Vegan Ketchup – Basic Recipe and Variants

Vegan ketchup: you have to pay attention to this

Ketchup is one of the many products that appear vegan at first glance. But keep your eyes peeled – that’s not always the case! Ketchup comes in many varieties and flavors, from curry to hot and sweet, and the ingredients of the different types are just as varied. It is worth taking a closer look at the list of ingredients.

• Classic tomato ketchup consists of a few ingredients: tomato paste, salt, sugar, brandy vinegar, and spices. Sugar is the ingredient that could cause problems for vegans.
• Industrially produced sugar is often produced by American companies using bone charcoal filters. This filter is made from animal bones, so the ketchup made from it is not vegan.
• Some types of ketchup use honey as a sweetener. This applies above all to the particularly sweet children’s ketchup. If you find honey in the ingredients, the ketchup is also not vegan.
• So to find out if ketchup is vegan, you need to read the ingredient list carefully. Even then, animal substances can still be hidden, which are directly contained or used in the production chain.

Make your own vegan ketchup

The safest and healthiest way to enjoy vegan ketchup is to simply make it at home. Here you will find a simple basic recipe and different flavors that you can prepare quickly and with just a few ingredients.

Vegan ketchup – basic recipe

The basic recipe for vegan ketchup consists of just a few ingredients and is quick to prepare. You need:

• 6 tomatoes 80 g tomato paste 1-2 onions 60 ml vinegar (e.g. apple cider vinegar) 2-3 teaspoons cornstarch salt, pepper, cane sugar, or agave syrup for sweetening
• Here’s how it works: Roast half of the tomato paste lightly in a pan, then add the chopped onions and tomatoes. Let it all simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
• Then puree the mixture with the hand blender. Mix the remaining tomato paste with the vinegar and cornstarch and add to the mixture, mix well again.
• Now bring the whole thing to a boil again and simmer for about 10 minutes, then season with salt, pepper, and sugar or sweetener. The vegan ketchup is ready!
• To create other flavors from the base ketchup, you can add more spices to the base recipe. Tasty variants are curry powder, BBQ sauce or chili powder, and chili sauce.

A healthy option

Often, the step of eating vegan is also associated with a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Especially if you are a ketchup lover and often reach for the bottle with the red sauce, it is worth trying out a particularly healthy recipe. This variant is raw and uses very few vegan ingredients:

• 5 tomatoes 5 sun-dried tomatoes 1-2 tbsp agave syrup or 3 dates 1 tsp Italian herbs, such as basil or oregano Salt and pepper
• Here’s how it works: cut tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces. Place in a bowl with the other ingredients and blend until you have creamy ketchup. Season with salt and pepper.
• Tip: The ketchup is particularly tasty in all variants if you use very ripe tomatoes.