*Article* **A Tomato Pomace Enriched Gluten-Free Ready-to-Cook Snack's Nutritional Profile, Quality, and Shelf Life Evaluation**

**Jagbir Kaur Rehal 1, Poonam Aggarwal 1, Inderpreet Dhaliwal 2, Meenakshi Sharma 3 and Prashant Kaushik 4,5,\***


**Abstract:** Attempts were undertaken to design a quick ready-to-cook gluten-free snack utilizing finger millet and potato flour (50:50) as well as tomato pomace due to the restricted availability of gluten-free snack goods in the Indian market. The nutritional content of the food and its general acceptability, cooking characteristics, and storage stability were all tested. The addition of tomato pomace had a distinct influence on the product's color and hardness. Additionally, it resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of oil used, cooking loss, and frying time required. With a high acceptance level, the snack supplemented with 10% tomato pomace was determined to be the most optimal formulation. When the same substance was subjected to FTIR analysis, it was discovered that it retained all the important functional groups required for sustaining antioxidant activity. It also displayed high storage stability, a desirable overall acceptance score, and a very promising nutritional profile, all of which would benefit the product's end users.

**Keywords:** tomato pomace; by-product utilization; finger millet; gluten-free; potato flour; convenience food
