Cooked and strained tomato thickened with sugar, vinegar, salt and mild spice into a smooth, sweet-sour condiment. It is as much a cooking ingredient as a table sauce, doing quiet work in meatloaf, glazes and barbecue bases.
What it does in a recipe: Sweet, acidic tomato concentrate - sugar, vinegar and umami in a single pourable form. Pick the swap that covers that job - the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.
Also called: Tomato ketchup, Catsup
4substitutes
1close matches
Condiments & saucescategory
Quick answer
Tomato sauce + sugar + vinegar
1 cup ketchup = 1 cup plain tomato sauce or passata + 2 tbsp brown sugar + 1 tbsp white vinegar + 1/4 tsp salt
All substitutes, best first
4 ways to replace ketchup
Tomato sauce + sugar + vinegar
Closest match
1 cup ketchup = 1 cup plain tomato sauce or passata + 2 tbsp brown sugar + 1 tbsp white vinegar + 1/4 tsp salt
Ketchup is essentially seasoned tomato, so adding back the sugar, acid and salt that manufacturers put in gets you within a shade of the bottle.
MethodSimmer for five minutes to marry the flavours and drive off the raw vinegar edge, then cool before tasting.
Trade-offThinner than ketchup unless reduced, and without the faint clove and allspice background most brands carry.
1 cup ketchup = 3/4 cup tomato paste + 1/4 cup water + 2 tbsp sugar + 2 tbsp white vinegar + 1/2 tsp salt
Tomato paste is already concentrated, so it needs loosening rather than reducing, and the sugar-vinegar pair supplies the sweet-sour axis ketchup runs on.
Trade-offDeeper and more concentrated in tomato flavour than real ketchup, and darker in colour.
Allergen checkSome sweet chilli sauces contain fish sauce or shrimp paste, particularly Thai brands - check before serving to a vegetarian or anyone with a seafood allergy.
Salsa, blended smooth
In a pinch
1 cup ketchup = 1 cup smooth-blended mild salsa + 1 tbsp sugar
Salsa is tomato with acid and salt already present; blending removes the texture and the sugar bridges the sweetness gap.
Trade-offBrings onion, coriander and chilli that ketchup does not have, and it is far looser, so a glaze will not set the same way.
In a recipe, ketchup is usually contributing sugar and acid as much as tomato. If you swap in something less sweet, taste and adjust the sugar rather than assuming the tomato alone will carry it.
At a glance
Ketchup in summary
Ketchup at a glance: category, its job in a recipe, the diets it suits, the diets its substitutes can satisfy, and how many substitutes there are.
Can I use tomato sauce + sugar + vinegar instead of ketchup?
1 cup ketchup = 1 cup plain tomato sauce or passata + 2 tbsp brown sugar + 1 tbsp white vinegar + 1/4 tsp salt. Ketchup is essentially seasoned tomato, so adding back the sugar, acid and salt that manufacturers put in gets you within a shade of the bottle. Thinner than ketchup unless reduced, and without the faint clove and allspice background most brands carry.
Can I use tomato paste + water + sugar + vinegar instead of ketchup?
1 cup ketchup = 3/4 cup tomato paste + 1/4 cup water + 2 tbsp sugar + 2 tbsp white vinegar + 1/2 tsp salt. Tomato paste is already concentrated, so it needs loosening rather than reducing, and the sugar-vinegar pair supplies the sweet-sour axis ketchup runs on. Deeper and more concentrated in tomato flavour than real ketchup, and darker in colour.
Can I use sweet chilli sauce instead of ketchup?
1 cup ketchup = 1 cup sweet chilli sauce, reducing other sugar in the recipe. It matches ketchup's sugar and vinegar structure and its clinging consistency, just with chilli in place of the tomato. Noticeably hotter and sweeter, and it loses the tomato entirely, which matters in anything where ketchup is the main body of the sauce.
Can I use salsa, blended smooth instead of ketchup?
1 cup ketchup = 1 cup smooth-blended mild salsa + 1 tbsp sugar. Salsa is tomato with acid and salt already present; blending removes the texture and the sugar bridges the sweetness gap. Brings onion, coriander and chilli that ketchup does not have, and it is far looser, so a glaze will not set the same way.
Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter - confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.