In the Crumbs house, 2014 is the year of tomatoes.
First, we planted them.
It started as two small seedlings each in their own pot, but soon after transplanting outside, the grey flesh fruit flies came and staked their claim. We fought them off and planted two more seedlings into two more pots, just in case the damage had already been done.
Next, we were given them.
Over 50 heirloom tomatoes sat in our foyer for a few days, with me too overwhelmed with mere idea of having that many tomatoes to do anything with them. When it became clear that it would be impossible to eat the tomatoes before they would go bad, they became the only thing I could think of cooking at the time: sauce.
It’s a simple, unseasoned sauce so that any jar can easily transform into spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce or even substitute in our favorite Creole, depending on what the meal plan had in store. After a big canning session, ten pints of tomato sauce now sit in my pantry, waiting patiently.
Then, the first two seedlings produced their first fruits.
Although just a handful or two and on the small side (2″ in diameter), these tomatoes were delicious. They were perfectly ripe, meaty and juicy and made the most amazing lunch when tossed with fresh mozzarella and salt, and then drizzled with balsamic vinegar. About a week later, we harvested another handful that became our first batch of fresh garden pizza sauce.
After that, they came in the CSA box.
With our CSA came huge, oversized heirloom tomatoes begged to be sliced into sandwiches and chopped into salads. Along with the handful of garden tomatoes every few days, we didn’t have to choose between tomatoes for lunch OR dinner. When given the opportunity to bring a dish to a pot luck, “something with tomatoes” was the first choice.
Shortly thereafter, the first two plants went ballistic.
Every other day we were easily picking 5-15 tomatoes on a between these two plants. Caprese salad HAD to be on the lunch menu every day (minus the cheese when we ran out), the kids had free reign to snack on them and “what’s for dinner” turned into “what can we make with these tomatoes?”
Then, the second two plants took off. And the CSA box did too.
Without warning, the second two “just in case” tomato plants started producing and we were picking 5-10 tomatoes DAILY. Faced with more than an abundance of tomatoes, I was quickly running out of ideas as to what to do with them.
No tomato sauce. We already had plenty.
There was garden pizza sauce every week, but that barely made a dent.
We even made homemade tomato paste once, although it was on accident when Mr. Crumbs thought garden pizza sauce needed water.
One can only eat caprese salad for lunch for so many days without going a bit stir-crazy.
Even when I exhausted the bowl of tomatoes for pico de gallo on Labor Day, the four plants were waiting with more tomatoes the very next day. And as predicted, the CSA box had more too.
Not wanting to waste this precious food, I took the dilemma to my step-mom, who always seems to be full of fresh and interesting ideas.
“Make ketchup” is what she said.
Make ketchup?!
My reaction was similar to the first time I heard you can make yogurt. You can MAKE that?!
As it turns out, yes, you can make ketchup and it’s really quite easy! Good thing too, since our mild climate means we’ll be swimming in tomatoes until Christmas.
Homemade Ketchup Recipe
Supplies
- Large Stock Pot
- Immersion Blender OR Blender
- Food Mill (optional)
- Wooden Spoon or Potato Masher
- Slow Cooker
- Ingredients (see recipe below)
Method
Depending on the size, halve or quarter tomatoes so that they’re approximately 1 – 1 1/2″ pieces.
Place in a large stock pot. Using a wooden spoon or a potato masher, gently mash the tomatoes to release their juices. Cook the tomatoes on a low simmer for 30 minutes.
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the tomatoes until they are mostly smooth.
(Optional: If you have a food mill, you may process the tomatoes through in order to remove the seeds and skin. I don’t have one and my ketchup turned out just fine.)
Pour tomato puree into a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low overnight, or 8-12 hours. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the mixture again until it is mostly smooth.
Using chopsticks or dull knives, prop open the lid of the slow cooker on opposite sides so that the lid does not touch the slow cooker. Cook the mixture on medium/high setting until the mixture has cooked down to the desired thickness, checking every hour or so. This takes approximately 3 hours.
Taste ketchup and add additional seasoning or sweetness as desired. (I ended up adding one more tablespoon of honey.)
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the mixture one final time.
Ladle or scoop into glass jars for storage. Alternatively, you can re-use old ketchup bottles for your new, homemade ketchup.
