🍯 Sauces & Condiments

Ketchup Substitute for Tomato Paste: Best Alternatives & Ratios

Find the best ketchup substitutes when you need tomato paste. Learn about tomato paste alternatives, ratios, and cooking techniques for perfect results.

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Quick Answer

The best ketchup substitute for tomato paste is concentrated tomato paste (1:1 ratio), tomato sauce reduced by half (1:1 ratio), or sun-dried tomato paste (1:1 ratio). Each provides the concentrated tomato flavor needed for cooking.

Best Substitutes

Concentrated Tomato Paste

1:1

Pure concentrated tomato paste with no added ingredients. Most direct substitute for ketchup when you need tomato paste.

Best for:

cooking and bakingsauces and graviessoups and stewswhen you need pure tomato flavorItalian dishes

Use directly as 1:1 substitute. No additional preparation needed. Provides concentrated tomato flavor without sweetness or vinegar.

Tomato Sauce Reduced by Half

1:1

Regular tomato sauce simmered until reduced by half to concentrate the flavor and thicken the consistency.

Best for:

cooking applicationswhen you have tomato sauce availablesoups and stewspasta sauces

Simmer tomato sauce in a pan over medium heat until reduced by half. This concentrates the flavor and thickens the consistency to match tomato paste.

Sun-Dried Tomato Paste

1:1

Reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes blended into a paste. Provides intense tomato flavor with slightly different taste profile.

Best for:

Mediterranean disheswhen you want intense flavorpasta saucesdips and spreads

Soak sun-dried tomatoes in warm water for 30 minutes, then blend into paste. May need to add a little water to achieve paste consistency.

Crushed Tomatoes Reduced

1:1

Crushed tomatoes simmered until thick and concentrated. Good substitute when you need tomato paste consistency.

Best for:

cooking applicationswhen you have crushed tomatoessoups and stewspasta dishes

Simmer crushed tomatoes over medium heat, stirring frequently, until reduced by about 60-70%. This creates a thick, concentrated tomato base.

Cooking Tips

  • 💡Tomato paste is more concentrated than ketchup, so use less when substituting
  • 💡If using tomato sauce as substitute, reduce it by half to concentrate the flavor
  • 💡Sun-dried tomato paste adds a more intense, slightly sweet flavor
  • 💡For best results, cook tomato paste briefly in oil to enhance its flavor
  • 💡Store opened tomato paste in the refrigerator for up to 5 days

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

Find the best ketchup substitutes for tomato paste including concentrated tomato paste, reduced tomato sauce, and sun-dried tomato paste with proper ratios and cooking tips.