Can You Freeze Tomato Paste?
Yes, you can freeze it.
3 months
Because so little tomato paste gets used per recipe, freezing leftover portions is arguably more useful here than for almost any other opened canned product on this site — an ice-cube tray filled with tablespoon-sized portions turns a can that would otherwise mostly go unused into a genuinely convenient pantry-freezer staple. Its already low water content, from being cooked down so extensively, also means it freezes with less texture change than a higher-moisture product would.
Once the tablespoon-sized portions are solidly frozen, popping them out of the tray and into a labeled freezer bag keeps them from picking up freezer odors over the months they'll likely sit there, and means only exactly the amount a recipe needs gets pulled out and thawed rather than a whole cube more than necessary.
A frozen cube of tomato paste can go directly into a hot pan without thawing first for most cooking applications — it melts into a simmering sauce or stew within a minute or two, which is often more convenient than waiting for it to thaw on the counter. A tube of tomato paste, an alternative packaging style sold specifically to be resealed and kept in the fridge between uses rather than frozen, sidesteps the whole freezing question for a household that goes through paste slowly — worth considering as a purchase alternative to a can if freezing feels like more effort than it's worth.
Storage times and safe temperatures are general guidance from USDA FoodKeeper, USDA FSIS, and FDA sources — they are not a guarantee of safety. When in doubt, throw it out. This is not a substitute for professional food-safety advice.
Source: USDA FoodKeeper data, checked 2026-07-12.