How to Can Homemade Ketchup: A Safe Recipe for a Water Bath Canner

This is my favorite ketchup recipe for canning. Use fresh or canned tomatoes. Making it from scratch allows you to know just what is in the jar! Make this for canning and storage on the shelf. If you do not want to can it you can also just put in the refrigerator or freeze it. The yield is about 3-pint jars.
I tried several times with different seasonings before I came up with this recipe that finally met with the approval of my crew.

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Ketchup Recipe For Canning

This homemade ketchup recipe is actually considered a pickled item, thanks to the vinegar. That vinegar is what makes it safe for water bath canning. You can tweak the spices to your taste like I did, but don’t mess with the ratiou of vinegar or tomatoes and vegetables. That ratio need to stay the same to keep it safe for canning.

I got this basic recipe from the Ball Blue Book, but we didn’t care for the spices they added, so I tried the basic recipe several times before I came up with this recipe that finally met with my crew’s approval and is safe for home canning.

You can adapt the seasonings like I did, but remember don’t mess with the ratio of vinegar and tomatoes and vegetables. It is the acidity of the recipe that makes it safe for a water bath processing.

Know Your Canner

Before we dive into the recipe, make sure you’re familiar with your canner. You can use a water bath canner because the vinegar makes the recipe acidic enough for safe processing. If you’re new to this, check out my guide to using a water bath canner. This can also be processed in a steam canner.

Gather Your Canning Supplies:

• water bath canner
• canning jars
• canning seals and rings
• jar lifter
• canning funnel
• large pot
• food mill
• Crockpot (optional, but very helpful – see details below)

Ingredients:

• 4 quarts chopped tomatoes (or tomato puree)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper
• 1 1/2 cups vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. canning salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 3/4 cup sugar

Start by preparing jars, and get water in your canner heating. (See water bath canning for full directions.)

First, Make a Tomato Puree

If you’re starting with fresh tomatoes, chop them up, and throw one quart of the tomatoes, plus all the chopped onions and sweet peppers, into a large pot. Simmer until everything softens. Add in the rest of the tomatoes and heat through.

Run this mixture through a food mill to get rid of seeds and skins. (This should be all tomatoes and vegetables.)

Tip: If you already have a smooth tomato puree or are using canned tomatoes, you can skip the milling for the tomatoes. But you’ll still need to make sure the peppers and onions get cooked and run through the food mill to remove skins and seeds. You could do this will just part of your tomato puree. Just make sure the onion and pepper mix gets nice and smoothly combined with the tomatoes.

2. Cook Down the Tomato Puree Next, bring everything to a boil in a large stockpot. Reduce the heat and simmer until it thickens up and reduces by about half, stirring often so nothing sticks. This can take around an hour or so. It won’t be ketchup thick just yet but it should be reduced. Keep checking and stirring!

3. Add Your Seasonings Now, it’s time to add the good stuff! Stir in your vinegar, salt, sugar, allspice, and that cinnamon stick. Give it a good stir.

4. Thicken the Ketchup To get that ketchup-like thickness, transfer the sauce to a slow cooker (with the lid off) and let it cook until it reaches your desired consistency. This could take a couple of hours, so stir occasionally to keep an eye on things. Depending on your cooker you might want it on high. I find newer cookers a high heat so you might need low. I like to keep a splatter screen on top of mine

Step-By-Step Directions

1. Prepare Your Tomatoes to allow steam to escape but keep it covered and clean.

If you don’t want to do the slow cooker idea, you can do this on the stove top. Just watch it closely and simmer slow and low.

5. Remove the Cinnamon Stick Once your ketchup has thickened to a ketchup consistency remove that cinnamon stick. Don’t forget! If that stick ends up in a jar… oh goodness that jar will be super cinnamony.

6. Can or Refrigerate At this point, you can either fill up a jar and stick it in the fridge or go ahead and can it for longer storage. Let’s talk about canning next!

