Tomato Puree at Home: Save Rs 800/Month vs Store-Bought (2026)

Why Should You Make Tomato Puree at Home?

Homemade tomato puree costs about Rs 20-50 per kg when tomatoes are in season. Store-bought brands like Kissan and Del Monte cost Rs 100-200 per kg. That is 2-4x more expensive for a product that takes 15 minutes to make at home. Plus, homemade tomato puree has no preservatives, no added sugar, and no sodium - just pure tomatoes.

I started making tomato puree at home when my wife pointed out how much we spend on tetra packs every month. We use it in dal, sabzi, gravy, pizza sauce, and pasta. The InstaCuppa Electric Chopper 2L handles blanched tomatoes perfectly - no water needed, smooth puree in under a minute.

How Much Nutrition Is in Tomato Puree?

Tomato puree is low in calories but rich in lycopene, the powerful antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red colour. Cooking actually increases lycopene availability - more on that in the science section below.

Homemade vs Store-Bought: The Real Cost

Here is the cost comparison that convinced me to stop buying tetra packs.

The math: If your family uses 500 g of tomato puree per week (very common for Indian cooking), that is about Rs 1,200-1,500 per month on store-bought versus Rs 200-400 per month homemade. You save Rs 800-1,100 every month.

How to Make Tomato Puree at Home (15 Minutes)

This tomato puree recipe makes about 900-1,000 g from 1 kg of ripe tomatoes. The blanching step makes peeling easy and gives a smoother result.

1. Boil water - Heat 2 litres of water in a large pot. Add 2 teaspoons salt.
2. Score the tomatoes - Cut a shallow X on the bottom of each tomato (1 kg total). This helps the skin peel off easily after blanching.
3. Blanch - Drop the tomatoes into boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Watch for the skin starting to split open at the X mark.
4. Ice water shock - Transfer tomatoes to a bowl of ice water immediately. Let them sit for 1-2 minutes. The skins will wrinkle and slide off.
5. Peel - The skins should slip right off with your fingers. Discard the skins (about 100 g waste).
6. Chop in the electric chopper - Cut peeled tomatoes into quarters. Add to the InstaCuppa Electric Chopper 2L. Pulse 4-5 times until smooth. No water needed - the tomatoes have enough juice.
7. Optional: cook down - For thicker puree, simmer in a pan for 10-15 minutes on low heat. This evaporates excess water and concentrates the flavour.

Why Are Cooked Tomatoes Healthier Than Raw?

Most vitamins decrease with cooking. Lycopene is the exception. Heat breaks open the tomato cell walls, converting all-trans lycopene into cis-lycopene, which your intestines absorb 2-3 times better.

This means your homemade tomato puree (which involves blanching and optional simmering) actually delivers more lycopene than eating raw tomatoes. Adding a teaspoon of oil while cooking boosts absorption further, since lycopene is fat-soluble.

3 Ways to Store Homemade Tomato Puree

Ice cube tray method (my favourite): Fill standard ice cube trays with tomato puree. Each cube holds about 15-30 g. Freeze solid, then pop the cubes out and store in a freezer bag. When you need puree for dal or sabzi, just drop 2-3 cubes into the pan. No defrosting needed - they melt in seconds on a hot pan.

From 1 kg tomatoes, you get about 30-60 frozen cubes. That is enough for 2-3 weeks of regular Indian cooking.

3 Common Tomato Puree Mistakes

1. Not peeling the tomatoes. Tomato skins do not blend smooth, even in the best chopper. They leave tough, stringy bits in your puree. The blanch-and-peel step takes 3 minutes and makes a huge difference in texture.

2. Adding too much water. Peeled tomatoes are 94% water already. Adding extra water when blending gives you a thin, watery puree that will not hold up in gravies. Let the tomatoes be the only liquid.

3. Not cooking down enough. If you skip the 10-15 minute simmer, the puree has 30-50% excess water. This means it spoils faster (2-3 days instead of 7) and makes your curries watery. Simmer until it thickens and darkens slightly.