21 Easy Recipes That Use Canned Tomatoes

There are plenty of moments in life when you need a simple meal to put on the table. Sure, we, too, enjoy dishes that are a multi-step process, involving a myriad of ingredients and hours in the kitchen — chopping, stirring, and constant monitoring or else something gets burned or messed up beyond repair. But it's not something that makes sense on a daily basis. That's why we love a convenient meal that doesn't sacrifice taste. Canned items, like tomatoes, are essential to keep in the pantry for such moments. Pair it with a meal that's easy to make, and you're all set. 

We've compiled a selection of our best recipes that use canned tomatoes, focusing on those that are relatively simple to create. Whether you're in the mood for an umami-rich sauce, an incredibly seasoned casserole, or a soup to warm the soul, we've got all the bases covered. We'll specify if a recipe calls for a particular type of canned tomato (crushed, diced, whole, etc.), so you know what to expect. Let's dig into the world of tomatoes.

You don't have to grow your own tomatoes to create an incredible sauce. Canned crushed tomatoes are the star of this saucy recipe that you can use in all your upcoming pasta dishes. It's paired with grated carrot, onion, some seasoning elements, and a dash of sugar to create a well-rounded base that balances out the acidity of the tomatoes. This sauce only takes 30 minutes to cook, making it a great recipe to keep in your arsenal when you need a quick weekday dish to serve friends or family after a long day.

Recipe: Special Italian Sunday Sauce

Chicken Parm is a classic dish. Once you make this, though, there's really no need to buy it from a restaurant ever again. This meal takes under an hour, including preparation and cooking time. It's packed with flavor from the breading, which includes ingredients like Parmesan cheese, oregano, and garlic powder, and the incredible sauce. A 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes becomes the base of the meal to hold everything together. The chopped tomatoes offer a bit of texture rather than fully crushed ones, while chili pepper flakes bring a spicy component to the feast. 

Recipe: Crispy and Saucy Chicken Parmesan

Using a slow cooker streamlines the cooking process. You don't have to sit around and watch; let the device do the bulk of the work. You need only saute some onions, then everything drops into the cooker — from chicken breasts to canned diced tomatoes to corn. Set the slow cooker for three hours, and once it's done, you just have to shred the chicken. It's incredibly easy and ridiculously flavorful. The avocado, cilantro, and tortilla strips toppings bring an eye-catching allure that makes this a restaurant-quality soup.

Recipe: Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

If you have a bit of leftover stale (but not rock-hard) bread from the farmers market, this soup is the ideal way to give it a second life — Italian loaf or pane Toscano are ideal, but you could also use French bread, baguette, or ciabatta if that's what you have on hand. This tomato-based soup uses a 28-ounce can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, along with broth and wine to create the rich foundation. While it only calls for a handful of ingredients, you can incorporate a protein such as Italian sausage or pancetta.

Recipe: Tuscan Pappa al Pomodoro

Skip the handcrafted lasagna for your dinner and try a lasagna-inspired soup that takes 30 minutes to make, prep, and place on the dinner table. Here, we'll use canned peeled whole tomatoes, lots of aromatic herbs, whole-milk ricotta cheese for richness, lasagna noodles, of course, and add-ins. Hot Italian sausage and ground beef make it filling, giving a boost of protein. It still satisfies the pasta craving, but you get a different format and texture if you want something unique. It's hearty, rich, and comforting, no matter what time of year you make it.

Recipe: Deconstructed Lasagna Soup

Although the ingredients don't seem too out of the ordinary — ground beef, celery, carrot, garlic, a can of chopped tomatoes, potatoes, and others — it's how it all comes together that makes this scrumptious dish stand out. It's marvelously seasoned with Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and even beef or chicken stock to add savory depth to the taste buds. It only takes a few minutes to chop everything up, then the rest of the time is left to simmer. We love the balance of texture from chunky potatoes and snappy corn kernels.

Recipe: Rib-Sticking Hamburger Soup Recipe

There's no need to be bored with chicken when meals like this paprikash exist. It simply takes a few minutes to prep and an hour to cook, 30 minutes of which are just to let everything simmer and infuse in flavor — pretty easy indeed. Hungarian paprika is the all-star ingredient (hence, the name of the dish), but it also includes a can of chopped tomatoes, chicken thighs and drumsticks, bell peppers, and other goodies to create a classic and filling meal. Serve over noodles, rice, or potatoes to soak up all the flavorful liquid.

Recipe: Traditional Chicken Paprikash

If you're in the mood to eat a rainbow of colors, then this vegetarian tagine is a must-try. It's packed with vibrant veggies, chickpeas, and a can of diced tomatoes. Luckily, it's pretty hands-off as you need to utilize your Instant Pot to cook everything. Although the recipe calls for soaking the chickpeas overnight, you can skip this step by using canned — all for the sake of convenience, of course. This dish is so delicious and memorable, you'll crave it long after it's gone. It only takes 35 minutes to cook, making it approachable for weeknights.

Recipe: Instant Pot Vegetable Tagine

This may seem like a mishmash dish, and it kind of is, but that's the nature of a casserole. It only takes 10 minutes to prepare, and then everything gets baked for about an hour total. It couldn't be easier, but it's thoroughly seasoned thanks to the garam masala, which is a combination of cardamom, black peppercorns, cloves, pods, cinnamon, and other spices. You'll incorporate canned diced tomatoes and canned chickpeas to simplify the cooking process. This dish is a blend of fragrant and flavorful ingredients to tantalize your senses.