Canning Homemade Ketchup

If you want to process in jars for storage on the shelf, use the following directions.

This can be canned in either pint or 1/2 pint jars. It is not intended for quarts. There is no processing time for canning ketchup in quart jars.

Start by preparing jars, and get water in your canner heating. (See water bath canning for full details.) The goal is hot not quite boiling water as you add your filled jars.

Here are more detailed step by step directions on using a water bath canner. (or steam canning works too.) But the general steps are….

• Ladle hot ketchup into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.
• Remove air bubbles with a plastic knife or bubble canning tool. I like to use an orange peeler.
• Wipe the rims clean, add your canning lids.
• Place jars in your canning and process according to the recipe card below.
• Process 1/2 pints or pints for 10 minutes. Be sure to adjust for your altitude if needed—here’s my guide to altitude adjustments. I’ve also included altitude information in the canning recipe card below.
  
  Again – This recipe is not intended for canning in quart jars.

Ketchup Recipe for Canning: Tips & FAQs

Can I Change The Spices In This Recipe?

Absolutely! Feel free to play around with the spices to suit your taste, but don’t adjust the amount of vinegar, tomatoes, peppers or onions. That balance is what makes the recipe safe for canning.

You might like celery seeds or whole cloves or whole allspice. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to make it spicy! If you use whole seasonings like this be sure and use a spice bag and remove it when you remove the cinnamon stick.

Making Smooth Homemade Ketchup

Cook until all the vegetables are very soft. Then when you run it through the food mill, it will come out smooth. It might not be exactly the same as a commercial product, but you can get it pretty close.

To Can Or Not?

You don’t actually have to can this recipe. If you use a lot of ketchup you might just want to put it straight into the fridge. Or put it in freezer containers for the freezer. If you like the recipe, double it the next time. That way you can process 6 pints. I don’t like running a half-full canner. It seems so inefficient.

How Long Does Homemade Ketchup Last Once Canned?

Properly canned ketchup will last up to a year on the shelf. After that the quality will start to deteriorate. But don’t throw it away at one year, just make a plan to use it up soon. Read more about the shelf life/expiration dates for home canned food here.

Pros And Cons Of Canning Homemade Ketchup

Pros:

• It’s homemade and you know exactly what’s in it!
  If you’re someone who loves knowing what goes into your food, this is a huge plus. You can control the ingredients and avoid any unwanted additives.
• Customize the flavor to your liking.
  You can adjust the seasonings to suit your taste, making the ketchup truly your own. If you love a spicier kick or prefer it milder, it’s all up to you!
• Great way to use up a glut of garden tomatoes.
  If you’ve got an abundance of tomatoes and aren’t sure what to do with them, making homemade ketchup is a delicious way to preserve your harvest.

Cons:

• Not the most cost-effective option.
  Let’s face it—store-bought ketchup is pretty inexpensive, so if you’re looking for a way to save money, this might not be the way to go. (oh but it is oh so good… and look at the ingredients!)
• It’s a bit labor-intensive.
  Homemade ketchup does take time to cook down. While you don’t need to stand over the stove the whole time, it does require periodic attention to avoid scorching.

Pinnable Recipe

Homemade Ketchup

Learn how to make homemade ketchup from fresh or canned tomatoes. Making it from scratch allows you to know just what is in the jar!

Print Recipe

Prep Time:2 hours hrs

Processing Pints (adjust for altitude):10 minutes mins

Total Time:2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Equipment

• Water Bath Canner
• Canning Jars
• Canning Lids and Rings
• Large Pot
• Funnel, Jar Lifter, Lid Lifter, Bubble Tool
• Ladle
• Food Mill
• Slow Cooker optional

Ingredients

• 4 quarts Tomato Puree or chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup Onion(s) chopped
• ½ cup Pepper sweet, chopped
• 1 ½ cups Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Canning Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 1 stick Cinnamon 
• ¾ cup Sugar

Instructions

• Start by preparing jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed.

