A Practical Guide to Everyday Tomato Staples

How to choose the right tomato product—benefits, uses, and everyday cooking inspiration

Tomato products are a quiet hero in many kitchens—reliable, versatile, and easy to cook with all year round. They’re especially handy when fresh tomatoes are out of season and a bit too costly.

From canned and bottled options to richly concentrated purées and pastes, tomato products bring flavour, colour, and convenience to everyday meals, while still helping you tick off your daily veggie intake.

A Boost of Antioxidants

Tomatoes are packed with lycopene, a powerful natural antioxidant that gives them their rich red colour. Through studies, lycopene has been linked to a range of health benefits, including supporting heart health and helping protect the body against conditions such as diabetes and certain types of cancer.

Interestingly, processed tomato products contain higher levels of bioavailable lycopene than fresh tomatoes. The heating process involved in cooking breaks down the tomato’s cell walls, making lycopene easier for the body to absorb.

For the greatest quality and peace of mind, choose certified organic tomato products, which are produced without the use of commonly applied synthetic pesticides and fungicides.

The Umami Factor

Tomatoes are a great plant-based source of umami flavour, the fifth category of tastes, alongside sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Umami means “essence of deliciousness” in Japanese.

Tomatoes get their umami flavour from their high level of glutamate, a naturally occurring amino acid. As tomatoes ripen, their savoury taste becomes stronger—and it intensifies even more when tomatoes are cooked down and concentrated into products like paste, passata, or purée.

Six Pantry Essentials

All tomato products start with tomatoes—what sets them apart is how they’re made. Processing, texture, and small additions like spices, give each one its own flavour and preferred use in cooking. Explore these six essential tomato products and learn when to use each.

1. Concentrated Tomato Paste

Tomato paste is the most concentrated, made from cooking tomatoes for a long time, to remove as much water as possible. It may seem like just more tomato, but it’s full of flavour and adds a depth of umami flavour, a velvety texture, and rich red colour. Just a spoonful of paste can bring a dish to life, without watering it down. Use it to make BBQ sauce, thicken stews, give depth to shakshuka, flavour to nachos or add colour to a vinaigrette.

Chef’s tip: Caramelize it first

Simply sauté the tomato paste in oil for 30-60 seconds, while stirring to prevent it sticking or burning. The natural sugars will caramelize and the flavours will intensify. It’s well worth the effort.

Flavour hack: A good time to add it to your recipe, is right at the end of sauteing the onions and spices.

2. Silky Smooth Passata

Passata is simply uncooked tomatoes that have been puréed and sieved to create a smooth and silky cooking sauce. It’s traditionally used in Italian cuisine as a base in family favourites such as Bolognese sauce, spaghetti and meatballs or braised lamb. However, its versatility goes far beyond.  

Passata can be used in stews, soups, sauces, savoury bakes, briskets and even Easy Butter Chicken. Chantal Organics Tomato & Basil Passata is perfect for this authentic Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro). It’s a great way to use up stale, hard bread so that it doesn’t go to waste.

3. Flavour-boosting Chilli & Garlic Tomato Puree

Tomato purée sits between tomato paste and passata in thickness, offering the best of both worlds. Made from ripe tomatoes that are gently cooked, blended, and strained for a smooth, rich finish. This version is lifted with chilli and garlic, adding warmth and depth while keeping the heat perfectly balanced to suit the Kiwi palate.

It’s an easy way to boost flavour in everyday cooking. Stir it through pasta sauces or lasagne, add depth to chilli or curries, use it as a pizza sauce, or spoon it into traybakes like this Roasted Veggie, Feta & Rice Traybake on Creamy Hummus for an extra hit of flavour.

4. Create a bit of Pizzaz with Pizza Sauce

This lightly seasoned pizza sauce is perfect for adding rich tomato flavour to any pizza base, while still being versatile enough for everyday cooking. Spoon it into sauces or soups, or toss it through pasta for a simple, satisfying meal.

For an easy homemade pizza, spread a generous layer over your favourite base and build from there. Keep it classic with cheese and fresh basil, or get creative with roasted vegetables, blanched greens, pesto, or a dollop of relish. We love this Fennel and Hot Pork Pizza.

5. The Everyday Hero: Chopped Tomatoes

Canned tomatoes are an incredibly versatile pantry staple—perfect for those times when you need to put together a nourishing meal with very little on hand. Made from peeled, chopped tomatoes that are quickly blanched, gently cooked, and sealed at peak freshness, they offer both convenience and flavour.

While they’re a natural base for soups, canned tomatoes are just as at home in lasagne, nachos, curry, dahl, stew, masala, bean soup, and more.

6. Easy, Ready to Use Pasta Sauces

Ready‑to‑eat tomato pasta sauces are made by slow‑cooking tomatoes with carefully selected herbs and spices to create a rich, well‑balanced flavour and silky consistency. Simply heat and serve over pasta for an effortless meal.

The Chantal Organics pasta sauce range is gluten‑free and contains no added sugar, making it a great choice for the whole family. These sauces are also wonderfully versatile—use them as a base for dishes like chicken cacciatore, pasta bakes, or lasagne. For more meal ideas and inspiration, explore our blog featuring easy recipes made with our organic pasta sauces.

Tomato products are full of flavour, rich in lycopene, and incredibly versatile. Choosing the right one can add delicious umami and depth to your meals—but sometimes it’s simply about making the most of what you already have in the pantry. From pizza nights to pasta, traybakes to comfort classics, these everyday staples make cooking easier and more delicious.