Homemade Ketchup
Make your own ketchup with this easy recipe made from pantry ingredients! It offers classic ketchup flavor with a thick texture, perfect for dunking.
Posted by Kathryne Taylor on September 24, 2025
Ketchup fans will love this recipe. It offers a thick, dippable texture, with classic yet grown-up ketchup flavor. It tastes nicely balanced, but leans a little more savory than sweet. The recipe calls for a whole container of tomato pasteโchoose the best you can find for deep, rich tomato flavor.
Beyond the tomato paste, youโll need balsamic vinegar for some sweetness and tang, dried spices for complex flavor (garlic powder, mustard powder, cinnamon and black pepper), salt to enhance the rest, and water to thin it out. Thatโs it! No corn syrup or added sugar here.
I always assumed that making ketchup would be too tricky, but I was wrong. This recipe is so easy to make. You can whisk it together by hand in just a few minutes. It tastes best after an hourโs rest.
3 Reasons to Make Your Own Ketchup
Iโve been disappointed by many restaurantsโ homemade options over the yearsโtheyโre often too runny or miss the mark with creative flavor variationsโso I never seriously considered making my own. That is, until we ran out of ketchup before dinner.
I studied the ingredient lists of my preferred brands (Heinz and Primal Kitchen) and started experimenting. That nightโs result was good enough, but after more trial and error, Iโm excited to share this final recipe with you.
You might feel compelled to make your own ketchup because:
- Itโs more affordable. Even if youโre using top quality organic tomato paste (I prefer Bionaturae), youโre saving money over organic store-bought ketchup options like Primal Kitchen.
- Youโve run out of ketchup. Perhaps your kids need ketchup to go with their dinners, and you close the fridge empty-handed. You likely have the required ingredients in your pantry. Crisis averted.
- You have health concerns about store-bought ketchups. Maybe you donโt like the sugar content in regular ketchup (itโs typically high), or you want to serve your family organic ketchup, or youโd rather not eat tomatoes out of plastic containers (which tend to leach BPA and similar substances upon contact with acidic ingredients). You can avoid all of those issues with this homemade recipe.
Watch How to Make Ketchup
Ketchup Serving Suggestions
This ketchup is fantastic on burgers and fries, of course. Here are a few suggestions:
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Favorite Veggie Burgers
- Roasted Breakfast Potatoes with Fried Eggs or Perfect Scrambled Eggs
- Ultra Crispy Baked Potato Wedges (shown in these photos)
More Homemade Condiments
These homemade options taste far superior to store-bought. Theyโll take a basic meal to the next level.
Please let me know how your ketchup turns out in the comments! I hope you love it.
Homemade Ketchup
Make your own ketchup with this easy recipe made from pantry ingredients! It offers classic ketchup flavor with a thick texture, perfect for dunking. Recipe yields just over 1 cup.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces tomato pasteย
- 1 teaspoon fine saltย
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder (not granules)
- ยฝ teaspoon mustard powder (optional)
- โ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Finely ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons runny balsamic vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
- ยผ cup water, more if needed
Instructions
- Place the tomato paste in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or glass jar. Add the salt, garlic powder, mustard powder (if using), cinnamon, and about 5 twists of black pepper. Use a small whisk to stir the ingredients together until theyโre evenly combined.ย
- Add the vinegar, and whisk until combined. Add the water, and whisk again until you have a smooth, even mixture. Season to taste with additional pepper, if desired. If youโd prefer a thinner ketchup, add more water by the teaspoon until you reach your desired consistency.ย
- For the best flavor, cover and refrigerate the mixture for at least 1 hour before serving. This homemade ketchup will keep in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.ย
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Iโd love to start making my own ketchup but 1 cup is a lot for us to eat in 2 weeks. Can you freeze this recipe?
Hi Linda, yes you should be able to freeze and then defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Would you be able to freeze and then defrost this? My husband loves ketchup and uses it a lot, but I might need it for more than two weeks time. Thank you!
Hi Jennifer, I havenโt tested it, but I believe it would freeze in small silicone trays to defrost as needed. If you do give it a try, please share how it turns out.
How long will this keep in the fridge? Can I freeze it? Canโt wait to try this.
Hi Therese, it should keep for two weeks in the refrigerator but I believe it should be fine to freeze and then then defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
I cannot believe this came in my email todayโฆ..I have been thinking of making my own ketchup latelyโฆI figured I would buy tomatoes or tomatoe sauce and see what I could come up with,lol You saved me the trouble.I canโt wait to try this.When I forwarded your email to my son.he said Oh great idea and you could make them different flavors, sundried tomatoe ,curry.buffalo,oh he named a few,LOL . So I will start with your recipe,,lol, and tell him he can play around with it any time he wants,LOLโฆThe first recipe from your site was the squash soup, โฆlove it. Sometimes I use a spice called mango curry in it LOVE it.And so easyโฆLOVE your siteโฆ.I always check your site first when looking for a recipeโฆ.keep them coming,lol THANKS
Hi Sam, Iโm so glad you found it helpful! I hope it works out. I love the idea of experimenting with different spice combinations.
Itโs a great recipe for ketchup especially when we have been made to believe it should be cooked, not so. I like allspice instead of cinnamon, my preference. Thanks Kate for recipes!
SO good and SO easy to make! I could (okay, I do) eat this stuff with a spoon. I used Trader Joeโs organic balsamic vinegar (not white but it seemed runny enough?) and followed anotherโs suggestion and swapped the cinnamon for allspice. I added 2T more water at first. It seemed to thicken up as it sat in the fridge, so I added a spoonful of water here and there to loosen it up a bit. I am reducing my sugar intake and this is so tasty I prefer it to the store bought stuff anyway! Thank you Kate!
Amazingly simple and perfect for dipping baked potato wedges!! Thank you!