Tomato purée in the context of "Tomato paste"

Tomato sauce (Spanish: salsa de tomate; Italian: salsa di pomodoro; French: sauce tomate) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish; in others, it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, soft flesh which breaks down easily, and the right composition to thicken into a sauce when stewed, without the need for thickeners such as roux or masa. All of these qualities make them ideal for simple and appealing sauces. Tomato sauce typically has a thinner consistency than tomato paste and tomato purée; however, tomato sauces may use either as an ingredient.

In dishes tomato sauces are common for meat and vegetables such as in stews, but they are perhaps best known as bases for Italian pasta or pizza dishes, or in Mexican salsas.

Thousand Island dressing is a creamy salad dressing and condiment made from a base of mayonnaise and usually ketchup or tomato purée and chopped pickles, and typically including a variety of other ingredients. It was initially popularized in the Thousand Islands region of the upper Saint Lawrence River spanning New York and Canada. Historically a salad dressing, it has been widely adopted by fast food chains as a "special" or "secret" sauce of their own variation based on the Thousand Island recipe.