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Substitutions · 148 dishes here use it
Sweet, sour and savory at once, which is why it holds up so many dishes with no meat in them. Out of season a canned tomato beats a fresh one, and it is not close.
Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.
5 of the 148 dishes here that mention tomato list it as optional — 3% of them. In those, the correct substitution is nothing.
Functional substitution system
For tomato, the page's working definition is: Sweet, sour and savory at once, which is why it holds up so many dishes with no meat in them. Out of season a canned tomato beats a fresh one, and it is not close. The swap cards below are judged against that job rather than visual resemblance.
Job → candidate → side effects → small test → correct.
1 · Job
What is the missing ingredient doing?
2 · Candidate
Choose the shelf item that replaces that function.
3 · Side effects
Check water, fat, salt, acid, sweetness, and texture.
4 · Small test
Change a spoonful or small portion first when possible.
5 · Correct
Taste again and move only the axis that is still wrong.
Instead · 1
one 14 ounce can for three medium fresh
Instead · 2
a tablespoon of paste in a quarter cup of water per tomato
Instead · 3
one for one by volume
These dishes list tomato as optional. They were written to work without it, so no ratio is needed and nothing has to be bought.
These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.
The company tomato keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.