Don’t have tomato puree, or realized you’re all out while you’re cooking? Here’s the best tomato puree substitute to use in recipes.
Making a recipe that calls for tomato puree and don’t have it? Or not sure what it is? It’s no wonder, because it’s easily confused with tomato paste and tomato sauce. What is tomato puree?
Making a recipe and don’t have time to shop for it? Here are some of the best tomato puree substitute ideas.
Best tomato puree substitute
The best tomato puree substitute? Equal parts tomato paste and water! This makes a flavor and texture almost exactly like tomato puree. In fact, that’s what’s in most cans of tomato puree anyway. For ½ cup tomato puree, substitute ¼ cup tomato paste + ¼ cup water.
Another good tomato puree substitute? Tomato sauce! The flavor is less developed than tomato puree, but in many recipes you might not notice a difference. You can use it as a 1:1 replacement, keeping in mind the texture is slightly looser than puree.
Sauce (not shown): Most often Tomato Puree with seasoning and salt added. Due to the inclusion of seasoning and the use of Tomato Puree as it’s base, I never consider this product as an option when cooking.
Diced: Whereas I experience the same inconsistency between brand names of crushed tomatoes, I am more forgiving with the use of diced tomatoes in my cooking. A measure of this forgiveness is that the uses for diced tomatoes is far greater then crushed tomatoes in relation to their inconsistency. I use drained diced tomatoes for use in my version of Pasta Fazoul or as the basis for a semi-quick pasta sauce where I am going to simmer the ingredients for 30 minutes, but less then an hour. In that period of time, the heat softens the tomatoes, but not to the point of being mushy
Crushed: I do not use crushed tomatoes as often as I could, due to the inconsistency of the product between brand names. I define inconsistency as the liquid / solid content, skin or no skin, tomato pieces versus paste, heavily seeded or nearly seedless as a few examples. This makes it difficult to find the brand that I would prefer to use. When I think of crushed tomatoes in an Italian sauce, I envision a sauce that is fresh and rustic but packs substance in that the tomatoes have not been too processed or simmered to a smooth consistency.
Strained: Of all the products listed in this post, one of the most difficult to source at a grocery store. Processing the tomatoes includes removing the stem, leaves, skin and the seeds removed from the tomato pulp prior to further processing and packaging. Strained Tomatoes are my personal favorite and I use this product exclusively in making marinara and long simmered sauces. I find the texture and quality of this product superb. I am sure there are other companies that sell this product, but I have only been able to find the Italian brand Pomi in the grocery stores.
Personal Bias: In the end the final decision is yours on which tomato products to use in your cooking. Personal preference and comfort level go a long way in making a decision. For me, there are certain products and specific processors that I use exclusively. Whether my thought process is sound or not, but I am biased towards processors based in Italy. They are a little more expensive and not always better, but I have been more pleased with their products then not.
Can tomato paste be substituted for tomato purée?
Can you use tomato puree instead of strained Tomatoes?
It’s perfectly fine to use tomato puree instead of strained tomatoes. You can also use tomato puree in a recipe that says to use tomato puree. The reason is both are made in exactly the same way. Therefore, they have the same properties and flavor. It’s common for people to call two things that are the same two different words.
Are tomato sauce and puree the same?
Despite tomato sauce and puree being made by tomatoes, they are not the same product. It occurs due to tomato sauce content, which is made by tomato, spices, olive oil and salt. On the other hand, tomato puree is made only from cooked tomatoes, without any seasoning.
Can I substitute tomato puree for tomato paste?
If you only need ¼ cup of tomato puree for your recipe, you can substitute it with 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and 3 tablespoons of water. Tomato paste, which is made from cooked tomatoes and is concentrated, requires dilution with water to achieve the desired consistency.
Can you use canned tomatoes instead of tomato puree?
Canned tomatoes can save you a grocery run when you need a quick substitute for tomato puree. You can use whole, crushed, or diced. Simply throw the tomatoes in a blender without the juice and give them a blitz – you’ll have instant tomato puree ready to be used. If you included the juice the mixture would be too thin.