Smooth and flavorful ketchup means the best tomatoes, and a perfect balance of tart, sweet, and a bit spicy. This easy homemade ketchup tastes so delicious you’ll want to use it on everything! It’s quick to make in the blender, then simmer and it’s ready to enjoy. Use crushed tomatoes packed in an amber glass jar, which protects nutrients from being destroyed by light, plus it’s BPA-free. (I used Eden’s Organic Roma crushed tomatoes.) It’s important to buy tomatoes either fresh, in a glass jar, or in a BPA-free can. Tomatoes’ acidity dissolves the toxic BPA plastic lining in standard cans, so it can leach into your food.
Most of us are used to sweet ketchup. But commercial ketchup is loaded with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Yucch! So what’s the best healthy sweetener for your ketchup? Well, honey is a true Paleo sweetener, however I don’t use it much, as it’s very high in sugar and carbs, much like cane sugar. Honey gives you a nice big blood sugar spike, followed by the usual crash. I recently discovered that stevia is highly refined with industrial chemicals, which isn’t Paleo at all. Anyway I don’t like the metallic flavor of refined stevia powders or drops. I’m using a new sweetener called PureLo, by Swanson. It’s a safe and natural sweetener made from Lo Han Guo or Monk Fruit and is zero glycemic with zero calories, to give your blood sugar a break. PureLo is 6x sweeter than sugar, and it tastes delicious! Another zero-carb sweetener is Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener. Or use your own favorite sweetener. BTW, if you’re intolerant to nightshades, see my yummy recipe for No-Tomato Ketchup. Yield: 1 1/2 cups healthy ketchup.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes in a glass jar, well drained and pressed (I used Roma’s Organic Crushed Tomatoes
- Sweeten to taste with approximately 1/4 cup Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener (not Baking), or 2 tablespoons PureLo Lo Han sweetener, or 3 tablespoons raw honey, or your favorite sweetener. (If your tomatoes are very acidic, you may need more sweetener.)
- 3 tablespoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon unprocessed salt
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to any blender: tomatoes, sweetener, vinegar or lemon juice, mustard, salt, garlic, cloves, allspice, and cayenne, if using. Blend well until smooth and creamy. You can use this sauce raw, however I think the flavors are more rich when it’s cooked.
- Pour into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pour into glass jars. Store in the refrigerator for 10 days or more.
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