Tomato paste substitute
Use 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce for each tablespoon of tomato paste. Cut 2 tablespoons of other liquid from the recipe, or simmer the sauce until thick first.
Out of tomato paste mid-recipe?
Tell Sous Chef what you are missing. It swaps the ingredient and rewrites the steps that use it, and keeps your original recipe.
What are you making?
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Tomato sauce
Great fit3 tbsp plain tomato sauce
For this dish: Long cooking reduces the extra liquid.
How: Use 3 tablespoons per tablespoon of paste. Reduce another liquid in the recipe by 2 tablespoons, or simmer the sauce in the pan for a few minutes first (Red Gold). Use plain sauce, not seasoned marinara.
What changes: Milder and thinner. Simmered down until thick, it can be used closer to 1:1 (Urban Farmie, Savor and Savvy).
No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.
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Passata (strained tomatoes)
Great fit3 tbsp passata (strained tomatoes)
For this dish: Long cooking takes care of the extra liquid.
How: Use 3 tablespoons per tablespoon of paste. Reduce another liquid by 2 tablespoons or simmer briefly (Red Gold).
What changes: Same flavor, but more watery and less intense (Urban Farmie).
No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.
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Ketchup
Great fit1 tbsp ketchup
For this dish: Red Gold suggests it for chili and savory-sweet sauces.
How: Swap 1:1, and cut back on any sugar in the recipe. Savor and Savvy suggests starting with half as much and tasting.
What changes: Sweeter and tangy from vinegar. Red Gold notes about 4 g of added sugar per tablespoon.
No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.
What tomato paste does in a recipe
Tomato paste is tomatoes cooked down until very thick. It adds concentrated tomato flavor, red color and some body without adding much liquid. Browned in oil at the start of cooking, it deepens stews, chili and sauces. Thinner tomato products bring the flavor but also extra water.
Swap it in your recipe with Sous Chef
A substitution is more than one ingredient line. The steps that use it change too. Sous Chef edits both on a working copy of your recipe, so the original is always one tap away.
You ask Sous Chef
"I don't have tomato paste."
Sous Chef edits the recipe
3 tbsp plain tomato sauce
Use 3 tablespoons per tablespoon of paste. Reduce another liquid in the recipe by 2 tablespoons, or simmer the sauce in the pan for a few minutes first (Red Gold). Use plain sauce, not seasoned marinara.
When not to substitute
When the paste is meant to brown in oil for depth, as at the start of many stews and ragùs, thinner swaps will not brown the same way. Simmer them down first, or accept a lighter flavor.
Common questions
How much tomato sauce equals 1 tablespoon of tomato paste?
About 3 tablespoons. Reduce another liquid in the recipe by 2 tablespoons, or simmer the sauce until it thickens.
Can I use ketchup instead of tomato paste?
Yes, 1:1 in chili, stews and barbecue sauce. It adds sugar and vinegar, so reduce any added sugar and skip it in delicate pasta sauces.
Is tomato puree the same as tomato paste?
Not in the US, where puree is thinner. Red Gold notes that in the UK and Australia, tomato puree usually means paste, so check the label.
Related
- Worcestershire sauce substitutes
- Red wine substitutes
- Chicken broth substitutes
- All ingredient substitutes
- How to substitute an ingredient
Sources
- Tomato paste substitutes (Red Gold Tomatoes)
- Tomato paste substitutes (Urban Farmie)
- Tomato paste substitutes (Savor and Savvy)
- Since you can't have too many tomatoes (National Center for Home Food Preservation)
Cook with what you have.
Import any recipe into Sous Chef and ask for the swap. It rewrites the ingredient list and the steps, and never loses the original. Free on iPhone.