This roasted beet ketchup is full of flavour, and great for people who dislike tomatoes, have to avoid nightshades, and/or just love beets!
Originally published August 18, 2014. Updated on 6/25/2021
I'm back from my recent vacation to my hometown (Winnipeg). It had been 4 years since I've set foot on Canadian soil, and I had a wonderful time.
Because we were specifically visiting for Folklorama, we pretty much ate the entire time. No joke.
Now, I am refreshed, inspired, and ready to go! Expect at LEAST a good handful of ethnic recipes to pop up on this blog over the next while, as I come up with time to develop them.
Today's recipe is one that was inspired by the Indian pavilion. There was a beet ketchup available for sale, and my husband JUMPED on it.
He's an avid hater of tomatoes. While he's ok with tomatoes in ketchup, he'd just as soon never have to eat tomatoes of any kind.
As he also adores beets in general, the idea was GOLD to him. So, he bought a bottle.
Roasted Beet Ketchup
It tasted good, but was very thin and not really ketchup-y. Also, it didn't really taste like they'd been roasted, and I pictured roasted beets making a better ketchup.
So, I developed this roasted beet ketchup recipe this weekend, using my awesome Pickled Beets Recipe for inspiration on the seasoning!
If you like beets, you'll love this. Even if you like normal ketchup and have no issues with beets, you'll enjoy this as a fun alternative.
It satisfies the "creamy but acidic" thing you want from ketchup, is casual and fun while still being earthy, rich, and fancy. SO good.. and kind of pretty! This makes a gorgeous purple-ruby red ketchup.
How to Make Roasted Beet Ketchup
Roast the Beets and Veggies
First, you have to roast the veggies. While the onion and garlic are pretty straightforward to work with, there are two different ways you can deal with the beets:
Peel First
Use a sharp knife to cut the ends off the beets, then a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off.
Protip: I keep a box of nitrile gloves in the kitchen specifically for things like handling beets (which stain my skin badly!), or raw chicken (sensory grossness).
100% recommend it.
Anyway, once peeled, you just chop the beets to an even thickness before proceeding.
Peel Later
Alternatively, you can scrub the beets clean, and cut the ends off. Roast them whole - with the onions and garlic.
Allow to cool slightly, then rub the skins off the beets with some paper towels (or your bare hands – expect some staining!).
When I first created this recipe, I preferred the “peel later” method.
Over the years, I’ve become more of a fan of the “peel first” method, so that’s what’s pictured.
Whichever way you go, just put the beets - whole with skin, or peeled and chopped - onto a few layers of foil, along with the onions and garlic.
Toss with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and fold the edges of the foil up to create a pouch around the beets.
Roast for about 1 hour, or until beets are quite tender.
Make the Beet Ketchup
In a food processor or blender, blitz roasted beets, onion, and garlic together with remaining ingredients until smooth.
Transfer to a large pot.
Bring ketchup just to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until thickened to desired consistency.
I forgot to put the brown sugar in the blender. Whoops!
Remove from heat, cool to room temperature before transferring to jars or bottles.
Chill.
Beet Ketchup Variation
I used apple cider vinegar this time, but will use red wine vinegar sometimes.
In a pinch, use regular white vinegar. It’ll still taste great, just not quite as complex.
More Seasoning & Condiment Recipes
Looking for some healthy recipes for tasty ways to add a little something extra to your dish? Here are a few ideas:
Basil Pesto
Berbere Seasoning
Canadian Popcorn Seasonings
Chow Chow Relish
Cilantro-Mint Chutney
Diana Sauces (Replica Recipes)
Hop Extracts
Seasoned Salt
Roasted Garlic
Vanilla Extract
Homemade Mayonnaise
Furikake Seasoning
Honey Dill Dipping Sauce
Honey Garlic Cooking Sauce
Hoppy Dill Pickle Relish
How to Make Compound Butters
Montreal Steak Spice & Marinade
Olive Salad for Muffalettas
Pistachio Dukkah
Porter's Yogurt & Ice Cream Topping
Smoky Dry Rub for Wings
Sushi Sauce Recipes
Tangerine Thyme Dry Rub
Thai Cilantro Pesto
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Roasted Beet Ketchup
Equipment
- Plastic Squeeze Bottles
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Small Beets Scrubbed clean, ends trimmed
- 1 Small Onion Peeled and Quartered
- 4 Garlic cloves Peeled
- Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 ½ Cups Vinegar*
- ½ Cup Water
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar Packed
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Celery Seed
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard Powder
- Pinch Allspice
- Pinch Ground Cloves
- Ground Pepper To Taste
Instructions
- Place beets, onion, and garlic on a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle a little olive oil over everything, season with a little salt and pepper, tossing to coat.
