If you have ever wondered how to make passata at home, let me tell you about passata day. Every self-respecting Italian-Australian family has one burned into their memory: the whole clan crammed into the garage, crates of tomatoes stacked higher than the kids, and that ancient passata machine clamped to the bench threatening to walk itself off the edge with every crank. By sundown there are forty bottles of ruby-red passata lined up on every surface, and nonna is already talking about next year.
That is the spirit of this post. Homemade tomato passata is one of those beautiful things that sounds far more mysterious than it actually is. It is simply tomatoes, passed through a machine to remove skins and seeds, bottled and preserved so summer lives on your pantry shelf all year. If we can do it, you absolutely can too.
What is passata?
Passata (you will see it called passata di pomodoro or strained tomatoes) is uncooked tomato puree that has been sieved to remove the skins and seeds, then preserved. It is not a sauce – there is no garlic, no onion, no herbs, no oil. It is pure tomato, and that is exactly the point: passata is the beginning of a hundred dishes, not the end of one. We use ours for sugo, soups, braises and pizza bases.
If you want the full rundown of how passata differs from the tomato sauce you buy at the supermarket, I have written a whole comparison – but the short version is this: passata is 100% tomato, tomato sauce is a seasoned and cooked product.
The best tomatoes for passata
Everyone has an opinion here, and rightly so, because the tomatoes are the whole recipe. The best tomatoes for passata are:
- Roma (plum) tomatoes – fleshier, fewer seeds, less water. The classic choice for a reason.
- San Marzano style tomatoes – sweet, rich and low in acid if you can get them.
- End-of-summer market tomatoes – when the glut hits, prices drop and flavour peaks. Late February through March is passata season in Australia for good reason.
Whatever you buy, they must be ripe – deep red all the way through, fragrant, and soft enough to yield to a gentle squeeze. Under-ripe tomatoes make dull, watery passata. Over-ripe is actually fine (old-timers swear over-ripe tomatoes make the sweetest passata), just cut away any bruised or mouldy bits.
We used about 15kg of Romas for this batch, which gave us around 9 litres of finished passata. As a rough rule of thumb, expect a bit over half the weight of your tomatoes back as passata.
Equipment you need
- A tomato press or passata machine (manual ones clamp to the bench; electric ones do the work for you). A food mill works too – you just want something that separates pulp from skin and seed.
- Glass bottles – the traditional flip-top Grolsch-style bottles are the gold standard, but any glass bottles with good seals work. We collect ours all year.
- Large pots – one for cooking the tomatoes down, one big one for the water bath.
- Funnels, a ladle, and clean tea towels.
Do you need a machine? Technically you can push tomatoes through a sieve with a wooden spoon, but your arms will hate you by the second crate. If you plan to do this more than once, a manual passata machine costs about the same as a decent dinner out and lasts decades. Our tomato press buying guide covers what to look for.
How to make passata: step by step
1. Wash and trim the tomatoes
Wash your tomatoes well, pull out the cores, and cut away any bruised or bad spots. Quarter the larger ones so they cook evenly.
2. Cook the tomatoes down
Pile the quarters into a big pot with a splash of water in the base to stop anything catching, and bring them up to a gentle simmer. You are not making sauce here – 15 to 20 minutes of cooking is plenty, just until the tomatoes collapse and release their juices. The gentler and shorter the cook, the fresher your passata will taste.
3. Mill the tomatoes
Run the warm tomatoes through your passata machine. This is where the magic happens: silky pulp and juice come out one side, skins and seeds exit the other. Keep a bowl under the waste chute and you will be amazed how much dry matter a good press leaves behind.
4. Bottle it
Sterilise your bottles first (a hot dishwasher cycle, or boiling water poured in and over the lids). Using a funnel, fill each bottle leaving about 2cm of headspace at the top. Gently tap the bottles on the bench to release any trapped air bubbles.
5. Seal and water bath
Seal the bottles firmly, then lay a tea towel in the base of your biggest pot, stand the bottles on it, and cover them with water. Bring it to a gentle boil and process for around 35 to 45 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the bottles cool in the water overnight if you can.
6. Store and wait
Wipe the bottles dry, label them (you think you will remember the date – you won’t), and store them in a cool, dark cupboard. Properly sealed and stored, homemade passata keeps for at least 12 months. Once opened, keep it in the fridge and use it within a few days.
Nonna’s tips for passata day
- Do it with people. Passata day was never really about the tomatoes. Crank the machine with someone you love and tell stories while you work.
- Taste as you go. Every batch of tomatoes is different. If yours taste flat, a pinch of salt per bottle wakes them up (some families drop a basil leaf into each bottle – do whatever your nonna did).
- Never fill bottles to the brim. That 2cm of headspace is not optional; bottles can crack as the contents expand.
- Check your seals. Any bottle whose lid pops or seal fails in the water bath goes in the fridge and gets used first.
How to use your passata
The honest answer is: with everything. But the highest calling of homemade passata is sugo – the slow Sunday sauce that fills the house with the smell of garlic and basil for hours. That recipe lives here, and it deserves its own post.
Until then: grab a crate of Romas while the season lasts, call your family over, and start your own passata tradition. Your winter self will thank you every time you open a bottle.
Passata FAQ
What is passata made of?
Passata is made of 100% tomatoes – nothing else. Ripe tomatoes are cooked briefly, milled to remove skins and seeds, and the strained puree is bottled and preserved. No garlic, herbs, oil or salt required, which is exactly why it is so versatile in cooking.
Is passata the same as tomato sauce?
No. Passata is pure strained tomato, unseasoned and only briefly heated. Tomato sauce is cooked far longer and seasoned with things like garlic, herbs, oil and salt. Passata is an ingredient; tomato sauce is closer to a finished product – and passata is the classic starting point for making your own sauce at home.
What are the best tomatoes for passata?
Roma (plum) tomatoes are the classic choice because they are fleshy with fewer seeds and less water. San Marzano style tomatoes are also excellent. Whatever you choose, use ripe, in-season tomatoes – late summer is passata season in Australia.
Do I need a passata machine?
A food mill or a fine sieve can do the job, but a passata machine (manual or electric) makes short work of large batches and separates pulp from skins and seeds far better. For anything more than a few kilos of tomatoes, a machine pays for itself quickly – and the same machine fills jars just as happily as bottles if jars are what you have.
How long does homemade passata last?
Properly bottled, sealed and stored in a cool dark place, homemade passata keeps for at least 12 months. Some families pour a thin layer of olive oil over the top of each opened bottle to protect the passata from oxidation in the fridge, where it keeps for a few days after opening.
Can I make passata without a machine?
You can push cooked tomatoes through a fine sieve or food mill with a wooden spoon. It is slow work for big batches, but perfectly fine for a few kilos of tomatoes from the garden.
How to make passata from scratch?
From scratch means starting with whole fresh tomatoes, and that is exactly what this guide covers: wash and quarter ripe tomatoes, simmer them for 15 to 20 minutes until they collapse, mill them through a passata machine to remove skins and seeds, fill sterilised bottles or jars leaving 2cm of headspace, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 35 to 45 minutes. Cool, label, and store in a dark cupboard for at least 12 months.
Is it necessary to peel tomatoes for passata?
No peeling required – and that is the beauty of the passata machine. You cook the tomatoes with their skins on, and the machine separates the skins and seeds from the pulp as you mill. If you are using a sieve instead, the skins catch in the mesh the same way. Either way: no peeling, no blanching, no fiddly work.