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Homemade Ketchup {DIY Pantry Staples}

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Homemade Ketchup is the perfect dip for your kids (or you) - no added sugar or funky ingredients, can be tweaked to your tastes, and it counts as a veggie!
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Homemade Ketchup Recipe - made with VEGGIES and it tastes just like real ketchup! DIY ketchup, so you can save money by making your own condiments.

Homemade ketchup is something for your kids to dip their food into that actually counts as a veggie.  With no added sugar!  Plus you can tweak the recipe to suit your taste buds!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Spectrum Naturals®.

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan, low carb

Originally published in 2013. Republished on May 24, 2016 with the addition of a video.

MY LATEST VIDEOS

I have nothing to tell you about.  I guess that’s what happens when you spend a week and half indoors with your kid recovering from his tonsillectomy, and then another week just trying to catch up on life, laundry, and the pursuit of blogging.

But I guess that’s OK, because today I am bringing you a recipe for homemade ketchup.  Yes, plain old ketchup.  No fancy flavors, without any unique twists. Just ketchup.  Is there really a story I could tell you that would actually make this exciting? Doubtful, because it’s just ketchup.

On a serious note, what I said about it counting as a veggie is totally true.  I mean, it’s tomato paste with spices and some vinegar.  Pure, concentrated tomato. And plenty of zing, which is totally essential for ketchup, from Spectrum® Brand Organic Filtered Apple Cider Vinegar. Made from organic apples, it brings so much flavor to this simple recipe.

So while I don’t have a story, I can give you lots of pictures of homemade ketchup. And even a video to show you how to make it!!

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan, low carb

With fries…

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan, low carb

With Cauli-tots…

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan, low carb

Because that is what I have been doing. Making food and taking 349,847,658,934,659 pictures of it. Sorry. Except I’m not, really. Especially now that I have this really cool video for you. Make sure you watch till the end, when I had a little fun!

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan, low carb

 

Tell me your life is more exciting than mine.  Please.  So I can live vicariously through you.

Enjoy this Homemade Ketchup recipe!

Adapted from Fix Me a Snack

Homemade Ketchup Recipe - made with VEGGIES and it tastes just like real ketchup! DIY ketchup, so you can save money by making your own condiments.
Print Recipe
4.28 from 11 votes

Homemade Ketchup

Homemade Ketchup is the perfect dip for your kids (or you) - no added sugar or funky ingredients, can be tweaked to your tastes, and it counts as a veggie!
Prep Time5 mins
Total Time5 mins
Course: Condiments, Dip
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Calories: 10kcal
Author: Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Ingredients

  • 6 oz tomato paste 1 small can or 3 Tablespoons
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar see Note
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Notes

If you use less than 1/2 c cider vinegar, add water to a total of 1/2 c liquid. We like the full 1/2 c, but you may prefer it less vinegary. Recipe keeps well in the fridge, so it can easily be doubled and stored for a few weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Tablespoon | Calories: 10kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 113mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3.2% | Vitamin C: 2.8% | Calcium: 0.5% | Iron: 2.2%

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan, low carb

Plain ketchup just doesn’t do it for you?  How about some fancy-pants homemade ketchup…

Balsamic-ketchup-with-fries-frame.jpgCranberry Balsamic Ketchup | Cupcakes & Kale Cips 2013 | 5 title wmWorcestershire-Ketchup-3-title-wm.jpg

Devour some dipping sauces from my friends too, seeing as their recipes are so delicious looking and all!

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan, low carb

Homemade Ketchup - my kids will eat anything dipped in this. And since there is no sugar added, it totally counts as a veggie! | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free, vegan
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Comments

  1. This does not taste anything like ketchup. I feel like I have a pretty open palate and I am very open to trying new things. I hate to say it but this tastes really bad. I think it is all of the apple cider vinegar and the cumin. I added just a little less of the apple cider vinegar because I like vinegar and thought it wouldn’t be bad. I think it is the cumin that really makes it taste nothing like ketchup though.

    Reply

    • I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it. We’ve been making and eating it for years, but it is definitely a good base to adapt to your taste. Commercial ketchup contains sugar, so you could always cut the cumin and sweeten it up to make it more like the bottled ketchup.

      Reply

  4. I made this tonight for burgers and fries. it doesn’t really taste like store bought ketchup, but it is really good! Much stronger flavor, and the tomato really shines through. I liked it a lot, especially how quick it was to make.nice sharing. thanks for the recipe. good one.🙂

    Reply

  5. Love it! We’ve made it several times. We have onion and garlic intolerances so finding a recipe without is wonderful. Although my husband and I loved the tangy flavor, my kiddos found it a bit acidic. So I have been adding a tablespoon of agave nectr and now, they lick their plates! Thank you for a great recipe!

