Laura Sharrad: Supplied | Tomatoes: Photography: Hannah Puechmarin / Styling: Hayley Jenkin
The debate continues to rage over the best tinned tomatoes in Australia. Now, a MasterChef winner has weighed in with their thoughts.
Laura Sharrad appeared on MasterChef Australia three times before finally clinching the crown in 2025. Sharrad has an impressive CV, working at three-hatted restaurant Orana with the late Jock Zonfrillo, and co-owning Adelaide institutions Nido and Fugazzi. She’s famous for drawing on her Italian heritage to produce scrumptious pasta dishes and sauces, relying on only the best tasting ingredients to make simple recipes sing.
So, when she stopped by Home Beautiful’s The Edit podcast we had to ask: Which tinned tomatoes is she really using?
Listen to Laura Sharrad on The Edit podcast:
The best tinned tomatoes in Australia
MasterChef icon Laura Sharrad votes for either Annalisa or Mutti tinned tomatoes as the best in Australian supermarkets.
“I love Annalisa. Mum has always bought Annalisa. I feel like you often carry on what you’ve grown up with,” she says. “And Mutti,” she continues. “Even though it’s double the price.”
Laura also added her testimony for the Mutti triple concentrate tomato paste, which she calls “insane”. While the brand’s double concentrated tomato paste is easy to come by in Australian supermarkets, the triple concentrate may require shopping on Amazon or more niche supermarkets.
You can buy both Annalisa and Mutti tinned tomatoes at most major Australian supermarkets.
Mutti Whole Peeled Tomatoes 400g,
$2.30, Woolworths
Annalisa Tomatoes Peeled 400g
$1.50, Woolworths
Crushed vs. whole tomatoes
If you’re looking for flavour, opt for whole tomatoes.
“I like to buy the whole tomato, instead of the crushed, because there’s more water in the crushed. They add a bit of extra water. Whereas the whole peeled tomato is just the tomato, which is great. It’s not diluted,” Laura explains to Home Beautiful.
“I like to buy the whole tomato because there’s more water in the crushed. They add a bit of extra water. Whereas the whole peeled tomato is just the tomato… It’s not diluted.”
— MasterChef 2025 winner, Laura Sharrad
Which tinned tomatoes do they use on MasterChef Australia?
MasterChef likes to encourage their contestants to make everything from scratch – including many tomato-based sauces, curries and so on. However, you do occasionally see contestants reaching for a tin of tomatoes, especially if they’re short on time!
In this instance, they’re likely going to be grabbing some Mutti tomatoes from the pantry, or other varieties available at Coles supermarkets, as the Australian supermarket chain is a partner of the show.
Watch MasterChef winner Laura Sharrad on The Edit vodcast, or listen on your chosen podcast platform.
