When your garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes, it is the perfect time to make homemade tomato paste. This tomato paste recipe has only three ingredients and there are two options for storing. Once you know how to make it, store-bought will no longer be an option for you.

I wanted to let you in on a little secret. If you love sea bass you need to try my technique for sous vide seabass. Perfection on a plate! Did you know that tomatoes are technically fruit? Here is a list of more fruits that start with T.
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- 🍅 Homemade Tomato Paste
- 🍅 Tomato Paste Ingredients:
- 🥣 Helpful Kitchen Tools
- 🔪 How To Make Tomato Paste:
- Why is a food mill used to make tomato paste?
- What is the difference between tomato puree and tomato paste?
- What is the purpose of tomato paste?
- ❄️ Storage Tips
- How to freeze tomato paste in portions
- How to portion out tomato paste without a mold.
- 📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
- More homemade recipes:
- Printable Recipe Card
🍅 Homemade Tomato Paste
If you are at the end of your fresh tomato supply and you have canned, juiced, dried and enjoyed tomatoes until you can't look at another tomato...WAIT! I have one more. Yes, it can be done. Just like anything that is quality, it takes time and love.
🍅 Tomato Paste Ingredients:
- Tomatoes: any variety but Roma tomatoes are preferred because they have a lower moisture content. Lower moisture = less time until you get to tomato paste!
- Olive oil: just a drizzle
- Bay leaves: 1 per two pounds of tomatoes
🥣 Helpful Kitchen Tools
🔪 How To Make Tomato Paste:
- Wash and chop your tomatoes.
- In a hot pan drizzle a little bit of olive oil. I did about a tablespoon.
- Add your tomatoes and cook until soft.
- Pass the soft tomatoes through a food mill.
- Once you have a tomato pulp and puree, return it to the stove and add 1 bay leaf per 2 pounds of tomatoes.
- Cook on medium-high to big heat to reduce the tomatoes down to the above consistency. Be sure to stir and scrape down the edges and the bottom of the pot. The longer the tomatoes reduce into a paste, the lower you should turn down the temperature.
- Portion into 4 ounce canning jars and water bath can or freeze in ice cube trays.
Why is a food mill used to make tomato paste?
The food mill makes easy work of removing the seeds and the skins of the tomatoes. It is so much easier than blanching the skins off of the tomatoes and removing the seeds by hand. I never get all the seeds out when I try and remove them by hand. The food mill is well worth the investment.
What is the difference between tomato puree and tomato paste?
The difference is consistency and moisture content. Tomato puree has a thicker consistency than tomato juice and a deeper flavor whereas tomato paste has almost all of the moisture removed by cooking it out.
What is the purpose of tomato paste?
Tomato paste is used to thicken, color, and enhance the flavor of tomato sauces and other liquids such as soups and stews without adding extra volume to the dish. Tomato paste is usually found added to Italian dishes but many other recipes benefit from the addition of tomato paste to include bolognese, pizza casserole, and even sous vide beef burgundy. If you have an overabundance of tomatoes you will want to learn to can diced tomatoes as well.
❄️ Storage Tips
How to freeze tomato paste in portions
- Using my silicone brownie squares baking mold I pipped the tomato paste into each square.
- If you don't have a pastry bag you can always snip the corner off of a resealable plastic bag. I think a gallon bag would work well in this example.
- If you need ANOTHER option, you can always just spoon the paste into each cavity. I was going for 'neat' so I used the pastry bag.
- Once done, pop them in the freezer until frozen through.
- Flip them over and they easily pop right out. I love silicone bakeware for applications like this one.
- Store in an airtight container in the freezer and you have proportioned tomato paste. I am calling each square a tablespoon.
How to portion out tomato paste without a mold.
- If you don't have the silicone brownie squares baking mold there is still YET ANOTHER method of storing.
- Pipe or dab out little 1 tablespoon blobs on a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper.
- Freeze till solid and then store in an airtight container in the freezer.
So there is yet ANOTHER way to use up the end-of-season tomatoes. Make your own tomato paste!
📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
Tomato paste is the pantry staple, bought in either small tin cans or squeezable tubes for easier dispensing. The grocery store versions are rarely more than just containers of dense, smooth tomato concentrate. When you make homemade tomato paste yourself, you get to choose the tomatoes you use and any extra added flavors, thus the quality of the finished concentrate. Slow-cooking also gives the paste a hearty, rich flavor, unlike the store-bought counterpart.
Recipes that use tomato paste:
More homemade recipes:
Printable Recipe Card
Homemade Tomato Paste
There is more to a recipe than just the recipe card. Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Ingredients
- 8 pounds roma tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 each Bay leaf
Instructions
How To Make Tomato Paste:
- Wash and chop your tomatoes.
- In a hot pan drizzle a little bit of olive oil. I did about an tablespoon
- Add your tomatoes and cook until soft.
- Pass the soft tomatoes through a food mill.
- Once you have a tomato pulp and puree, return it to the stove and add 1 bay leaf per 2 pounds of tomatoes.
- Cook on medium high to big heat to reduce the tomatoes down to the above consistency. Be sure to stir and scrape down the edges and the bottom of the pot. The longer the tomatoes reduce into paste, the lower you should turn down the temperature.
- Portion into 4 ounce canning jars and water bath can or freeze in ice cube trays.
Canning Tomato Paste Instructions
- Portioned out the tomato paste into 4 ounce canning jars.
- Leave ¼ inch head space on the top.
- Process in a hot water bath for 40 minutes. That is right. 40 minutes. These guys may be small but the contents in them are dense.
How to freeze home made tomato paste in portions
- Using my piping bag I pipped the tomato paste into each square. If you don't have a pastry bag you can always snip the corner off of a resealable plastic bag. I think a gallon bag would work well in this example.
- If you need ANOTHER option, you can alway just spoon the tomato paste into each cavity. I was going for 'neat' so I used the pastry bag.
- Once done, pop them in the freezer until frozen through.
- Flip them over and they easily pop right out. I love silicone bake ware for applications like this one.
- Store in an air tight container in the freezer and you have proportioned tomato paste. I am calling each square a tablespoon of tomato paste.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
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*This recipe was originally posted on Sept. 23, 2103
Sarah Mock
Birittney,
I keep tomato paste in the freezer for up to a year.
Brittney
How long will this last in the freezer?
HouTom
Sorry, I just have to comment on this. Romas are classified as a paste tomato not just because they have less water content but also because they are a meatier variety of tomato that therefore produces more sauce or more paste when processed.
Sarah Mock
Great catch Kathy! I wrote this post way back in 2013 and there have been so many format changes over the years. That detail somehow got over looked! I corrected the recipe card. I use 8 lbs of aroma tomatoes, with 1 bay leaf per 2 lbs of tomatoes.(this way if you want to make a HUGE batch you know how many bay leaves you know how many to use. This recipe will make about 4 (4 Oz. jars) of paste. It is NOT a lot considering what you start with but the flavors are INTENSE.
Kathy
The recipe calls for 2 pounds of Roma tomatoes but in your Notes, you mention that it took only 3 hours and 8 pounds of tomatoes to get to the finished product. So am I the one confused or did you mean to say one needs 8 pounds of Roma tomatoes to end up with 2 pounds of tomato paste?
Sarah Mock
Use Roma's if you have them available to you. If you don't, use another type of tomato. Romas have a lower moisture content and that is why I love them. Another variety may have more moisture, taking longer to reduce. I hope that helps.
Judi
In the narrative, you say any tomato BUT Roma is preferred. However, the recipe says to use Roma’s. I’m confused. Would you mind clarifying?
Sarah Mock
you are welcome to use a blender but I would run it for a few minutes. The idea of the food mill is it is going to remove all the skins and seeds. Alternatively, you can de-seed and remove the skins of the tomatoes before starting to cook them down.
Nicole
What method can be substituted for a food mill if you don't have one? ✋ Maybe a blender? Or just mash it...?
Gretta
Thanks this will help me so much
Sarah
You are more than welcome!I am glad you loved it. Tomato paste is am amazing addition to so many recipes.
Sue
~I made this today....it tastes amazing!! Thank you so much for the recipe! :)