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you were able to make the recipe work so that everyone in your family can enjoy it! Thanks for rating the recipe, too. I appreciate it very much.

      Reply

  6. Wow! I was so excited to try this recipe. Wow. How horrendous, can’t believe this has so many upvotes. Wow. Just wow.

    Reply

  7. Thanks for sharing the secret recipe with us. The tomato ketchup recipe looks thick and flavorful with those lovely ingredients. It sounds wonderful. It would be helpful for everybody, who would like to cook tomato ketchup recipe. As usual, the pictures look stunning.
    Thanks a lot Anders! I love simple recipes so much 😀
    How long does this last? Can it be made ahead?

    Reply

  8. The recipe was delicious and worked like a charm! I did want to see if you’d had any experience with the ketchup congealing after sitting overnight in the fridge. I’ve made it 3 times now and had the same, consistent response. Any thoughts on why that might be happening and how to avoid it? Thanks so much!!

    Reply

  9. I was trying to make ketchup for a friend who is allergic to onions. Unfortunately this doesn’t really taste anything like ketchup. Tastes more like barbecue sauce.

    Reply

    • I’m so sorry that you didn’t enjoy the homemade ketchup, Kate, but I appreciate your feedback and comment.

      Reply

  11. I adjusted the servings for a BBQ, but it still says only 6oz of tomato paste – is that true? everything else increased in amount but not the tomato paste…
    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Debi, increase the tomato paste in proportion to the other ingredients. So if you doubled the amount of vinegar, you would double the amount of tomato paste as well.

      Reply

  12. I see that everyone is super excited to try this out for themselves, and so am I, but im curious why not one comment, and I read more than my liking, did not comment or at least come back and opinonate on the taste of this recipe. I say this only cause there are many other recipes out there which many noted are more involved cooking and time wise and so the ease of this is almost a “too good to be true” kind of thing. I really just wanted to see more comments on how the taste was in relation to say a bottle of reduced sugar/organic bottle of Heinz for example and also if anyone tried adding worchestershire sauce or just overall. With all this said, ill be giving the recipe a go and will do my best to report back on the taste and flavor aspects.

    I have a picky toddler who just loves ketchup, probably for the addictive sugar reasons which is why I tend to go for the reduced sugar versions so that’s why this is so appealing to me. I just hope my toddler will enjoy!

    Thanks for the recipe and I’ll be back to give my results!

    Reply

    • Hi David! I would love to hear your thoughts on the ketchup recipe after you’ve tried it! Regarding the use of worcestershire, I created another ketchup recipe that does use it, so great minds think alike I guess. 😉 You can see that recipe here.

      Reply

    • So I tried this “Ketchup” – It tastes nothing like Heinz, Hunts or any other store bought ketchup IMHO.

      While I would say it it not too bad…. It has WAY too much apple cider vinegar(ACV). Unless of course you like the taste of ACV by it’s self. The ACV flavor takes over and that is all you taste. After I made up a batch and tried it, I doubled all the other ingredients. It helped some but was still very overwhelming.

      For your toddler I might recommend adding only 1 Tbsp of ACV and a little sugar at first to ween them off of the sugary ketchup. If you add a little less sugar each time you make it (as well as limit what other sugar they have) their taste buds should adjust.
      Good Luck!

      Reply

  13. I made this ketchup recipe the other day using triple concentrated garlic and herb tomato paste oh my goodness it was the best ketchup Ive ever tasted thank you for the amazing recipe I’m already onto my second batch !!

    Reply

  15. This did not taste anything like ketchup. It could be passed off as a good chili sauc. The cumin destroyed the ketchup flavor.

    Reply

  20. This ketchup is yummy! I’ve been looking for a sugar free ketchup at the stores and stumbled upon this recipe. I’ve made it 3x already this month! I use the full 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. It’s addictive! I love the tangy flavor! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  22. I made this ketchup tonight–it tastes subtly sweet and I was amazed at the depth of flavor I could taste! I was pleasantly surprised as I thought I would miss the sugar present in ordinary ketchup. I used organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s) and Kirkland organic tomato paste. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  23. I just read about 30 comments, did any of you chicken heads actually make this disgusting recipe before you jumped on the band wagon? Honestly if you did , you wouldn’t be happy with it. 1/2 cup of cider vinegar…..Jesus were not pickling anything here.

