Roasted Beet Ketchup Recipe

Roasted Beet Ketchup

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.

Remove from heat, cool to room temperature before transferring to jars or bottles.

Chill.