Homemade Ketchup
A simple and delicious homemade ketchup recipe using fresh tomatoes. With a slow cooker, it’s incredibly easy and you control the sweetness!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 11 hours 30 min
- Total Time: 11 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 32 ounces 1x
- Category: Sauces & Condiments
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 5 lbs fresh tomatoes (the better tasting the tomato, the better tasting the ketchup)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp brown or Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 large onion, diced
- 1/2 clove garlic
Instructions
- Depending on the size, halve or quarter tomatoes so that they’re approximately 1 – 1 1/2″ pieces.
- Place in a large stockpot. Using a wooden spoon or a potato masher, gently mash the tomatoes to release their juices. Cook the tomatoes on a low simmer for 30 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the tomatoes until they are mostly smooth.
- Pour tomato puree into a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low overnight, or 8-12 hours. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the mixture again until it is mostly smooth.
- Using chopsticks or dull knives, prop open the lid of the slow cooker on opposite sides so that the lid does not touch the slow cooker. Cook the mixture on medium/high setting until the mixture has cooked down to the desired thickness, checking every hour or so. This takes approximately 3 hours.
- Taste ketchup and add additional seasoning or sweetness as desired. (I ended up adding one more tablespoon of honey.)
- Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the mixture one final time.
- Ladle or scoop into glass jars for storage. Alternatively, you can re-use old ketchup bottles for your new, homemade ketchup.
Additional Recipe Notes
Most recipes call for starting with tomato paste. If that’s what you have on hand, you can try the above recipe starting with three 8oz cans of tomato paste. Alternatively, you can try the above recipe starting with 48 ounces of tomato sauce.
Note: I have not tried the above recipe using tomato paste or tomato sauce. This is merely a suggestion to help you adjust the recipe to using what you already have on hand.
Cost Breakdown
When we buy ketchup, we always buy the organic version from Costco. Not only is it the best price, but it’s the only kind we’ve found without high fructose corn syrup. They sell 2-packs with each bottle containing 22 ounces for $6.99, making it just 16¢ per ounce.
Here’s the cost of homemade ketchup if you were to buy all the ingredients from the store:
- Tomatoes: $5
- Onion: $0.07
- Garlic: $0.05
- Molasses: $0.43
- Honey: $0.60
- Salt & Pepper: $0.01
- Spices: $0.10
- Mustard: $0.08
Total Cost Homemade Ketchup: $6.34 for 32 ounces, or 20¢ per ounce
There are only two situations in which it would be cost effective to make your own ketchup:
- You cannot find organic ketchup for less than 19¢ per ounce.
- You are able to acquire tomatoes for less than 80¢ per pound (the point at which homemade versus store-bought breaks even).
If you have a garden that is overflowing with tomatoes, or you somehow come across a bushel of tomatoes that your local farmer is looking to off-load, then this recipe is your new best friend. Make double the recipe and can it and you’ll be set on ketchup for quite a long time.
Roger
If you use ketchup bottles how long are they shelf stable for if sealed and not opened?
Tiffany
Hi Roger – I’m not sure. I would recommend canning using traditional jars and lids.
Malin Andersson
It is totally creative and looks fabulous. I love the different combination of flavors. Very good idea indeed. I will try it soon. I love tomato ketchup and I am sure everyone will like this simple tomato ketchup recipe.
Anders Svensson
Wow! It looks so yummy and delicious. It‘s a good way to use tomatoes. Since, they are so good in their true form. I also know that what you mean about wanting to keep things simple this summer. This time I want to make this. I have been struggling to find a vegan ricotta that I like, so this might be perfect.
Michelle
What if you don’t have a slow cooker? So many of these recipes say that you need a slow cooker and it’s frustrating.
Tiffany
Hi Michelle! Use a pot on the stove on the lowest setting possible. It will take awhile to reduce, so do it on a day you’ll be home all day.
Charlotte
Once you have made all the ketchup, salsa, sauce, dehydrated tomatoes you and your extended family and friends can use, PLEASE don’t forget about your local food pantry.
Tiffany
Can you donate home canned goods to the local food pantry Charlotte?
Charlotte
Unfortunately I cannot donate home canned goods (or frozen) to my local food pantry as they cannot vouch for the safety of such items. I think this is pretty much the norm for food pantries across the nation. Too much of a liability issue for them. The food pantry here tells donors as nicely as they can. I have lived some places where they accept the donations and then discard so my advice is to safe your time, effort, foodstuffs and jars. If you ask around (church or civic groups) you can usually find a family to “adopt” who will be happy to receive home canned goods.
