Ketchup is one of those things I never imagined myself making. I’m so glad I decided to try. It turned out to be so easy and being able to control the ingredients in my food is very important to me. No chemicals, unpronounceable ingredients, and you can control the amount of sugar.

This is a pretty forgiving recipe, so feel free to adjust spices to your own liking. I do highly recommend using the fish sauce, if you can. It adds a depth of flavor you won’t get with any substitution.

Please see the note at the bottom regarding how to obtain whey. With the whey, this ketchup will last several months in the fridge. Without it, it will last about 2-3 weeks.

Makes 3 ¾ cups (60 tablespoons) homemade low carb ketchup.

The Preparation

3 jars tomato paste, (7-ounce)
1/3 cup fish sauce
¼ cup whey
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon paprika
Sugar-free sweetener to taste
Optional: 1 teaspoon molasses
Optional: 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

* Or use 2 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons tomato paste.
**Can sub 1/3 cup soy sauce, or 1 ½ tablespoons salt.
*** Optional, but recipe to make it is included below.

The Execution

1. Put everything into a large container. This recipe is too large for my emulsion blender’s container, so I use a large mason jar. If you don’t have an emulsion blender, you can mix this in a blender.

2. Put emulsion blender all the way into container so that bottom of blender is resting on the bottom of the container. Turn on and blend for 30-60 seconds, moving blender up and down until fully blended.

3. Put ketchup in a glass container and put a lid on it. If using whey, let it sit on the counter for 3 days, then place in refrigerator. If not using whey, put ketchup directly into refrigerator.

How to Make Whey

Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth or a piece of muslin. Place colander over bowl to contain whey. Take a small container of plain yogurt (cannot be flavored or sweetened) and put it into the colander. Cover and let sit for 2-3 hours. Return yogurt to container and use as you would Greek yogurt. Place whey in jar with lid and keep in refrigerator.

Per 1 tbsp. it comes out to: 9.2 Calories, 0.05g Fats, 1.62g Net Carbs, and 0.52g Protein.

Keep in mind the macros below include the optional ¼ Cup of Whey.

Homemade LC Ketchup	Calories	Fats(g)	Carbs(g)	Fiber(g)	Net Carbs(g)	Protein(g)
3 (7-ounce) jars tomato paste	488	2.8	112.51	24.4	88.11	25.7
1/3 cup fish sauce	34	0.01	3.49	0	3.49	4.86
¼ cup whey	15	0	3	0	3	0
1 teaspoon garlic powder	10	0.02	2.25	0.3	1.95	0.51
½ teaspoon allspice	2	0.08	0.69	0.2	0.49	0.06
¼ teaspoon cinnamon	2	0.01	0.52	0.3	0.22	0.03
1/8 teaspoon paprika	1	0.04	0.16	0.1	0.06	0.04
Sugar-free sweetener to taste	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	552	2.96	122.62	25.3	97.32	31.2
Per Serving(/60)	9.2	0.05	2.04	0.42	1.62	0.52