Vegan Ketchup in 10-Minutes | Sugar-Free
Making your own Homemade Ketchup is SO easy to do with only a few ingredients in about 10-minutes. With this refined sugar-free vegan ketchup, you get to control exactly what goes into it.
There are SO many foods that traditionally call for ketchup like french fries and burgers, but did you know that regular ketchup is loaded with sugar?
Sugar in regular ketchup
A tablespoon of store-bought ketchup averages around 4 grams of sugar per tablespoon which is more than a typical chocolate chip cookie. Yikes!
Thankfully, there is a way to make delicious refined sugar-free ketchup in your own kitchen with only a handful of readily available ingredients.
You’ll love this ketchup because it’s…
- Free of refined sugar
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Healthy
- Perfectly sweet & tangy
How to make healthy ketchup
Making this healthy ketchup is super simple and only takes about 10 minutes flat.
First, place all the ingredients in a small saucepan on medium-high heat, and whisk together well.
Ingredients in vegan ketchup
- Tomato paste
- Maple syrup or date paste
- Vegan Worcester sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Spices: onion powder, garlic powder, ground yellow mustard, allspice
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
Allow the ingredients to come to a low boil. Once boiling has begun, you can reduce the temperature if needed. You’ll likely need to do this to keep it from boiling out onto your stove or skin.
Continue to whisk for a few minutes as the spices begin to marry-up.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool.
Pour the ketchup into an airtight jar or container and refrigerate for at least a few hours before using it.
This is the awesome glass ketchup bottle pictured. I love that the lid locks down airtight to prevent spills in the refrigerator. And, it looks pretty cool for serving too.
Tips for making homemade ketchup
- Date paste can be substituted for maple syrup at a 1:1 ratio.
- Don’t skip the cooking part. When making this ketchup, make sure to cook it for at least 5 minutes to allow the flavor from the raw spices to develop a rich bold flavor.
- Once the ingredients begin to boil in the saucepan, turn it down a bit to keep it from bubbling out onto the stove or your hands.
- Allow the freshly cooked ketchup to cool, and chill it in the refrigerator for a few hours before using it.
Check out the cooking video of me showing how to make this ketchup in your own kitchen.
This healthy vegan ketchup keeps in the refrigerator for about 7-10 days.
Your Questions Answered:
- Q: Is this ketchup vegan? Yes. All of the ingredients used in this recipe are free of animal products which makes it vegan. Regular Worcestershire sauce is not vegan because it contains anchovies, but I recommend vegan Worcestershire for this recipe.
- Q: Is this recipe completely sugar-free? This recipe calls for maple syrup instead of table sugar. Compared to regular ketchup which has 4 grams of sugar per Tbsp, this ketchup has only 1 gram of sugar per serving (Tbsp).
- Q: Can I use dates instead of maple syrup?Absolutely! Simply replace the maple syrup with 1-2 dates that have been pureed in a blender. One tablespoon of date paste has approximately 6 grams of sugar.
Dishes that could use some vegan ketchup
This sugar-free vegan ketchup recipe is perfect to use in any dish that calls for regular ketchup. It’s also terrific on foods that are traditionally served with ketchup like these.
- Black Bean Burgers
- Grilled Carrot Dogs
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Vegan Meatloaf
For those of you new to the whole food plant-based lifestyle, we’ve created a FREE 7-Day Plant-Based Menu Planner to help you get started!
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Vegan Ketchup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1.5 tablespoons maple syrup or to taste OR 1.5 Tbsp date paste
- 1/2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon of dry yellow mustard
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan on medium-high heat.
- If using date paste in place of the maple syrup, the ratio is 1:1, so 1.5 tablespoons.
- Whisk together well. Take a peek at the cooking demo below of me showing how to make this recipe.
- Allow the ingredients to come to a boil.
- Once boiling has begun, you can reduce the temperature if needed to keep it from boiling out onto your stove or skin.
- Continue to whisk for a few minutes as the spices begin to marry-up.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pour into an airtight jar or container and refrigerate for at least a few hours before using. This is the awesome glass ketchup bottle pictured in this recipe.
Video
Notes
- Date paste can be substituted for maple syrup at a 1:1 ratio.
- Don’t skip the cooking part. When making this ketchup, make sure to cook it for at least 5 minutes to allow the flavor from the raw spices to develop a rich bold flavor.
- Once the ingredients begin to boil in the saucepan, turn it down a bit to keep it from bubbling out onto the stove or your hands.
- Allow the freshly cooked ketchup to cool, and chill it in the refrigerator for a few hours before using it.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
Please explain how this recipe is sugar free? Based on your quote ” A tablespoon of store-bought ketchup averages around 4 grams of sugar” if that’s true then store bought has less sugar.
Per Wikipedia a tablespoon Maple Syrup has 14 grams of sugar.
Hi Bob- A Tbsp of store-bought ketchup has about 4 grams of sugar. This recipe calls for 1.5 Tbsp of maple syrup and produces 2 cups which would be 32 Tbsps. So 21 grams of sugar (in 1.5 Tbsp of maple syrup) ÷ 32 servings of ketchup = .66 grams of sugar per tablespoon for this ketchup recipe vs regular ketchup’s 4 grams of sugar per tablespoon.
Can this be frozen?
I haven’t tried freezing it but think it should do just fine.
Great recipe, any idea how long it will last in the fridge?
Hi Marie- This should last in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to up to 10 days.
Can you substitute lemon juice for the vinegar at a 1 to 1 ratio in this ketchup recipe?
Hi Collene- Yes, I think lemon juice would be a good substitute.
Hey! Any ideas how I could make this a hot and spicy ketchup? Thank you for your help😊
Hi Linda- To make it spicy, you might add cayenne pepper to the mix. That should give it a punch.
Hi terri,can this be put into a cleaned out ketchup bottle it II delish!!don’t want to waste any feel like it would work great in a squeeze bottle
Hi Sue- It sure can!
Can I make this recipe with fresh tomatoes from my garden & can it.
Hi Teri- Yes, using fresh tomatoes from your garden sounds delicious.
Terri, I’m in the process of making this again for Easter dinner tomorrow. Just wondering how it makes 2 cups (or 4 – I’m doubling the recipe) if there isn’t 2 or 4 cups of liquid ingredients (counting tomato paste) in the recipe. And you lose some to steam in the 5 minutes you’re cooking it! Perhaps at my advanced age I’m cyphering incorrectly!
Betty- That was a typo and is fixed now. This recipe makes about a cup (16 tablespoons). Thanks for bringing it to my attention.