This easy homemade ketchup recipe is a quick and flavorful way to elevate your favorite dishes with a fresh, tangy twist. Perfect for best-ever cheeseburger, homemade French fries, and crispy onion rings, it’s made with simple ingredients you likely already have in your pantry.
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🍅 The Ingredients
Made with pantry-friendly ingredients, this easy recipe combines simple flavors that come together to create a rich, tangy condiment that surpasses any store-bought version. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
👉 Substitutions and Variations
- Tomatoes – We find tomato purée or ground tomatoes deliver excellent taste and texture. However, you can use homegrown fresh tomatoes. Boil for about 30 seconds and then peel away the skin. You’ll need 4 to 5 medium tomatoes. Canned crushed tomatoes are a decent substitution.
- Sugar – This ketchup has a touch of sweetness, but not too much. Light brown sugar gives just a hint of maple sweetness. Dark brown sugar will give a more pronounced maple sweetness, but it will still be good. Regular granulated sugar or honey is a fine substitute.
- Seasonings – Use moderation when adding the seasonings. The combination of spices in this recipe provides a depth of flavor that tastes like classic ketchup, but with a deeper flavor profile. Ground cloves can be substituted for ground allspice. Be sure to give the ketchup a taste test (with a clean spoon) to get the salt level just right.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Expert Tip
You’ll definitely want the ketchup to cool completely before storing and serving. The flavors need at least 24 hours to meld. The taste is significantly improved after the ketchup has had time to chill in the fridge.
👩🏼🍳 How To Make Easy Homemade Ketchup
- Step 1: Place the tomato purée, onion, garlic, brown sugar, and jalapeño in your blender. Purée until smooth.
- Step 2: Add the water and apple cider vinegar and purée again.
- Step 3: Transfer to a large skillet over medium heat and add a pinch of each spice.
- Step 4: Simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Step 5: Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 6: Let the ketchup cool, then transfer to a jar (with lid) and chill for at least 1 hour (preferably 24 hours).
🍽️ How To Serve
- As mentioned, this ketchup is best after it’s had time to allow the flavors to meld, at least 24 hours. It will keep in the fridge for up to a month.
- If serving at a cookout, we place the ketchup in a small bowl with a spoon. It’s also fun to serve the ketchup in a condiment squeeze bottle.
- It can be served chilled or at room temperature. Remember to take the ketchup out of the fridge at least an hour before serving, if you want it to be at room temperature.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
While homemade ketchup has a similar tangy and sweet flavor, it offers a fresher, more vibrant taste without the preservatives and additives found in store-bought versions.
Yes! You can easily customize the flavor by adding more sugar for sweetness or extra vinegar for a tangier taste to suit your preference.
Absolutely—try substituting sugar with natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup, or simply reduce the amount of sweetener to create a less sweet version.
😋 Other Classic Condiments and Sauces
Ready to impress your guests with this amazing condiment? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Easy Homemade Ketchup
Video
Equipment
- 1 Blender or food processor, or immersion blender
- 1 large, deep skillet
Ingredients
- 1 28 oz can tomato purée
- ½ large onion quartered
- ½ jalapeño fresh, seeded, and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- Pinch celery salt
- Pinch dry mustard
- Pinch ground allspice
- Pinch ground ginger
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher
- ½ teaspoon black pepper ground
Instructions
- Place the tomato purée, onion, jalapeño, tomato paste, and brown sugar into a blender or food processor and pulse until blended. Add the vinegar and water and purée until smooth.1 28 oz can tomato purée, ½ large onion, ½ jalapeño, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- Transfer to a large skillet and add a pinch each of the cayenne, celery salt, mustard, allspice, ginger, and cinnamon. Cook over low heat, stirring every now and then, for 45 minutes, or until thickened.⅓ cup apple cider vinegar, 1 cup water
- Season with salt and pepper (taste, and add more salt, if desired). Let cool and then transfer to jars with a lid. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 1 month.Pinch cayenne pepper, Pinch celery salt, Pinch dry mustard, Pinch ground allspice, Pinch ground ginger, Pinch ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon Kosher, ½ teaspoon black pepper
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