Thick and Rich Homemade Tomato Paste
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A DIY recipe for thick, smooth tomato paste made from scratch! Preserve fresh garden tomatoes or use canned tomatoes to make this basic pantry essential. Homemade tomato paste keeps perfectly for up to a month in the fridge and even longer in the freezer.
Rich and tasty, the best tomato paste is a must-have pantry staple — it enriches soups, amplifies flavor in pasta sauces and so much more! Learn how to make it at home with this easy recipe.
Making tomato paste is an excellent way to use up and preserve a bounty of fresh garden tomatoes, or as an easy project to make with everyday canned tomatoes.
Although it’s easy enough to buy tomato paste at any grocery store, making homemade tomato paste will reward you for a few reasons.
Why you should try this recipe
- It’s fun and satisfying to make a condiment or ingredient that you’d normally buy in a store.
- The taste! Homemade tomato paste has a bright, fresh flavor. Skip the “tinned” taste you often get from canned paste.
- You’ll know exactly what’s in it — this tomato paste has just one ingredient (tomatoes), no salt, oil or additives.
Tomato paste is basically the essence of tomato — it’s made simply by cooking tomatoes and all their juices until they become thick and concentrated.
Tomato paste has slighter lower acidity and a higher sugar content than plain tomato sauce. It’s usually packaged in those familiar small 4-6 ounce cans or in tubes like toothpaste.
Fun facts about tomato paste
- Tomato paste contains an abundance of the amino acids that are the source of umami — the Japanese word for “delicious” — a sensation that you can taste in savory mushroom sauce, soy sauce and tomato soup.
- Traditionally, southern Italian and Sicilian tomato paste starts with vats of cooked tomatoes. The seeds and skins are strained out, and the resulting pulp is spread out on large wooden boards and left to dry in the sun for days.
Tomato sauce vs tomato paste
Tomato sauce and tomato paste are not the same. Tomato sauce is made with tomatoes that are seasoned with salt, aromatics and oil. Tomato paste is simply a concentrate of tomatoes.
Ingredients for the recipe
This recipe transforms one 28-ounce can or two pounds of fresh tomatoes into about 3/4 cup of rich paste (and it can be doubled or tripled). You don’t want to add salt because the resulting concentrate will be too salty.
- Canned whole tomatoes: Use best-quality canned tomatoes packed in their own juices OR use fresh or homegrown plum (roma) tomatoes, which have less water than slicing tomatoes. Because they can be expensive, I suggest saving heirloom tomatoes to use fresh in a salad or other dish.
How to make tomato paste, step by step
If you’ve ever made a fruit butter with apples or pears, the process of making tomato paste will seem familiar.
1. Put the tomatoes in a large pot, such as a Dutch oven or soup pot. 2. Simmer the tomatoes slowly on the stovetop for about 1 hour, until they fall apart and most of the liquid is reduced.
3. Push the tomato pulp through a food mill or a sieve or mesh stainer to remove the seeds and skins. 
4. Discard the seeds and peels, or add to your compost.
6. You should have a little more than 1 cup of strained tomato puree. 7. Spread the puree on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a little space around the edges.
8. Bake for 30 minutes at 275 degrees. 9. The puree should appear dry on the edges, with cracks in the surface.
10. Scrape the paste off the parchment and transfer to a clean glass jar. 
11. The paste keeps up to a month refrigerated and 3 months in the freezer.
How to use it
- Tomato paste amps up the flavor of any tomato sauce, everything thing from homemade pizza sauce, spicy arrabbiata sauce to classic Italian meat sauce.
- Add a spoonful to your favorite meatloaf recipe.
- Thicken super-savory 15-Minute Puttanesca pasta sauce.
- Create a simple, complex tasting sauce in dishes like braised Chicken and Red Wine Vinegar and simple baked chicken thighs with shallots and Dijon.
Storage tips
- Tomato paste keeps in the freezer for months and refrigerator 3-4 weeks.
- Be sure to use very clean glass jars or sterilized jars for refrigerator storage.
- Before refrigerating, pour a thin layer of olive oil on the top of the paste. This creates a seal which helps prevent mold formation.
- Silicone ice cube trays that hold 2 tablespoons per portion are perfect for freezer storage — fill, freeze and pop out the cubes you need for your recipe.
Thick and Rich Homemade Tomato Paste
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes, or 2 pounds halved fresh plum or vine tomatoes
Instructions
Yield: About ¾ cup
- Put the tomatoes in a large heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven or soup pot.
- Bring to a simmer (not a raging boil) over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice to be sure the tomatoes aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Lower the heat to medium-low or low, depending on your stove, adjusted to maintain a slow bubble. Cook uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are very thick and a spoon scraped along the bottom of the pan makes a clear path. The tomatoes should be reduced to about 1 cup, and most of the liquid will be evaporated.
- Preheat the oven to 275 (135 C).
Puree and strain the tomatoes
- Using a food mill: Insert the finest disc and set the food mill over a medium bowl. Transfer the tomatoes to the food mill. Turn the crank until the tomatoes are pureed, leaving just the seeds, skins and other solids behind. Using a mesh colander: Put the tomatoes in a fine-mesh colander set over a bowl. Use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon to push the tomatoes through the colander. Discard the seeds (or compost them).
- Line a small rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment. You can also use a shallow 1-quart Pyrex baking dish and skip the parchment paper. Spread the tomato puree in an even layer over the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the tomato paste 30-40 minutes, until the edges look dry and slightly caramelized and the top has a few cracks.
- Cool 10-15 minutes, then scrape the tomato paste into a sterilized glass jar with a lid.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Tomato paste keeps in the freezer for months and refrigerator 3-4 weeks.
- Be sure to use very clean glass jars or sterilized jars for refrigerator storage.
- Before refrigerating, pour a thin layer of olive oil on the top of the paste. This creates a seal which helps prevent mold formation.
- Silicone ice cube trays that hold 2 tablespoons per portion are perfect for freezer storage — fill, freeze and pop out the cubes you need for your recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
If using fresh tomatoes do you add any water to the Dutch oven?
No, you don’t need to add water. Fresh tomatoes will exude moisture in the pot.
I absolutely love tomato paste and have never had a recipe that allowed me to make my own. Thank you!