Homemade Ketchup Recipe in 5 Minutes (2024)

This quick and easy 5 minute recipe will show you how to make homemade tomato ketchup from scratch using simple healthy natural ingredients! It’s perfect as a dip for French fries, potato wedges, vegan meatballs, veggie patties, and other barbecue snacks!

Easy and Healthy Ketchup Recipe

Have you ever made your own tomato ketchup? If you think making ketchup from scratch is time-consuming and complicated, this simple effortless recipe will quickly convince you otherwise! With a few simple, inexpensive ingredients, you can make a delicious, tangy, tomato-based ketchup without refined sugar in no time!

Not only is this ketchup simple and delicious, it’s also much healthier than store-bought ketchup. It’s tomato-y, decadent and subtly sweet and perfect for dipping many savory dishes and finger food snacks. Just like tzatziki, ketchup should never be missing at potlucks and barbecue parties! It pairs especially well with vegan meatballs, French fries and veggie burgers.

Homemade Ketchup from fresh tomatoes

To keep this recipe as simple as possible, I used tomato paste. However, you can also make your own healthy ketchup with fresh ripe tomatoes by simply using fresh peeled tomatoes or canned tomatoes instead of tomato paste and water. Please pay attention to the quality and ripeness of the tomatoes, otherwise the tomato dip will not be as fruity and aromatic. If necessary, you would have to boil it down longer to get the desired concentration and consistency.

Ingredients needed

For this quick recipe you only need the following 6 ingredients plus water, salt and optionally some chili:

• Oil: e.g. canola oil, sunflower oil or olive oil.
• Tomato paste: or fresh tomatoes
• Onion powder: or fresh onion
• Garlic powder: or fresh garlic cloves
• Apple cider vinegar: or white vinegar
• Maple syrup: or other syrup or sugar
• Chili powder: optional to taste
• Water
• Salt

How to make Ketchup from scratch

As always, I recommend checking out the recipe video and these step-by-step instructions first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with the exact measurements in the recipe card below!

Step 1: Make your own tomato ketchup

First, heat some oil in a pan. Add the tomato paste, onion powder and garlic powder and sauté for a few seconds, stirring occasionally. Then deglaze the pan with water and bring the mixture to a boil. Now add apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, chili and salt and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Step 2: fill in a bottle or jar and enjoy!

Then pour the ketchup into a clean sealable jar or bottle and let it cool. You can use it right away, but I recommend letting it sit for at least 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to develop for even more aroma!

How to store homemade tomato sauce

The tomato ketchup keeps in a clean sealed jar or airtight container for about a week in the fridge.

Ketchup Recipe Tips and Variations

This basic ketchup recipe is very versatile and can be adapted any way you like. Here are some ideas:

• Curry ketchup: if you want to make curry ketchup yourself, you can just add curry powder.
• Spiced ketchup: of course, you can also try other dry or liquid seasonings like Worcestershire sauce, allspice or other spices for different flavors.
• Hot Ketchup: for more spiciness, you can add more chili powder or sriracha.
• Italian Style: For a Mediterranean version, you can add dried Italian herbs such as rosemary, basil, oregano or thyme.
• Fruity: For a fruity note you can sweeten your ketchup with fruit compote or fruit puree.
• Tomato sauce: If you feel like pasta with tomato sauce, you can simply boil 1/2 cup of ketchup with 1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup of dairy-free cooking cream and season with Italian herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
• Consistency: If you want the ketchup to be smooth and creamy, you can blend it in a blender or food processor or with an immersion blender.
• Sweetness: If you want it sweeter, you can add more agave syrup, maple syrup, date syrup or another sweetener to taste.

This homemade tomato ketchup is:

• Quick and easy to make
• No preservatives or additives
• Gluten-free
• Healthier than the original
• Fool-proof
• Versatile & customizable
• Hearty & spicy
• Totally delicious!
• Perfect as a dip, sauce or spread!

More easy vegan recipes for dips and sauces:

• The Best Peanut Sauce
• Green Herb Dip
• Garlic Sauce
• Sweet Chili Sauce
• Hummus
• Sweet and Sour Sauce
• Vegan Mayonnaise
• Aioli (Garlic Dip)
• Baba Ghanoush
• Guacamole
• Tzatziki Sauce
• Raita Dip

Recipe-Video

If you try this easy homemade ketchup recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your tomato dip and share it on Instagram or Facebook, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your creations! Have fun trying it out! 🙂

IF YOU HAVE PINTEREST, YOU CAN FIND ME HERE AND PIN THE FOLLOWING PICTURE, IF YOU LIKE! 🙂