How to Make Tomato Puree: An Easy Guide

Knowing how to make (and use!) tomato purée is one of the most versatile skills you can have in the kitchen. A smooth, thick, flavorful tomato purée can be used in all kinds of dishes, from pizza to chili to bloody marys to ketchup!

Tomato purée can also be an easy substitute for canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, or even diced tomatoes in almost any recipe. You can make tomato purée from fresh tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes, or even frozen tomatoes. Let’s show you how!

What are the best tomatoes for tomato purée?

As always, we say that the best tomatoes for tomato purée are the tomatoes you have! In general, paste tomatoes like roma tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes will be your best bet—they have thick flesh and fewer seeds. This means you’ll have less waste when you process your tomato purée through a food mill or strainer, so you’ll get more bang for your buck. But truly, any tomato you have on hand will work!

You can use fresh tomatoes, frozen tomatoes, or even high-quality canned whole tomatoes. If using canned tomatoes to make purée, we recommend you use either home canned whole tomatoes—so you can guarantee the quality—or a high-quality store-bought San Marzano canned tomato. The flavor difference is huge!

What’s the difference between tomato purée and tomato paste?

Tomato purée and tomato paste are very similar in texture and appearance, and can mostly be used interchangeably. The main difference is that tomato paste is a highly concentrated tomato sauce. Tomato paste has been simmered for a long time to remove most of the water and leave behind lots of tomato flavor.

Tomato purée is just a simple smooth blend of tomatoes. The flavor isn’t quite as concentrated as tomato paste, but it works in place of it in a pinch.

So, can tomato purée be used in place of tomato sauce or tomato paste?

Sure can! When using it in place of tomato sauce, it’s a 1-to-1 substitution—so for each cup of tomato sauce, use one cup tomato puree. When using in place of tomato paste, increase the amount of tomato purée to 1 1/2 times the amount of tomato paste called for, then also decrease the other liquids in the recipe slightly. So for each cup of tomato paste use one and a half cups of tomato purée.

What equipment do I need to make tomato puree?

All you need to make tomato purée from fresh tomatoes is a large stock pot and a blender (both a countertop blender or an immersion blender work just fine). You’ll also need knives, cutting boards, measuring cups, and probably a towel or two—tomatoes can get messy!—but you probably already have those things in your kitchen.

If you’re making the purée from frozen tomatoes or canned tomatoes, all you’ll really need is a blender!

Do I need to peel the tomatoes first?

While you don’t absolutely have to, if working with fresh tomatoes, we do recommend you peel the tomatoes first. Tomato skin can perform unpredictably when cooked—sometimes it can end up tough or even slimy. You’ll have the best results with peeled tomatoes.

How do make tomato purée from canned tomatoes?

Making tomato puree from canned tomatoes is our favorite method. A lot of the work (like peeling!) had already been done. You can have your puree done in just a few moments!

1. Select whole canned tomatoes—either high-quality store-bought San Marzano tomatoes or home canned whole tomatoes.
2. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the liquid from the can in a glass measuring cup.
3. Poke a hole in each tomato with a knife or your finger, and gently squeeze out the majority of the juice into the glass measuring cup.
4. Place the drained tomatoes into the carafe of a blender, and blend on medium-high until very smooth—adding some of the reserved juice if needed to adjust the thickness to your liking.

How do you make tomato purée from fresh tomatoes?

Making tomato purée from ripe tomatoes takes a little bit more time, but it’s totally worth it in the middle of summer when tomatoes are at their peak! Here’s how.

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. Using a sharp knife, core each tomato.
2. Plunge the tomatoes into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds.
3. Remove with slotted spoon, and immediately plunge into the bowl of ice water to stop cooking.
4. The peel should already start to slip off of the chilled tomatoes, but just use your fingers to remove it the rest of the way.
5. Gently squeeze out the majority of the juice and seeds from each tomato into a the glass measuring cup.
6. Place the drained tomatoes into the carafe of a blender, and blend on medium-high until very smooth—adding some of the reserved juice if needed to adjust the thickness to your liking.

How do you can tomato purée?

Instead of canning this tomato purée recipe, we recommend you head over to our tutorial on canning tomato sauce. This basic tomato sauce recipe is a perfect base for lots of recipes, and our canning recipe makes it safe for water bath canning to make it shelf-stable.

Can tomato purée be frozen?

Sure can! We like to first freeze it in ice cube trays, and then pop the tomato-tastic cubes out into a gallon zip-top freezer bag for long-term storage. Then you can just drop in a cube or two anytime you need some tomato flavor in soups, stews, or sauces.

How long does tomato purée last?

Tomato purée will last between 5-7 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It will safely store in the freezer for 6 months or more.

How can I use tomato purée?

As we’ve already chatted about, you can use tomato purée almost anywhere you’d use tomato sauce, tomato paste, or tomato juice. Here are some ways we use it in our kitchen:

• Combine with some herbs and spices to turn into a great pizza sauce, marinara sauce, pasta sauce, or spaghetti sauce.
• Blend up with some peppers, onion, and cilantro to make a great fresh, restaurant-style salsa.
• Use in place of the tomato juice in your favorite bloody mary recipe.
• Simmer it into the perfect enchilada sauce for Black Bean Enchiladas.
• Use it as a base for an amazing batch of Turkey Chili.