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.
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
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:
- Wash the tomatoes, peel the apples. Cut them into larger pieces.
- Peel the onions and chop them coarsely.
- Put everything in a large pot, add salt, sugar, vinegar, and spices.
- Cook under a lid for about half an hour.
- Remove the cover and simmer for another 2 to 3 hours.
- Strain through a sieve.
- Cook for another 30 minutes until it thickens.
- 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).
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.
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.
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.
FAQs
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.
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.
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
Recipe card
Homemade Tomato Ketchup
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
Maggie F
Absolutely delicious! Lovely consistancy will keep this receipe and treasure it.
Petra Kupská
Thank you, Maggie, for your nice feedback!