as beef. You could also use a pork broth since it will compliment the flavor of the bacon.

What to Serve with Tomato Bacon Jam

Stumped as to what serve this jam with? The good new is that it pairs with anything that needs a splash of acid. Mix up your standard beer cheese by adding this tomato jam to the mix.

• Soft Pretzel Bites
• Crostini
• Homemade Pickles
• Plum Jam

Canning Jam

After making this jam, it’s safe to can it and store it. Since there is meat in this recipe, follow the USDA standards on canning to make sure you are always creating and consuming safe products.

These standards often are tweaked from time to time, but I would store your homemade canned goods in the fridge until you are ready to consume them for no longer than one year.

Tomato Bacon Jam

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Sarah Course: SideCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

50

kcal

Ingredients

• 7 strips 7 bacon

• 1 lb 1 tomatoes

• 1/2 1/2 yellow onion

• 1/2 cup 1/2 brown sugar

• 1 tsp 1 salt

• 2 tbsp 2 red wine vinegar

• 2 tsp 2 smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp 1 Dijon mustard

Directions

• Fry the bacon until crispy in a large pot, like a dutch oven.
• Once crispy, remove and crumble, set aside. Fry onions in bacon grease for about 20 minutes.
• Add in tomatoes and cook down until soft. Add in bacon, sugar, mustard, vinegar and salt. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly and then serve.