Tomatoes

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By the Nutriveda editorial team · Updated 4 November 2026

A raw tomato is 94.5% water. That is why a medium one has only about 22 kcal, and also why the numbers per 100 g look modest: some vitamin C, some potassium, a little fibre. The thing tomatoes are known for is lycopene, the red pigment. Raw tomatoes have about 2.6 mg per 100 g. Tomato paste, with most of the water cooked off, has about 29 mg, and your body absorbs lycopene from cooked tomato products better than from raw ones.

Nutrition per 100 g

Nutrient	Raw red tomatoes	Tomato paste, no salt added
Energy	18 kcal	82 kcal
Water	94.5 g	73.5 g
Carbohydrate	3.9 g	18.9 g
of which sugars	2.6 g	12.2 g
of which fibre	1.2 g	4.1 g
Protein	0.9 g	4.3 g
Fat	0.2 g	0.5 g
Potassium	237 mg	1010 mg
Sodium	5 mg	59 mg
Vitamin C	13.7 mg	21.9 mg
Lycopene	2.57 mg	28.8 mg
Beta-carotene	0.45 mg	0.90 mg
Vitamin K	7.9 µg	–
Folate	15 µg	–

Data: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: “Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average” (FDC 170457) and “Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added” (FDC 170459), checked 2026-10-25. A dash means the value is not shown here. Tomatoes vary with variety, ripeness and season; these are averages. Paste with added salt has much more sodium; check the label.

Per serving

	1 medium tomato (123 g)	1 tbsp tomato paste (16 g)
Energy	22 kcal	13 kcal
Fibre	1.5 g	0.7 g
Potassium	292 mg	162 mg
Vitamin C	16.9 mg	3.5 mg
Lycopene	3.2 mg	4.6 mg

Portion weights from the same USDA records: 1 medium tomato 123 g, 1 large 182 g, 1 cherry tomato 17 g, 1 tbsp paste 16 g. One spoon of paste carries more lycopene than a whole medium tomato.

Lycopene: raw or cooked?

Lycopene sits inside the plant cells and dissolves in fat, not in water. Heating and processing break the cell walls, and a little fat in the meal helps the body take it up. In a 1997 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people ate the same amount of lycopene (23 mg) either as fresh tomatoes or as tomato paste, each with 15 g of corn oil. After the paste, the lycopene that reached the blood (measured in the chylomicron fraction) was 3.8 times higher over time than after fresh tomatoes.

In practice: tomato sauce cooked with olive oil, a spoon of paste in a soup or stew, or a salad of raw tomatoes dressed with oil all count. Raw tomatoes keep more vitamin C, which is sensitive to heat; cooked tomatoes give more usable lycopene. Both have a place.

What the evidence says

• Lycopene claims. EFSA assessed lycopene health claims in 2011 (protection from oxidative damage, skin protection from UV, heart function, vision). There is no authorised EU health claim for lycopene, so any product promising one is going further than the evidence that was assessed.
• Disease risk. Studies that link tomato-rich diets with lower risk of some diseases are mostly observational. They show an association, not that tomatoes are the cause, and people who eat many tomatoes often eat more vegetables overall.
• The everyday value. Tomatoes are a low-energy way to add vegetables, potassium and vitamin C to meals, and they are a base of the Mediterranean way of eating.

Glycemic index

Tomatoes are not listed in the international GI tables. With under 4 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, a normal portion has very little effect on blood sugar.

Risks and who should be careful

• Reflux and heartburn. Some people find that tomatoes and tomato sauces make reflux worse. If that is you, notice your own pattern.
• Salt in tomato products. Fresh tomatoes are almost sodium-free; canned tomatoes, passata, ketchup and some pastes can have added salt. Compare salt per 100 g on the label.
• Kidney disease with a potassium limit. Concentrated tomato products are high in potassium (1010 mg per 100 g of paste). Follow the advice of your care team.
• Allergy. Tomato allergy exists but is not common. Avoid tomatoes if you react to them.

Traditional view (Ayurveda)

Tomatoes are not described in the classical Ayurvedic texts. In Usha and Vasant Lad’s food guidelines they are on the list to avoid for Pitta; raw tomatoes are best avoided by Vata and Kapha, while cooked tomatoes are favourable for Kapha and acceptable only rarely for Vata. This is a traditional view, not a clinical finding.

How to choose, store and use them

• Choose tomatoes that smell like tomatoes at the stem and give slightly when pressed. Out of season, canned tomatoes and passata are often the better buy for cooking.
• Store ripe tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sun, and eat them within a few days. The fridge dulls their flavour; use it only for very ripe or cut tomatoes.
• Opened paste keeps longer in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on top, or freeze it in tablespoon portions.
• Use: raw in salads with olive oil, roasted with other vegetables, as a base for soups, stews and sauces, or a spoon of paste fried briefly in oil before adding liquid.

Dishes to try

• Red lentil soup with lemon (with tomato paste)
• Roasted Mediterranean vegetables

Recipes with tomatoes

• Mediterranean mackerel stew with tomatoes and olives
• Autumn minestrone with pumpkin and cabbage
• Bob chorba: Bulgarian white bean soup
• Chickpea and spinach stew
• Chickpea and sweet potato curry
• Fasolada: Greek white bean soup
• Mung dal with brown rice
• Pasta e ceci

Related entries

• Lentils – vitamin C from tomatoes helps iron absorption
• Mediterranean diet
• Which foods reduce inflammation naturally?
• Mediterranean diet for beginners
• Extra virgin olive oil per 100 g
• Olives per 100 g
• Polyphenols: foods and what the evidence says

FAQ

How many calories are in a tomato?

About 22 kcal in a medium tomato (123 g) and about 3 kcal in a cherry tomato (17 g), from USDA data at 18 kcal per 100 g.

Is tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Botanically it is a fruit, the berry of the tomato plant. In the kitchen and in nutrition advice it is treated as a vegetable.

Do cooked tomatoes have more lycopene than raw?

Per 100 g, concentrated products like paste have far more, mostly because the water is gone (28.8 mg in paste against 2.57 mg in raw tomatoes in USDA data). The lycopene in cooked products is also absorbed better: in one study, lycopene from paste eaten with oil reached the blood at 3.8 times the level of the same amount from fresh tomatoes.

Are tomatoes high in sugar?

No. Raw tomatoes have 2.6 g sugars per 100 g, about 3 g, under a teaspoon, in a medium tomato. Ketchup and some sauces have added sugar; check the label.

Should I keep tomatoes in the fridge?

Ripe whole tomatoes taste better kept at room temperature for a few days. Put them in the fridge only when they are very ripe or cut.

Sources

1. USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC 170457). fdc.nal.usda.gov
2. USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (FDC 170459). fdc.nal.usda.gov
3. Gärtner C, Stahl W, Sies H (1997). Lycopene is more bioavailable from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66(1):116-122. PubMed
4. EFSA NDA Panel (2011). Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to lycopene. EFSA Journal 9(4):2031. efsa.europa.eu
5. Lad U, Lad V. Food Guidelines for Basic Constitutional Types, from Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing, 2nd ed. The Ayurvedic Institute. ayurveda.com

This page is for information only and is not medical or dietary advice.