Dehydrating123: How To Make Tomato Sauce Powder

Tomato sauce powder is a great base for many backpacking dishes as pasta, pizza, bread, and stews. It’s adding more colour and enriches the flavour of meals. Can be also used as a thickener for soups and stews.

How to make tomato sauce powder

Buy a jar of good tomato sauce from grocery shop or make your own from scratch. There is my favorite tomato sauce recipe. This homemade sauce is delicious and super-easy to do.

You’ll need:
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can (800g/280z) diced tomatoes
Salt
Sugar
Pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram

Method:

Step 1
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan; add onions and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes until softened.

making tomato sauce powder step 1

Step 2
Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Season to taste with salt, sugar and freshly ground pepper. Add dried herbs and mix well. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

tomato sauce powder

Step 3
Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Step 4
Spread sauce on the dehydrator trays, covered with non-stick sheets or parchment paper.
Dry at 125F/52C for 8-10 hours until brittle.

tomato sauce powder step 4

Step 5
Brake down tomato sauce bark into small chunks; then grind them in a coffee grinder or food processor  into a powder.

making tomato sauce powder

Store tomato sauce powder in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.
To rehydrate sauce, use 1 part of tomato sauce to 2-3 parts water.

There are some recipes for dehydrated backpacking meals where tomato sauce powder has been used:

Pasta Marinara
Tomato Seafood Chowder

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11 Comments

  1. Becky on June 3, 2022 at 8:03 pm

    Has anyone ever freeze dried canned tomato sauce? I was thinking of trying it with a #10 can of sauce.

  2. Rachel on August 5, 2021 at 5:55 am

    how much does this make? I need to have 3/4 cup.

    • Tanya Krezevska on August 12, 2021 at 1:45 pm

      Usually sauces loose about 80% or more of their weight. So you can calculate how much you should take in order to get 3/4 cup

  3. Jenn on September 15, 2020 at 3:42 am

    Could I just dehydrate all the ingredients separately and then powder them and mix the powders together or do I have to cook the sauce first? Have you ever tried that or seen a recipe that did it that way?

    • Tanya Krezevska on September 21, 2020 at 10:33 am

      Yes, you can.

  4. Jo on August 30, 2020 at 11:22 pm

    Just a general newbie question: if a general rule is not to dehydrate food with oils and fat, would it be better to cook it without the olive oil, or does it not matter in this case? Thank you!

    • Tanya Krezevska on August 31, 2020 at 10:31 am

      If you plan to stock your food or keep for a longer period, avoid to add any oil or fat during cooking.

  5. Debbie on July 31, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    How long is the powder good for?

    • Tanya Krezevska on August 3, 2020 at 9:40 am

      Depends on storage conditions ( up to 1 yest of was properly dried? vacuum-sealed and stored in freezer). I usually use mine in 3 month period.

  6. Weldon on August 9, 2017 at 4:41 am

    What is a good ratio of sauce powder to spaghetti?

    • Tanya Krezevska on August 9, 2017 at 10:32 am

      2-4 tablespoons of tomato powder to each portion of spaghetti.

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