Tasty, vibrant, homemade Tomato ketchup or Tomato sauce bound to have you coming back for more. This tomato ketchup is loaded with fresh ingredients like tomatoes, garlic and ginger making the flavors rich and delicious. It is also low-fat, vegan and gluten-free. Serve tomato ketchup with your favorite side or snacks.
Table of Contents
About This Tomato Ketchup
Before I begin to write about this recipe, let me tell you that the names tomato ketchup and tomato sauce are used interchangeably in India. Whereas tomato sauce is known as a base used to make tomato pasta in the West.
An easy-to-follow homemade DIY tomato ketchup recipe perfect for vegans. I had purchased an Indian tomato ketchup brand that tasted like syrup, was pasty and off.
It made me wonder what had gone wrong in this tomato ketchup? It tasted less of the tomatoes and more like a sugar syrup. That’s when I decided to make a homemade tomato ketchup with fresh ingredients.
The week after I bought 3 kilograms of organic tomatoes and used 2.5 kilograms to make homemade tomato sauce. This yields 1 liter of tomato ketchup.
There was a huge difference between the taste, flavor, and aroma of the homemade tomato ketchup and the shop-bought ketchup. The homemade ketchup sauce is full of tomato goodness, there is no pastiness and no excess sugar.
This vegan tomato sauce recipe has been adapted from my cooking school notes. This is quite a different recipe and includes ginger, garlic, and dry red chilies.
The red chilies give a gentle touch of heat to the sauce. The hotness and smokiness from the red chilies are strong when the sauce is freshly simmered but as the sauce ages and mellows, the hotness and smokiness become very subtle. If you taste the sauce alone you might get the heat but if you have the sauce with a snack or any accompaniment you won’t feel it.
Raisins are added to this sauce for sweetness. As a result, you don’t need to add as much sugar and you get to avoid the overly sweet shop-bought ketchup taste. Use organic unrefined cane sugar or raw sugar for the best taste.
The preservative sodium benzoate is added to the sauce so that it can be stored for a longer period of time. Store the sauce in a sterilized canning jar. The sauce can be kept for about 6 months but it’s so delicious that it will finish before then!
You can serve tomato sauce with varieties of snacks like fritters, Aloo Tikki, Veg Cutlet, French Fries etc.
You can make the ketchup without the preservative too, but make sure the jar is sterilized properly. You can also halve or reduce the recipe.
How to make Tomato Ketchup
Prepping and Cooking Tomatoes
1. Rinse the tomatoes in water and then drain the water. Use fresh ripe tomatoes.
2. Chop them roughly. Remove the skin and parts which are blemished or spotted.
3. Now in a large casserole, pot or 4 to 5 liter pressure cooker, add the chopped tomatoes.
You can also use Instant pot to cook the ingredients.
4. Then add the following ingredients:
- 3 pieces of about 3-inch chopped ginger
- 15 to 16 medium-sized chopped garlic cloves
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 5 to 7 halved dry red chilies. Remove the seeds from the chilies. Use any mild to medium-hot red chilies.
5. Pour in ½ cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
6. Add 6 to 7 tablespoons of raw sugar. You can also add maple syrup or white sugar.
7. I kept the cooker on low flame. Stir very well and simmer without a lid. In the below photo you see the result after 9 minutes. You don’t need to add any water.
8. Simmer and cook the tomatoes until they are softened. The tomatoes will soften after 25 to 27 minutes. The timing will vary depending on what you use to cook the tomatoes and the intensity of the flame.
9. When the mixture is slightly hot or warm use an immersion blender to make a nice smooth puree. Alternatively, you can make the puree in an electric blender.
TIP: Make sure you puree the mixture very well. If the puree is coarse then it will be difficult to strain the pulp.
10. Strain the puree with a spoon. Do not use a fine strainer as the tomato puree needs to be able to pass through.
11. Important step. You have to really keep on mashing the pulp with the spoon so that all the puree is drained. The pulp mixture should be somewhat dry and not moist. Straining the puree can be a time-consuming task. The bigger the strainer the quicker the process will be.
12. The pan should have all of the smooth, pulp free tomato goodness and is ready to be made into ketchup.
Making Tomato Sauce
13. Now place the pan containing the strained tomato pulp on the stovetop and leave it to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. Check the taste and add more sugar if necessary. You can also add sugar towards the end once the tomato sauce has thickened.
