A homemade ketchup recipe for kids and babies from 6 months old, with no added sugar or salt. Great for dipping with healthy fries or vegetable sticks, with homemade chicken nuggets and meatballs and many more.
Store-bought ketchup is loaded with sugar, salt and other preservatives. This recipe for homemade ketchup for babies, toddlers and older kids is a much healthier option not only cause we are not going to use any sugar and salt but also cause you are in control of the ingredients you use.
It doesn't take long for it to cook, just 20 minutes. Then I wait a little bit for the sauce to cool down and pass it through a sieve to get that silky and smooth texture that the store-bought ketchup has. My toddler loves it as a dip with a handful of zucchini fries or beef meatballs.
Jump to:
👩🏻🍳 Why you should try my recipe
- Easy to prepare, with a few simple ingredients.
- Suitable for babies from 6 months old.
- Freezable or keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- No sugar or salt added.
🥘 Ingredients
This homemade ketchup recipe is suitable for babies from 6 months, older kids and adults. I'm not using any processed sugar or salt in the recipe. If you are making the ketchup for older kids and adults, then you could add a teaspoon of salt for a better taste.
The ingredients I'm going to use to prepare this easy ketchup are crushed tomatoes or passata, olive oil, half an onion, garlic cloves, vinegar, celery, ground cinnamon and dates.
For full quantities and to print the recipe, see the recipe card below.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
So get your ingredients ready and let's get started!
01. I start by dicing the onion, celery stick and garlic cloves before moving to the stove.
02. In a bowl, I add the dates and fill it up with hot water. I leave them there to rest and get soft whilst I cook the sauce.
03. In a pan, I add the chopped onion and sauté for 4–5 minutes until it's soft and translucent.
04. Now it's time to add the rest of the ingredients. I add the chopped celery and garlic and give them a stir for a minute. Then, the crushed tomatoes or passata, vinegar and cinnamon. Make sure the tomatoes you are using don't have any additives like sugar or salt.
05. I add just a quarter cup of water and cook the sauce on low heat for about 20 minutes until it thickens. The vegetables are diced so it shouldn't take long for the tomato ketchup to cook.
06. I leave the sauce to cool down for 10–15 minutes. Then I add it to a blender along with the soaked dates (without the water) and blend until smooth.
07. For a creamier and smoother ketchup, I use a sieve to pass through the sauce. You could press it using a spatula or the back of a ladle. As I don't like food waste, I'm not throwing the pulp that didn't pass through the sieve. You could add it to stews, casseroles and it stays good in the fridge for 3–4 days.
08. I add the sauce back to the pan and cook it for 5 more minutes until I get a thick consistency that resembles the commercial ketchup.
📖 Substitutions & Variations
- Instead of canned or jarred tomatoes, you could also use fresh ones.
- Instead of ground cinnamon, you could use a cinnamon stick and a bay leaf. Just remember to remove them before blending the sauce.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Babies 6m-12m: For little ones under 12 months that follow the BLW method, you could serve the homemade, sugar-free ketchup as a dip with some soft carrots or some zucchini fries or sweet potato fries. You can also add it to pasta or dip some chicken strips to add more flavor.
Toddlers, older kids & adults: For older kids and adults, you could add some salt to this kid-friendly ketchup sauce for more flavor. It can be served as a dipping sauce with healthy fries and vegetable sticks, added next to meat and meatballs, used as a base for homemade pizzas and much more.
Let me know in the comments below how you served it for your little ones.
🧰 Storage
The recipe makes a bit less than 2 cups of homemade ketchup. I like to add half in a little jar and keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days to be handy whenever we have a meal.
Then I add the rest to the freezer, either in an ice cube case so it's easier to portion and thaw, or in little plastic containers that are freezer-friendly.
💭 Tips
- Simmer the sauce to get a nice thick consistency.
- Using a sieve helps get that silky texture the store-bought ketchup has.
- Store it in an ice cube tray in the freezer to be easier to thaw as needed.
❓ FAQ
Homemade ketchup has no preservatives like the store-bought one. In a sealed container, it can last about 5 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
You could add more spices to give your homemade ketchup different flavors. Dates and cinnamon will give it a sweeter taste that resembles regular ketchup. For a hotter flavor, you could add some crushed pepper flakes or chili.
📋 Recipe
Easy Homemade Ketchup For Kids
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes or passata
- ½ onion (1 cup chopped)
- 1 celery stick (½ cup chopped)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 dates
Instructions
- In a bowl with hot water, add the dates (without the stones) and leave them to soak while you prepare the sauce.
- Heat a pot over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onion for 4–5 minutes.
- Add the chopped celery, and garlic cloves and stir for a minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, vinegar and ground cinnamon.
- Add ¼ cup of water and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and leave the ketchup sauce to cool down for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the sauce to a blender along with the soaked dates (without the water). Blend until smooth.
- Pass the sauce through a sieve and add it back to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes until is creamy and thick.
Video
🥣 Related
If you liked my easy homemade ketchup recipe, you should try some of these recipes too:
Comments
No Comments