Once you learn how to homemade make chili sauce with ketchup, you’ll always have this condiment in your refrigerator. Put this spicy sauce in a squeeze bottle to top burgers, ground beef, tacos, or anything else that could use a bit more flavor.
This delicious and easy-to-make homemade chili sauce just uses a few simple ingredients you most likely already have on hand from your pantry.
Plus, it’ll only take about 3 minutes of active time to put together. It just doesn’t get much easier than this.
How to Make Chili Sauce with Ketchup
Make your own ketchup as the base of this recipe rather than the grocery store brand that may have high fructose corn syrup. It is super easy and done in under 30 minutes. Once you learn how to make this and the spicy chili sauce, you’ll have these condiments in your refrigerator all the time.
What is Chili Sauce?
This chili sauce is like a spicy ketchup and is our favorite way to make it with the perfect balance of tomato flavor and spices without tons of ingredients. Tomato ketchup is the base ingredient. Other aromatic spices such as Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar, Rice Vinegar, Red Chili Flakes (or Red pepper flakes), and Minced Garlic round out this recipe. Since you start from ketchup, which has already been thickened, there is no need to cook this.
Just add the ingredients to a small bowl and stir, no need for a food processor or any special equipment. It just takes a few minutes to combine the ingredients.
If you do use tomato puree or tomato sauce as a base, you will need to cook it in a small saucepan to thicken.
Recipe Variations
If you prefer more kick. Here are some ideas. Cayenne, Sriracha, hot sauce, chili powder, or fine diced chili peppers with the seeds removed.
Vinegar. This recipe uses the rice vinegar, a common ingredient. However, an apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or wine vinegar would work. They have a stronger taste than the rice vinegar; therefore, use sparingly.
Garlic Powder. We love the fresh taste of the minced garlic. However, garlic powder is a quick and easy option. In fact, if you are making a large batch to last in the refrigerator a while, I recommend the garlic powder over the fresh in this instance.
Onion Powder or Onion Flakes. This gives it a mild onion flavor if you like to add a different zest to your sauce. Many store brands contain it.
Tomato sauce. You can use a can of tomato sauce in place of ketchup for a milder sauce or more control over spices and heat level; however, you will need to cook this to thicken it to a ketchup-like consistency.
Tomato paste. Use tomato paste for a thicker sauce, or chili paste.
What to Serve with Chili Sauce?
Once you try this easy homemade chili sauce recipe, you’ll want to always have it on hand because the possibilities are endless in recipes and served as a condiment on so many things. You’ll end up searching for things to serve this with.
If you like your food with a little kick, try this chili sauce on hamburgers, hot dogs, as the base for a shrimp dip, or a sandwich spread. Add a little to your French dressing for your salad for extra zing.
Mix this with your meatloaf glaze rather than just ketchup. Mom’s best meatloaf recipe is my favorite. It is full of flavor and is so easy to make.
This grape jelly barbecue sauce has been a staple in many Midwest homes. It is the basic sauce for slow cooker meatballs that are served at so many gatherings spice this up with this chili sauce rather than the plain ketchup.
Other ways to serve chili sauce include.
If you like your hot dogs with lots of spice and flavor, this is a great topping option. Use it as a delicious sandwich spread for you next sub sandwich. Use it on hamburgers, as a shrimp dipping sauce, or on top of cream cheese as a dip for crackers at your next party.
Chili Sauce Versus Sriracha
Both chili sauce and sriracha sauce are spicy condiments both have a sweet, vinegary, and spicy base. They both have savory and spicy ingredients. The two sauces are often used interchangeably, however, there are a few key differences between the two.
Sriracha sauce is made from a mixture of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. Sriracha gets its heat from red jalapeños peppers. Surprisingly, the sauce is only moderately spicy. Additionally, most hot sauces are relatively thin and the sriracha sauce has the consistency more like America’s other favorite condiment, ketchup.
Whereas chili sauce is made from Ketchup, Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar, Rice Vinegar, Red Chili Flakes, and Garlic.
However, sriracha sauce is a bit sweeter than the chili sauce. Has more of a pronounced garlic flavor and is a bit thinner than the chili sauce.
Have you ever made a Banh Mi Sandwich? Amazing and simple. Rather than the Sriracha Mayo, try this chili sauce as a topping. The sweet chili sauce is good with so many things, and this ketchup creates a similar balance between sugar and chili flakes that’s just as versatile.
How to Make Chili Sauce with Ketchup
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Kitchen Essentials
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic or 1 clove minced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, granulated sugar, brown sugar, rice vinegar, red chili flakes and minced garlic.
- Once combined, it can be used immediately, or stored in the refrigerator.
- In an airtight container in the refrigerator, it can last up to 1 month.
