How To Meal Prep Tomato Stew Base

If there’s one thing I’ve learned on my fitness and meal prep journey, it’s that having a tomato stew base ready to go is a lifesaver. Just like my Soup Base and Jollof Rice Base, this Nigerian tomato stew base is a versatile kitchen staple that simplifies cooking. You can use it to make stew with any protein, stir it into pasta, whip up eggs, or build just about any dish that calls for a tomatoey kick.

Why Make a Stew Base?

Meal prepping your stew base makes life so much easier, especially if you want to cut down kitchen time during the week. Think of it as building blocks; you just grab, cook, and enjoy without going through the whole “blend, boil, fry” process from scratch every single time.

This base is very similar to my jollof rice base and soup base, but with slight differences:

• Unlike the jollof base, this one uses no tomato paste.
• Unlike the soup base, this is smooth and doesn’t include iru.

One rule I always stick with: make sure your red bell peppers (tatase) are more than your tomatoes. On days I’m feeling fancy (aka “in a higher tax bracket” 😂), I use only red bell peppers and habaneros without tomatoes, and let me tell you, the taste is next level. But until then, tomatoes are here to support my tatase!

Methods of Cooking the Base

Traditionally, you blend the mix, boil to reduce water, and then fry. But I like experimenting depending on my mood:

• Roast the whole peppers → blend → cook (like in my jollof rice base)
• Boil the whole peppers → blend → fry
• My fitfam method: cook the whole peppers with oil instead of water → blend → store

This last method gives me all the flavor with less oil than usual, which is perfect for my fitness goals.

Fitfam Tomato Stew Base

This Nigerian Tomato Stew Base is a versatile meal prep essential that saves time and makes cooking easy. With a rich blend of tomatoes, red bell peppers, habaneros, onions, garlic, and ginger, this base can be used to whip up quick stews, egg dishes, pasta, or any tomato-based recipe. Using less oil makes it fitfam-friendly while still bursting with authentic Nigerian flavor.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course: base, sauce, stew

Cuisine: Nigerian, West African

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 20 medium roma tomatoes halved
• 15 large red bell peppers seeds removed, halved
• 6 habanero peppers
• 3 medium onions halved, skins removed
• 1 head garlic peeled
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger peeled
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 bay leaves optional
• 5 Fresh basil optional, complements tomatoes beautifully

Method

 

1. Thoroughly clean all ingredients.
2. Prep: remove seeds from red bell peppers, cut tomatoes and onions in half, peel garlic and ginger.
3. Transfer everything to a large pot. Add vegetable oil, bay leaves, and basil.
4. Cook on medium heat. The peppers and tomatoes will release liquid; allow it to cook until the liquid evaporates.
5. Remove bay leaves and basil.
6. Blend into a smooth mixture.
7. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for longer storage.

Notes

• The tomato and bell pepper counts are by volume, not strict number count.
• For a richer taste, you can use mostly red bell peppers with fewer tomatoes.
• Basil is optional but pairs beautifully with tomatoes without overpowering.
• This is a fitfam-friendly version with less oil than traditional stew bases.

Do you meal prep your tomato stew base? Let me know in the comment section below.