No sugar
Did you ever check the contents of a bottle of ketchup? You’d be surprised at the amount of sugar that is added to this most delicious sauce. I mean, I love a good ketchup. What would a burger be without ketchup after all? But I don’t like all the added sugars in my life so I figured it was time to do a search for a good sugar free ketchup. And voila, Melissa Joulwan to the rescue.
Better than the original
This recipe uses just two or three dates to give some sweetness to the recipe but to be honest I am going to try it next without the dates, as I might just think that is good enough. After all a date is still pretty sweet. It has more fiber but at the end of the day, it is still sugar. Yes, yes, i can hear you think, but you called it sugar free!! That is true. But when I say sugar free, I mean free of added table sugar. You know the one I mean. So nothing of that. And a date is after all a natural thing. So sugar free tomato ketchup.
Taste test
The taste test afterwards give a big thumbs up. This ketchup is fantastic. I did make tomato ketchup before using actual tomatoes and going through the whole process but this one is super quick. You could easily make it an hour before you need it. Plus it takes just 15 minutes to make (in that hour I am counting the time to cool it down. You could of course eat it warm if you wish)
Whole30 approved!
I am on the last leg of my whole30. Just a few more days to go. I accidentally drank something sugary today though. I thought I was given a glass of water but one sip revealed it was something very sweet. So I put the glass away but did drink that one sip. Not that I plan on starting over! Not on day 27 and not without it being my fault at all. That would just be bonkers… I’ll be glad when day 30 comes around. It’s been long enough… 😉 Time for a little more flexibility. But this sugar free tomato ketchup will still be in my repertoire. Loved it!
PrintSimple and quick recipe for tomato ketchup without sugar

- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Condiment
Ingredients
- 280 gr tomato paste
- 100 ml boiling water
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 medjool dates, pit removed, chopped
- 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp piment
- 150 ml water
Instructions
- Place the tomato paste, the boiling water, the vinegar and the chopped dates in a blender. Let it stand for about 10 minutes so the dates soften a bit. Turn until smooth. Scrape from the sides if needed. Set aside
- Heat a small sauce pan on medium fire with the coconut oil. Add the mustard powder, cinnamon and piment and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds)
- Take of the heat, add the tomato mixture and stir until combined. Add the 150 ml of water and leave to boil softly with the lid halfway on (it spatters a lot so that’s why you need a bit of a lid) The ketchup will thicken once it cools but if you want it thicker let it cook a little longer.
- Leave to cool to room temperature before eating. Place in a airtight container for about 2-3 weeks max.
Keywords: tomato paste, cinnamon, dates
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4 Comments
angiesrecipes
July 19, 2018 at 10:07 amI have never understood why the commercial ketchup has to be loaded with sugar…..can’t remember when I last time had one of those bottled ketchup..homemade is the BEST, esp. when it’s sweetened with dates 🙂 Amazing stuff..I even add chopped dates to my cole slaw :-))
Simone
July 20, 2018 at 10:24 amI know. In some cases sugar is the first or second ingredient… Just too weird! And it doesn’t really need it either as this is just plain delicious and I could even eat it without the dates! O and great idea to add dates to the cole slaw!
John / Kitchen Riffs
July 19, 2018 at 3:50 pmIt’s amazing how many foods have sugar that you wouldn’t think should have it. I know about ketchup and sugar — and it does taste sweet — but there’s no reason why it should have it. I don’t find the sweetness in it particularly appealing. We should probably make our own ketchup one of these days — it’s on my “list” — but we go through a small bottle maybe once a year (and usually throw it out when it’s only half-consumed because it’s getting old) — so it’s probably not a priority. 🙂 Love this recipe, though — easy, and it looks really good. Thanks!
Simone
July 20, 2018 at 10:23 amIf you don’t use a lot of ketchup than I can see why it is not a priority.. 😉 But maybe you don’t use it that often because you find it too sweet… So making it your own would fix that issue. And I loved the flavor of this one!