14. Continue to simmer the sauce and stir at intervals.
15. After 20 minutes the sauce should have thickened even more.
16. The tomato sauce should spend at least 40 minutes on the stovetop in total. Continue to stir the sauce from time to time. Feel free to thicken it more if you want. Once you are happy with the consistency leave the sauce to cool. It will become thicker after cooling too.
17. To check if the sauce is done spread the tomato sauce on a plate. There should be no water droplets on the sides. You can see a slight separation happening. This is alright.
But if you want a thick ketchup sauce like the readymade ones, then you have to cook it for longer until the tomato ketchup coats a spoon and remains like that.
Do check the taste of the sauce once the cooking is complete. Add more sugar if needed.
Storing Tomato Sauce
18. Add the tomato ketchup to a sterilized jar (see expert tips below to learn how to sterilize a jar). Make sure you do this before you start making the ketchup.
19. Dissolve ¼ teaspoon of sodium benzoate with 1 teaspoon hot water in a small bowl.
20. Add the sodium benzoate mixture to the hot tomato sauce.
21. Stir and mix very well.
22. Pour the hot tomato sauce in the sterilized jar keeping half to one inch space on top.
Cover tightly and keep it at room temperature till it cools or for a whole day. Then refrigerate it and you can serve the tomato ketchup after 1 or 2 days.
You can serve it with snacks like Samosa, Veg Pizza, kabab, Veg Noodles, Bread Roll, and Veg Burger.
Expert Tips for Tomato Sauce
- Tomatoes: Use fresh ripe, red tomatoes in this recipe to get the best flavor! Avoid bruised and unripened tomatoes. You can also half, double, or triple the number of tomatoes in this recipe depending on how much quantity you want to make.
- Sterilizing jars: To get the best results make sure you sterilize the canning jar before storing the tomato ketchup. Start by rinsing the canning jar. Then boil water in a large saucepan till it reaches its boiling point. Soak the jar and lid in the hot water then continue to boil the water for 8 to 10 minutes.
Use tongs to remove the canning jar and leave it to drain upside down on a thick towel on a kitchen tabletop. Once the canning jar is completely air-dried the tomato sauce can be stored. Either use canning jars or use heat proof glass jars. - Preservatives: In order to store this delicious tomato sauce for a long amount of time you will need to add sodium benzoate which is a preservative. The sodium benzoate is added once you have finished preparing the ketchup. To prepare it mix 1 teaspoon of hot water with ¼ teaspoon of sodium benzoate. Allow the sodium benzoate to dissolve then pour it into the hot tomato ketchup and stir.
If you are not comfortable using preservative then make a small batch of the sauce and store in sterilized glass jars. Or you can follow the canning method of boiling and sterilizing in hot water the sealed canning jars with the sauce inside them.
FAQs
If you do not want to add sodium benzoate then halve the recipe and make a smaller batch instead because it won’t keep for long. However, you must make sure that you use a sterile jar. Do not skip this step.
You can cook some more raisins in water. When the raisins are warm puree them in a mixer-grinder. Then add the raisin puree to the tomato puree. This should get rid of the sourness.
Yes, you can skip the garlic. Use the same proportions of the other ingredients. You can add about ¼ teaspoon of asafoetida (hing) to mimic the garlic flavors but it’s optional.
Yes, you can freeze the sauce. Freezing will ensure that the tomato sauce stays good for a couple of months.
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Easy Tomato Ketchup Recipe (Homemade Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients
- 2.5 kg tomatoes or approx 5.4 lbs tomatoes
- 3 to 4 grams garlic – 15 to 16 medium garlic cloves
- 3 to 4 grams ginger – 3 pieces of about 3 inch ginger
- 5 to 7 dry red chilies – deseeded and halved
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon rock salt (edible and food grade)
- 6 to 7 tablespoon organic unrefined cane sugar or regular sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sodium benzoate dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse the tomatoes well in water.
- Slice the top eye parts of the tomatoes. Roughly chop the tomatoes.
- Discard spotted parts or peels.
- Peel and rinse the garlic, ginger. Later roughly chop them.
- Halve and deseed the dry red chilies.
- Rinse the raisins and keep aside.
