What is a good substitute for tomato? (lemmy.zip)

submitted 1 week ago by darthelmet@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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So I have some food sensitivity issues and in particular I don't like raw tomato. They're gooey and seedy and they just make me feel kind of weird. Unfortunately there are a lot of things, especially sandwiches, which use tomato as a fairly critical part of the flavor of the dish. So just taking it out isn't ideally because it sometimes just makes the dish bland. I feel like processed tomato things like ketchup and tomato sauce don't really fulfill the same kind of role in these dishes.

Does anyone have any opinions/suggestions on what types of foods could plausibly be used as a substitute for raw tomato? It could be anywhere, but I'm thinking of things like sandwiches, salads, etc.

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[-] Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 1 week ago

If it’s a texture thing, have you tried all the tomato varieties? Like Roma tomatoes have very little seed and pulp, cherry tomatoes are kind of like grapes, and I’ve even tried some obscure varieties that make me question what a tomato is.

If that doesn’t work, I’m honestly having a hard time thinking about a substitute for a tomato. They are pretty unique.

[-] joshthewaster@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Any recollection of what the obscure ones you had were?

I don't know how many varieties are really an option from the grocery store. Farmers markets are probably better but I didn't realize how many options there were or how different they can be till I started growing them. Definitely recommend slicer varieties for sandwiches but honestly they have been my favorite for everything.

I recently bought some msg. Tasting it by itself reminds me of tomatoes - like a tomato with no sugar and no juice. Haven't really used it at all yet but based on that I might try mixing it with mayo or even just sprinkling it on a sandwich (with or without tomato on it).

this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2025

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