Easy Homemade Ketchup Recipe (2024)

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by Dana Sandonato//July 19, 2021 (updated January 4, 2024)

This easy homemade ketchup recipe is an awesome way to use up your garden harvest. It’s savory, sweet, and tangy!

Table of Contents

Homemade Ketchup Is a Treat

We’ve got nothing against store-bought ketchup in this house. I’m French Canadian, so that stuff is my gravy, baby.

But every year I find myself with an overabundance of grape or cherry tomatoes from my garden, and homemade ketchup is such an easy and awesome way to put them to use.

This recipe is more savory than most store-bought varieties, but it’s still got that sweetness we love. The best part is that the sweetness comes from raw honey—so you don’t have to worry about an undesirable amount of refined sugar.

I also like to simmer this good stuff with a clove—it adds depth and warmth to the flavor. Try it—you’ll see what I mean!

We love dunking the usuals into this good stuff, like fries, chicken tenders, etc., and it’s great on burgers or in BBQ sauces.

How Long Does Homemade Ketchup Last?
This homemade ketchup recipe will keep in the fridge for about 3 weeks if sealed in an airtight container.
If you want to freeze it, store it in a freezer-friendly container and it will keep for 6 months.

The Impressively Short Ingredient List:

Grape or cherry tomatoes
Red wine vinegar
Honey or agave nectar
A full clove
Sea salt and cracked pepper
Worcestershire sauce

The Gist on How to Make Homemade Ketchup

Place all of your ingredients, from the tomatoes through to the clove, into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring it to a simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until the mixture has slightly thickened.
Remove the clove with a slotted spoon and trash it.
If you have an immersion blender, bring it to the saucepan and blend the mixture until it’s smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer the mixture to a stand blender and blend it until it’s smooth.
Strain the mixture through a sieve. Repeat to ensure a smooth ketchup.
Finally, stir in the Worcestershire sauce.
Transfer the ketchup to a glass jar with a lid or some kind of container, and refrigerate it until it’s cooled and thickened up a bit more.

Useful Tools for This Recipe

Recipe Tips + Tricks

You don’t have to limit yourself to grape or cherry tomatoes! I like using them because I always have a large harvest from my garden. But you can use fresh beefsteak, roma, or San Marzano if you have access to them. Just remember, the more flavorful the tomato, the more flavorful the ketchup. Be sure to avoid canned tomatoes—they won’t bring the greatest flavor.
Feel free to play around with this recipe. You can add heat by dusting a pinch of cayenne into the mix; to add some East Asian flare, drizzle in some Sriracha sauce; for smokiness, a few dribbles of liquid smoke will do the trick.
The ketchup will thicken up a bit as it cools in the fridge. But if you want a thicker texture, whisk two tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of cold water. Once the ketchup has been run through the sieve twice, return the ketchup to the stove and bring to a low simmer. Slowly whisk the cornstarch mixture into the ketchup until you have the consistency you want.

You Can Use This Ketchup Recipe in the Following Recipes:

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
Saucy Korean BBQ Beef Skewers
Instant Pot Korean Pulled Pork
Super Tender Ground Turkey Meatloaf

Have You Made This Recipe?
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You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme