Super Easy, No Sugar Added, Copy Cat Ketchup!

There are many reasons to want to cut added sugar from your diet. It's in practically everything. Maybe you want to get a better handle on your blood sugar, or maybe you just want to try to live a healthier lifestyle. For me, I decided to try the Whole30 diet. For those of you who are not familiar with it, basically no grains, dairy, beans, booze, or added sugar for 30 days to detox your body from foods that you might be sensitive too. This helps you learn how food makes you feel. I won't get into my experiences with it here, but long story short, If i was going to have to cook all my food basically from scratch, I would need ketchup in case my culinary experiments failed. Hahaha

However, after trying several whole30 ketchup recipes that called for long cook times and questionable ingredients, I decided to make up my own.

Step 1: Supplies and Ingredients

Supplies you will need:



• Measuring Cup
• Mixing Bowl
• Container/Jar
• Micro-Planer(if you do not have a micro-planer you just need to make the carrots into a mush. you could use a super fine grater or even a food processor.)
• Rubber Spatula
• Measuring Spoons


Ingredients you will need:



• 14 oz Tomato Paste
• 1 cup 100% Tomato juice
• 1/2 cup Vinegar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Carrot


Remember to check your ingredients list on your all your store brought products to make sure there's no added sugar added your juice or paste. They will have a sugar content in the nutrition section that tells you how many grams of what and the calories. That is okay! We just don't want ADDED sugars, like high fructose corn syrup or Aspartame. Even all natural cane sugar or Stevia should be avoided. I promise you won't even know they are missing!

Step 2: Start With the Tomato Paste

You can either start with a big 14 oz can, or two smaller 7 oz cans of tomato paste. I find the little ones are more common and easier to find at the grocery store. Whatever size you choose, just open them up and scrape out the can into the mixing bowl.

Step 3: Add the 100% Tomato Juice

Measure out one cup of 100% tomato juice and add it to your bowl of tomato paste.

Step 4: And Some Vinegar

Now measure out half a cup of plain white distilled vinegar. I like to use the vinegar to get the last of the tomato juice to rinse free from the cup so I don't waste any goodness. That's why my measuring cup looks a little cloudy, but anyway, add that to the mixing bowl too.

Also I use vinegar for everything. Cooking, cleaning, canning even crafting! So I buy it by the gallon, but you can use vinegar from a normal sized bottle too. Your choice. haha.

Step 5: Add Salt and Mix

Add one teaspoon of table salt to your mixing bowl. This is an easy step.

Step 6: Grate and Add Some Carrot Puree

Now take your micro-planer and grate some raw carrot over a bow or measuring cup. If you do not have a micro-plainer use whatever method you find best to make a carrot paste. You need it to be fine enough to mix into your ketchup without it messing up the texture.

Once you have your carrot all grated, add one table spoon of carrot mush to the mix. Start stirring the contents of your mixing bowl. It will take a little while for all the tomato paste to dissolve into the other liquids. Be patience or bust out an electric mixer. It really doesn't take much. I don't think it's worth it to dirty a mixer personally but you do you!

Step 7: You Did It! You're Done!

All that is left to do it put your ketchup in a container and make some fries to enjoy it with!

I like to keep mine in a glass mason jar because I don't have to worry about the acid in the tomatoes pulling chemicals out of the plastic, or the tomatoes staining the plastic. That is just my reasoning and preference.

This recipe makes about three cups of ketchup. With the acidic ingredients it's probably shelf stable but I keep mine in the fridge anyway. The longest this has lasted in my house was about a month before it was all gobbled up. I have not had any go bad so I can't put a shelf life on it. I suggest just trusting your nose and if the texture changes or it taste off just don't chance it and make some more.

I hope you all like this ketchup recipe just as much as I do!