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Substitute for Ketchup

What it does in a recipe: Sweet-tart tomato condiment and secret sauce ingredient.

2 substitutes, ranked by what's already in your pantry. Amounts are dataset values — US and metric where a ratio exists.

Tomato paste + vinegar + sugar

per 1/2 cup ketchup

US2 Tbsp tomato paste + 1 Tbsp vinegar + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1/4 cup water, simmered
Metric30 g paste + 15 ml vinegar + 12 g sugar + 60 ml water, simmered
Pantry stapleBaking-safe ✓Alcohol-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeFish-freeGluten-freeNut-freePeanut-freeShellfish-freeSoy-freeVegan

Fresher, less sweet — tune the sugar.

What changes: Fresher, less sweet

Tomato sauce, reduced + sweetened

per 1/2 cup ketchup

USSimmer 1 cup tomato sauce + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp vinegar until thick
Metric240 ml tomato sauce + 12 g sugar + 15 ml vinegar, reduced
Pantry stapleBaking-safe ✓Alcohol-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeFish-freeGluten-freeNut-freePeanut-freeShellfish-freeSoy-freeVegan

Same idea, longer simmer.

What changes: Longer simmer

Related swaps

Common questions

What can I use instead of Ketchup?
Tomato paste + vinegar + sugar: 2 Tbsp tomato paste + 1 Tbsp vinegar + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1/4 cup water, simmered. Tomato sauce, reduced + sweetened: Simmer 1 cup tomato sauce + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp vinegar until thick.
What is the exact ratio to substitute Ketchup?
Tomato paste + vinegar + sugar (per 1/2 cup ketchup) — US: 2 Tbsp tomato paste + 1 Tbsp vinegar + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1/4 cup water, simmered. Metric: 30 g paste + 15 ml vinegar + 12 g sugar + 60 ml water, simmered.
What changes when you substitute Ketchup?
Fresher, less sweet. Longer simmer.

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