PSA: Freezing leftover tomato paste in ice cube trays saved my wallet

I got so tired of buying a can of tomato paste for a recipe that only needed a tablespoon and then throwing the rest out a week later. Tbh it felt like throwing dollar bills in the trash every single time. Finally tried scooping the leftover paste into an ice cube tray and freezing it. Each cube is roughly 2 tablespoons so I just pop one out when I need it. No more wasted paste and I don't have to buy a new can every time I make chili or spaghetti sauce. Has anyone else tried this with other canned stuff like chipotles in adobo or coconut milk?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerp3126d ago

Wait does it actually freeze well without getting weird? I've been tempted to try this but I always worry the texture will be off when it thaws out. I freeze chipotles in adobo all the time though, just dump the whole can in a ziploc and flatten it out so I can snap off pieces. Coconut milk freezes fine too but it separates a little when it thaws so you gotta shake it up real good. Honestly the tomato paste trick is probably smarter than buying those tiny tubes that cost twice as much per ounce anyway.

king.wyatt26d ago

I read somewhere that the texture thing with tomato paste actually isn't that big of a deal because you're usually cooking it into something saucy anyway. So even if it gets a little grainy or weird when it thaws, it just melts right back in. I saw a cookbook author say that once when they were talking about prepping ingredients. I've been doing the chipotle in adobo freezer trick for years now, and it really is a lifesaver. The tomato paste cubes are actually kind of genius because you can just grab one and toss it into whatever you're making without thinking. I also heard from a food blogger that you can freeze pesto and ginger this way too, but I haven't tried that yet.

aaronclark14d ago

Does your friend actually freeze pesto that way? Ngl, I had a buddy who tried that exact trick with pesto once. He portioned it into an ice cube tray like tomato paste, but the problem was that pesto already has a lot of oil in it, so when he thawed the cubes they went all watery and separated weird. He said it still tasted fine but the texture was not the same for spreading on sandwiches or pasta salads. Honestly for cooking into a hot sauce it might be totally fine, but for anything where you want that fresh basil kick it is a bit of a letdown. Tbh the ginger trick sounds way safer since it's just grated ginger and you're usually cooking it anyway.