Welcome to Slightly Indulgent Mondays – fabulous food made healthier! Please link your healthier recipe below. Your recipe doesn’t have to be sugar and gluten free, just healthier in some way. If you’re new, you can read the guidelines here.
A change – starting next week, Slightly Indulgent Mondays is moving to Tuesday. I have long felt that there’s just too many things going on here, so this way I can post my submission separate from the carnival. I’ve also decided to stop the weekly give-aways, at least for now. With the holidays coming, my time is more crunched than usual.
A couple of my favorites from last week include a Hearty Chickpea and Vegetable Curry and Raw Chocolate Pudding. If you haven’t seen those recipes, stop by and see if you don’t agree with me.
My submission:
Store bought ketchup has high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup in it – and I can’t eat either. For years I just didn’t eat ketchup, and then I started making it from roasted tomatoes. Talk about a process. I decided the effort for two cups of ketchup just wasn’t worth it. But when I came across a simple recipe for CrockPot ketchup that I was able to modify to be sugar-free, I was thrilled. This is the tastiest ketchup I’ve ever made – it really brought back childhood memories of McDonald’s french fries.
I’ve been making BBQ sandwiches with my ketchup…it’s been so long since I’ve had good barbecue. I even got a little teary eyed.
The recipe yields about 4 cups – I divide it between 2 pint mason jars. One goes in the freezer, the other in the fridge. It will keep for a couple of months.
Reminder:
Holiday Food Fest’s next event is Thursday, December 3rd – and it’s right here. Link up your Cocktails, Mocktails, and Appetizers. Or, just stop by and say hello. I’ll have a great give-away from Honeyville – a 5 pound bag of almond flour and a Honeyville gift assortment including their fabulous flax seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 (28 oz) can organic tomato puree
- 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup organic brown rice syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- kosher salt to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except kosher salt and black pepper into a medium CrockPot (3 – 4 1/2 quarts). Stir well. Cover and turn on high for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and puree with an immersion blender, or transfer to a regular blender or food processer and puree until smooth. Return to crock (if you used a blender of food processor) and cook on high uncovered for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until ketchup has reached desired consistency. You want it to be nice and thick.
- Place into clean pint mason jars. Refrigerate or freeze. This will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 months.
Linking Up:
I can’t wait to see all of your healthier recipes this week. When you link, please tell us who you are and what you’re cooking . For example, I would enter:
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free – Triple Berry Coconut Cake. Please link to your individual post, not your homepage. Please link back to this post so that your readers can find the recipes here. Thanks for your help on this.
Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.
Iris
posted on November 22, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I really try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, but ketchup has always been one of those items I eat anyway. Nice to have an easy recipe for making this healthier! And congrats on raising so much money for St. Jude’s!
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Linda
posted on November 22, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I buy ketchup from the health food store that uses sugar instead of corn syrup, but no sugar is better. I don’t have brown rice syrup. Do you think agave would work?
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Amy Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:53 am
@Linda, I know that you can buy agave sweetened ketchup so I’m sure it would. Just taste and adjust as needed. Brown rice syrup has a different flavor than agave, deeper and earthier. And, I think that agave is sweeter than brown rice syrup. Maybe someone else has some thoughts on the differences, too.
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Holly
posted on November 22, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have been looking for a simple recipe for homemade ketchup for a while now. This sounds great. I’m definitely going to try it out!!
Thanks!
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Lauren
posted on November 22, 2009 at 9:52 pm
The Ketchup looks wonderful! I’d never thought about it as being something with so much sugar, but I’m sure it does! I also don’t remember the last time I ate any, as it was never my favourite thing.
I honestly thought the food fest was this week – keep forgetting about your Thanksgiving! Anyways, it looks like a wonderful giveaway =D.
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Amy Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:50 am
@Lauren, When I read about your Thankgiving I wondered if I had somehow made a huge mistake – I think we all feel so connected that we forget we’re in different parts of the world. Neat, huh?
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Lauren Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
@Amy, So very true! In so many ways, Canada and the States are a lot alike, but we’ve got certain things that make us worlds apart! Not to mention, most of the time it feels like we could just reach through the screen and say hello – makes the distance not so far =D.
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Sandy Gillett
posted on November 22, 2009 at 10:21 pm
That’s the most beautiful picture of ketchup. Thank you for the recipe. I would love BBQ again. You have just made that possible. The other linked recipes sound really good too. I’m thankful for you, Amy Green and all you’ve done for me since I found your blog this past summer. You’re a very special person and I pray you receive as much as you give.