Cooking tomatoes
- In a huge pot or casserole or a 4 to 5 litre pressure cooker, take all the chopped tomatoes.
- Add the ginger, garlic, red chilies, raisins, vinegar, salt and sugar.
- Mix well and keep the pot or cooker on a low to medium flame on the stove top.
- Keep on stirring at intervals.
- When the tomatoes soften, switch off the fire. The softening takes about 25 to 27 minutes.
- When the mixture is slightly hot or warm, blend the puree with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. If using a regular blender, then don’t add too hot of the tomato mixture.
- Make a smooth puree.
- With a strainer which is not very fine, strain the puree very well directly into a pot or a large sauce pan.
- Strain very well. Now you can sterilize the jar.
Sterilizing jar for storing tomato sauce
- First rinse the jar. in a large sauce pan heat water till it reaches its boiling point – meaning it has begun to boil.
- Immerse the jar and its lid in the hot water. Continue to boil the water along with jar for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the jar with the help of clean tongs and place the jar inverted on a thick towel kept on the kitchen tabletop. Let the jar dry naturally.
Making tomato sauce
- Keep the pot or pan with the strained tomato pulp on the stove top,
- On a low to medium flame, simmer the pulp till it starts thickening and reaches a ketchup like consistency. Takes about 35 to 40 minutes.
- Heat 1 tsp of water in a small bowl. add ¼ teaspoon of sodium benzoate to the hot water.
- Stir and dissolve the sodium benzoate. The preservative should be dissolved in the water.
- Pour the sodium benzoate solution to the hot tomato ketchup. Mix and stir very well.
- Pour the hot tomato sauce in the sterilized jar. Close tightly with the lid.
- Let the sauce cool and be kept aside for some hours or a day. Then keep it in the refrigerator and use after 1 or 2 days.
- Serve tomato sauce with any snack or appetizer.
Notes
- Use tomatoes that are in season and are fresh, ripe and sweet. Don’t use under-ripe or sour tomatoes. The tomatoes have to be juicy, tender and ripe.
- Make sure that the canning jars are sterilized well. Use a good quality glass jar that is heat proof.
- If you don’t want to use sodium benzoate then make a small batch that can stay for a couple of weeks when refrigerated. But make sure to sterilize your glass jars very well before you store the sauce.
- Skip adding garlic if you are not fond of them.
- The recipe can be scaled to make a small batch.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Tomato Ketchup recipe post from the blog archives (first published in January 2014) has been updated and republished on 27 June 2021.
U r writing 3-4 gms of ginger or 3 inch pieces but 3-4 gms is less.what to do
just take 3 inch pieces of ginger.
Hi Dassana,
Made the ketchup using 1 kg tomatoes and not using the preservative. My first time making ketchup and also the best that I have tasted. Thank you so much. I don’t think I need to look for any other recipe after this!!!!Now that I have the best ketchup recipe I am getting greedy to know if the procedure can be made easier?..can all the ingredients be puréed at the beginning ,strained and then simmered till done? Also ,how do we know that the ketchup has spoilt?will there be any change in smell/colour/consistency?do throw some light on this front. Thank you again?
thanks ashwini. homemade ketchup is so good. i can vouch for the taste and consistency of a homemade ketchup. to know if the ketchup has spoiled, the color will darken. it will become dark red or a kind of maroonish red. the aroma will also change and some rancidity will be felt in the aroma. the taste will also change. you will get an aftertaste in the ketchup. kind of a metallic like taste. i don’t know how to describe the taste. but the taste change is felt.
Hi Dassana,
If we are using existing old glass bottles from the kitchen can you give us some tips as to how to choose one that would be good for storing the ketchup?Eg. Thickness of the jar etc,as i am scared if these bottles would crack up during the process of sterilisation in hot boiling water?!
Ashwini, Most jam and sauce glass bottles are already sterilized. So I don’t think there should be a problem. But having said that I would suggest to buy a 2 to 4 set of canning jars. These are good not only for ketchup and jams but pickles and masalas can also be stored in them. You can buy them on amazon.
I have prepared the sauce, but I don’t want to add the preservative. Can I freeze the sauce and how long would it stay good?
you can freeze the sauce. freezing will ensure that is stays good for a couple of months.
