Wasting food, even just a tablespoon or two of something, doesn’t sit well with me. I keep small amounts of leftover vegetables in a freezer container to use for chicken pot pie. I make breadcrumbs from stale bread. I freeze overripe fruit to use in smoothies or cocktails. Of course, I never throw away a Parmesan rind.
Before you think I sound like a perfectionist, I am the first to admit that I’m far from perfect. Some veggies do die in the crisper drawer. The final serving of a casserole that gets shoved to the back of the fridge often goes unnoticed until it’s too late. And one food that I seem to waste more than I’m proud to admit is tomato paste.
I often open a 6-ounce can of tomato paste that doesn’t get entirely used up in whatever recipe I’m cooking. Then the leftover tomato paste goes into a container and, like that final serving of a casserole, makes its way to the back of the fridge until it’s inevitably found with fuzz on the top.
And yes, I know the trick of spooning tomato paste into ice cube trays, freezing them, and then popping out the cubes to live in a freezer-safe bag until needed, but that’s three whole steps. Please don’t judge me, but that’s two more steps—despite good intentions—than I’m likely to do. Plus, who wants to stain their ice trays with tomatoes?
So when I saw a simple tip on TikTok to freeze tomato paste by the tablespoon that has just one step and no extra equipment, I thought it was genius.
How To Freeze Tomato Paste
This tip for freezing tomato paste couldn’t be simpler. I first saw it on thefeedfeed’s TikTok account. The creator takes a long strip of parchment paper, places a tablespoon of tomato paste on the end of the strip, and flattens it out. Then she folds the strip on top of the tomato paste, flattens it out a little more, and continues the process until all the leftover tomato paste is sandwiched between the parchment folds.
It ends up looking something like a tomato paste-parchment paper accordion. The bundle goes into a freezer-safe bag and then into the freezer. When you need tomato paste for a recipe, it’s as easy to use as peeling away as many frozen tablespoons from the parchment as you need. And best of all, no tomato paste ends up wasted.
My Trick To Making It Even Easier (and Cheaper!)
I may allow tomato paste to go to waste from time to time, but I never let the coated plastic bags from a box of crackers or cereal go to waste. I shake the crumbs out into the trash and save those bags to use much like wax paper. It gives the bags a second use, and it’s a money saver, too.
Using the bag from crackers or cereal works perfectly for this hack. Simply cut the bag into a strip to use instead of parchment. Since you bought the cereal or crackers already, the bag is free. I often use those waxy bags for putting in between chicken breasts or burger patties I’m freezing, so I can easily take portions out of the freezer as I need them. Now I’ll do it for tomato paste, too.
