Tomato Bacon Jam

Tomato Bacon Jam is a little sweet, a little savory, and a whole lot of delicious! Spread it on a cracker or bread, turn it into a hot or cold dip, use it to top cream cheese or brie. The possibilities are endless!

I had some bacon and some tomatoes that I needed to use and we already had made a BLT, so what else to do with them? Of course, a ton of things came to mind, but I was in a dip/jam/sauce mode and thought, hey I can make a Tomato Bacon Jam!

This recipe can be made in the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi or in a pot on the stove. It only requires a few ingredients and about 30 minutes to make.

I love condiments! From preserves, homemade dressings, bbq sauces, pickles, and marinades to sweet or savory jams, count me in! I love perusing the gourmet grocery store shelves for different types of condiments and I especially love making them at home!

If you are a condiment lover like I am, I bet you'll love these recipes as well!

Easy BBQ Sauces to Make at Home

BBQ sauces are sort of my speciality, especially fruit-based bbq sauces. I used to own a BBQ restaurant and we made all of our own sauces in house. Here are some of my favorites!

Raspberry BBQ Sauce goes perfectly on ribs and chicken, or even try it on some mild fish. YUM!

If you are a blueberry lover or an apple lover, these two BBQ sauces might be up your alley!

Blueberry BBQ sauce goes perfectly with brisket as well as chicken wings! It's also great when you want to make a grown-up ham and cheese grilled sandwich.

Apple Butter Bourbon BBQ sauce is PERFECT on burgers and pork chops or chicken!

If you enjoy a traditional BBQ sauce that is a little sweet and a little spicy, this is the one to try!

10-minute BBQ Sauce

Jams & Preserves to Make at Home

If sweet condiments are more your style, here are some recipes you will love!

Banana Jam! That's right, Banana Jam! It's unbelievably delicious and super easy to make. I spread it on toast, but it's also great on ice cream, yogurt, or used as a filling in a small hand pie.

I also have recipes for the following types of jams/preserves.

• Strawberry Preserves
• Apple Butter
• Orange Marmalade
• Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

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What are the Best Tomatoes to Use for Tomato Bacon Jam?

Any kind of fresh tomatoes that you like! I've tested the recipe with both medium-size red tomatoes and red cherry tomatoes. Both worked fine.

If you use the cherry tomatoes, you might want to use a pressure cooker to break down the tomatoes quicker. You can do this by pressure cooking on high for 2 minutes after you add the tomatoes, and then do an immediate release.

You can also simply let them cook longer and they will break down on their own. I used my Mix 'N Chop to try to break them up and they simply slipped away from me until the tomatoes softened enough, and then the Mix 'N Chop worked fine.

You can also use any variety of tomato that you like.

How to Make Tomato Bacon Jam in the Ninja Foodi or on the Stove

The only difference between making Tomato Bacon Jam on the stove versus the Ninja Foodi is just the temperature regulation.

On a gas stove, you may want to render the bacon on a medium heat instead of high.

In the Ninja Foodi, I start off on high sear/sauté and adjust the heat down to medium when the bacon starts to render and brown.

The most important thing, no matter how you are cooking the tomato bacon jam, is not to let it burn.

Keep your bacon cold until you are ready to make the tomato bacon jam, it is much easier to cut when cold. Use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to cut the bacon into small pieces.

Add to the inner pot and turn the sear/sauté on high. Dice the onion into ¼" dice and add to the inner pot. Continue to cook on high until the fat begins to render.

Turn the heat down to medium and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until most of the fat has been rendered and the bacon is brown and crispy.

Add the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and the tomatoes. You can turn the heat back up to high or leave it on medium. Stir and simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down and give off their liquid. Diced tomatoes will break down faster, and you can certainly help the cherry tomatoes by manually breaking them up with a tool like the Mix 'N Chop.

Once the tomatoes start to break apart, add the salt and the red pepper flakes, if you are using them. The red pepper flakes do not make the tomato bacon jam spicy, but they do balance out the sweet and the acid in the jam.

Continue to simmer on medium heat until the mixture reduces and thickens. I like to do what I call, "the scrape test." This means I take a spoon and scrape along the bottom of the pot. When the mixture stays apart for more than 6 seconds or so, the jam is thick enough.

Keep in mind, it will thicken as it cools, as well.

When the mixture has thickened, turn the heat off and pour into containers to cool. This is what it will look like when it has chilled.

How to Serve Bacon Tomato Jam

Bacon Tomato Jam is wonderful spread on a cracker just by itself. It's a little smokey, a little sweet, a little sour and really is a perfect spread.

I also love it as a warm dip. I mix 2 parts of cream cheese to 1 part of bacon tomato jam and warm until it's creamy and incorporated. Serve with crackers. It's so good, but I'll warn you, it isn't a pretty dip!

I think it would be wonderful as a topping for bruschetta or even pizza! I haven't tried it that way you, but I can only imagine.

I also made a cream cheese mold and then topped it with the tomato bacon jam and it was delicious as a cold spread for crackers or crusty bread.

You could add it to eggs and make bacon tomato scrambled eggs! That just came to me, and I think I'll try that soon!

Basically, get creative and try in on different things. It's good right off the spoon too!

Enjoy!