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.
is there a way to make it sugar free by using Stevia instead of maple syrup?
We have to be sugar free
Hi Nancy, I do not use stevia, so I don’t know. You would have to add it and taste it to see. I know stevia is very concentrated, so you obviously won’t use a tablespoon, so maybe start with 1/4 teaspoon, not sure.
Yes! It will taste slightly different because maple syrup adds its own flavor but it will still be excellent. I’ve made my own with just tomato paste and stevia and even that was “ok”. This recipe looks worlds better though! Another option would be monk fruit extract as sweetener which since testing in other things I now prefer to stevia for the taste. Either one though, just start w/ a lot less than you think and adjust by taste.
Thank you so much for chiming in Geoffrey! I’ve heard monk fruit has a good taste. Don’t want to have a funny aftertaste to the ketchup, that is for sure!
Couldn’t a drop of maple extract be used with the Stevia?
Hi Greg, I don’t use stevia, but I really do not think stevia will work the same way here. First, the maple syrup provides liquid and consistency to the bbq sauce, as well as helping the deep flavor and sweetness. Stevia is a very different flavor, so you are always welcome to experiment, but it’s going to be very different.
What about date syrup?
I’ve never tried it, but feel free to!
If you can use honey than that works.
About how long you think this would keep in the fridge?
Hi Jen! Well, honestly, I just created it this week, so I can’t say for certain the longevity of it. But since I used the same ingredients in it as regular ketchup (which lasts a long time), I would think it lasts weeks easily. It contains white vinegar (just like store-bought) which is a natural preservative, so as long as it still looks and smells fresh, I really think it will last weeks.
Love that yo made your own ketchup girl! Looks awesome!!
Thanks girl! So easy!
Want to use beets can I use some powder or juice?
Beets? Why do you want to add beets to the ketchup? I wouldn’t add beets to this, it doesn’t need it and it’ll change the flavor. I’d reserve that for recipes like chocolate desserts or recipes calling for beets.
Just guessing, but perhaps she means instead of tomatoes if she cannot eat tomatoes for some reason? I’d imagine making a beet sauce for dipping might be good, but don’t think it would be a sub for this recipe, just an alternative. Bet it would need different spices/seasonings, too.
How about a BBQ sauce, I use more often then Ketchup.
Thanks
Hi Kim, I have 3 bbq sauce recipes here on the blog. I would just type barbecue sauce in the search box!
The allspice is interesting – never would have thought to put it in there. Thanks for the easy recipe. If I serve oil-free fries this ketchup would definitely get used up.
Thank you Patty! Allspice is classic in ketchup, so that’s why I used it! Definitely doesn’t taste quite right without it.
So easy and turned out great!!
Yay, thrilled to hear this Kim, thank you for making it!
This is awesome! After recently buying a bottle of ketchup that had green bell peppers listed in the ingredients, I’m so happy to get back to the “regular” 🙂 This recipe is so easy. I’ll need to double it next time. I’ve been putting it on chickpea flour and tofu omelets and scrambles, burgers, dips, and almost everything. I mean, ketchup is like avocado – what doesn’t it go with?
Yay! Rally glad you have been using this ketchup on so many things, you are making me hungry!!
Brandi, you have done it again…this ketchup is delicious! My husband said it is the best ketchup he has ever tasted! The flavor is perfect and it is so easy. No more standing in the grocery isle trying to decide which brand has the least number of objectionable ingredients. :0)
Thank you!
Awww yay, that makes me really happy to hear June, thank you so much for letting me know!
Love this! It’s super easy and using a scale makes it super quick and accurate. I’ve made it several time and it will remain a staple for me.
Wonderful to hear you enjoyed this Jenny, thank you for making it!
Quarantining in the time of COVID-19, calls for substitutions.
I used 70g of paste and 200g of passata, because that’s all I had. No onion powder or allspice, so to sub for flavour, I shaved a bit of a veg stock cube I had. I added no water at first, because the passata is runny, but I did add some later after I cooked it, to make it to my liked consistency. I also felt like some of the acidity was cooked off, so I added another teaspoon of vinegar at the end.
Top tip: If you find that you need to sub as well, taste it! Before, during and after. I kept asking myself ‘Is this what I want to dip my fries in? Is the consistency right? Is the salt, sweet, sour right?’ That helped in not overdoing it, considering I was free-handing it quite a bit.
I changed the recipe quite a bit, but this is a great one in opinion, cooking it even for 5 mins, just to activate the flavours is a great tip. Thank you Brandi 🙂
Thank you so much Loanna, glad to hear you were able to make it work!!
Ok, truth time. I didn’t particularly care for the strong allspice smell after I poured this out of my Vitamix, (I know you didn’t mention putting it in a blender, but I wanted it super smooth. I’m certain that’s why I smelled such a scant bit.;) But I have total faith in your recipes, Brandi, so I put it in the fridge and tried it the next day… Holy tomatoes, it’s MAGIC!! Brandi, this ketchup is insanely good! How do you do it?! I will NEVER buy pre-made ketchup again! 😋 Thanks for this!
So glad you loved this ketchup Colleen! Yes, allspice smells so strong but since traditional ketchup uses it and has that depth, I knew I had to include a tiny amount!!
Its sensational what great recipes can be tweaked in such an an amazing and fresh way!
Hi, years ago my grandmother told me that ketchup used to have a tang of aniseed and mint and was always used instead of mint sauce(considered a luxury at the time) on meats like lamb and seared beef.
Spinache would be mixed with yoghurt and creamed mint as ad dish to be serve with bread
First time making this and I absolutely loved it! Very easy to make ! I do not own a scale unfortunately, BUT I felt like the outcome was still perfect 😁
So wonderful to hear that!
Hi Brandi,
Thanks for this recipe… Looks delicious!
My partner needs to limit acidic foods and so I am looking for a ketchup recipe without vinegar or lemon juice… Do you have any ideas for a vinegar substitute, other than lemon juice, that would work in your recipe?
Thanks,
Dave x
Hi Dave! Without the vinegar or lemon juice, it won’t taste like ketchup, it’ll just taste like tomato sauce. The acidic element is what makes it taste like ketchup, so I’m really not sure what to suggest since you don’t want to use either. I wish I knew of what to suggest, there are lots of vinegars out there, but if you don’t want to use any, that will be impossible to get the same flavor. It’ll taste more like tomato sauce or bbq sauce without it.
Thank you for the beautiful recipe. I also enjoyed the minimal ad experience on your website. An enjoyable experience the whole way through. 😀
So glad to hear that Jackie! Yes, I have zero ads or popups!
I did not have allspice and used cloves. It is delicious! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Wonderful!!
Amazing taste – my search for the perfect ketchup recipe is over! Brandi always nails it, no kidding.
Aww that is so kind Marybeth, I’m so glad you loved the ketchup!
I know you said not to sub the vinegar, but I’m avoiding it right now while I cleanse. I made this recipe with lemon juice instead and it is delicious!! Thanks again for a great recipe.
So glad to hear that worked!!
I came across your recipe for this ketchup online. I was dubious that it would taste like “real” ketchup, but I gave it a try, thinking I would get a healthy approximation of ketchup. Your daughter is right! This tastes just like store bought ketchup …actually it’s even better. We didn’t even wait for the flavors to meld and it tasted perfect! I can’t wait to explore more of your recipes!
It is so nice!!!
I always wanted to try ketchup but all recipes use spirit vinegar and I cannot have it so THANK YOU
Very nice, simple recipe. Thanks so much!