How to make the most delicious homemade ketchup that tastes better than anything you can buy at the store. This ketchup recipe is easy to make from scratch and it lasts in the fridge for a month.
I wouldn’t tell you to make your own ketchup if I didn’t think it was worth it. This ketchup recipe makes the most delicious ketchup that knocks the socks off anything you can buy at the store.
I love that this recipe uses real ingredients and that we can control how sweet our ketchup turns out. In the recipe below, I’ve given a range of sugar so you can adjust to your taste.
Key Ingredients
- Onion, garlic, and ginger: Add so much flavor to this homemade ketchup. The ginger adds just a little spice, and the onion cooks to be sweet and soft, helping thicken the sauce.
- Allspice: I love adding a bit of spice to this sauce. It makes it warm and toasty. If you’re unsure, add less than suggested in the recipe below.
- Tomato paste and canned tomatoes: Make our sauce rich. I use canned whole tomatoes, which break down and blend into a smooth, shiny sauce.
- Brown sugar: You can control how much sugar you add to the homemade ketchup. My family likes 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons).
- Apple cider vinegar: Keeps our sauce nice and tangy, just like store-bought brands.
How to Make Homemade Ketchup
To make ketchup, cook sliced onion with olive oil until soft, sweet, and lightly browned. Then stir in garlic, fresh ginger, and allspice (to make it spicy ketchup, add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, too).
Allow everything to toast in the pan, which makes them extra flavorful. After a minute, stir in the tomato paste and cook for one more minute to remove any raw tomato flavor. Then, toss in the rest of the ingredients (canned tomatoes, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and salt).
Cook the ketchup until thick and shiny, breaking the tomatoes up a bit with a spoon while it cooks. Then, blend until smooth. Once you’re happy with the consistency, pour it into a jar and keep it in the fridge for up to one month.
What to Serve with Homemade Ketchup
We love this easy ketchup, especially since it lasts in the fridge for one month! We serve it next to French fries, sweet potato fries, and rosemary baked potato wedges (pictured). My son also loves dipping our homemade tater tots, chicken nuggets, and popcorn chicken into the ketchup.
I also use homemade ketchup in a few of my favorite recipes. It’s added to the glaze for this classic meatloaf and our favorite turkey meatloaf. I also use it for my favorite BBQ sauce for ribs and this easy fry sauce.
The Best Homemade Ketchup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Homemade ketchup is simple and much more flavorful than anything you can buy at the store. I use 4 tablespoons of sugar, but adjust the sugar to your taste.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
2 garlic cloves, chopped, about 1 tablespoon
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional for spicy ketchup
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
2 to 5 tablespoons brown sugar, depending on how sweet you like your ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Heat oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are softened, sweet, and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and allspice and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
2Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring around the pan, until it turns red to burnt orange, about 2 minutes.
3Add the can of tomatoes with juice, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, cider vinegar, a generous pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir, and then taste to see if you need to add more sugar (we usually add 3 to 4 tablespoons).
4Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat slightly and cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and shiny, about 20 minutes. Taste then adjust with more sugar, salt or pepper.
5Blend until smooth, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for up to one month.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Use fresh tomatoes: Use 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes.
- A note about blending: You can use an immersion blender or regular blender. If you use a regular blender, it is best to blend in batches and not fill the blender as much as you usually would since the ketchup is so hot. We like to remove the center insert of the lid and cover it with a kitchen towel while blending — this helps some of the steam release and prevents the lid from popping off (which can be a big, hot mess).
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed 1/4 cup of the brown sugar.
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You guys are the best. I love this recipe and the variations I can do on it. I also love your homemade mayonaise recipe. It’s out of this world!!
I just tried your recipe it was very good. I added bell pepper jalapeños and all natural honey instead of sugar, have to say it was delicious. Going to add other kinds of hot peppers to see how it comes out. Thank you.