Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup

Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup 

Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup is the latest condiment that I’ve started making from scratch at home instead of buying it in the grocery store. 

What I love about this is it is easy to make. But besides being easy to make, it is totally customizable and you can make it spicy or give it multiple different flavor profiles. Once you make your own ketchup, you’ll never want to buy it from the store again. 

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What is ketchup? It is the all-American condiment that we think of when it comes to any sauce. At its core, it is a seasoned and pureed tomato sauce with a thick consistency, making it perfect for using on top of burgers, hot dogs, and any kind of sandwich. Or for dunking fries into as well. 

Have you tried making this Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup Ingredients 

Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon 

Onion, 1 medium, chopped 

Garlic, 3 cloves, minced 

Canned Tomatoes, 28 ounces, with juices or you can use fresh chopped tomatoes 

Brown Sugar, ⅓ cup make your own with this recipe 

Apple Cider Vinegar, ⅓ cup 

Tomato Paste, 3 tablespoons 

Worcestershire Sauce, 2 tablespoons 

Ancho Chili Powder, ¾ teaspoon you can use regular chili powder as well 

Paprika, 1 teaspoon 

Ground Mustard, ½ teaspoon 

Ground Cloves, ¼ teaspoon 

Allspice, ¼ teaspoon 

Black Pepper, ¼ teaspoon 

Salt, ½ teaspoon 

Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup Directions 

Add the olive oil to a medium sized pan and heat over medium-high heat. 

Add in the onions and saute them until they start to turn brown and are caramelizing. 

Add in the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, and you’ll start to really smell the garlic. 

Add in the apple cider vinegar, tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce. If you are using fresh tomatoes, you’ll want about 2 ½ pounds of them. 

Next, add in all the dry ingredients. The brown sugar, ancho chili powder, paprika, ground mustard, cloves, allspice, salt, and pepper. Stir as it comes to a boil. 

Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45-60 minutes. This will give the flavors a chance to really develop and meld together nicely. I like to go a full hour myself, to get it to a thicker consistency and let it reduce enough. 

Puree the mixture with an immersion blender, or a food processor and do so in batches if necessary, until you have a consistent and smooth puree. 

Using a strainer, strain the ketchup through to give it a much smoother texture that is consistent and discard any solid pieces that were missed with the blender or food processor. 

Store in an airtight container like this in the refrigerator and use as needed. 

Recipe Notes 

Straining 

Store bought ketchup is very smooth, and what most people are accustomed to. You don’t have to strain it if you don’t want it. It can be enjoyed as-is with a chunkier texture to it. But if your ketchup is too grainy for your liking, put it through the strainer again. 

You will never get it to the same consistency as a commercially made ketchup, but I think that is the beauty of the recipe. It isn’t overly processed, and clearly homemade. I also love seeing this in a restaurant, where it is not only delicious, but obvious that the chef made it instead of buying it. 

Thickness 

If your ketchup is too thick, you can thin it out easily with a small amount of water. It will help flow more easily if you’re putting it into a squeeze bottle. If you’re storing and using it in a jar, you won’t need to worry about this. 

Tomatoes 

I have made this Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup with both fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes. Both work just fine. It is just harder to find tomatoes in the winter months, and that is when I use canned ones. I enjoy both, and honestly don’t have a preference. 

Fresh tomatoes are amazing when you can pick them out of your garden. Cherry tomatoes, San Marzano, and heirloom tomatoes are perfect for this recipe. 

Make It Spicy 

One of the best things about making Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup yourself is that you can totally change up the flavor profile once you have the basics down. I do the same thing with my homemade mustard. Learn this recipe, then start tweaking it to fit your own preferences. 

Add in some red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper for a little extra heat. Not hot enough? Here are some other suggestions. 

Jalapeño Ketchup 

Follow this recipe, but add in diced jalapeño peppers with the onions and saute them in the pan at the same time, before adding the garlic. 

Habanero Ketchup 

Habaneros are my favorite spicy pepper, because it has such a fruity floral heat to it. They are hotter than a jalapeño, so be aware of that when trying them out in this recipe. 

Ghost Pepper Ketchup 

Ghost peppers are one of the hottest peppers out there, so if you want a good ketchup that is going to burn your face off, then this is the one to make! This will bring your spicy ketchup to a whole new level with the heat of a ghost pepper. 

Gochujang Ketchup 

Gochujang is a spicy fermented Korean chili paste that will add an incredible depth of flavor and spice to your ketchup. Use this in place of the tomato paste in my original recipe. 

Sriracha Ketchup 

Sriracha is a hot chili sauce that originated in Thailand and is often used in both Thai and Vietnamese foods. Use this in place of or in addition to the tomato paste in this recipe. 

But do note that Sriracha has a thinner consistency than tomato paste, and it may need to be reduced a bit longer to achieve the desired consistency that you want. I would use it in addition to the tomato paste, and simply reduce it a few minutes longer. 

Make It Vegan 

Making this recipe vegan is incredibly easy! All you need to do is substitute the Worcestershire sauce for the vegan version. That’s it! Just one single substitution to make this a completely vegan recipe that everyone can enjoy. 

Why is it not vegan already? Because Worcestershire sauce has fermented anchovies in it, which is a fish. Therefore anything that uses Worcestershire sauce is not vegan. 

My best friend is vegan, and the sauce I linked to above is the vegan version that he recommends and uses. The first time I wrote a recipe where I wanted to talk about the substitution, I literally made him go to the refrigerator and take a picture for me. He still laughs about that one. 

Storage 

Once the ketchup is cooled, strained, and ready to be put away, store it in a sealed container or bottle, for 3-4 weeks, or even longer. 

You can also freeze the ketchup in freezer bags or containers for future use, and it will last about 6 months in the freezer. 

You can also put it in a water bath for 15 minutes, can it, and then store it. You don’t need to pressure it because the tomatoes have enough acid (should have a pH of 3.5 or lower for home preserving) in them to preserve the ketchup through a water bath alone. 

Why I Love This Recipe 

I absolutely love making my own homemade sauces and condiments. It is so often much easier than we think it will be. Why buy something when I can spend 30-60 minutes making it myself? Once you know how to make it, there is no reason to waste the money on a commercially made product ever again. 

Since I started making homemade mustard a few months ago, I thought making ketchup was the next natural step. 

It is so easy to do, and my favorite part is I know exactly what is in my food. No high fructose corn syrup or other things that I cannot pronounce that are in commercially made ketchup. 

Knowing how to make this myself means I can literally make it anytime I want, because I have all of the ingredients in my pantry. This saves me a trip to the store and money as well. That makes both the homemaker and the prepper in me very happy. Because it is a skill that is not only useful, but it builds confidence and reduces my dependency on the grocery store. 

It is also so easy to customize the recipe to fit any taste preferences. If I’m craving spice, I’ll add in some peppers and then slather it on a burger. Or I can make the basic recipe to have on hand all the time. I can make a vegan version for when my bestie comes over for dinner. 

Discussion 

Have you tried making this Deliciously Easy Homemade Ketchup? Did you make any changes or substitutions? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

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