The Supersmart Tomato Paste Trick We Wish We'd Known About Sooner

There always comes a time when a recipe calls for a tablespoon of an ingredient, and I end up buying a much larger quantity. Tomato paste is one of those ingredients, and it often happens when I’m making gumbo or chili. And sure, I could buy a tube of tomato paste, which makes it easy to store leftovers, but a can of tomato paste is so inexpensive!

If you're a tomato paste in a can person like me, what do you do with your leftovers? Previously I might have stuck the opened can in the fridge (and found it weeks later shoved in the back covered in mold) or scooped in by the tablespoonful and stuck the dollops in the freezer. But once I saw what Alia & Radwa Elkaffas' (aka fooddolls on Instagram) creative solution I have a new go-to method.

Their step-by-step video shows you how to solve this annoying issue so you can get closer to the goal of having a no-waste kitchen. Leftover tomato paste can stay fresh for up to 6 months if you follow this simple tip. If you ask me, being able to reuse an ingredient that long is the ultimate money-saving hack.

To try this supermart tomato paste trick, you only need tomato paste, parchment paper and a few minutes of your time. Once you try it we bet that you’ll never look back.

Related: The Genius Recipe That Has Us Rushing to the Store to Buy Canned Biscuits

How to Store Leftover Tomato Paste Using Parchment Paper

First, gather what you’ll need: a quart-size zip-top freezer bag, a small cookie scoop (or a spoon) and parchment paper.

Cut the parchment paper into small squares so that you can stack them. Then, scoop the tomato paste from the can and add it to the parchment square. Put another parchment square on top. Using a glass or cup with a flat bottom, press down until the tomato paste is a flat disk. Repeat the process by layering tomato paste and parchment paper until you finish the can.

The small cookie scoop should give you 1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, which is a common amount for many recipes. The flat disks take up very little room in the freezer, which is always a bonus. Plus, how satisfying does the process look?

When you need some tomato paste, all you have to do is peel off the parchment, peel up the tomato paste disk and drop it in your pot. This is going to be a game-changer for my gumbo-making!

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