Getting hold of a useful tomato puree substitute need not take a lot of effort, since there are several tomato-based products that get pretty close to the puree in taste and texture. Besides, there’s always room to just roll your sleeves up and just get to work with some tomatoes!
However, things can get a little complex if you want a tomato puree substitute that’s a non-tomato product, or if the preference lies with a substitute that doesn’t have ingredients from the nightshade family. This goes beyond the conventional substitutes, so I’ll include related ideas in the discussion.
Anyways, conventionally, the top substitutes for tomato puree are tomato sauce, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, tomato ketchup, pizza sauce, and marinara sauce. Those looking for no-tomato, no-nightshade substitutes can try puree made using pumpkin and butternut squash.
In a way, these are not absolutely about substitution. Rather, we work with the ingredients to form a close approximation of tomato puree. Of course, the no-tomato, no-nightshade options are somewhat true substitutes, since they don’t exactly try to mimic tomato puree.
Let’s get into the details of these options and substitutions.
Table of Contents
Top Substitutes For Tomato Puree Worth A Pick
1. Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce is one of the easiest available and straightforward substitutes for tomato puree. There can be a slight difference in consistency, however, that’s easily handled by adding water to the sauce if you want it thinner, or reducing it over heat where a thicker consistency is desirable.
Another difference comes in taste, since some herbs and spices are usually added to tomato sauce. For many recipes, the solution can be as simple as managing the additional ingredients during cooking.
The substitution for tomato puree with tomato sauce is usually a 1:1 ratio.
2. Tomato Paste
Going with tomato paste is the path to a more exact substitution for tomato puree. In the simplest sense, tomato paste with water is the same as tomato puree.
The substitution is as straightforward as equal parts of tomato paste and water.
For example, if the recipe needs one cup of tomato puree, it’s possible to use half-a-cup of water with half-a-cup of tomato paste. Of course, there is always room to manage the amount of water to get the desirable consistency.
3. Canned Tomatoes
Canned tomatoes are a workable substitute for tomato puree, if not an ideal one. There is an obvious difference with consistency, but more importantly, with the presence of seeds and skin. While these aren’t dealbreakers by themselves, they can affect texture, which might not always yield best results.
One way to get around this is to blend the canned tomatoes (whether diced or whole) until a desirable smooth texture is achieved. Then strain through a sieve to remove seeds and skin, thus resulting in a tomato puree.
A major problem when working with this method is the high water content for canned tomatoes. It is often desirable to remove some of the can’s liquid content before blending the tomatoes. Alternatively, it’s possible to reduce the puree mix from canned tomatoes over heat to get the right consistency. However, this method can be rather time consuming and can feel like too much work!
4. Tomato Ketchup
This is an option to consider when you’re in a real tough spot and need a quick alternative to tomato puree. Tomato ketchup can work, but it isn’t an ideal substitute.
Tomato ketchup contains a variety of additional ingredients beyond tomatoes, like herbs, spices, vinegar, salt, and a fair bit of sugar. It departs quite a bit from the conventional taste of tomato puree.
However, it can come in handy when a quick substitute is a necessity. It can work well for savory recipes, while depending on other ingredients to somewhat mask the differences in flavor from tomato sauce.
When using this substitution, you may want to start with a slightly smaller amount of tomato ketchup as compared to the requirement for tomato puree. Adding a bit of water can be helpful to get the consistency right as well as for diluting the flavors of ketchup.
5. Marinara Sauce
Much like tomato ketchup, marinara sauce is an ingredient to use as a substitute for tomato puree when in a pinch.
Marinara sauce often has some strong flavors thanks to the presence of herbs and spices, plus a sweetness that comes with the presence of additional sugar. As such, homemade marinara that leans less into added sugar might be more desirable as a substitute for tomato puree.
Apart from being more flavorful, marinara sauce can also be thicker than tomato puree. So, when using this as a substitute, it can be useful to employ a slightly smaller amount of marinara sauce (when compared to the original tomato puree) and dilute it with water.
6. No Tomato Or No-Nightshade Substitutes
Things can get a little more difficult in case the requirement for a substitute arises specifically due to a desire to avoid tomatoes or even the entire nightshade family.
Tomatoes are rather versatile, and they’re also a rather unique and interesting flavor and color. So, a true replacement as a substitute becomes rather difficult.
Yet, there are substitutes to try. Here are a few ideas worth a shot:
- Pureed roasted red bell peppers or red bell pepper pesto (no tomato option)
- Some types of Harissa are good no tomato options, however the spicy versions are best avoided when substituting for tomato puree
- Specialized recipes like this one or others available through various sources can be suitable no-tomato and no-nightshade substitutes.
- Pumpkin puree is an excellent substitute for tomato puree, providing similar consistency and texture. However, it comes with additional sweetness, while lacking the color and flavors of tomato puree.
The sweetness can be balanced by adding some vinegar or lemon juice to pumpkin puree. If color is important as well, consider adding some beetroot juice or red food coloring to make things work.
Picking A Tomato Puree Substitute – Conclusion
When picking the best tomato puree substitute, consideration is natural for consistency, flavor, and color. The top choices of substitutes usually come straight from other tomato products like tomato paste or tomato sauce. However, more specialized and specific options can be considered for those who want a no-tomato or no-nightshade option. While pumpkin puree is an excellent pick in this scenario, other options without tomato do exist and are quite useful.
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