11 Tinned Tomato Recipes To Make the Most of the Summer Bounty

For many Italian Australians, late summer means Passata or Tomato Day, when families and friends gather to cut, puree, strain and jar the year’s best tomatoes into a supply of passata that will see them through the year ahead. It’s an annual tradition lovingly replicated in Looking for Alibrandi.

But once you have your puree, how to proceed? Over the years, Broadsheet has collected dozens of recipes powered by passata and its brethren, tinned tomatoes. Here we’ve collected a slate of the best – and while pasta naturally makes a strong showing, we’ve also got stews, soup and even curry. Pace yourself while you work through these 12 tinned tomato recipes – you have until next year’s batch of passata to get through them all.

Black bean chilli by Recipetin Eats

Like tinned tomatoes themselves, this quick and easy chilli from Recipetin Eats is notable for its versatility. Serve with chips or warm tortillas, drape over pasta or rice, or even stuff it into jacket potatoes.

Tipo 00’s rigatoni pomodoro

Got a lot of tinned tomatoes and don’t know what to do with them? Whip up the Napoli tomato sauce from this recipe and you’ll have two litres of pasta sauce to play with. Here it’s stirred through homemade rigatoni (though you can use store-bought) for a dish that’ll please the kids and help you battle your next hangover.

Sarah Pound’s meatball, risoni and mozzarella pasta bake

Minimal washing up? Check. Kid-friendly? Yep. The promise of leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch? You bet. Nutritionist Sarah Pound’s pasta bake makes use of ingredients you probably already have in your pantry (including canned tomatoes), as well as a few others that are easy to pick up from your local grocer. It’s easy to make, mostly hands-off and an all-round crowd-pleaser.

Adam Liaw’s tomato and prawn risotto with chilli butter

Adam Liaw has built a reputation on recipes that put kitchen staples to good use and aren’t too tricksy. Here, carnaroli rice and prawns are cooked in passata, white wine and veggie stock to yield a bright and flavoursome risotto that’s further jazzed up with a punchy chilli butter. And his foolproof instructions mean you won’t end up with a bowl of claggy, overcooked rice for dinner.

Tommy Pham’s French- and Vietnamese-influenced ragout

This warming stew is a little bit French, a little bit Vietnamese and only requires a little bit of work to get on the table – we’re talking just the one pot and a couple of utensils. The end result is a rich and flavoursome tomato-based ragout, perfect for dipping crusty Vietnamese baguettes in.

Pork ragout with mafaldine pasta by Bobby’s

If you prefer an Italian-style ragout, turn to this hearty pork number. Pork shoulder is simmered for hours in a mix of herbs, spices and tinned tomatoes, resulting in an unctuous ragout. Spoon it over polenta or amp up the fun and swish it through the ruffles of mafaldine pasta.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s weekend sauce

If you have an abundance of tinned tomatoes, but no idea what to do with them, turn to Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s versatile weekend sauce. More than one kilogram of tinned tomatoes is the base for a sauce containing multiple meats (pork ribs, steak, sausages) that will last you several meals. The residual sauce can be used for pouring over pasta or polenta.

Rita Macali’s minestrone

Maybe, if you’re jarring and bottling your own passata, you already have your own family minestrone. But if you don’t, we’re banking that Rita Micali’s version might become your go-to. Like all the classic minestrone recipes, it’s loaded with pulses and pasta and will make enough for a large family, or for days of leftovers.

O Tama Carey’s Sri Lankan chicken curry

If you want a dish that’s worthy of the best of summer’s tomatoes, bring O Tama Carey’s Sri Lankan chicken curry into your life. Underpinned by a cornucopia of spices, it’s a robust addition to your recipe repertoire.

Jock Zonfrillo’s Italian baked eggs 

It’s Sunday morning, the rain is tumbling down, and the moment calls for comfort with a capital C. In this cosy recipe from the acclaimed chef and Masterchef judge’ basil and oregano perfume the spicy tomato sauce made with a tin of roma toms. 

Tom Walton’s Spanish-style mussels, prawn, chickpea and tomato stew

Italy isn’t the only Mediterranean country that’s tomato-obsessed. Spanish cooks also know how to wield these ruby spheres – think pan con tomate (tomato bread), patatas bravas and gazpacho. The tomato also forms the base of many Spanish-style stews, including this seafood-loaded beauty that will make a rustic centrepeice at your next dinner party.