    Reply

    • Canned tomatoes are often a better choice for cooking. They are picked at their best and immediately preserved. Whereas “farm fresh” tomatoes are picked slightly less fresh so they have time to ripen on your grocery store shelf, off the vine. Unless in a salad I mush prefer canned tomatoes. And as has been mentioned before unless you are buying the flavoured versions, canned tomatoes are just tomatoes.

      Reply

  25. My fiance is a HUGE ketchup fan. I mean, this guy cannot eat any meat whatsoever without ketchup. I’d like to try making homemade ketchup sometime! I use apple cider vinegar often in the morning for my morning “cocktail”. With 1 cup of water, half a squeezed lemon, and 1-2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar.

    Reply

  28. I saw this recipe and being the DIY cook that I am came over to check it out. When I looked at the ingredients I thought “well, except for no sugar that is exactly the ingredients in my ketchup” I do not mind sugar, as long as it is sugar and not a fake excuse for sugar and I eat a healthy enough diet that I am not going to be concerned about the nutritional value of a T of ketchup.

    And then I checked out the ingredients in my bottle of ketchup (which is now in the bin)! I am horrified. There are flavours and HFCS!!!! In England, Heinz ketchup is exactly your recipe with some (proper) sugar!
    You Americans are being poisoned!
    Going to make this tomorrow- to replace the bottle I just trashed! Thank you

    Reply

  30. I love your recipes. Tomato ketchup is something that I have been making a couple years. I am concerned with “tomato paste from a can”. I have never found tomato sauce in a can that is BPA free. Due to the acidity of tomato products, I choose not to buy tomato products in cans. I choose to cook my own tomatoes. If you have a better solution, I would live to hear it. Thanks.

    Reply

  31. Thanks for this, I remember doing something similar years ago when we’d ran out of ketchup, so I scanned the ingredients and made my own healthier ketchup! Just wondering why I didn’t continue making it fresh. Now I make everything I can myself. Actually, the only processed foods I buy, are bread and pain au chocolat for the kids, must attempt to make those myself! Great site Brianne.

    Reply

  32. there is no ½ t dried oregano, ½ t cumin, ⅛ t pepper, or 1 t mustard powder in the ingredients in heinz ketchup. the flavor they put in it is alot of sugar and the salt. on the back of the ketchup bottle you can figure out exactly what they use in it by going by how much sugar they put in and other ingredients by the weight and “reverse engineer” it.

    Reply

    • I wasn’t trying to “reverse engineer” Heinz. I was trying to make a yummy tomato-based dip, WITHOUT a lot of sugar or salt to make it healthier for my kids, and I am pretty their “spice” and “natural flavors” might include some of these seasonings. I think I succeeded, but feel free to make your own version. Or just buy a bottle.

      Reply

  34. I actually took this recipe a little further——I added shredded celery, onions, garlic, bell peppers and a little maple syrup to the apple cider vinegar and other spices. Then, I cooked it for about 15 minutes. Cooled it. Put it in the blender, processed further, then poured into a jar. Everyone loves this! Thanks for posting it.

    Reply

  35. Sorry probably a silly question… but what kind of vinegar do I use, apple cider or just the normal vinegar.

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Hi Kamay,
      It is very easy to make your tomato paste. you don’t need tons, but you really have to cook it and let the water boil out of it. if you start with a few garlic on olive oil, it adds a special favour that the kids around me love.
      If you have an other few minutes, you can easily peel the tomato after putting it in boiling water for a few seconds.
      it takes 15 minutes.
      you can also leave the tomatoes in your oven drying. of course not too dry. it is longer, but it also makes a delicious paste without adding anything.
      to be honest i was very surprised seeing canned tomato in a diy recipe. If it comes to home made I am not joking 🙂

      Reply

  37. I’m looking forward to trying this. I thought I had to give up ketchup due to the HFCS in it and I was bummed. Do you have a recipe for barbecue sauce using this ketchup?

    Reply

  38. I make nightshade free ketchup using pumpkin puree (tomato is a nightshade vegetable). A very similar recipe.

    Reply

  40. I thought it interesting you take the time to make your own healthier ketchup, but yet showed a picture of it with processed tater tots.

    Reply

  42. Well, thank you so much for providing a recipe like this! I’m thinking this could jazz up a low carb or Keto meatloaf. I would love to use this in an upcoming post, giving you credit and linking back?

    Reply

  43. Wow! I am so excited to find this. With all the high fructose corn syrup issues in ketchup these days I’ve been on the lookout for a possible homemade version to try. This looks perfect and so easy! I’d  love to have you link this to Titus 2 Tuesday this week on Cornerstone Confessions.. I hope to see you there. 

    Reply

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