Tomato sauce

One US cup of tomato sauce weighs 245 grams (8.6 ounces). Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.41 cups.

Tomato paste, puree, sauces, canned tomatoes, juice and ketchup compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.

Canned tomato sauce is 245 g per US cup — USDA, Hunt's, and Contadina all converge within 2%. Density 1.036 g/mL, marginally denser than water because dissolved tomato solids (8-12% by USDA grade standards) slightly raise the water-based sauce density.

Tomato sauce is a specific FDA-defined product — thin, smooth, ready to use, made from tomato puree diluted to about 8-12% natural tomato soluble solids per USDA Grade A standards. It sits at the low end of the tomato-concentrate spectrum: sauce (8-12%) then puree (10-24%) then paste (24-32%) then double-concentrated paste (36-40%). Standard canned sauce is what most US recipes mean by "tomato sauce" — a starting base for chili, marinara, meatloaf, sloppy joes, and quick pan sauces. It is distinct from bottled "pasta sauce" (fully seasoned and closer to marinara) and from crushed or diced tomatoes (chunky structure).

USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, sauce" (FDC 170054) publishes 1 cup = 245 g, density 1.036 g/mL. USDA also publishes "Tomato sauce, canned, no salt added" (aqua-calc reference) at 259 g per metric cup = 245 g per US cup, matching the salted version within rounding — salt content has negligible effect at nutrition-label concentrations.

Producer labels converge tightly. Hunt's Original Tomato Sauce declares 1/4 cup = 62 g, extrapolating to 248 g per US cup and density 1.048 g/mL. Contadina Tomato Sauce reports 1/4 cup = 61 g, extrapolating to 244 g per US cup and density 1.031 g/mL. The full-source range is 244-248 g/cup — a 1.64% spread, comfortably within the 5% liquid category tolerance.

The tight convergence reflects tomato sauce's regulated identity, similar to tomato paste. USDA Grade A canned tomato sauce must contain 8-12% natural tomato soluble solids; producers cluster near the midpoint of this range for taste and cost balance. Density is driven by the dissolved solids fraction (mostly pectin, cellulose, and sugars) adding weight to the water base. At 10% solids and 90% water, the resulting density lands consistently near 1.04 g/mL — very close to water but reliably denser. Salt, onion powder, and garlic powder additions at less than 2% by weight do not measurably shift density.

For validation and internal consistency, this entry publishes 245 g per US cup as a high-confidence single figure. USDA, Hunt's, and Contadina convergence within 2% supports this position without a range publish.

Practical guidance: an 8-oz can holds 227 g (roughly 15/16 cup), a 15-oz can holds 425 g (about 1 3/4 cups), and a 29-oz can holds 822 g (about 3 1/3 cups). For scaling recipes precisely, weigh from the can; for most home cooking, the 245 g/cup figure and rough can-to-cup conversions are close enough. Companion entries in the tomato family: tomato-paste at 262 g/cup, denser from its higher solids concentration, shares the same tight cross-source convergence driven by grade standards, while crushed-tomatoes spans 242-260 g/cup because no equally tight standard governs it.

King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for tomato sauce. It does list tomato paste, at 2 tablespoons = 29 g, a figure this site rejects because it makes the paste lighter than water; the tomato-paste entry explains why.