Ketchup! You know, that stuff that everyone has a half empty bottle of from 2008 somewhere in the depths of their fridge.
I’m not a fan of bottled ketchup – it’s kinda dull, a little too sweet, and pretty meh. Homemade ketchup, on the other hand, brings fresh flavors, warm spice and heat, some acid, and a punch that lets you know it hasn’t been sitting on a shelf for the past 3 months. Plus, you get to be in charge of the flavor composition by controlling what and how much of each ingredient goes into your batch.
Homemade ketchup can be used in salad dressings, as a sauce for veggies or meat, and of course to dip for fries!
Notes for Homemade Ketchup
- Play around with the measurements – more or less garlic, chili powder, brown sugar, etc – as always, make it your own!
- What on earth is cinnamon doing in a recipe for ketchup!? Since we’re using so little, it’ll simply provide a little bit of a warm spice – you won’t even be able to pick it out if you didn’t know it’s there, but it helps in layering our flavors for a super flavorful final product.
Homemade Ketchup
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium Onion, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon Ancho Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg, grated
- 1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
- 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Over medium heat, add a little butter or oil to a pan and sauté Onion until tender and starts to get translucent, about 7-8 minutes. While onion is cooking, you can measure out all the spices you'll be adding in step 3!
- Add in Garlic, and cook another couple of minutes. Stir often to keep the small pieces of garlic from burning.
- Add Ancho Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg, and cook for 1 more minute.
- Take a second to appreciate the aroma of the spices hitting the hot pan and think about how good life is. Keep stirring every few seconds.
- Add Tomato Paste, cook one more minute.
- Add in Diced Tomatoes, Brown Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Worcestershire. Turn heat down to medium-low and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Take off the heat and give it some time to cool. Purée until smooth (if you want to leave some chunks that's fine too) in a blender or food processor. If you do this while the mixture is still hot, the steam may burn you!
- Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Great warm, fine cold too.
