Homemade Ketchup Recipe
Forget the bottled stuff! This homemade ketchup recipe takes minutes to stir together with a few simple pantry ingredients. You can tweak the seasonings and sweetness to suit your taste buds, and you can also make it with no added sugar, so this DIY ketchup practically counts as a serving of veggies!
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: No-cook
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Vegan
- Skill Level: Easy
Today, I am bringing you a recipe for homemade ketchup. No fancy flavors, no unique twists. Just plain old ketchup. When you see how to make ketchup with no added sugar or other funky ingredients, you’ll forget all about the bottled stuff.
If your kids are anything like mine, they’ll eat anything if it’s dunked or covered in ketchup! So I set out to make my own quick version, minus the simmering and straining found in many ketchup recipes.
Why This Ketchup Recipe Is Better Than a Bottle
This homemade recipe starts with tomato paste, which is essentially a can of simmered and reduced tomatoes. There really is no need to go through all of that extra work. This homemade ketchup has a thick consistency and rich flavor. Here’s why you’ll love it.
- Quick to whip up. No cooking, only basic pantry ingredients, and ready in minutes. Just stir in all of the ingredients that give this ketchup its characteristic tangy, smoky, savory flavor. You can adjust it exactly how you like.
- Great to keep on hand. You can eat it right away, but it actually tastes better when you refrigerate it and let the flavors blend for a bit. Plus, you can make a double batch to keep in a bottle for weeks, so you always have some ready for dipping French fries or dressing burgers!
- No funny add-ins. Without added sugar (unless you want to sweeten it up a bit) or preservatives, this homemade ketchup is a better, tastier option than store-bought. With just concentrated tomato, vinegar, and some spices, it’s naturally gluten-free and vegan, too.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s an overview of the ingredients I used to make the best homemade ketchup. Remember, the full quantities are in the recipe card, so keep reading and scrolling.
- Tomato paste – One small can is all you need. Of course, this depends on how much ketchup you’re making, so feel free to scale up the recipe as needed.
- Apple cider vinegar – If you don’t have cider vinegar, substitute it with white vinegar or wine vinegar. If needed, replace some of the vinegar with water if you want your ketchup less tangy, or to thin out the consistency.
- Seasonings – I use a combination of salt, dry mustard powder, dried oregano, cumin, and black pepper.
- Sugar – Optional, and you can also sweeten the ketchup with molasses, brown sugar, honey, or a combination. You can skip the sweetener for a no-sugar recipe.
How to Make Ketchup
To make ketchup, combine all of the ingredients above in a bowl. Stir until the mixture is smooth. The ketchup is ready to serve right away, or you can refrigerate it until it’s time to use it. I usually like to do this for a couple of hours, to let the flavors fully develop.
Variations of Homemade Tomato Ketchup
Once you’ve tried this traditional ketchup recipe, you can swap the liquids, herbs, and spices to make all kinds of gourmet ketchup.
- Balsamic Ketchup – Replace the vinegar in this recipe with balsamic vinegar.
- Worcestershire Ketchup – Add Worcestershire sauce for more umami flavor.
- Spicy Buffalo Ketchup – Bring the heat and use it on these Buffalo hot dogs!
Recipe Tips
- Too vinegary? Some people have commented that they find this homemade ketchup recipe too sharp or vinegary. The instructions have always said, but I will mention it again here, that you may want to use half the amount of vinegar the first time, and then add water for the balance of the liquid.
- Too thick? If you want it thinner or more pourable, you can also add more water, about a tablespoon at a time, to reach your preferred consistency.
- Too smoky? You can omit or lessen the amount of cumin. Cumin is a typical ingredient in ketchup to give it a bit of smokiness, but some people (typically those who also don’t like cilantro) find it too strong. A few drops of liquid smoke are an alternative for that flavor.
- Not sweet enough? I still prefer making this ketchup recipe with no sugar or other sweetener. If you want it sweeter, you can add a couple of tablespoons of sugar, molasses, brown sugar, honey, or some combination of those to suit your taste. To keep the carbs lower, you can even use Swerve Erythritol Sweetener or Swerve Brown Sugar Replacement.
How to Store Homemade Ketchup
- Refrigerate. Homemade ketchup needs to be refrigerated. If you put it in a jar, bottle, or another airtight container, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Ways to Use It
From mac and cheese to meatloaf, people love ketchup on so many things. But here are some of the all-time favorites.
- French fries: The classic pairing! Dip these air fryer truffle fries, oven-baked fries, or sweet potato fries.
- Tots: We love dipping air fryer tater tots. But you can also sneak some veggies into the mix with cauliflower tots or zucchini tots.
- Hot dogs and hamburgers: Just toss some burgers and dogs on the grill and put out some ketchup. Or get creative with French onion stuffed burgers or hot dog taquitos.
- Finger food: Little kids, chicken nuggets, and ketchup go hand in hand. Also, try these cheesy quinoa bites, chicken tenders, or air fryer onion rings smothered in ketchup.
- Eggs: This is a controversial take, but I love ketchup on eggs. Make some breakfast sandwiches or drizzle ketchup over egg muffins or a slice of bacon cheddar quiche.
More Homemade Condiments
Homemade Ketchup
Ingredients
- 6 oz. tomato paste 1 small can or 3/4 cup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar see Note 1
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- water see Note 1
- sugar, molasses, honey, brown sugar, or a combination see Note 2
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Notes
- Note 1. Some people find the full amount of apple cider vinegar too strong, especially if they use a raw apple cider vinegar. You can use less, but then add water to total a 1/2 cup of liquid. You can also add additional water if you want a thinner ketchup.
- Note 2. While this is a no sugar katchup recipe, if you prefer it a little sweeter, you can start by adding a tablespoon of sugar, molasses, honey, brown sugar, or a combination of those, then adjust, adding more if needed.
- Note 3. This homemade tomato ketchup keeps well in the fridge, so it can easily be doubled and stored for a few weeks.
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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!
I usually use the Kirkland tomato paste too. So glad you liked it!
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.
As I mentioned in the note, we like how tangy it is with that amount of vinegar, but if you don’t you can use less and just adjust the thickness and texture with water.
I am so disapointed! This is not homemade ketchup. Use fresh tomatoes ween you make ketchup.
I’m sorry. Tomato paste is just cooked down tomatoes, so I saved myself that step. I figure that being able to make this in 5 minutes is better than the sugar-laden stuff in a bottle.
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.
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.
I just started trying the morning cider vinegar thing, but I think I have to add some lemon or orange essential oil to make it taste better! Making ketchup is sooo easy!!
Have you ever tried freezing it? If so, did it freeze well?
I have not tried that. It lasts quite a while in the fridge, so we always use it up.
I just saw this recipe for homemade tomato paste. Passing it along in case someone would like it for making ketchup. 🙂 http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-tomato-paste-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-206853
Thanks!
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
Yeah, there is some funky stuff in ketchup! There are some good brands, but I prefer to make it. I hope you like it!
Definitely a better option than what can be readily found on the shelves in supermarket.
I agree!
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.
You make a good point. I suppose moderation is key for me – we don’t eat tons of it. I am sure you could make your own tomato paste, but you’d need a lot of tomatoes. I haven’t tried it myself.
See if you can find Bionaturae Organic Tomato Paste — it comes in glass jars. My local healthy food store sells it and I sometimes get it online from vitacost.com if I catch it on sale. See the bottom of the page at http://www.bionaturae.com/tomatoes.html
Great tip! Thanks!
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.
Thanks so much, Petra! Oooh, pain au chococlat. Not sure if making that at home would be a good thing or a bad thing 😉