The Difference Between Tomato Purée and Tomato Paste

Tomato purée is a blended mixture of cooked and strained tomatoes. Tomato purée has a deep, tangy taste created by mixing ripe tomatoes, salt, and citric acid (like lemon juice) using a blender or food processor. Purée is often sold as a canned tomato product, you can make it at home with your own ripe plum or Roma tomatoes.

Tomato paste is a thick cooking concentrate made of blended tomatoes. To make tomato paste, you cook tomatoes, then strain and recook them. This creates a thick, concentrated paste that has body and sweetness but less acidity than puréed tomatoes. Tomato paste is used as a thickening agent in many tomato soups, stews, sauces, or ground meat dishes like meatballs, meatloaf, or tacos.

Tomato purée and paste are both made of cooked and blended tomatoes and are often used to add flavor and texture to soups, stews, and sauces. However, there are some notable differences between tomato puree and paste.

• Their consistency is different. Tomato paste has a thicker consistency than tomato purée. Tomato paste is a concentrated paste that needs to be spooned or squeezed out of a container. Tomato purée is thinner and more liquid, like a blended sauce. Tomato puree is sometimes made of a mixture of tomato paste and water, while paste can be made from reduced purée.
• One is sweeter than the other. Tomato paste has a milder and sweeter flavor than purée, which has the more acidic taste of fresh tomatoes.
• They’re prepared differently. Both tomato paste and puree are made out of cooked and strained tomatoes cooking and straining. However, tomatoes that make paste are cooked longer and reduced to a concentrate after the water evaporates. Tomato purée is a blended tomato mixture that is a little thicker than a sauce but is less thick than a paste.
• They’re used differently. You can use puree and paste interchangeably with a few adjustments, but tomato paste is usually reserved for thickening tomato sauces (like making a marinara sauce) or providing extra flavoring for pasta sauce or pizza sauce. Tomato purée is used to make many Italian sauces such as pizza sauce, and sauce-based condiments such as salsas or dips.

Rather than run out to the grocery store, you can substitute tomato puree for your own homemade tomato paste. Read on for a quick breakdown of how to substitute tomato purée for paste and vice versa.

• Substitute tomato paste for tomato puree. If you find yourself out of tomato purée (or without any fresh tomatoes to make your own), you can combine equal parts tomato paste and water to make a tomato purée substitute. For instance, if your recipe calls for a cup of tomato puree, combine half a cup of tomato paste with half a cup of water until your purée reaches your desired consistency.
• Substitute tomato puree for tomato paste. You can substitute purée for paste in a 1:3 ratio. For each tablespoon of tomato paste needed in the recipe, use three tablespoons of puree. Cook the puree in a saucepan until you reduce the water content and it thickens into a pastier consistency.

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