This roasted beet ketchup is an alternate strategy to the beloved candy, salty, and tangy condiment. Rather than tomatoes, the recipe requires oven roasted beets, and for sweetness, it makes use of pitted medjool dates, reasonably than a refined sweetener. It’s a vibrantly colourful and attractive sauce for veggie burgers, fries, and extra!
Summer time is the season for veggie burgers and carrot canines, to not point out informal gatherings with finger meals and snack boards.
This implies it’s additionally a time for sauces, dips, and dressings—particularly ketchup.
I’ve all the time actually favored conventional, store-bought ketchup. However within the spirit of creating do-it-yourself condiments, which has been a spotlight for me this yr, I need to share an alternate.
I first created this beet ketchup years in the past, as a dipping sauce for the baked pumpkin-seed crusted tofu that’s a meal prep favourite round right here.
Over time, I’ve made it repeatedly. The beet ketchup is, after all, very totally different from common, tomato-based ketchup. However I simply like it’s deep, darkish purple coloration, and it’s an excellent factor to make after I’ve roasted plenty of beets within the oven and have just a few to spare.
I additionally admire the candy, earthy taste of this nontraditional ketchup. As peak grilling season nears a detailed, I believed it could be a pleasant time to share it.
Why would I make ketchup with beets?
If it ain’t broke, why repair it, you would possibly say. And there’s lots to like about good, old school, tomato-based ketchup.
Even so, there are just a few explanation why you would possibly use roasted beets as the bottom as an alternative.
Beets are stunning
The primary may very well be that you just’ve roasted plenty of beets, perhaps as a way to deplete a farmer’s market haul or a CSA share, and also you’ve received some to spare.
One other may be that you just love the nice vitamin that beets have to supply.
Some dietary highlights of this vegetable:
- nitric oxide that may enhance circulation and assist to keep up wholesome blood strain ranges
- phytonutrients which are related to decreasing irritation and defending cardiovascular well being
- folate
- Vitamin C
- dietary fiber
Beets are actually a superfood, and it is a low-key, enjoyable approach to eat extra of them.
A nightshade-free ketchup
There isn’t sturdy analysis to assist avoiding nightshades for arthritis and different inflammatory ailments, particularly when that selection finally ends up making nutrient-rich greens off-limits. Nonetheless, some arthritis victims really feel that the solanine in nightshades is a set off, and so they select to keep away from tomatoes, peppers, and different nightshades because of this.
There are additionally some who discover that tomato is a giant set off for GERD or different higher GI complaints.
For all of those people, tomato-free and nightshade-free recipes turn out to be useful. There are some tomato-free alternate options to marinara sauce, together with beet marinara or pumpkin pasta sauce. Beet ketchup is the same type of swap.
Sweetened with dates
At the very least as soon as every week, a vitamin consumer talks to me about making an attempt to keep away from the refined sugar in store-bought dressings and sauces.
Normally, I inform purchasers to not get overly fearful in regards to the sugar in condiments, until they have an inclination to have these condiments in massive quantities.
When a product has a reasonably small serving measurement—one tablespoon, within the case of ketchup—the whole sugar consumption gained’t be enormous, even when refined sugar is an ingredient.
Nonetheless, I perceive that do-it-yourself condiments or sauces, like my 20-minute marinara sauce or this ketchup, give people an opportunity to be particularly discerning about refined sugar, if that’s their aim.
Scrumptious!
Lastly, you may be interested in beet ketchup just because it’s tasty and enjoyable!
Me, I like it’s earthy, deeply candy taste, which is so totally different from the aggressively tangy high quality of tomato ketchup.
Ketchup tastes unmistakably like ketchup. It’ll all the time be what it’s. Beet ketchup tastes just like the true deal, but distinctive. In some methods, it’s much less straightforward to typecast and extra versatile.
Do I’ve to roast the beets from scratch?
I like the flavour of do-it-yourself roasted beets, and I believe my easy oven roasted beets make the method as straightforward as attainable. You don’t need to peel the beets earlier than you roast them; as an alternative, you simply slip off the skins as soon as they’re carried out.
Nonetheless, there are some weeks when any cooking is an excessive amount of cooking. We’ve all been there.
For these weeks, I’d invite and encourage you to make use of one of many store-bought, pre-cooked beet choices. There are just a few, however I just like the Love Beets ready-to-eat cooked beets.
Simply chop just a few of those roughly, switch them to your blender, and proceed with the recipe because it’s written.
Beet ketchup substances
The substances for this recipe are fairly easy:
- oven roasted beets
- apple cider vinegar
- water
- pitted medjool dates
- salt
- onion powder
- garlic powder (or a small clove of garlic)
The vinegar and onion and garlic powder create a few of the savory/acidic notes from conventional ketchup. Medjool dates and the beets themselves add the sweetness.
If you wish to get inventive right here, you might add a pinch of smoked or candy paprika, some dried herbs, or one other seasoning that involves thoughts.
How you can make roasted beet ketchup
Step 1: Roast your beets
For those who do want to roast your beets from scratch, then that’s step 1 of the recipe.
You’ll find full directions in this publish.
Go forward and make a double batch, when you love beets! Use some within the beet ketchup, then use the remainder for marinated beets, quinoa beet bowls, or creamy kale and beet pasta.
Step 2: Add the roasted beets to a blender with the opposite substances
As soon as the beets are cool sufficient to peel and deal with, chop them roughly. Add them to a blender, together with the remaining beet ketchup substances.
Step 3: Mix away
At this level, making the ketchup is as straightforward as mixing for a pair minutes.
The completed beet ketchup may have some texture—it doesn’t get extremely creamy and clean—but it surely must be comparatively clean and have a uniform consistency.
You’re aiming for one thing that would simply be spooned or drizzled, but isn’t too liquidy. Add a little bit further water if you could.
Step 4: Serve or retailer
Beet ketchup will be saved simply. Simply maintain it in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as six days, or freeze it for as much as eight weeks.
For those who don’t have to retailer it for an extended time period, then you may get proper all the way down to the enterprise of having fun with it.
Just a few recipes that beg for beet ketchup
After you have a jar of the do-it-yourself ketchup in your fridge, you can begin fascinated about recipes that might be even higher with just a few spoonfuls of beet-and date-sweetened sauce on prime.
Listed here are just a few of my favorites:
And if this recipe is up your alley—or when you wish to depend on pitted dates for sweetening basically—then it’s additionally value testing date BBQ sauce!
Yields: 1.5 cups
- 3 medium oven roasted beets
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (60ml)
- 1/4 cup water (60ml)
- 2 massive pitted medjool dates
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 small garlic clove)
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Place all substances into a robust blender or a meals processor fitted with the S blade and mix until clean. If the combination is just too thick to mix properly, then add an extra 1-2 tablespoons water. Serve or retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as six days.
Within the subsequent few weeks, I’ll have a recipe or two to share that might be an excellent automobile for some beet ketchup.
However within the meantime, I hope you’ll discover some acquainted, enjoyable methods to take pleasure in it.
xo