Charlotte
I’m so pleased that your ketchup recipe said I could use an immersion blender OR a blender. I can’t wait to try this and I will freeze extra as we don’t use a lot of ketchup. Your homemade Mayo said to use an immersion blender which I don’t own. I have a blender and a food processor. Will either of these work on your homemade Mayo if I follow all other directions exactly as you have written? Thank you and your 31 day challenge has been a real blessing. I have used so much of what you have written about.
Christine
Hi I was wondering if you have the nutrition label to your home made kethis recipe? I am planning in making this for my boys but I also want to know the nutrition intake. Thank you.
Kate
This year I had a tomato plant that took over my garden. It was great since I got a lot of tomatoes out of it, but you can only eat so many tomatoes… I made a large batch of homemade tomato soup. It was easy and very tasty. I left some out for me to eat throughout the week and froze the rest. It will be perfect for a warm dinner in the fall and winter!
Tiffany
That’s a great way to use up tomatoes too Kate!
Michelle Giroux
How long. Axp. would this last in frig without doing a canning process and could it be frozen?
Tiffany
Hi Michelle! Our batch lasted about 3 weeks before we ate it all. I haven’t tried freezing, but I don’t see why you couldn’t!
Peter
Like many folks, we have a surplus of tomatoes right now – wonderful San Marzano paste tomatoes, in our case. I went looking for a ketchup recipe and decided to try yours.
Now, I’m not one to post critical comments casually, but I really feel that I must. I followed the recipe to the letter (and am a reasonably-skilled cook, having done so for money in the past).
The ketchup that this produced has an extremely odd taste. It’s edgy and odd and really not usable. It’s in desperate need of something, but I have quite figured out what it is. I would recommend backing off the ingredients like cloves, cinnamon, and Worcestershire sauce. They aren’t helping here.
Make the sauce and slowly add the seasonings, starting with the onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Try out the additions on samples of the whole. If it works, add it to the whole batch, but do so in small amounts.
Best of luck to all with your vegetable tsunamis!
Tiffany
Thanks for sharing Peter and for the suggestions on the spices. We all have our own taste preferences and homemade will definitely taste different than store-bought (thanks to the high fructose corn syrup in most varieties), so I appreciate you sharing how you made it differently!
Veronika
What size crockpot do you have?
Tiffany
I have a 6 quart crock pot Veronika!
Gina
I just found your recipe yesterday when contemplating what to do with all my tomatoes. I just finished with it and i just had to say thank you so much!! Your recipe was easy to follow and came out exactly as I had hoped! I never leave comments, but I truly was so pleased with the whole experience from your website to finished product, I just had to share. I can’t wait to share my home grown, homemade ketchup with my guests at this weekend’s BBQ! Thank you again for the great find 🙂
Sara
The Pioneer Woman has a good recipe for a tomato tart! 🙂 We’re big salsa and BLT fans also. I don’t know what else you could do with all those tomatoes!
Tiffany
I think I might have seen that one while searching, lol! I just stumbled on a new one: roasted tomato sauce. I’m hesitant to share though, since tomato season is just about over. Would you want to see it anyway?
Wendy
Please do share the extra sauce recipe.. tomatoes are just getting started here in Australia 👌🏼
I’ve just brought a dehydrator & have been stockpiling herbs.. looking forward to trying tomatoes out, & will also try your save recipe here.
One year I had a plague of grass hoppers threatening to finish off my tomato plants.. I remembered a recipe my nana always made for green tomato pickles & stripped the plants of all remaining fruit for a batch of that – so delicious 😋
Other suggestions; bottled preserved plain tomatoes in salt water,
Quiches, vinegar pickled tomatoes, fermented tomatoes..
Many thanks for recipe Xo
Esther
Looks delicious! In case you run out, or for those who don’t have an abundance of tomatoes, we have found the ketchup from Whole Foods to be fairly good. It is their house brand, organic and uses cane sugar vs. corn syrup. It runs $1.99/24 oz here in MN I am assuming it would be close to the same out there in CA.
Tiffany
Thanks for the tip Esther!
Shonda
We have a bunch of tomatoes. I need to try this!!
Tiffany
Yes, you do! 🙂
Heather
Do you know how long you think the shelf life would be? Just curious, it’s only my husband and I so didn’t want an overload of ketchup that I had to eat in a week 🙂 Also, love your blog, I read it every week!
