America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Ingredients

Cooking with Canned Tomatoes

Canned tomatoes are the ultimate in home-cooking convenience. In this guide, we explain when to use which.

Haven’t made plans for dinner? Canned tomatoes are an easy grab-and-go staple for home cooks everywhere, used in an array of dishes from simple spaghetti sauce to shakshuka. Here’s a guide to our favorite canned tomato products—what to look for, when to use them, and which ones to buy. 

Canned Whole Tomatoes

Canned whole tomatoes are versatile. You can dice, crush, or puree them for an infinite range of applications, including soups, stews, and sauces. Fancier isn't necessarily better. In our most recent tasting, we found significant differences between domestic products and imported ones made with San Marzano tomatoes. Whole tomatoes canned in the United States had a firmer texture than imported varieties, usually due to the inclusion of calcium chloride during the canning process. For cooked applications, we slightly preferred the imported varieties, which lacked this additive. Genuine canned San Marzano tomatoes were softer and broke down into rich, silky, substantial tomato sauce with excellent, deep tomato flavor. Regardless of type, we preferred products that had low to moderate amounts of sodium and a flavor profile that balanced sweetness and acidity well. 

ATK Recommends: Cento San Marzano Certified Peeled Tomatoes ($4.49 for 28 ounces)

Canned Diced Tomatoes

We love using canned diced tomatoes in pasta sauce, soups, stews, and chili—even in salsa when fresh tomatoes aren’t available. In our most recent tasting, we preferred products with tomatoes that had been cut into consistent small dice and processed using relatively cool temperatures, which yielded a flavor that was fresh and bright. We also preferred diced tomatoes that were fairly salty and processed with calcium chloride, an additive that ensured that the tomato pieces were firm and well-defined, with a nice bite. 

ATK Recommends: San Merican Diced Tomatoes ($3.69 for 28 ounces)

Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes

Fire-roasted diced tomatoes have a smoky, sweet flavor that is great for dishes where you want a little charred flavor, including salsa, chili, tacos, and soups. Our favorite product is assertively smoky and has a warm, intense tomato flavor.ATK Recommends: DeLallo Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes in Juice with Seasonings ($2.50 for 14.5 ounces)

Crushed Tomatoes

Crushed tomatoes walk the line between smooth purees and chunkier diced tomatoes. We use them in quick-cooking sauces and soups where their sweet, bright flavor can shine. Our highest-ranking crushed tomatoes were chunky, with relatively few pieces of unpleasant, plasticky skin left in. They were also processed at lower temperatures than many of the products we tried, a technique that helped better preserve their fresh flavor. Our favorite has full tomato flavor and a chunky texture made even more appealing by the addition of diced tomatoes. ATK Recommends: San Merican Crushed Tomatoes ($3.50 for 28 ounces)

Tomato Puree

We use thick, completely smooth tomato puree in slow-cooking dishes where fresh tomato flavor isn’t important: lasagna, sloppy joes, meatballs, and chili, to name a few. We’ve found that because these dishes are cooked for such a long time, it doesn’t really matter what brand of tomato puree you use for them. In the end, we’ve found that they all taste pretty much the same.

Tomato Paste

Tomato paste is a versatile, inexpensive flavor powerhouse that’s great for adding concentrated tomato flavor and savory umami to sauces, soups, and pastas. We’ve found that it doesn’t really matter what kind of tomato paste you buy. Whether it’s regular tomato paste or “double-concentrated” paste, American or Italian, all tomato pastes taste pretty much the same once they’re cooked. There are, however, a few crucial distinctions when it comes to the way the pastes are packaged. Tubes of tomato paste are easier to use and last longer in the refrigerator. But they’re four times as expensive as canned tomato paste. Ultimately, your choice depends on convenience and cost. If you’re willing to spend a little more, go for the tubes. Otherwise, stick with the cans—you can always freeze whatever you don’t use immediately.

Article

The History of Tomatoes in America

Americans love their tomatoes. But this wasn't always the case.

Read More

This is a members' feature.

America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo