Your tomato sauce can or bottle might run out anytime. But, in rare cases, tomato soup can be a great substitute if you want to get a little flavor sauce, or you need the sauce at once, or you are unable to go to the supermarket to buy a new sauce can.
As a soup lover, you might wonder and ask-can I use tomato soup instead of tomato sauce? Yes, you can use tomato soup instead of tomato sauce like you substitute tomato paste for sauce.
But the process is a bit tricky. You might not get the authentic flavor of sauce if you substitute tomato soup for tomato sauce. Because there are some basic differences between soup and sauce.
What is exactly tomato soup?
Tomato soup is actually a thinner version of tomato puree or tomato sauce. When you will add more water to the sauce or puree, thin it out after boiling, and it converts into tomato soup.
Being diluted with water may reduce its taste, macronutrient, and micronutrient of it. To enhance the taste and nutritional value, you can cook it with different types of ingredients like vegetables, meat, chicken, etc.
The shelf-life of tomato soup is less than authentic tomato sauce and the nutritional value is also varied.
What is tomato sauce?
Tomato sauce is prepared from fresh and ripe tomatoes. It has to go through the boiling and cooking process, removing any leftover skins and seeds while boiling, and making a sticky paste but not that thick like tomato paste.
It needs to add some seasoning ingredients like spices, herbs, onions, garlic, and olive oil to enhance texture and flavor.
Commercially made sauce adds some more extra ingredients such as cheese, hot red peppers or green bell peppers, sausage, etc.
How to substitute tomato soup for tomato sauce?
Tomato soup contains more water content than sauce and is thin like broth. When you substitute it for tomato sauce, you need to remove extra water and give it a bit thick texture than soup.
Being a bit sweeter than sauce, you have to add some seasoning ingredients like spices and herbs to get sauce-like flavor when removing excess liquid from the soup.
Buy a 10 ounces tomato soup can and remove ¼ water contents from it and you will get 1 cup of tomato sauce.
To remove extra water content, follow the step below-
- Take a saucepan and pour it with tomato soup.
- Put the pan on a stove, cook it at mild heat until the water contents are evaporated and it turns into a bit thick texture.
- Add some seasonings ingredients like spices, herbs, garlic, onion, olive oil, etc. during the cooking process to bring flavor like typical tomato sauce.
- Once everything is ok, serve it as a substitute for tomato sauce.
Can I use tomato soup instead of tomato sauce for spaghetti?
Yes, you can use tomato soup instead of tomato sauce for spaghetti. Here are the steps to follow to substitute tomato soup for tomato sauce for spaghetti-
- Brown 1 pound ground meat.
- Add 1/4 chopped green pepper, 1/4 tablespoon oregano seasoning and garlic seasoning, 1/4 cup chopped onion, and boil for five minutes in mild heat.
- Add 2 cans of tomato soup and 1 cup of water and cook for 20-30 minutes or until getting a bit thick texture.
- Once finished, serve with pasta, garlic toast, or any type of bread.
Can I use tomato soup instead of tomato sauce in chili?
Yes, you can use tomato soup instead of tomato sauce in chili. But, you won’t get the chili-like taste as tomato soup is very thin in texture.
To get proper consistency and texture like chili, you have to thick it out and add some more spices. To properly thick it out, add some tomato paste or cornflour slurry.
You can add condensed tomato soup either as it is a bit thick like tomato sauce or also slightly gives taste like sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tomato sauce the same as tomato soup?
No, tomato soup is the same as tomato sauce. The soup is a bit thin in texture and sweeter in flavor. Tomato sauce ‘on the other hand’ is a bit thick and mixed sweet and sour taste as seasoning with spices and herbs.
Can tomato soup work as tomato sauce?
Yes, tomato soup is a great substitute for tomato sauce. But, you won’t get the authentic flavor of the sauce when you convert the soup into the sauce. You have to reduce the water content and add some spices and herbs for getting a taste like typical tomato sauce.
Will tomato soup thicken spaghetti sauce?
No, Tomato soup won’t thicken spaghetti sauce when you mix it with seasonings ingredients. To thicken it up, you have to simmer it and evaporate the water contents.
Can you add tomato soup to the pasta sauce?
Yes, you can add tomato soup to pasta sauce. Just add some seasonings ingredients like spices, herbs, garlic, onion, olive oil, etc. to bring flavor and simmer it on the stove to reduce thin consistency and turn it into a thick texture.
