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Sometimes when you want something made right, you have to do it yourself, and this delicious homemade ketchup—free of the corn syrup and high sodium found in most store-bought brands—is totally worth the extra effort. Juicy vine-ripe tomatoes simmer down in a blend of savory spices and sweet dates, creating a truly crave-worthy condiment. Enjoy it with a batch of homemade spicy french fries or slather it on a veggie burger. Trust us when we say you’ll never go back to grocery store ketchup again!

By Darshana Thacker Wendel,

Ingredients

  • 2 lb. ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (5 cups)
  • 1 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 6 to 8 pitted whole dates, chopped
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup no-salt-added tomato paste
  • 1½ teaspoons pasilla chile powder
  • 1½ teaspoons New Mexico chile powder
  • ¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • Sea salt, to taste

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan combine the first four ingredients (through dates). Bring to boiling over medium; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.
  • Transfer tomato mixture to a blender. Add the remaining ingredients and 1 cup water. Cover and blend until smooth.
  • Clean saucepan and return mixture to pan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat to medium. Simmer 1 to 1½ hours or until mixture reduces to a thick paste, stirring frequently.
  • Meanwhile, prepare three 8-oz. canning jars (or two 12-oz. Sauce bottles with caps). Bring a large pot of water to boiling. Submerge jars and lids (or bottles) in the water; boil for 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove jars and lids from water and drain; transfer to a cooling rack or towel.
  • Working quickly, pour the hot ketchup into the sterilized jars (or bottles) and close tightly. Cool completely. To store: Keep in the refrigerator. In unopened sterilized jars or bottles, ketchup will keep 6 to 8 months. Once opened, ketchup keeps up to 1 month.

Comments (9)

(5 from 2 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Jennifer

I love this recipe! I’m making my 5th batch. I have used the chili powder I have on hand in the past and was happy with the result. I didn’t have enough tomatoes on hand so one batch was subbed with no salt added tomatoes, definitely wouldn’t make an entire batch with canned tomatoes though but it was still good and fresh tasting.

c p sowell

I'm looking for easy summer recipes. This one isn't. Questions: 1. Why 'clean saucepan' if you're returning the same mixture to the same pan? 2. Why bother with canning? Can't you put the ketchup in plastic bags and freeze?

Alka

How can tomato paste be made at home? Can we use the regular kashmiri red chilli powder to replace both the chilli powders?

Tanya Morgan

Can this recipe be halved, I don’t want to make so much.

Linda

Where do you find pasilla Chile powder and New Mexico Chile powder? Can anything be substituted for these?

Ludene

I found them on Amazon.

Barb

Wondering if one can substitute canned tomatoes and what other chile powder can be used. I normally don't use any chile/chili powder and don't wish to purchase just to "try" this ketchup. Thanks And, other than remembering this particular recipe, how do I get my answer?

Lorraine

Is tomato paste tomato passata or tomato puree?

Maryanne Houghton

Neither. It's a thick paste, often found in small 6 oz cans.

About the Author

Headshot of Darshana Thacker

About the Author

Darshana Thacker Wendel

Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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