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SnoWhite
posted on November 23, 2009 at 6:33 am
yeah!!! Thanks for this recipe. My hubby doesn’t eat much ketchup, so it hardly pays for us to buy a bottle, and I like this recipe so much better
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gfe--gluten free easily
posted on November 23, 2009 at 8:24 am
Beautiful ketchup, Amy! (Who would have ever thought I’d be saying that about ketchup? LOL) Great job at making it healthy.
I second Iris. Wonderful job on raising money for St. Jude and the e-cookbook is fabulous!
I’ve linked my Surprise Stuffing. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar free … and delicious.
Shirley
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Alta
posted on November 23, 2009 at 8:53 am
Awesome! I have always thought about making my own ketchup – I might just do this for my sister, who cannot have ketchup because of the corn syrup either. This would be healthier for all of us!
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Liz@HoosierHomemade
posted on November 23, 2009 at 9:28 am
Wow, homemade ketchup! You are amazing, Amy!
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
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Chaya
posted on November 23, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Hi, Just wanted you to know I am finally getting to put the link up on my blogs. I did not forget you. Had to bake some cookies.
I have never made ketchup or catsup before but I like your recipe or I guess I should say, “I plan to like it.”
Thanks.
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Sunny
posted on November 23, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I have been looking for a ketchup recipe…I use it in my homemade barbecue sauce. Last time I just used tomato sauce and paste…maybe I’ll post the barbecue sauce next week.
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Lyra
posted on November 23, 2009 at 5:44 pm
That looks like a great recipe! I’ll have to try making a cooked ketchup soon. I just made a raw one a few days ago that turned out wonderfully! It’s on my blog if you want to see it.
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Trish
posted on November 23, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Oooh, the ketchup looks great, Amy. We have a local restaurant here that makes their own ketchup, but yours looks even better.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday – I understand that time is so precious!
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Tracee
posted on November 24, 2009 at 2:49 pm
A busy and smart woman knows how to use her the crockpot. What a great recipe!
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Britt
posted on November 24, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I love the idea of a crock pot ketchup. I’m definitely a do-it-yourselfer (puree my own pumpkin, render my own lard), but I haven’t found a ketchup recipe yet that seemed worth putting down the bottle. This one just might be it, though. I also love that it’s sugar-free! Thanks so much for sharing–can’t wait to try it!
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Susan
posted on July 4, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Tomatoes are coming on in my garden now, more and more every day. I’m going to try this with fresh tomatoes, but I think I’ll omit the sweetener altogether. Who says ketchup has to be sweet? I love the taste of tomatoes! Maybe I’ll wimp out, but maybe not. Thanks for a great recipe.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
July 9th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
@Susan, This ketchup isn’t sweet – the brown rice syrup just balances out the acid in the tomatoes. If you have home grown tomatoes and they’re really sweet it’s possible you won’t need anything at all.
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sherri
posted on December 4, 2010 at 11:46 am
made this recipe, with extra cloves instead of cinnamon and extra pepper. its like a ketchup and bbq sauce in one. super tasty!
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Jenny R
posted on December 30, 2010 at 2:41 pm
So far I had just been looking the other way regarding ketchup but I am going to try this. It is a lot easier than what I was thinking it would be and sounds pretty darn good from looking at the ingredients. Thanks again for being on the front lines of the special diet brigade : )
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Kim
posted on March 25, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I would love to get a sample of the homemade ketchup that our local Irish pub makes to you and see if you could GFSF it up! It is sooo good! I can only surmise that it’s probably some diced caramelized onions with ketchup, but it is heaven on a french fry!
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Diane Nicoloff
posted on July 7, 2011 at 10:59 am
My son was recently diagnosised with Type II diabetes and ketchup is like a vegtable not a condiment to him. This recipe looks great but my question is, I found several different organic brown rice syrups at my health store but they all had alot of sugar in them. Does the sugar cook out of the recipe? I asked a one of the nutrition specialists at the store about the sugar content and they did not sell a sugar free version of the syrup and she was not sure if the syrup cooked out or not and she was not sure of a substitution. If the sugar does not cook out, can sugar free honey be used as a substitute?….I did find a bottle of low carb ketchup that had less than I gram of sugar, but it was $2.99 for a very small bottle and my son does like it, but the bottle does not last long. I have found other recipes but they all call for artifical sweetners and I would rather not go that route either. Any info you can give me on this would be greatly appreciated.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
July 8th, 2011 at 9:28 am
@Diane Nicoloff, There is a form of sugar in brown rice syrup. I have found that I can use brown rice syrup instead of white sugar and not have a toxic “I can’t get enough food” reaction. There is sugar in the tomatoes, too. I use natural alternatives to white sugar, not artificial chemical alternatives. You can always try to make this and use stevia instead of brown rice syrup – just use a little at a time until it tastes the way you’d like. It’s potent.
