6 Easy Substitutes For Crushed Tomatoes

Diced, crushed, whole, or paste? How many ways can you can a tomato? Whether you are making a pot of homemade tomato sauce, a pan of lasagna, or trying your hand at tomato gravy, if you aren’t using fresh you will more than likely reach for a canned tomato product such as crushed tomatoes. What happens if you don't have crushed tomatoes in your pantry? Thankfully, if you don’t have the exact canned item called for, there are always easy ways to substitute with another tomato product. Read on for easy substitutes for crushed tomatoes.

What Is In Crushed Tomatoes?

Crushed tomatoes are typically made with peeled, seeded, and crushed plum tomatoes. They often are made with Roma or San Marzano tomatoes but can be made with other varieties. Crushed tomatoes may be slightly concentrated or canned in tomato puree, resulting in a texture that is chunkier than tomato sauce but smoother and less watery than diced tomatoes. The unique texture is what makes crushed tomatoes so perfect for certain recipes. If you don't have any on hand, save yourself a trip to the store. There are a few crushed tomato substitutes that will keep your recipe on track.

Substituting Fresh Tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes are a natural substitute for canned crushed tomatoes, but it takes a few steps to transform them for your recipes. You can use any type of tomato, but for ultimate flavor and a less watery texture, use paste tomatoes like Roma or Amish Paste. It's even better if those tomatoes were vine-ripened in your garden.

1. To prepare your tomatoes for peeling, cut an X in the bottom of each one and set them in a pan of boiling water. After one minute, remove the tomatoes and plunge them into a bowl of icy water. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
2. Drain tomatoes, then peel off the skins and quarter each tomato. Scrape out the seeds if you want to eliminate them.
3. Put the tomato chunks in your food processor. Don’t pulverize them completely—you want your mixture to be chunky, not completely saucy. If you don't have a food processor, you can mash the tomatoes with a potato masher.
4. Optional: Mix in 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste to get a thicker texture and meatier tomato flavor. There is no need to season the tomatoes at this point because you will probably be seasoning the marinara sauce, stew, or whatever recipe you need the crushed tomatoes for.

If you don't have any tomato paste to use for thickening your tomato mixture, don't worry. You can compensate if needed by cooking your tomatoes slightly longer than what the recipe calls for.

Substituting Canned Whole Tomatoes

Canned whole tomatoes are manufactured from tomatoes specifically grown for sauces and cooking, making them a good substitute for crushed tomatoes. Cut them into rough chunks and process or mash them until you have the texture you want. If your tomatoes seem watery, add a little tomato paste to thicken the texture.

Substituting Diced Tomatoes

Diced tomatoes are larger tomato chunks packed in tomato juice. As when using fresh tomatoes, add a can of diced tomatoes to the food processor to blend them a bit, taking the tomatoes from the diced to the crushed state. Just remember to leave the mixture chunky and not turn it into a sauce. Add some tomato paste to these as well to improve the flavor and consistency.

Substituting Tomato Paste

Since canned tomato paste is much thicker than crushed tomatoes, you will want to add something to it to help with the texture. If you have them available, add some fresh peeled and chopped tomatoes or even canned diced tomatoes to the paste and blend it all together. Or, add an equal amount of water to your tomato paste to create a tomato puree.

Substituting Marinara Or Pasta Sauce

Using another tomato-based pasta sauce, or even pizza sauce, as a substitute may work, but the problem here is that these sauces are already seasoned. If you need to use a jarred sauce, be mindful of the other spices and seasonings you will be using in your recipe so you don’t get an overload of garlic, salt, or basil. You can also tone down the seasonings in your marinara by mixing in some pureed tomato sauce or fresh diced tomatoes.

Substituting Passata

Passata is essentially pureed, strained, uncooked fresh tomatoes with no additives. It’s often sold in jars, bottles, or boxes and labeled as tomato puree or strained tomatoes. It’s used as a base for pasta sauces, soups, and other dishes, and has a thick texture and rich taste. To use as a substitute for crushed tomatoes, add some fresh or canned diced tomatoes for a chunky texture.