5 Reasons to Grate Tomatoes

Meghan Splawn
Meghan Splawn
Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.
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updated May 1, 2019
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Grating vegetables is nothing new — we grate carrots and cabbage for slaws, zucchini for muffins — yet you’re wondering, why would I ever grate a tomato? The simple answer is that grating a tomato is the fastest and easiest way to peel and purée a tomato in one fell swoop, but there are a few more reasons too.

1. Skip blanching and blending.

Grating whole tomatoes on a box grater simultaneously removes the tomato skin and grates the tomatoes into a chunky purée. Peeling a whole tomato used to mean that you had to bring a big ol’ pot of water to a boil, make an ice bath, blanch the tomatoes quickly in the hot water, chill them, and then peel them. Of course a serrated peeler will make quick work of the task too, but grating the tomatoes is a great solution for any time you don’t have a big pot or said serrated peeler.

Do It Yourself: Your Grater Is the Best Shortcut to Fast, Easy Tomato Sauce

2. Make tartines.

There is nothing more satisfying than a juicy, ripe tomato on a piece of bread. The bread soaks up the tomatoes, creating a jammy layer dripping with flavor. The French call this a tartine, while Americans might call it toast. A grated tomato’s flesh has an almost jelly consistency that’s perfect for topping toasted bread.

Try This Recipe with Grated Tomatoes: Roasted Tomato Tartine

3. Whip up an instant sauce.

Grate tomatoes, throw them in a warm pot of pasta with a pat of butter, stir, and devour. It will be one of the best easy dishes you enjoy all summer. You can also smear grated tomatoes onto pizza dough for a quick pizza sauce — this is especially delightful for grilled pizza.

Try This Recipe with Grated Tomatoes: No-Cook Tomato Sauce

4. Use as purée.

If you’ve got a big batch of tomatoes, you should absolutely turn it into a big batch of tomato purée and freeze it. But say you have one or two tomatoes and a recipe that calls for one (15-ounce) can of tomato purée — grate those tomatoes and use them up.

Do It Yourself: How To Make Tomato Purée

5. Whisk into vinaigrette.

Grated tomatoes make an incredible vinaigrette. Whisk the tomatoes with a generous glug of olive oil and a little red wine vinegar and season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and you’ve got the best summer salad dressing ever — seriously, this stuff makes iceberg lettuce appetizing.

Try This Recipe with Grated Tomatoes: Tomato Vinaigrette

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Ingredient
Kitchen Tools
Tips & Techniques
Tomatoes
Vegetables