Here's How To Make Your Own Tomato Purée At Home, And It's Surprisingly Easy

If you’ve read my thoughts on brownies, carrot cake, or fudge, you’ll know I can be pretty particular about my food. 

The same goes for cupboard staples too ― some, like butter, aren’t worth making yourself, I reckon, but others pay back your effort in spades.

I’m a big fan of DIY tomato purée because it allows you to control the taste and thickness, and also gives you a genuinely useful way to use up all those uneaten tomatoes. 

So I thought I’d share how I do mine. 

How do you make tomato purée?

The only ingredient you’ll need is tomatoes.

Because the recipe contains no other ingredient, there are no ratios to toggle with, so it doesn’t matter how many you have ― whatever you’ve got will do, though it’s a bit of a process so I like to do big batches at once. 

If you want to peel the tomatoes, you might want to boil and then blanch them in ice water to make the skin easier to remove, but I don’t bother. 

Chop your tomatoes up (smaller chunks will cook faster, but it’ll get blended, so don’t stress out about finely dicing them) and put them in a saucepan over medium heat.

Though some recipes will ask you to boil tomatoes in some water, I’ve never seen the point. Like stewing apples, I find the fruits provide enough liquid to simmer themselves.  

Once you’ve got a rapid boil, turn your heat down and let the tomatoes simmer for at least ten minutes. The longer you leave it on the hob, the thicker your tomato purée will be. 

Then, let the tomatoes cool for at least five minutes and run them through a blender before straining the whizzed-up thickened tomatoes through muslin or even a sieve. 

That’s your purée ― if you reckon it’s a little bit too thin, you can put it back on the hob to reduce more. 

Any tomatoes work, but locally-grown ones will taste better.

How long does it keep?

Culinary site The Spruce Eats says you can leave homemade tomato purée in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. I find the flavour’s only good for up to about five days. 

But you can freeze it in ice cube trays or airtight bags for up to six months ― again, The Spruce Eats says the taste degrades a bit after month three.

Though it is possible to can it at home, I’d recommend advising against it if you’re not canning with an expert or aren’t experienced with the process yourself. Unsafe canning can cause potentially deadly botulism.