Hugs,
Amy
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Susan
posted on July 27, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Do you have a way of tweaking this wonderful recipe to make it into BBQ sauce?
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Amy Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
@Susan, No, but here’s a great Pulled Chicken BBQ recipe:
http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/recipe-for-pulled-barbecue-chicken-sandwich-sugar-free/
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Karen Smith
posted on August 16, 2011 at 4:37 pm
I was wondering if ground red pepper is the same as cayenne. I can’t seem to find it in the stores here in Nova Scotia and would love to try this recipe. Your website is wonderful, thank you so much for sharing. I just ordered your book and can’t wait until it gets here. Thank You. Karen
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Amy Reply:
August 16th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
@Karen Smith, Hi Karen,
I have both in my pantry so I don’t think they’re the same. Omit the ground red pepper and add the cayenne at the end to taste.
Thanks so much for ordering my book. I hope you have fun in the kitchen!
Hugs,
Amy
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Tristi Pinkston
posted on November 14, 2011 at 1:21 am
Thank you, thank you for posting this! You may be the answer to a whole lot of frustration.
My whole family has been put on a super strict diet for our health, and my six-year-old won’t eat unless his food has ketchup on it. I can’t wait to try this.
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Susan
posted on January 15, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Very anxious to make this recipe! The first ketchup I made with another recipe was too much trouble! I’m also wondering if there is a suitable sub for the brown rice syrup. Rice products make my arthritis flare up. I can have stevia, coconut palm sugar or maple syrup. Is maple syrup a good sub for the brown rice syrup?
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Amy Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
@Susan, I would use the coconut palm sugar instead of maple syrup. You also might use some coconut palm sugar and add stevia to taste. Just play with it until you find the best combination for you.
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SugarFreemom
posted on January 15, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Hi Amy!
Thnak you so much for a crock pot recipe like this! I’ve avoided ketchup for years as well and I LOVE that’s its so easy on the crock pot!
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Ronnda Stapleton
posted on January 16, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Where does one purchase ground mace? I can’t find it in Portland, Oregon.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 10:12 pm
@Ronnda Stapleton, You can get in the spice section of almost any grocery store. If you can’t find it use more of another spice – like cloves or cinnamon. The great thing about this recipe is you can add the seasoning and adjust the flavor to your liking.
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Ronnda Stapleton
posted on February 5, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Hi Amy! I finally found mace in Portland, Oregon and made your ketchup today. It turned out great! I cooked it ALL day long. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will be making my own from now on. = )
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Amy Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 9:50 am
@Ronnda Stapleton, Yea! I made some this weekend, too. I divide it into two mason jars and pop one in the freezer. So glad you like the recipe.
Hugs,
Amy
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Billy
posted on February 20, 2012 at 4:56 pm
I find it gross that they put high fructose corn syrup in ketchup now. Thank you for teaching people how to make healthier ketchup.
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Tatiana
posted on March 22, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Anyone know where to get organic tomato puree that isn’t canned? The lining in cans has a chemical that acts like a synthetic estrogen and the acid in tomatoes leaches it pretty badly into the food. *SIGH* The things they do to our food! Garrr.
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clark
posted on April 5, 2012 at 6:45 pm
Folks, the information on rice syrup is not very good. It is basically rice starch converted to sugar.
For some basic info on rice syrup go to the wikipedia site:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rice_syrup
clark
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Linda
posted on April 12, 2012 at 7:45 pm
so happy to see the sugar free ketchup recipe – for my 6 year old gluten, sugar,all dairy, all meat and poultry sensitive grandson. Question though: since he can’t have cider vinegar, would orginary vinegar do as well? Thank you.
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stephen clutterbuck
posted on October 23, 2012 at 2:16 am
I am a little confused by the title and then the ingredients. Cider and brown rice syrup both contain forms of sugar.
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Sandra
posted on December 5, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve always wanted to make my own ketchup. I just need to add organic brown rice syrup to my shopping list, then I can give it a try. Thanks again!
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Deena
posted on June 2, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out
much. I’m hoping to present something again and help others such as you helped me.
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