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 love this homemade recipe because it has so much less salt than store bought ketchup!
This recipe is so creative! Thank you for sharing. ?
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Summer! Until I started reading labels closely, I didn’t realize how much additional sugar is in condiments that we use every day. Thank you for rating the recipe!
Going to make it without salt for a kidney patient.
This is a brilliant recipe – I am definitely going to try it. ?
Thank you… I hope you enjoy the recipe!
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.?
Thank you so much. I’m glad you like it.
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!
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.
Wow! I was so excited to try this recipe. Wow. How horrendous, can’t believe this has so many upvotes. Wow. Just wow.
Sorry you feel that way. I’ve been making it for years! But we all have different tastes. Anything you would change?
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?
If kept refrigerated, the ketchup should stay good for 2-3 weeks.
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!!
Hmm, I have not had that issue. As it gets cold it definitely “firms up” a bit, but you can either bring it back to room temperature or thin it out with a little water.
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.
I’m so sorry that you didn’t enjoy the homemade ketchup, Kate, but I appreciate your feedback and comment.
So…where’s the recipe? Is it just in the video?
Somehow the recipe disappeared! I am trying to get it fixed now!
Thank you. I was just going to comment asking about the recipe. lol can’t wait to get it!
Thanks for your patience, Rachelle. We’re still working on getting the recipe issue resolved. It’s being stubborn!
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!
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.