The Best Homemade Ketchup Recipe - (2024)

Sick of buying ketchup at the store? Or maybe you just aren’t loving the store-bought kind, give this delicious homemade ketchup recipe a try. Homemade ketchup is so easy to make, and tastes amazing!

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The Best Homemade Ketchup Recipe - (1)

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How To Make Homemade Ketchup From Scratch

Contents hide

1 How To Make Homemade Ketchup From Scratch

1.1 What Is The Difference Between Ketchup And Catsup?

1.1.1 Who Invented Ketchup?

1.3 What You Need To Make Homemade Ketchup

1.4 Homemade Ketchup Recipe

1.4.1 Ingredients:

1.4.2 Directions:

1.5 How To Can Your Ketchup

1.6 To Steam Can Ketchup

1.7 How Long Does Homemade Ketchup Last

1.8 Canning And Preserving Videos:

Since we started making our own homemade ketchup from scratch we’ve stopped buying it at the store because it really can’t compare to homemade. Plus it’s so easy to make!

What Is The Difference Between Ketchup And Catsup?

Ketchup also called catsup arrived in recipes in the early 1800s as a delicious tomato-based condiment with vinegar and spices. Long story short the only difference is the name, they both are that thick tomato sauce we know and love here in the USA.

Who Invented Ketchup?

Ketchup was invented by Henry John Heinz, in 1876. Heinz invented ketchup by adapting a Chinese recipe for so-called Cat Sup, a thick sauce made from tomatoes, special seasoning, and starch.

Is Homemade Ketchup Better?

The debate for which one is better is best decided by you. Now I will be the first to admit that companies like Hunts or Heinz have created a delicious product, but now that I’ve had homemade ketchup? Not going back for anything. I love everything about our homemade ketchup recipe, and it’s so easy to adjust for those with allergies.

What You Need To Make Homemade Ketchup

To make this ketchup recipe you are going to need:

Homemade Ketchup Recipe

Now that you’ve got your supplies let’s get on to the recipe, to make this homemade ketchup recipe you’re going to need:

Ingredients:

6 oz Tomato Paste

1/2 Cup + 1/8 cup if you like it sweeter of Raw honey, regular (not high fructose Corn Syrup) Corn syrup

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 Cup white vinegar

1/4 Cup water

1 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Teaspoon onion powder

1/2 Teaspoons garlic powder

Directions:

Whisk ingredients together and bring your ketchup to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Remove your ketchup from the heat and allow to cool covered with a lid. *if you were going to can it skip this step and go ahead and pour the ketchup into your canning jars.

Bottle your ketchup and refrigerate.

This recipe makes 1 pint of ketchup, or 2 1/2 pints.

How To Can Your Ketchup

  • Wash 2 half-pint Ball canning jars. Sterilize them with hot water and warm up the flat lids to seal them.

  • Fill up your canning pot with enough water to cover your ½ pint jars by 2”. Heat the water.

  • Heat the ketchup in your pan and ladle it into the hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space.

  • Wipe the rims of your jars with a lint free cloth dipped in vinegar.

  • Place the flat lids and the rings on the jars tightening until just tight

  • Place the jars on the rack in a boiling water canner and process for 15 minutes.

  • Remove jars to several layers of towels on the counter to cool

  • Let the jars sit for 24 hours

  • Label and date the jars and store in a dry, cool, dark place.

To Steam Can Ketchup

Follow the directions of your steam canner.

Put water in your steam canner up to the bottom of the rack.

Start heating your canner.

Ladle hot ketchup into hot and sterile ½ pint canning jars

Wipe the jars rims with a lint free cloth dipped in vinegar.

Place the flad lids on the jars and follow with the rims.

Screw on the lids until just tight

Place jars on the rack in your canner and put on the lid.

Watch the dial readout until the canner gets to the level for your area.

Process for 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes to cool.

Remove jars with a canning jar grabber to several layers of towels to cool. Allow to remain for 24 hours undisturbed. Label the jars with what it is and when it was canned.

If any jars did not process then place them in the refrigerator or reprocess with a new lid.

The Best Homemade Ketchup Recipe - (2)

How Long Does Homemade Ketchup Last

Homemade Ketchup will last about three weeks in your refrigerator, or you can make a big batch and can it for later. This is our favorite way to make ketchup so we don’t have to keep making it every few weeks.

Before you go check out these other preserving and canning recipes:

  • The Best Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
  • Best Copycat Rotel Tomatoes and Chilies Recipe
  • How To Can Beef Stew For Beginners
  • 11 Must-Have Canning Supplies
  • The Best Homemade Ketchup Recipe
  • Reusable Canning Lids: Tattler Lids Review
  • Canning Green Beans
  • Canning Beef With A Pressure Canner
  • Canning Peaches
  • Canning Crushed Tomatoes
  • 7 Of The Best Preserving Pears Recipes
  • Pear Butter Recipe
  • Blueberry Preserves
  • Delicious Blackberry Preserves
  • Apple Orange Preserves
  • Cherry Pie Filling
  • Caramel Pear Pie Recipe
  • Food Preservation | 10 Best Ways Of Preserving Food At Home
  • Pickled Eggs Recipe
  • Zucchini Relish
  • Delicious Three Bean Salad
  • How To Make Sauerkraut
  • 6 Secrets To Making The Best Crisp Pickles
  • Homemade Dill Pickle Chips Recipe
  • The #1 Best Homemade Claussen Pickles Recipe You Are Here!
  • How To Grow A Kombucha Scoby
  • How To Make Kombucha Tea
  • How To Make Apple Cider Vinegar In 6 Easy Steps

Canning And Preserving Videos:

The Best Homemade Ketchup Recipe - (2024)

FAQs

What kind of tomato makes the best ketchup? ›

Sauce tomatoes (Roma) are ideal, but any will work. I used a combo of Roma, Beefsteak, and (mostly) Cherry.

Is homemade ketchup worth it? ›

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.

How long will homemade ketchup last? ›

Pack and Store Your Homemade Ketchup

Ketchup will keep 3 weeks in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer. Ketchup can also be water bath canned using the hot pack method.

What are the five main ingredients of ketchup? ›

TOMATO CONCENTRATE, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, DISTILLED VINEGAR, SALT, ONION POWDER, SPICE.

What is the highest grade ketchup? ›

U.S. Grade A is the quality of tomato catsup that possesses a good color; that possesses a good consistency; that is practically free from defects; that possesses a good flavor; that possesses a good finish; that has a total solids content of not less than 33 percent, by weight; and that scores not less than 85 points ...

Why avoid Heinz tomato ketchup? ›

It contains high quantities of sugar, salt, fructose, preservatives and corn syrup. All of these ingredients when combined together have an adverse effect on the body.

Is there a difference between ketchup and catsup? ›

As it turns out, they're the same thing!

The condiment made its way west via European merchants, taking with it Westernized pronunciations. Early recipes for ketchup (or catsup, if you like) incorporated a wide variety of ingredients like mushrooms, walnuts, and shellfish (hence the distinction tomato ketchup).

How do I thicken up my homemade ketchup? ›

If your ketchup is too runny, you will need to simmer it down further. The simmering process is how you thicken this. It's fine to return it to a pot and simmer on low until it's just right for you. In a pinch, you could also add some tomato paste, but simmering it is a better approach.

How do you increase the shelf life of ketchup? ›

To extend the shelf life of ketchup, it needs to be pasteurized. In case of continuous ketchup manufacturing line, this is usually done in a heat exchanger which is fed by a continuous flow of product. After pasteurization, ketchup needs a holding time for a certain amount of time to kill the bacteria.

What is the number one ingredient in ketchup? ›

U.S. Heinz tomato ketchup's ingredients (listed from highest to lowest percentage weight) are: tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, and natural flavoring.

What was the original recipe for ketchup? ›

Smith observes that the first published recipe for ketchup in English—a thin mixture of vinegar, white wine, anchovies, shallots, lemon peel, horseradish, and a passel of spices described in Eliza Smith's The Compleat Housewife from 1727—includes a note that “the clear Liquor that comes from Mushrooms” may be added to ...

What is the spice in Heinz ketchup? ›

We all know ketchup as a tomato-based product, but it's certainly not tomato sauce or tomato paste. The tangy-sweet sauce contains vinegar, onions, garlic, some kind of sweetener, and seasonings like mustard powder, cumin, allspice and cinnamon.

Which type of tomato does Heinz use for making ketchup? ›

The Heinz 2274 Tomato is a customer favorite for being the perfect variety for making delicious, juicy, homemade ketchup! This 6 ounce tomato is smooth and slightly flattened with a juicy and tangy flesh. The Heinz 2274 is a great tomato for making purees, sauces and of course, ketchup!

What tomato has the most flavor? ›

Heirloom tomatoes are very flavorful; Brandywine and Cherokee Purple are both heirloom beefsteak tomatoes lauded for their sweetness, juiciness and flavor. Because they're so flavorful, heirloom tomatoes lend themselves to a variety of raw dishes.

Why is Heinz tomato ketchup so good? ›

Heinz's recipe also included a greater concentration of vinegar, which increased the acidity, making it more sour than its competitors. He also doubled the sugar, hitting the tongue's sweet spot.

What Tomato Ketchup does McDonald's use? ›

Ketchup. That's right, McDonald's ketchup tastes different — and some may say, better — than what you get at the store. And, no, it's not just Heinz ketchup masquerading in a McDonald's packet. McDonald's actually makes its own ketchup.

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