Recipe: Baked Ratatouille Casserole With Garam Masala

At first glance, this might look like an Italian American pasta dish, but instead, we are putting an American spin on Hungarian goulash. The filling meal has ground beef as the protein and a trio of tomatoes: a large can of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. We use elbow macaroni as the pasta base as well as a range of seasonings and spices, including Hungarian paprika. You could opt to incorporate finely diced veggies like broccoli or bell peppers, too. This warming meal takes under 30 minutes to whip up from start to finish, so it might become your favorite weeknight pasta recipe.

Recipe: American-Style Goulash

There's nothing quite as versatile as a salsa, whether you use it to dip tortilla chips in or to top your favorite taco. Canned fire-roasted tomatoes bring a new level of flavor that your average canned tomato simply can't compete with. You'll get a bit of zing from diced jalapeño as well as the lime zest and juice, seasoning from cumin and oregano, and a few other ingredients. Everything gets incorporated into a blender until it forms a chunky salsa. Although it comes together in mere minutes, the hardest part is waiting for it to chill in the fridge.

Recipe: Fire-Roasted Salsa 

This creamy dish may be made from scratch, but it takes under an hour to create — and that's a huge win in our book. This is a decadent blend of sour cream, butter, cooked chicken, tortillas, canned diced tomatoes and green chiles, and a bunch of other ingredients. The casserole combines creamy and spicy to create a unique layered casserole that your family will gobble up. You can store extras in the fridge for a handful of days or in the freezer for three months, but we highly doubt you'll have any leftovers to do so.

Recipe: From-Scratch King Ranch Chicken

This tasty dish uses familiar favorite ingredients, such as elbow macaroni, canned diced tomatoes, ground beef, oregano, salt, and pepper, but it creates a different meal than your average pasta. Pick this tomato-heavy recipe when you want to get a meal in your belly within 30 minutes from start to finish. Another bonus is that it feeds up to six people, allowing you to stretch your ingredients or leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. Top it with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese to give it a creamy and mildly nutty touch.

Recipe: American Chop Suey

We love a pancake and waffle brunch as much as the next person, but sometimes you want a heartier, more nutritious breakfast. In that instance, you have to make huevos rancheros all in the convenience of one singular dish. The canned black beans and canned tomatoes save you the added time of making things from scratch. Then there's a vegetable component from bell pepper and more protein from the eggs. It's delectably seasoned with smoky and spicy notes and stunningly vibrant in color. It's so impressive that nobody will know it took you under 35 minutes to make.

Recipe: 1-Pan Huevos Rancheros

We feel like sometimes cabbage gets a bad and frumpy rap, but it's irresistible in this scrumptious soup recipe. This dish contains a lot of veggies, but it does have a chicken-based broth. It also has everything from potatoes to keep you full to the titular green cabbage to a can of drained, diced tomatoes. It is seasoned to the nines, and then the chopped parsley garnish gives it an added touch of color. This couldn't be easier to make, as you need only chop and let the ingredients simmer for up to 40 minutes. Then it's time to enjoy.

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Cabbage Soup

If your family has a weekly taco night, you might feel like it's time to mix things up — at least for one week anyway. That's when the taco soup comes to the forefront. We see familiar favorites in the ground beef, canned chopped tomatoes, black beans, and corn, but the elements are all simmered with chicken stock to create a soup. Cream cheese brings a mild tang and a rich creaminess. No tortillas needed, unless you want to serve it with tortilla chips. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lemon juice for added freshness.

Recipe: Creamy Taco Soup

Some people think that chili does not require beans. If you're in that camp, then we have just the recipe for your taste buds. Try making a West Texas chili that's seasoned and flavorful every step of the way, from the sauteed onions and browned beef to the canned tomato and tomato paste. A couple of secret ingredients include amber ale and masa harina to bring richness and depth; they're subtle enough that they don't overpower, but noticeable enough that they bring added dimension. Top with sour cream and tortilla chips.

Recipe: West Texas Chili (No Beans Allowed)

Stuffed peppers are one of our favorite dishes because they are highly customizable. This recipe, in particular, is a heavily tomato-based version since it contains a combination of canned chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, and large beef tomatoes. They get blended with seasonings to create a sauce that will add all the necessary flavor to your rice and ground beef. There's diced carrot and zucchini for an added vegetable component, so it has everything you need. Chop and quickly saute the veggies, toss in the rice, then stuff the peppers. Eat them as a meal, an appetizer, or a snack.

Recipe: Gemista (Stuffed Peppers)

When you want a fully homemade meal that seems like something that would take hours to make, you can't go wrong with these baked meatballs. Plus, they're ideal when you don't want a beef version. It takes under one hour — a total shock given how incredibly delicious they are with everything from chili flakes to Dijon mustard to give a flavor boost. We use canned chopped tomatoes as the tomato sauce base, which comes together in under 10 minutes. These will make your kitchen smell amazing and have everyone drooling before they even eat.

Recipe: Baked Turkey Meatball

Elbow pasta and ground beef have come up a handful of times thus far, so it's clear that it is a popular foundation to use along with canned tomatoes. In this case, we're adding a few fun ingredients to give it more dimension. There's corn, chopped green chiles, and a gooey top layer of cheese in this casserole. It's hard to believe this only takes 45 minutes to assemble and cook, most of which is in the oven — that means you have more time to spend with your family or catching up on your favorite show.

Recipe: Hearty Hamburger Casserole

Cabbage rolls are a labor of love, so when you want a slightly simplified version that comes together in less than an hour, you have to try this filling soup. It is packed to the brim with green cabbage, carrots, canned diced tomatoes, rice, and plenty of seasoning to make every bite more delicious than the last. Make this when you don't want to sacrifice flavor for an easy meal. Once you have all the ingredients together, you only have to let it simmer so the rice cooks up. We love how thick and chunky this dish is.

Recipe: Cabbage Roll Soup