Until very recently, I thought ketchup was a healthy option.

When I wanted to easily cut calories and fat from a veggie burger, I’d choose ketchup and mustard over mayo.  It doesn’t have animal products or fat. And, hey, what’s wrong with tomatoes?

A few days ago, I looked at the label on my ketchup bottle: high-fructose corn syrup AND corn syrup!  Two types of corn syrup!  I looked at “all natural” ketchups, but they only replaced the syrup with refined sugars.  Organic ketchup?  Nothing but organic sugar!

Last night, I had plans to made a homemade, vegan meatloaf and wanted to put ketchup on the top.  (I would share that recipe but it needs more tweaking. It was pretty, but kind of gross.)  So I decided to make my own.

What I used:

- 6 oz. tomato paste (I used the Whole Foods 365 brand in a can)
- 2 tbs. raw honey
- 1 packet of stevia (to cut the acidity)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- dash of onion powder

I threw all ingredients into a sauce pan and whisked until smooth.

please excuse the bad lighting

Whisking was pretty easy.  The honey was a bit stiff but smoothed out pretty quickly.

Then I turned on the burner and brought the mixture to a boil, while whisking occasionally.  After it started to boil, I turned it down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.  I stirred occasionally but mostly left it alone while I worked on the (gag!) meatloaf.

It looked just like bought ketchup.

It turned out DELICIOUS!

I actually licked the bowl and spatula.  Best ketchup I’ve ever had, actually—tangy, sweet, and tomatoey.  I want to try to make it from scratch by roasting my own tomatoes some time.  It would probably be even better!

Red and pretty!