Tomato Ketchup for Baby (Well, Sort of!)

A visitor to our Facebook page asked us recently if we have a recipe for tomato ketchup that would be suitable for baby.

We had to admit that we didn’t… but it got us thinking, and when we found ourselves with a couple of spare tomatoes this week, we decided to see what we could come up with. Today’s recipe is the result.

First, we have to be totally honest and say it doesn’t exactly taste like ‘proper’ tomato ketchup, but it went down well with our little taste testers as a perfectly acceptable alternative.

It’s more nutritious than regular ketchup and contains no salt or sugar – the sweetness comes from the secret ingredient… sweet potato!

The tomatoes give it a little natural acidity – (tomatoes new to your baby? Click here to find out more about introducing them).

The adults in the house, however, preferred the sauce with a tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar stirred in, which intensified both the sweetness AND the acidity!

To make tomato ketchup your baby, you will need…

2 large tomatoes (we used beefsteak, but Roma are said to be particularly good!)
4 fl oz (half a cup) water.
half a small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp of allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Chop the tomatoes, just cover them with water and simmer VERY gently until much of the water has evaporated and they were thick and almost ‘saucy’ (around 50 mins to 1 hour).

Whilst they’re cooking, place the sweet potato cubes in a small saucepan and just cover with water.

Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for around 5 mins until tender. Drain.

Push the tomatoes through a sieve/fine mesh strainer, which will leave behind the skins and seeds.

Using the hand blender, combine the sweet potato with the tomatoes, herbs, and spices.

Your ‘tomato ketchup’ is ready to serve. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

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Yield: Around half cup

Tomato Ketchup for Baby

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An alternative to tomato ketchup for baby, with no salt or sugar, but with the full flavour of herbs and spices - yum!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large tomatoes (we used beefsteak, but Roma are said to be particularly good!)
• 4 fl oz (half a cup) water.
• half a small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp of allspice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Instructions

1. Chop the tomatoes, just cover them with water and simmer VERY gently until much of the water has evaporated and they were thick and almost 'saucy' (around 50 mins to 1 hour).
2. Whilst they're cooking, place the sweet potato cubes in a small saucepan and just cover with water.
3. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for around 5 mins until tender. Drain.
4. Push the tomatoes through a sieve/fine mesh strainer, which will leave behind the skins and seeds.
5. Using the hand blender, combine the sweet potato with the tomatoes, herbs, and spices.
6. Your 'tomato ketchup' is ready to serve. Store any leftovers in the fridge.