What Are Italian plum (roma) tomatoes and How Can I Use Them?

Italian plum (roma) tomatoes is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 585 recipes to get you started.

Key Points

Roma (Italian plum) tomatoes are meaty and dry, bred for sauce, paste, and canning.
Their thick walls and low water cook down to a smooth sauce far faster than slicers.
Roast at 400°F (200°C) for deeper, sweeter flavor than simmering gives on its own.
For most of the year, good canned whole plum tomatoes beat out-of-season fresh.
Store on the counter, never the fridge; cold below 50°F turns the flesh mealy.

What are italian plum (roma) tomatoes?

Italian plum tomatoes, usually sold as Roma tomatoes, are the egg-shaped, deep-red tomatoes bred for the sauce pot rather than the salad bowl. They are meatier and drier than a round slicing tomato, with thick walls and only a couple of small seed cavities.

That structure is the whole point. A beefsteak tomato is mostly juice and gel, so it weeps when you cut it. A Roma holds together, which means more flesh per fruit and far less water to cook off.

Less water is what makes them the workhorse for sauce and canning. You get concentrated tomato flavor in a fraction of the simmering time, without thinning your sauce to soup along the way.

Cooking With Them

For a fast sauce, soften garlic in olive oil, add chopped or crushed Romas, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. The flesh breaks down to a smooth body that a watery tomato could not reach without an hour of reduction.

They are the base of a slow Family Meat Sauce and of layered bakes like Poor Man's Lasagne.

Roasting is the move worth making time for. Halve them, toss with olive oil and salt, and roast at 400°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes until the edges caramelize and the skins blister.

That dry-heat browning builds a sweet, deep flavor that simmering alone never gives you, as in this simple Romas & Goats with goat cheese.

Their low moisture also makes them the right tomato on a pizza or folded into a stew like Beefy Gnocchi with Crushed Tomatoes, where extra liquid would leave the crust soggy or the stew thin.

What They Pair With and Where They Fall Short

Plum tomatoes lean savory rather than sugary, so they take strong company well: garlic, basil, oregano, olive oil, anchovy, capers, and a hit of red pepper flakes. Their acidity is built to cut through rich, creamy cheeses like mozzarella and burrata.

The common mistake is reaching for them raw. A dense Roma eaten cold and uncooked tastes firm and a little flat next to a juicy, sun-ripe slicer.

If you do want one in a salad or a quick salsa, salt the cut pieces first and let them sit to draw out moisture and sharpen the flavor.

They also will not save a watery dish on their own. Romas reduce the water problem, they do not erase it, so for a truly thick sauce you still reduce, or stir in a spoonful of tomato paste.

Fresh vs Canned, and Substitutes

Here is the honest take: for most of the year, a good can of whole peeled plum tomatoes beats the pale, hard fresh Romas at the supermarket. They are picked and packed ripe, so canned often tastes more like tomato than out-of-season fresh.

San Marzano tomatoes are the famous canned plum variety, grown near Naples and valued for low acidity and sweet, balanced flesh. They are the closest upgrade when a recipe wants the best.

Whatever you buy, choose tomatoes packed in juice rather than thick puree, and skip cans listing calcium chloride, which keeps the fruit firm but fights a smooth sauce.

If you only have round slicing tomatoes, you can still make sauce. Cut them, scoop out the seeds and watery gel, and plan to cook them down longer since they carry much more water. A spoonful of tomato paste adds back the body you lose.

Buying and Storing

Choose plum tomatoes that are deep red and heavy for their size, with taut skin and a dry stem end. A little give when pressed means ripe; rock-hard means picked green, and soft spots or wrinkles mean past it.

Keep them on the counter, out of direct sun, never in the fridge. Cold below about 50°F (10°C) turns the flesh mealy and flattens the flavor, and it does not come back.

A slightly underripe tomato ripens faster in a paper bag with a banana.

Use ripe ones within a few days. To keep them longer, roast first, then freeze the roasted halves in a single layer before bagging; they hold about 6 months and go straight into a sauce from frozen.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 NLEA serving (148g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 26Calories from Fat 2

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 0.3g 0%

Saturated Fat 0.0g 0%

Trans Fat ~

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 7mg 0%

Total Carbohydrate 5.8g 2%

Dietary Fiber 2g 7%

Sugars 3.9

Protein 1.3g

Vitamin A 25% Vitamin C 31%

Calcium 1% • Iron 2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your caloric needs.

recipeland.com/nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find italian plum (roma) tomatoes: Italian plum (roma) tomatoes are usually found in the produce section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Italian plum (roma) tomatoes are a member of the Vegetables and Vegetable Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese: 意大利梅（罗马）西红柿
British (UK) term: Italian plum (roma) tomatoes
en français: tomates italiennes
en español: tomates ciruela italianos

How much do italian plum (roma) tomatoes weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 cup cherry tomatoes	149 grams
1 cup, chopped or sliced	180 grams
1 Italian tomato	62 grams
1 cherry	17 grams
1 large whole (3" dia)	182 grams
1 medium whole (2-3/5" dia)	123 grams
1 slice, medium (1/4" thick)	20 grams
1 plum tomato	62 grams
1 small whole (2-2/5" dia)	91 grams
1 slice, thick/large (1/2" thick)	27 grams
1 wedge (1/4 of medium tomato)	31 grams
1 slice, thin/small	15 grams
1 NLEA serving	148 grams