A Guide to Canned Tomatoes, From Whole Peeled to Fire-Roasted

You’ll find a dizzying array of canned tomatoes at the grocery store, often from the same company: whole peeled, crushed, fire-roasted, and beyond. Does it matter which one you choose? Is it tomato or tomahto?

Regardless of their labels, all canned tomatoes are peeled and cooked right after they’re harvested to best preserve color and flavor. (Fire-roasted tomatoes are charred over flames.)  They’re typically treated with lye or steamed (only the latter can be labeled organic), then packed in tomato puree or juice. From there, they might be further processed with other flavorings or preservatives like calcium chloride, which helps diced tomatoes to keep their shape.

Canned tomatoes are often interchangeable in recipes, but the texture and flavor of the dish you’re making can help inform your choice. Crushed tomatoes can be a great shortcut to velvety sauces, for instance, but they won’t give you the same body you’ll get from whole peeled tomatoes that you crush yourself. 

Here’s a guide to the types of labels for canned tomatoes you’re most likely to find, what they mean, and when you can swap one for the other. 

Whole peeled tomatoes

Whole peeled tomatoes are the closest thing you’ll get to fresh tomatoes. They’re also the most versatile, as you can crush and season them yourself. “They’re great for adding texture to a sauce,” says Anna Theoktisto, who manages recipe development in the Food & Wine test kitchen, and whose favorite brands include Cento and Muir Glen. “If you want more texture in your sauce or your soup or whatever you’re making, using whole plum tomatoes is the best option,” she adds. 

Whole peeled tomatoes are the gold standard for making homemade tomato sauces like Marcela Hazan’s iconic Tomato Sauce. You can also swap whole peeled tomatoes for almost any other kind of canned tomato — chop them to make diced tomatoes for Huevos Rabo de Mestiza, or puree them into crushed tomatoes for Obe Ata. What’s more, you can drain them for chunkier sauces or preserve the liquid for long-simmering soups. 

If you’re adding whole peeled tomatoes to a soup or sauce, Theoktiso suggests simply picking them right out of the can with your hands and then squeezing them into the pot. (You can also use a wooden spoon.)  “Watch out for tomato juice squirting on you,” she says. “Wear an apron — don’t wear a white shirt.” 

Crushed tomatoes

Crushed tomatoes are usually mixed with tomato juice or puree. You can substitute crushed tomatoes for whole peeled tomatoes that you’ve crushed by hand; but keep in mind that they can vary quite a bit in texture based on brand. Still, they’re undeniably convenient: use them in a Ratatouille Lentil Soup or as the base of a smoother tomato sauce.

Diced tomatoes

Diced tomatoes are whole peeled tomatoes that have been machine-washed, diced, and packed in tomato puree or juice. While they’re a fantastic shortcut for chilis or other dishes where you want chunks of tomato, they are often treated with calcium chloride, which affects their ability to break down and makes them poorly suited to smooth sauces or soups. If you only have diced tomatoes on hand, though, you can use a food processor to crush them, which Theoktisto has done in a pinch. 

Most recipes like Tebit (Chicken Baked in Rice) and Crawfish Étoufée will prompt you to drain diced tomatoes, which is an important step since you want their chunky texture to shine. Petite-diced tomatoes are similar, but diced more finely.

Tomato sauce

Not to be confused with marinara sauce or jarred tomato sauce, canned tomato sauce is made from cooked and blended tomatoes and usually includes a few extra seasonings like salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. It’s great as the base for a shortcut pizza sauce for homemade pizza, Theoktisto says. 

Fire-roasted tomatoes

Fire-roasted tomatoes can come in whole-peeled, diced, or crushed varieties, though diced are the most common. The tomatoes that make their way into a fire-roasted tomato can are charred over a flame, and many varieties also include spices like garlic powder,onion powder, even chile peppers. Try them in a Weeknight Skillet Chili or Fire-Roasted Tomato Bisque. Because they have a distinctive flavor, they’re not a good substitute for other types of canned tomatoes unless you want that flavor in your dish. 

Stewed tomatoes

Stewed tomatoes are cooked tomatoes that have been canned, often with added seasonings or sugar. We don’t recommend using them in recipes since they can be heavily pre-seasoned. 

Tomato puree

Tomato puree, or passata, is made with pureed peeled tomatoes that have been strained into a thick, smooth sauce that can be used as the base of sauces or soups. Although it’s sometimes confused with tomato paste, tomato puree can’t be used the same way since it’s much thinner in texture and more akin to a sauce. Instead, try swapping it for crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes when your goal is a smoother sauce.

Tomato paste

Tomato paste is a concentrated product that’s made by roasting tomatoes then cooking them down into a thick paste. Whether purchased in a can or a tube, a little goes a long way — tomato paste is most frequently sautéed with aromatics to build flavor in dishes like soups or Shakshuka.