Tiffany
Thanks so much Heather!! 🙂 I think you’ve got a good 2-4 weeks. If you don’t think you’ll make it through that much ketchup, you can freeze half in a jar. That way you’re not dealing with such a small amount of tomatoes, cooking down and possibly burning in the slow cooker. 🙂
Di H.
How would you can this? WB or PC? Time/weight? My deep freezer is packed so I would need to can it.
Tiffany
PC without added vinegar, or you can add it for WB. I don’t think the taste would be effected. 🙂
Sarah
How much vinegar do you need to add to can them in a water bath?
Tiffany
I’m not a pro at canning Sarah, but I’ve read 2 Tbsp of acid per pint of tomatoes works.
Miranda
for canning with tomatoes, whether it be tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes; before you put ur sauces in jars add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in the bottom of each jar. I just use the store bought jug of lemon juice and it lasts forever! I also use one teaspoon of canning salt in the bottom of the jar for a pint size jar for preserving. So, if your using smaller jars use 1/2- 1/4t. of canning salt
Linda
I like adding lemon juice to my tomatoes as well. It help preserve them and keeps their color pretty and tastes so good.
Something we do that is tomato related. Every fall when it’s about to freeze (kill) our tomato plants. We pick all the green tomatoes. We sort them into green with a tinge of pink or red and put them in single layers in flat boxes. These can be used for the next couple of weeks for the last of the fresh garden tomato salads. The tomatoes that are all green. We use to make enchilada sauce. Again it doesn’t taste like store bought enchilada sauce but my family loves it much better than store bought. We have been making it for 20 years or so. It has an old fashioned grandma made kind of taste. I found it in an old recipe book my Mother gave me as a teenage beginner cook. So several decades. ago.
Here it is in case you would like to try it.
Green enchilada sauce:
1 tablespoon salt.
11/2 gallon rough chopped green tomatoes
1 quart vinegar
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 cup rough chopped bell peppers
3-4 rough chopped onions
optional 1 hot pepper.
2 cups sugar.
Sprinkle salt over tomatoes and let stand overnight. In the morning, drain and add other ingredients. Cook over low heat until the vegetables are soft. Let cool and blend. Pour into sterile jars (we use quarts ) and seal
Note. If you like the sauce thicker. Wait to add the sugar. After blended, return to pot and simmer on low heat until desired thickness. Then add sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. It doesn’t take long. Then pour into jars and process.
We mix ours with shredded cooked chicken. Roll up in corn tortillas. Put into a cake pan and cover with a cream of chicken/ sour cream sauce and cheddar. Bake until the cheese melts. It’s a go to meal at our home.
Trish
Dehydrated tomato slices are wonderful little tasty snacks, and they keep for quite a long time! I did that when a friend gave me 20 pounds this summer. Would love to try your catsup recipe!
Tiffany
Hmmm… I hadn’t thought of that. Do they get sweeter as the flavor condenses?
Janice
That’s what I do with my romas. When done, they behave like those expensive “Sun Dried Tomatoes” you can purchase in the store.
kami
Just to confirm. No need to peel the tomatoes?
Tiffany
Nope, but you can if you want. My tomatoes were small, so it wasn’t worth the time and effort. However, if you feel so inclined, you’re more than welcome to! 😉
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving
Our tomatoes are still going strong, too! I’ve canned 30 some pints of salsa so far this year. That’s my favorite way to use tomatoes. I have 12 cups of tomato sauce frozen in the freezer. I was just wondering what to do next with tomatoes, so I think I’ll give your ketchup recipe a try!
Tiffany
Whoa! That’s a lot of salsa! Let me know if you need help with those tortilla chips. 😉
Tarynkay
I have made ketchup a few times, just when we didn’t feel like going to the store. I haven’t ever started with fresh tomatoes, though. The last time I made it, we were visiting my husband’s step mom. They discovered that their ketchup had expired. It had actually turned black, which was alarming. They live way out in the country, so I offered to make ketchup. I did and I thought it was good and everyone seemed to like it. Two days later, we went back out there. They had gone to Walmart and bought their normal HFCS ketchup and thrown the homemade ketchup away. They said that it just didn’t have that store bought ketchup taste.
Tiffany
Oh my, black ketchup is alarming. That was very gracious of you to make some, and I’m so sorry they threw it out! Homemade definitely doesn’t have that HFCS taste, and if that’s what you’re used to and aren’t willing to try otherwise, then homemade might not fit. Although I did test this recipe on the one person who said “It’s Heinz or nothing” and he said it was good. 🙂