How to Make Homemade Ketchup from Scratch

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If you haven’t tried making homemade ketchup from scratch, you’ll want to add this one to your recipe box (and trust me, you’ll never go back to store-bought ketchup). It’s made in one pot, and naturally sweetened. Perfect for burger nights and BBQs!

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Why Make Homemade Ketchup?

First of all, store-bought ketchup is expensive. Don’t forget, you’re not only paying for the product, you’re paying for all that packaging, too. If this was a difficult recipe, I’d say to cut your losses and just buy it from the store. But it is SO easy, you’ll make this again and again, and for way less coin.

I started making my own ketchup years ago when I found out what was in the packaged version I had been using. I tested out many combinations of ingredients until I found the perfect combination: it’s fresh, silky smooth, slightly sweet, and has that classic tang. This is one of those recipes you find out about and think to yourself, “why haven’t I been making this myself?”. Store-bought versions can contain fillers, high fructose corn syrup, or the dreaded “natural flavors” (what’s really in those, anyway?).

Whenever possible, I prefer to cook my own food with ingredients I sourced myself; I find it is a much healthier way to go, since there is no guesswork involved. Plus, making your own condiments is much easier than you might think. To make this homemade ketchup from scratch, all you need is 15 minutes and a few ingredients you probably already have at home. You can also easily make the whole recipe organic by getting organic versions of the ingredients!

What’s in Homemade Ketchup?

There are only a few ingredients in ketchup from scratch, and I bet you have them all already.

Tomato paste: the star of the show. This concentrated paste is made from cooking down tomatoes to remove their water content. Therefore, the paste is thick, and smooth since the seeds and skins have been strained out. It provides an intense tomato flavor to the ketchup.

Filtered water: a necessary component of this ketchup, which serves to balance the tomato concentration and the acidity from the vinegar. The water component makes the ketchup smooth and glossy.

White vinegar: provides the characteristic tang we all know and love.

Blue agave: adds a neutral sweetness to the ketchup without using refined sugar.

Onion powder: adds depth of flavor, and that “cooked for hours” taste.

Flaky sea salt: strengthens the overall flavor of the ketchup

How Long Does Ketchup Take to Cook?

Ketchup only needs to be cooked for 15 minutes over low heat while stirring. The result is bright, tangy and slightly sweet. The longer the cook time, the thicker the sauce will become, and there is a risk it will start to overcook and burn.

I carefully considered the cook time so that the ketchup would resemble the traditional texture and thickness we are so familiar with.

Cooking Ketchup in Stainless Steel

Cooking homemade ketchup from scratch (or any other recipe) in stainless steel has a multitude of benefits, the most important in my opinion being the avoidance of harmful chemicals present in so many nonstick pans that leech out into the food. I also find that food just tastes better in stainless. Everything I cook in it (including something as simple as scrambled eggs) tastes fresh and unaltered, and almost elevated- almost like you got it in a restaurant.

With all of the hype around avoiding nonstick pans, I have to say I, too, jumped on board once I saw the coating on my (very expensive) set of nonstick pans flaking off. Not only were my nonstick pans ruined, I was concerned my husband and I might actually be consuming some of that coating – and I was expecting our first child. Ever since making the switch and learning simple tips and tricks for using and caring for stainless, I’m hooked. They are a breeze to use and clean up after. You can even put them in the dishwasher!

Don’t forget to try out my other from-scratch staples, like this homemade coco-whip!