The best tomato free ketchup reviews. Get a comprehensive review of 5 tomato free ketchup brands so you can buy the one you’ll love.
Ketchup. America is in love with ketchup. We use it on burgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, in sauces for meatloaf, and even as a base for a noodle sauce in a pinch! According to America’s Test Kitchen, 97% of all Americans have ketchup in their kitchen.
But if you’re allergic to tomatoes, have issues with nightshades, or otherwise are avoiding tomatoes, it can be a bummer to not have ketchup in your kitchen.
That’s why my crew and I taste tested 5 tomato free ketchups. They were chosen because each of them are available on Amazon or Walmart online, which means they are available to a lot of people no matter where you live.
Read on to learn all about 5 popular tomato free ketchups and which one is right for your tastebuds!
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How we tested
Each brand of tomato free ketchup was taste tested on their own and with store bought french fries dipped in each. They were tested on the same afternoon with the same batch of fries. No salt was added so that the true taste of the ketchup could shine through.
What we scored
Ketchup is unique because it hits all five flavors: Salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami.
With this in mind, we created a method for testing.
In tasting the ketchup, we were keeping track of the following:
- Look: Does it look like ketchup?
- Smell: When opening the container, what did it smell like? How was it on a french fry?
- Texture: Both on the plate and the mouthfeel, what was the texture like?
- Taste: Does this taste good? Does it hit all the same flavor notes as traditional ketchup?
My Favorite Tomato Free Ketchup: Nada Mato and NoMato Ketchup tied!
Why it scored the best
We were split between these two ketchups. The Nada Mato had the best mouthfeel and had a wonderful stick to the french fry. It was pleasant to eat and had a good balance of sweet and tangy. The NoMato Ketchup had a lot of spice and flavor, tasting almost like a BBQ sauce instead of a ketchup.
Note: This is just the personal opinion of myself and my family and friends who helped me in taste testing. You may love one that we didn’t care for! This is just intended to give you a quick idea of what tomato free ketchup will work for you and your unique needs. Enjoy!
No Mato Ketchup
Contains: Onions and garlic
Free from: Tomatoes, soy, dairy, wheat, gluten, nuts
Available on Amazon: Nomato Ketchup
Nomato claims to be the original tomato free ketchup. With a base of carrots and beets, this ketchup was the most flavorful of all the tomato free ketchups we tested. There was a bit of a vinegar aftertaste.
Texture wise this ketchup was on the thinner side and did run on the plate and separated a little, especially when used at room temperature. The ketchup didn’t stick to the fry very well. There was a chunky feeling on the tongue, making it seem more like tomato sauce for pasta than ketchup.
That said, this was the most flavorful and spiced out of all the ketchups. The cinnamon comes through really strongly and we liked that!
Nada Mato
Contains: Celery
AIP friendly, Paleo friendly, Nightshade free, Gluten Free, Vegan, Refined sugar free, Low acid
Available on Website: NadaMato
Out of all the tomato free ketchups we tested, this one had the texture the closest to tomato ketchup. The texture was smooth, it stuck to the fry, and it didn’t turn watery on the plate at both room temperature and chilled.
The Nada Mato ketchup is slightly tangy with a slight BBQ flavor profile. Some testers were able to taste the celery but most did not. It was a very mild flavor.
Where it shined was the texture. If you or your kid is used to dipping chicken (or dino) nuggets into ketchup, this one wins my vote for being the closest in texture to a traditional tomato ketchup.
The smell when opening the package was mostly of a vinegary BBQ sauce with a slight vegetable smell.
The following tomato free ketchups are in no particular order.
KC Natural Carrup
Contains: Coconut sugar, onions, garlic
Free from: Tomatoes, wheat, gluten
Paleo, AIP, Refined sugar free
Available on Amazon and Website: Amazon, Website
This ketchup tasted a lot like a BBQ sauce thanks to flavorful molasses and carrots! It was very tangy and brightly flavored. The spices were just perfect for a ketchup, although all of us testers wanted more spices. What can I say, we like spicy food!
This was the least vinegary of all the ketchups that we tested. It was very mild, kind of similar to a mild BBQ sauce.
The texture was a bit on the chunky side, again making it feel more like a BBQ sauce than a ketchup. There was a slight grainy texture as well.
It didn’t stick to the fry that well though it held together on the plate.
Good Life Artisan Ketchup
Contains: Stevia
No added sugar, gluten free, vegan, diabetic friendly, keto, paleo, reduced sodium
Available on Amazon: Good Life Ketchup
This ketchup was really good and tangy just like tomato ketchup. There is a slight sweetness to it from the stevia and there was no strong vinegar taste. Some of the testers did get a bit of a smoky flavor.
The biggest thing to note is that it does contain stevia, which if you have a ragweed allergy, can cause a cross-reaction.
The texture was really smooth and it did not run all over the plate at room temperature or when chilled. It stuck to the fry perhaps the best out of all the tomato free ketchups we tassted.
The Beet Lady Beet Ketchup
Organic, non-GMO, gluten, dairy, nightshade free, paleo , AIP, keto, vegetarian, vegan
Available on Amazon: Beet Lady Ketchup
If you love beets, you will love this ketchup. The smell and taste of beets was the strongest in this ketchup out of all the ketchups, which makes sense as it is from a company called, “The Beet Lady”!
The color was the most vibrant out of all the ketchups we tested with a bright magenta color. Because it is so strong with beets, if you have white or light colored tableware, make sure to rinse it off right away so nothing stains.
The flavor was quite tart and acidic from the vinegar and had a strong onion aftertaste. It wasn’t sweet tasting to our palettes. This one was the most vegetable tasting and had the least amount of ketchup spices to the mix.
The texture was okay in that it did stick to the french fry. The mouthfeel wasn’t quite as smooth as traditional ketchup but it wasn’t chunky either. It was somewhere in the middle. On the plate, the beet juice tended to run after a few minutes, both at room temperature and after chilling.
As an aside, this ketchup bottle was the most safely packaged and had a special seal on top of the normal plastic seal to ensure that nothing leaked while in transit. It took me almost 3 whole minutes to undo the safety seal, but I knew that nothing was leaking out anywhere!
FAQs
Yes! All of the ketchups in this article are made without tomatoes. That makes them safe for people with tomato allergies and for those who are avoiding tomatoes due to nightshade intolerances.
Any of the ketchups listed in this article are suitable for people with a tomato allergy.
If you have a tomato allergy, make sure that you check out my easy recipes for tomato free pizza sauce, tomato free pasta sauce, and tomato free BBQ sauce!
All of the ketchups listed here are available on Amazon. You can also order some directly from the company. It is unlikely many grocery stores will have this in stock, however, you may have some luck at local health food stores in your area.
More Tomato Free Recipes to Love
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