How long can it be be used without sodium benzoate?
it will be good for about a month.
ma’am can we store it in stainless steel container? I don’t have glass jar
you can. but do sterilize the steel can. also the ketchup has to be added hot in the steel can or jar.
Thank you so much for the recipe ma’am…. the sauce turned out to be awesome… got the perfect consistency and taste…impressed 🙂
thats great and thanks for sharing this sanjai. homemade tomato ketchup tastes much better than store brought ones.
thank you so much dassana ji for spending time to explain me.. 🙂
welcome sanjai.
thanks for the recipe ma’am.. Going to try it… My parents don’t let me take store bought ketchup , saying it’s unhealthy…. is this home made ketchup healthy?
and could you kindly explain how to sterilise the jar, if sodium benzoate is to be avoided..
welcome sanjai. homemade is definitely better than store brought ones. you can avoid sodium benzoate. you will need canning jars then to prepare the ketchup. if you do not have canning jars, then i would suggest to halve the recipe. with the canning jars, first rinse the jar very well in water and let it dry naturally. then add the tomato ketchup leaving half inch space from the top. seal with the lid. heat water in a large pan or pot. let the water come to a rapid rolling boil. place the jar gently in the water and boil it for 30 to 40 minutes.
if halving the recipe, then just boil glass jar in hot boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes. remove and let it dry naturally. then add the hot ketchup. seal with the lid and let the ketchup cool at room temperature. then you can refrigerate.
Hi…ur receipe is grt…I tried it and it tasted awesome…ty…can u plz tell me which brand canning jar have you used and whr is it available
thanks sheetal. the brand is bormioli rocco and i bought these from urbandazzle.com.
Thnx dassana…can u also tell me whether these jars (Bormioli Rocco) r reusable or not Along with their lids???…I ve googled abt them but still not convinced …it would be of grt help if u could guide me
These ball n Kerr mason jar lids come in 2 pieces and also they r not reusable ….I want to buy jars which can be reused…plz help if u can…ty?
sheetal, i have reused these jars many times. the lids are also reusable. they are made of thick glass with metal lids. so very durable while canning.
Thanks for replying dassana ?
welcome sheetal 🙂
Hi Dassana,
Can I use potassium metabisulphite instead of sodium Benzoate?
deepti, you can add potassium metabisulphite. just add the same amount as mentioned in the recipe, if you follow the recipe completely. if you halve the recipe, then a pinch of potassium metabisulphite can be used.
The recipe looks really promising.. Just a few things I’d like to ask before trying..
1. If I wish to add basil leaves/ mint leaves/ saunf (fennel seeds?) to the recipe, at which step should they be added?
2. If I don’t strain it through the sieve, will it affect the shelf-life?
3. Can I start with tomato puree instead of chopped tomatoes?
4. Without preservative or sterilization, how long can I store it? [actually I was thinking of preparing a small batch for 15-20 days life…as a first trial]
Too many questions, I know.. please excuse..
no problem ruchi. answers below.
1. the leaves should be added just when the tomatoes are cooked. add them and simmer for one to two minutes.
2. yes it does.
3. you can, but then you need to add the ginger-garlic paste, red chili paste or red chili powder and raisin paste.
4. you can store for a month or two. if the jar is properly sterilized, then it can go even to 3 months. for longer preservation there is a method. but you have to use canning jars which are boiling proof. clean the jar and then let it dry naturally. then add the ketchup in it leaving 1/2 inch space from top. seal the lid. heat a big pot of water and let it come to a rolling bowl. add the jar and boil it for 20 to 30 minutes for a small jar.
Hi can I use plastic jar for storing sauce?
Thnx
plastic jars cannot be sterilized easily. so better to use glass jars.
I have a doubt.if we pour the hot sauce in the bottle and close it,the steam will condense and fall into it.is that create any problem? The ketchup came out very tasty.Thank you very much for sharing.
thanks and welcome indu. the steam does condense. but steam is at a temperature more than the temperature of boiling water which is 100 degrees celsius. and at this temperature there will be no micro organisms. so even if the steam condenses and falls, no problem.
Hey.. Thanks for a v useful recipe.. I keep reading yo recipes n also try dem.. Truly gud.. I hv a query.. Can v pressure cook d tomatoes instead of open cooking..
thanks kathyayini. yes you can pressure cook the tomatoes.