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    Home » Recipes » Appetizers

    Easy Homemade Tomato Ketchup

    Published: Sep 10, 2021 · Modified: Jan 1, 2022 by Petra Kupská

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    If you like ketchup, try this simple recipe for homemade ketchup made from fresh tomatoes. It tastes great, and the best part is that this ketchup keeps in the fridge for up to six months without canning.

    Homemade tomato ketchup.
    Table of Contents hide
    About the recipe
    Ingredients
    Detailed Instructions with Photos
    Storage
    Useful Tips
    FAQs
    Homemade Tomato Ketchup

    About the recipe

    Homemade ketchup is prepared with fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled apples, and onions. It is seasoned with salt, sugar, and vinegar. Bay leaves, allspice, whole peppercorns, and sweet paprika provide a delicious flavor.

    This ketchup does not need to be canned; it keeps in the refrigerator for six months.

    Ketchup is also a very popular condiment in the Czech Republic, where I live. It's probably most often served with sausage. Czechs call ketchup by a similar word: kečup.

    TIP: If you like Czech condiments, don't miss this tartar sauce, authentic Czech tatarská omáčka!

    Ingredients

    What you need for homemade ketchup - ingredients.

    For homemade ketchup, you'll need:

    • Tomatoes; fresh, ripe
    • Apples; contain pectin, which helps the ketchup thicken
    • Onions; for a better taste
    • Salt
    • Sugar; powdered or granulated sugar
    • White wine vinegar
    • Bay leaves
    • Allspice
    • Peppercorn
    • Sweet paprika; ground

    ✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.


    Quick Instructions:

    1. Wash the tomatoes, peel the apples. Cut them into larger pieces.
    2. Peel the onions and chop them coarsely.
    3. Put everything in a large pot, add salt, sugar, vinegar, and spices.
    4. Cook under a lid for about half an hour.
    5. Remove the cover and simmer for another 2 to 3 hours.
    6. Strain through a sieve.
    7. Cook for another 30 minutes until it thickens.
    8. Pour ketchup into clean jars, cover with a lid, turn upside down, and let cool.

    Detailed Instructions with Photos

    STEP 1: Wash the tomatoes and cut them into larger pieces. Peel, core and dice the apples. Peel and coarsely chop the onions.

    STEP 2: Prepare a large pot with a lid. Put the chopped ingredients in it, add salt, sugar, vinegar, and other spices (bay leaves, allspice, pepper, sweet paprika).

    Making homemade ketchup in a pot.

    STEP 3: Cover the pot with a lid and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer at a low temperature for 30 minutes under the lid. Then remove the cover and simmer on low heat for another 3 hours without stirring.

    STEP 4: Strain the cooked mixture through a sieve; about two ladles at a time. The strainer will retain the skins and seeds of the tomatoes and the remaining spices.

    Always dispose of the leftovers in the waste bucket before pouring the new mixture from the pot into the strainer.

    Making homemade ketchup.

    STEP 5: Return strained ketchup to the pot and cook over medium heat until thickened. The cooking time depends on the liquid content of the tomatoes. This takes anywhere from a half-hour to two hours. I cooked my tomato mixture for another 1.5 hours.

    STEP 6: In the meantime, clean the jars with screw top lids. I washed them in a dishwasher; they were still hot when I used them.

    STEP 7: Carefully pour the thickened ketchup into the prepared jars and seal them with a screw lid tightly. Turn the jars upside down and let them cool completely.

    homemade ketchup in jars.

    Storage

    Store cooled bottles with tomato ketchup in the refrigerator. Ketchup made this way lasts in the fridge for up to 6 months.

    Useful Tips

    • How long the ketchup takes to cook depends on the amount of water in the tomatoes. Watery tomatoes take much longer for the ketchup to thicken - maybe an hour or two more. Plan your time carefully and start making your homemade ketchup in the morning!
    • Do you like spicy ketchup? Add chili, curry paste, or a teaspoon of hot paprika powder.
    • Other appropriate spices for ketchup include ground cinnamon, thyme, and garlic. Experiment and find out which combination of spices you like best.
    homemade ketchup recipe.

    FAQs

    How do I thicken liquid ketchup?

    The only correct way to thicken ketchup is to reduce the amount of liquid when cooking. Simmer the ketchup in the pot without a lid until it thickens. Depending on the amount of liquid in the tomatoes, it may take one to two hours for the ketchup to reduce.

    How many tomatoes are in the homemade ketchup?

    I used about 4 ½ lbs of tomatoes, three apples, and four smaller onions in this recipe and got about 4 ½ cups of homemade ketchup.

    How long does homemade ketchup last?

    The shelf life of homemade ketchup depends on how you treat it after cooking. Canned ketchup lasts the longest. However, the method described in this recipe will guarantee that ketchup will last up to 6 months in the fridge.


    More tasty recipes

    • Potato sauce
    • Apple compote
    • Braised red cabbage

    Recipe card

    homemade ketchup recipe.

    Homemade Tomato Ketchup

    If you like ketchup, try this simple recipe for homemade ketchup made from fresh tomatoes. It tastes great, and the best part is that this ketchup keeps in the fridge for up to six months without canning.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 4 hours hours
    Straining through a sieve: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 4 hours hours 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 cups
    Calories: 115kcal
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Tomato Recipes

    Ingredients

    • 4 and ½ lbs (2 kg) fresh tomatoes ripe
    • 3 apples mid-sized
    • 3 onions mid-sized
    • ¾ cup (150 g) sugar granulated or powdered
    • ½ cup (120 ml) white wine vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp salt
    • 3 bay leaves
    • 10 allspices
    • 15 peppercorns
    • 1 Tbsp sweet ground paprika

    Instructions

    • Wash the tomatoes and cut them into larger pieces. Peel and core the apples and cut them into cubes. Peel and coarsely chop the onions.
    • Prepare a large pot with a lid. Put the chopped ingredients in it, add salt, sugar, vinegar, and other spices (bay leaves, allspice, pepper, sweet paprika).
    • Cover the pot with a lid and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer at a low temperature for 30 minutes under the lid. Then remove the cover and simmer on low heat for another 3 hours without stirring.
    • Strain the cooked mixture through a sieve, about two ladles at a time. The strainer will retain the skins and seeds of the tomatoes and the remaining spices. Always dispose of the leftovers in the waste bucket before pouring the new mixture from the pot into the strainer.
    • Return strained ketchup to the pot and cook over medium heat until thickened. The cooking time depends on the liquid content of the tomatoes. This takes anywhere from a half-hour to two hours. I cooked my tomato mixture for another 1.5 hours.
    • In the meantime, clean the jars with screw top lids. I washed them in a dishwasher; they were still hot when I used them.
    • Carefully pour the thickened ketchup into the prepared jars and seal them with a screw lid tightly. Turn the jars upside down and let them cool completely.

    Notes

    • STORAGE: Store cooled bottles with tomato ketchup in the refrigerator. Ketchup made in this way lasts in the fridge for up to 6 months.
    • How long the ketchup takes to cook depends on the amount of water in the tomatoes. Watery tomatoes take much longer for the ketchup to thicken - maybe an hour or two more. Plan your time carefully and start making your homemade ketchup in the morning!
    • Do you like spicy ketchup? Add chili, curry paste, or a teaspoon of hot paprika powder.

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart

    Nutritional Estimate pro portion

    Calories: 115kcal
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Maggie F

      November 17, 2022 at 11:09 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious! Lovely consistancy will keep this receipe and treasure it.

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        November 18, 2022 at 3:35 pm

        Thank you, Maggie, for your nice feedback!

        Reply

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

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