Why buy it in the bottle when you can have your own 5 Minute Homemade Ketchup that you can tailor to your own specific taste?
5 Minute Homemade Ketchup that’s made (almost) from scratch, is there anything easier? Not really.
I say nearly from scratch because this is if you have pre-made tomato paste. Tomato paste from Scratch takes quite a bit of time, and honestly, it’s one of the few things I will opt to buy over making. Why? ‘Cause it takes forever. And I had the unfortunate experience of buying 25 lbs of tomatoes, spending an entire weekend in my kitchen making paste, to only get about a pint and a half from it >grumble<. So now, more times than not, I opt to buy it. Buuuttt even though I don’t make it every time I use it, the important thing to me is that I understand how it’s made. Plus, a can of organic tomato paste has just two ingredients in it, the tomato paste, and citric acid. I’m totally OK with that.But ketchup, well most ketchup has high fructose corn syrup, so we make our own. We’ve made it before totally from scratch, but let me tell you it did not take 5 minutes. Which was OK since it was fun to make, but on a busy weeknight when I have a serious hankering for some French Fries but don’t want to do much cooking other than slice potatoes and throw them in the oven, this 5 Minute Homemade Ketchup makes me very happy.
It starts with just some apple cider vinegar (or white, or a mixture of water and vinegar, totally depends on your personal taste)
and then loads of spices…
…mix and you’re done. 
5 minutes. But I think I spent most of that time finding the spices I wanted.
With some super simple homemade fries, French Fry craving thwarted. 
Plus, now we have some 5 Minute Homemade Ketchup in the fridge! Kept in an airtight container, it’ll last about a month. Then it’ll be ready for some Homemade BBQ Sauce, to top on burgers, or for my next French Fry craving!
5 Minute Homemade Ketchup
Ingredients
- 10-12 oz. of tomato paste
- 1/8 - 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar add 1/8 cup first - the full 1/3 makes a tangier ketchup (which we like). If you want more tang, add a little more at a time. White vinegar can also be used.
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- pinch of ground all spice
Instructions
- In a large bowl add tomato paste.
- Pour in vinegar and mix well.
- Add the rest of ingredients and mix well.
- Taste and add additional spices if desired.
- Use as a side or condiment and store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge for a month.
Just made it – I like it better than Heinz!
Brent!! That’s amazing to hear – so glad!!
This came together really quickly-I did not even start it until after the french fries were in the oven. It was really adjustable too-I just used regular vinegar and water. I would probably use less cayenne next time because my kids are not adventurous. Thanks for a great recipe; I look forward to making it again.
So great to hear, Angela! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this and I like it a LOT!
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Due to Kristi’s comment that it was way too tangy I was expecting a LOT more tang, but it was just fine. I started with the 1/8th cup and ended up at the 1/3 cup. It is tangier at 1/3 cup, but it’s not leaps and bounds and it’s just fine – I think it’s actually less tangy and more tomatoey than store bought.
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I was fine with the amount of tangy flavor at 1/8 cup, but it was a very stiff mixture, so I actually started adding more vinegar simply to get more liquid in it to thin it down. That worked and it didn’t bring the tang level up that much. I’m thinking I’d still like it a little thinner, so I may try a little more vinegar, or water, or tomato juice.
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The surprise for me was the cayenne! It sort of sneaks up at the finish and then hangs on a bit! I like spicy food, so that isn’t an issue for me, but I just wasn’t expecting that level in “ketchup”! I just made it, so the flavors will surely blend a little, so we’ll see if this persists, if it does then next time I think I will leave the cayenne out and taste it, and if I’m missing it then I’ll add in a little at a time.
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All in all, it’s an excellent starting point! It’s not a clone of store bought, but that’s fine, it’s very tasty and more “hearty” or “old fashioned” to me (it makes me think that’s what Great-grandma’s homemade would’ve tasted like!).
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Thank you very much for sharing!
Steve that’s SO great to hear!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it – thank YOU for letting me know! 🙂
Great stuff!!!
Unfortunately this was just not good. I ran out of ketchup and needed some for our meal so I grabbed this recipe to make a quick substitution and we did not like it at all. It was way too tangy and the flavors just seemed off (it may have been the cayenne). I think with quite a few modifications I could make it work for our family, but even after I tried adding other ingredients to “fix” the flavor, we ended up dumping the entire batch. I wasn’t looking for something that tasted like store-bought cheap ketchup, but we did not like this at all.
I’m so sorry you didn’t like this, Kristi! In the notes I point out, “I used apple cider vinegar because we like a tangier ketchup. You can use white vinegar also or even cut the vinegar with some water.” So this recipe definitely leans towards tangy and then it’s hard to compensate for that once it’s too tangy. But I’ll make that note much more clear in the recipe instructions – thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it.
Delicious!!! I added tomatoes sauce with paste because I didn’t have enough paste and alittle more sugar. Awesome taste!
Great idea, Alicia!! So glad you enjoyed it!
This looks so yummy and I’ve always wanted to try making ketchup at home but thought it’s going to be complicated. Your recipe is so easy and quick, that I’ll be trying this soon.
Homemade ketchup is the best, and once you start making your own there is no going back to the store-bought stuff. This version is so good!
Is there anything better than homemade ketchup? I made my first batch last year and fell *in love*. So much better than the sugar-packed store-bought stuff. HOWEVER. My ketchup isn’t a five minute ketchup. This is so easy and approachable. I can’t wait to give it a go!
And I hear you about effort + lots of tomatoes = not a lot of product. My ketchup recipe uses two pints of grape tomatoes but once it’s all simmered and pureed, you have one cup. That doesn’t last long, lol.
Why oh why have I not been making homemade ketchup my entire adult life? I mean, I have every single ingredient on hand at all times…and they’re everyday ingredients that cross-utilize with so many other things. What I really love about this recipe is how much salt I get to avoid when I eat gobs of ketchup on my fries. Great recipe…it’s a keeper!
Wow! I had no idea it was so easy to make ketchup! I agree with you on buying store bought tomato paste over making your own. That sounds like way too much work for little gain. Unless you have your own tomato field or something. Gotta try this out next time rather than grab that ketchup bottle! 🙂
I’m totally with you on this “mostly” from scratch item. I don’t consider buying canned tomato paste cheating. Especially when you can get it organic with BPA free cans (or even better, when you find it in glass or a tube) and without added ingredients. I buy with just organic tomato as the ingredient. Great recipe. So simple and puts me in control of the ingredients.
I have never made ketchup, but it has always intrigued me. Now I have the recipe I need to give this a try. I cannot wait to see how much better this tastes than the store-bought stuff in the bottle. I know my grandkids would LOVE this for sure.
Can i add applesauce to thin and sweeten without shortening the shelf life?
Hmmm I’m pretty sure it will shorten it’s shelf life since applesauce is only good for about a week, two max in the fridge. But, if you need a lot of ketchup for a recipe so it’ll all get used quickly, then that’s a great idea!
Can this be canned.?
It sure can! A good ol’ fashioned water bath with the hot pack method will work fine!
I think I’ll try this for the weekend BBQ celebration! Thanks!