While commonly used in several recipes, plum tomatoes are not irreplaceable. As such, if you need plum tomatoes substitute, you’ll find plenty of options within other varieties of tomato, or in tomato-based products.
A classic property of plum tomatoes is that they’re fleshy with relatively low water content. This characteristic makes them a perfect choice for sauces and soups where they can add the plum tomato goodness without watering down the recipe.
Of course, they’re good to go for other recipes as well, sandwiches and other recipes that make use of tomatoes. Do remember though, that though plum tomatoes are liked or even prized for a lot of things, they are not prized for taste. Plum tomatoes (also known as roma tomatoes) are somewhat lacking in flavors, but they do make up for it with texture.
Generally, you can substitute plum tomatoes with regular tomatoes, canned tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and heirloom tomatoes. For some applications, you can also use tomato sauce or tomato puree.
Now it’s time we discuss these substitutes and working or using them into your recipe in some detail.
Table of Contents
Top Plum Tomato Substitutes To Use
1. Regular Tomatoes (Globe, Beefsteak, Or Slicing Tomato)
Regular tomatoes, as we know them, include several cultivars of tomato that can be broadly categorized by type and usage as globe, beefsteak, or slicing tomato. And yes, there’s a good chance that the regular tomato you just bought from the supermarket will work as a plum tomato substitute.
There are two notable differences though. The first is flavor. Regular tomatoes get all that love because they have quite the flavors to show – there’s some tartness and a bit of sweetness to go along with it. The second difference is the water content. These tomatoes are more watery and less fleshy when compared to plum tomatoes.
However, most recipes can deal with these differences by making some adjustments to keep things flowing.
If you’re making a small batch of sauce or stew, just let the regular tomatoes replace plum tomatoes in the recipe. The additional ingredients of the recipe can see some adjustment to accommodate the more flavorful regular tomato.
Dealing with the additional water content is a bit more difficult and the solution will have to rely on a basic cooking technique. This involves cooking for longer, thus giving the sauce or stew a longer time to give up additional water as evaporation.
Reducing the recipe this way works fine, though it will obviously take a longer time and need more attention. Once the recipe is at the desired consistency or texture, you’re ready to enjoy the food!
2. Canned Tomatoes
Canned tomatoes make for an excellent and viable choice for plum tomatoes substitute. Considering their packaging, they can be a lot more watery than conventional tomatoes.
This is less of a problem with canned whole tomatoes. In fact, canned San Marzano tomatoes are possibly the best substitute for plum tomatoes, though other options will work as well. Given that San Marzano tomatoes are a type of plum tomatoes, the substitution is pretty natural. And if you’re dealing with whole tomatoes, it is easier to drain the water. Even a fine mesh coriander would work fine.
On the other hand, when using canned diced tomatoes, a more succinct approach is desirable. In that case, you can remove the excess water by pushing down the canned tomatoes with the opened lid. Here’s a YouTube video that does a good job explaining this process.
Alternatively, you can follow the classic method. If there’s excess water, just cook it for longer, allowing the mix to reduce until you get the right consistency.
A similar approach is necessary when using canned tomato paste. Since most methods of filtering aren’t exactly desirable, it is best to use it in a recipe as is, or reduce the paste by cooking it until the excess water evaporates.
3. Cherry Tomatoes
The small and delicious cherry tomatoes seem like a good replacement for plum tomatoes in several recipes. However, while there is a similarity in size, a successful substitution requires a little more effort.
It so happens that cherry tomatoes have more seeds and a higher water content than plum tomatoes. Both of these may not be the desired qualities for many recipes that involve plum tomatoes.
So, if you’re going with this option, it’s best to consider deseeding the tomatoes. Additionally, cooking the tomatoes for longer to reduce the water content might also be desirable.
4. Heirloom Tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes are a popular variety of tomato cultivars. In a crude sense, the tomatoes in this category are more natural, often without the uniform color and other similar properties afforded by modern hybridized seeds. As such, they can often be juicier and sweeter than hybridized seeds.
While heirloom tomatoes might not be the exact choice for modern needs, they more closely resemble the tomatoes for several older recipes. And therefore, they can often lead to more flavorful and lovable recipes.
However, when using heirloom tomatoes to substitute for plum tomatoes, it’s necessary to depend on skill. These varieties are fairly different and possess their own separate characteristics. As such, it would take a skillful chef or cook to correctly use heirloom potatoes as a substitute.
Yet, since these are a popular category and increasingly liked, there is a good chance for the success of the substitution as well as the tomatoes contributing significantly to the recipe.
5. Tomato-Based Products (Puree And Sauce)
This is not ideal substitution, but using tomato-based products can work in some situations for a few recipes. Do remember, this is more like a last-ditch effort for substitution and can work with only some recipes. One big reason for this is that plum tomatoes are often used to make sauces and stews.
Therefore, chucking in commercial tomato puree or tomato sauce into the mix could have notable implications for the recipe. It could turn out more watery or bring in additional flavors that are not common to plum tomatoes.
As an example, tomato sauce could have seasoning added. If you’re working with ketchup, it might even have pepper, vinegar, and onions. Similarly, tomato puree, while less likely to have these additional ingredients, may bring a difference in flavor.
While these challenges are surmountable, they do warrant additional care when using tomato puree or tomato sauce as a substitute for plum tomatoes.
Best Plum Tomatoes Substitute – Options That Fit The Role
When choosing an alternative for plum tomatoes, you theoretically have the vast variety of tomato cultivars to choose from. The best course of action, though, would be to choose tomatoes that show similar properties, like being fleshier with low water content.
Other similar plum tomatoes or roma tomatoes could fit this role, including San Marzano tomatoes. These tomatoes are also favored for canning, so there’s a good chance of finding the right type of canned tomato. On that note, canned tomatoes work very well as plum tomato substitutes.
It’s also possible to use regular tomatoes as substitutes, though it will be necessary to deal with the additional water content and the possibility of working with more flavorful tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes also work, though they will present the same challenges as regular tomatoes.
Overall, with some management of water content and flavors, it should be possible to use several tomato options to substitute plum tomatoes in a recipe.