Learn how to make a plant-based Easy Homemade Ketchup with just 6 ingredients and in 10 minutes! This ketchup is refined sugar-free, naturally sweetened and much less sugar and sodium than store-bought ketchup. It tastes amazing on fries, burgers or anything you like!
EASY HOMEMADE KETCHUP
I’m pretty sure we all grew up eating fries with ketchup. I also used to love eating hot dogs and burgers with loads of ketchup. However, the salt and sugar content is enough to make me want to create a homemade version. This way, I can control the amount of sweetener (and the kind I use) and salt I put into it. Well, my homemade version is healthy ketchup with half the amount of sugar and salt as commercial brands!
I make a lot of sauce recipes here on the blog, particularly classics, and make them much healthier, vegan and always oil-free. Like this Ranch dressing, Creamy Italian Dressing, Caesar and this Thousand Island Dressing. I find it so much fun to remake classics and you all seem to really love them. In fact, it was that Thousand Island Dressing that became so popular and loved, that several were asking me about subs for the ketchup because of the salt and sugar in it. So, naturally, I had to create my own ketchup, since it is key to the classic dressing. And yes, I’ve already tested the ketchup in the dressing and it’s amazing!
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE KETCHUP
First, you will need to gather these 6 ingredients (+salt and water):
- tomato paste
- white distilled vinegar
- maple syrup
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- ground allspice
To a medium bowl, add all of the ingredients and whisk very well for 1-2 minutes. You want to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly and is smooth.
Pour the sauce into a small pot over medium heat. As soon as it starts to simmer/bubble around the edges well, set your timer for exactly 4 minutes and whisk or stir with a rubber spatula constantly. Do not walk away from it or it’ll stick to the bottom and pop all over the place. We are cooking it to cook out the raw spices flavor and develop the classic ketchup flavor. 4 minutes is just enough to do this. The color will slightly darken.
Pour the ketchup into a glass container and chill a few hours to let the flavors develop fully and get nice and cold to dip potato wedges in. Or, use on burgers, vegan hot dogs or whatever you like!
KID-APPROVED KETCHUP
When I created this, I literally had the real ketchup and my homemade version side by side. As I was creating it, I was tasting the real one and mine, adjusting it, going back and forth between the two until I got the flavor as close as I could. I knew it was delicious, but the real test was when I served my daughter some ketchup and fries and she squealed “ketchup!” because it’s a treat around here (we don’t eat much of it) and she loves it so much.
She finished the plate of fries before I told her I had made it myself. Next, I got out the real ketchup and let her taste each, side by side, and give her honest opinion. She couldn’t believe how similar they were. The only thing she said she could tell was slightly different, was that the real ketchup was “a tiny bit more salty”. This, of course, is only noticeable when tasting both at the same time! It was a home run!
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Easy Homemade Ketchup (10 Minutes)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120g) tomato paste (with NO added salt, my tube says "double concentrated" but I'm not sure it makes a huge difference
- 1/2 cup (120g) water
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (20g) distilled white vinegar (this is key to the ketchup flavor, do not sub)
- 1 tablespoon (20g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground onion powder
- scant 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
NOTE
- Please make sure to weigh the tomato paste, so you get the accurate flavor. Since it's so thick, and not a sauce, it can be a little tricky to measure accurately. Otherwise, just makes sure there are no gaps in your 1/2 cup and level off.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, add all of the ingredients and whisk very well for 1-2 minutes. You want to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly and is smooth.
- Pour the sauce into a small pot over medium heat. As soon as it starts to simmer/bubble around the edges well, set your timer for exactly 4 minutes and whisk or stir with a rubber spatula constantly. Do not walk away from it or it'll stick to the bottom and pop all over the place. We are cooking it to cook out the raw spices flavor and develop the classic ketchup flavor. 4 minutes is just enough to do this. The color will slightly darken.
- Pour the ketchup into a glass container and chill a few hours or overnight to let the flavors develop fully and get nice and cold to dip potato wedges in. Use in my homemade Thousand Island Dressing! Or, use on burgers, vegan hot dogs or whatever you like!
- If you would like to make the potato wedges I have pictured, it is very easy. These are nothing fancy or crispy like fries, but are delicious and simple, healthy potato wedges that taste great with the ketchup! Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Peel and slice 3 large russet potatoes into 1/2 inch thick fry shapes. Spread out evenly on the pan. Salt and pepper well and bake for 25-30 minutes until they are getting very golden brown. Serve immediately with the ketchup.
Delicious easy recipe! Thank you for sharing it! 😋
I’m so happy to hear you loved it, Bonnie, thank you for the review!
This ketchup is delicious. There are no preservatives, less sodium and refined sugar free. I took the homemade ketchup and poured into ice cube trays. After they are frozen I pop them out and place them in a freezer bag. When I need ketchup I take out a cube or two, depending on how much I need. Thank you Brandi for another perfect healthy recipe.
Outstanding recipe. I will be giving this a go.
This is the best homemade ketchup ever. I did sub the vinegar with lemon because vinegar is very acidic for the body and I avoid it whenever possible. One additional change that I made is that I subbed the tomato paste/water with one bottle of strained tomatoes. To me, they have a similar consistency. I doubled the recipe, using the entire bottle of strained tomatoes so that I could reuse the glass bottle as my homemade ketchup bottle. Brilliant!
That is wonderful to hear you loved it Angela!
can you freeze this recipe? I want to make many individual size portions that I can just take out of the freezer and use for later.
I’ve never tried it but probably!