- Foil foil edges up to create a pouch around the beets.
- Roast at 375 for about 1 hour, or until beets are quite tender.
- Allow to cool slightly, then rub the skins off the beets with some paper towels (or your bare hands – expect some staining!).
- In a food processor or blender, blitz roasted beets, onion, and garlic together with remaining ingredients until smooth. Transfer to a large pot.
- Bring ketchup just to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until thickened to desired consistency.
- Remove from heat, cool to room temperature before transferring to jars or bottles. Chill.
Heather
This sounds really good. I am going to try this recipe and get back to you on my results. I am going to have to make a few changes as there are a few things I can't have but have substitutes I can use. All the spices are find - but have issues with sugar and may have to cut back on some of the vinegar. I will post my adaptations and will make this over the weekend. Yep, am aware its Monday - but have a very busy week planned and want to make sure I have time to dedicate to cooking.
Phil
If you cut back on the vinegar you might not end up with ketchup, vinegar is what makes ketchup ketchup. We make this at work and now I am trying to use gold beets to make a mustard.
Claudia
So mouth watering! That seems amazing.
Harry
This sounds good. I love beetroot ketchup. In the UK you can get it in the shops made by a company called Foraging Fox. Not sure if it's available in the US yet.
http://www.foragingfox.com
Carl of Greenfield
Marie, I'm onto my first harvest of beets right now, both the red beets and the Chioggia beets. A friend came over this morning and while we pickled the red beets, we roasted the Chioggia beets for your roasted beet ketchup -- just in time for the Fourth of July, too. I've been wanting to add beet ketchup to my beet repertoire. Your recipe is truly something to put on one's list of reasons to live for. Also using garlic and onions fresh from the ground, the ketchup eagerly awaits my new love for kale chips fresh from the oven. So happy to hear you're from Canada but live in Minneapolis. I hope you can come out for a visit!
Betty
Can you use a hot water bath to can the ketchup? How long will it last in fridge? I substituted scant amount of black strap molasses for the sugar. It's great!
Marie Porter
You know, I'm not sure - I haven't worked out the acid levels on this recipe for canning. I'm guessing it's not high enough in acid to be safe for canning, though.
Fig
I am a former ketchup FIEND, and have deeply missed the tomato goodness that puts my body into a rough place. This beet ketchup is EXACTLY what I needed and I am so grateful!!!
I’ve used it on its own with crispy roasted potatoes and made a gorgeous pad Thai inspired dish using the ketchup as part of the sauce.
Here is the recipe I used from lotusfoods and I’ll include my edits:
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1½ tbsp vegan "fish" sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tbsp water
1 lime juiced
2 tbsp raw tahini
2 tbsp ketchup
I doubled the recipe and ended up quadrupling the tahini for a thicker sauce and more protein content. It sets up nicely after shaking in a jar and refrigerating. I used traditional rice noodles and organic veggies we had on hand. Purple cabbage, leeks, green onion, julienned carrots, sweet orange and yellow peppers, Swiss chard and kale. This dish is easily stored and the sauce is the most beautiful color. Food is such medicine and I’m feeling so blessed by this glorious beetsup!!
Doo
I’m desperate for a great alternative to catsup and fondly remember Chloe Cascarelli’s beet catsup from By Chloe so many years ago. Is the nutritional information listed for the full 2.5 cups this recipe yields or per tablespoon or two tablespoons? (BTW, LOVED Fig’s Pad Thai sauce add on to the comments, but still wish there were alternatives to the fysh sauce: staying low sodium is rough!!!)
Sandra
I made this as described except for using apple cider vinegar. Was initially not too pleased with the taste - which was dominated by sweet and very acidic vinegary ( sweet vinegar paste). So added a little bit of tamarind paste (1 tsp-ish) which made the taste more rich. Then added baking soda 1/4 tsp at a time to try to take the edge off of the harsh vinegar taste. I think I ended up adding about 1.5 tsp. It’s better now. Maybe after it cools and sits a bit the flavour will round out. Happy to have tried this out. I love the instruction for baking - peeling was easy this way.
Judy
How long would it stay fresh once it’s put in the squeeze bottle, any idea?
Marie Porter
I'd use it within a few weeks.