  See full water bath canning instructions here.  

Hot Pack only

• Combine 1 quart of the tomatoes with onions and sweet peppers in a large pot. 
• Simmer until veggies are soft.  
• Add the rest of the tomatoes to the cooked tomato mixture.   
• Run all of the tomato mix through a food mill, removing skins/seeds. 
• Return to pot and bring to boil. Boil rapidly until thickened (about 1 hour), stirring often.  
• Add vinegar, salt, sugar, and other seasonings. 
• Cook again to thicken.
• Remove cinnamon stick. 
• Pour hot ketchup into hot jar, leaving 1/4” headspace.  
• Remove air bubbles, wipe rim clean, and place on seal and ring. Place the jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars. Process according to chart below.   

Notes

Processing with a Water Bath Canner

Place the jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars placing them in the canner.

When all the jars are filled, bring the water in the canner to a boil.  When a boil is reached that is when you’ll start your timing.   Process for the length of time on the chart below.  Adjust for your altitude. 

 After your time is over, turn the heat off remove the lid and allow the canner to rest for about 5 minutes. Then bring your jars up out of the water.  Allow them to rest for another 5 minutes. Then remove the jars and place them a few inches apart on a thick towel to cool completely.  Leave them alone for about 12 hours.  

When they are cooled remove the metal bands, check the seals, label the jars and store them away! 

Processing Times for Water Bath Canner (Hot Pack) 

Altitude – Pints 

0-1,000 ft – 10 minutes 

1,001-3,000 ft – 15 minutes 

3,001-6,000 ft – 20 minutes 

Above 6,000 ft – 25 minutes 

Adapted from: Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

Servings: 3 pints

Author: Sharon Peterson

Homemade Ketchup from Scratch: Tips & FAQs

Making Smooth Homemade Ketchup

Cook until all the vegetables are very soft. Then when you run it through the food mill, it will come out smooth. It might not be exactly the same as a commercial product, but you can get it pretty close.

How to Thicken the Sauce for Making Ketchup

There are two points in this process where you cook to thicken your sauce. First, with just the tomatoes and veggies, and then you’ll add the rest of the ingredients and thicken again.

For the second cook time, I like to use my Crockpot. Put sauce in a Crockpot on high, with the lid removed. Cook until thickened (1+ hours), stirring occasionally. Slow cookers vary, so be sure and watch it. You can also just cook the sauce on low in the pot on your stove for about 30 minutes. Stir often to avoid scorching.

To Can or Not?

Ketchup can be processed safely in a water bath canner. This makes about 3 pints, which is a very small batch. It can be processed like other canned foods, or you can skip the processing step and just refill your ketchup bottle and store in the fridge. That is what I did. If you like the recipe, double it the next time. That way you can process 6 pints. I don’t like running a half-full canner. It seems so inefficient.

How Long Does Homemade Ketchup Last Once Canned?

Read more about the shelf life/expiration dates for home canned food here.

Pros & Cons of Making Homemade Ketchup

Cost-effective? Probably not. You can buy ketchup pretty cheap at the store.

Labor-intensive? Yes, sort of. This homemade ketchup takes a long time to cook down…but you are not standing there the entire time. Just check to watch for scorching and go about your daily tasks.

Then again…it IS pretty easy to grab a bottle at the store. But if you want to make it yourself, know what is in the jar, and love to adjust the taste by adjusting seasonings, it is soooo good! Plus, if you’ve got a glut of tomatoes from the garden and don’t know what to do with them, this is a good way to use it up.

Related Pages

Plum Sauce Recipe

I think you’ll like this delicious plum sauce recipe (also sometimes known as a plum BBQ sauce).

Sweet Pickle Relish

This easy canning recipe for homemade sweet relish is used for summertime hot dogs, potato salad, hamburgers, and more.

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Source: Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

Page last updated: 9/3/2021