I Asked 3 Chefs for Their Favorite Ketchup, and Their Answers Were Unanimous

It’s tough to deny that ketchup is a staple ingredient in the American culinary canon. At this moment, about 97 percent of homes in the U.S. have ketchup in their refrigerators (yes, that’s where you should store it after opening). Whether you think it should always or should never appear on a hot dog, we consume a lot of it: the average American eats the equivalent of three bottles of ketchup per year. 

Since the demand for ketchup is so high, just like with mayonnaise, options abound. Restaurants like McDonald’s and Whataburger have their proprietary recipes. After searching the condiment aisle at a few retailers, we found nine other nationally available ketchup brands to include in our blind taste test. Thanks to the creative folks at Trader Joe’s, ketchup now comes in powdered seasoning form, and you can whip up a batch of homemade ketchup at home if you’re feeling ambitious.

With all those possibilities to perk up your next serving of brats or tots, how does a condiment lover narrow things down? We turned to some savvy chefs to discover their main squeeze—which ketchup brand they swear by and recommend most. 

Get the dish about what top chefs look for in the best ketchup and the brand all three chefs swear by. Plus, discover unexpected, chef-approved ways to use this MVP condiment.

Our Panel of Ketchup-Critiquing Chefs

• Avishar Barua, James Beard Award-nominated chef and owner at Agni in Columbus, Ohio and Joya’s in Worthington, Ohio
• Josh Capon, chef-owner of Capon’s Burgers at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas 
• Meggan Hill, the Valencia, California-based executive chef and CEO of Culinary Hill

Qualities of a Good Ketchup

There’s no need to get too fancy or overcomplicate things when it comes to ketchup, our chef panelists agree. Here’s what would help a contender potentially qualify as the best ketchup:

• Nostalgic flavor. As a mom of three, Meggan Hill, the Valencia, California-based executive chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, seeks out ketchup with strong tomato flavor with a slight edge from the vinegar and onion powder, “but nothing too extreme. I have 3 kids and their opinion matters! They don’t care for any of the artisanal ketchups flooding the market. I agree. I don’t think ketchup needs to be reimagined.” Avishar Barua, James Beard Award-nominated chef and owner at Agni in Columbus, Ohio and Joya’s in Worthington, Ohio, echoes this sentiment, noting that one of the most important things he is on a mission to find is something that “tastes like what I remember from childhood.”
• A balance of sweet, savory, salty, and acidity. Tomatoes are one of a handful of meat-free foods that pack natural umami (savory) flavor. They’re also a hint sweet, and their natural acidity is boosted by a splash of vinegar in the best ketchup formulas, the chefs say. A pinch of salt is a must to accentuate the other flavors. Bonus: The salt acts as a preservative and aids in boosting the shelf life of ketchup. (After opening, ketchup should be used within 6 months, according to the USDA.)
• No high-fructose corn syrup. Josh Capon, chef-owner of Capon’s Burgers at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, prefers “ketchup without high-fructose corn syrup.” The chefs prefer that the sweetness comes from the tomatoes and cane sugar instead.
• A texture that spreads and dunks well. Thickness and richness are pivotal. “I avoid watery or uncooked ketchups,” Barua adds, since they can “sog out” on a sandwich or lack the ability to coat dipped items.

The Best Ketchup, According to Chefs

With all of those factors in mind, and with burgers on the brain, we asked our chefs to tell us which bottle is worthy of real estate in their fridges. The best ketchup was a unanimous choice: Heinz Simply Tomato Ketchup.

“It has a classic ketchup taste, offering full tomato flavor without being too fruity, and doesn’t include any high-fructose corn syrup,” Hill says. “My children love it, and they have the biggest vote in my house. We have tried other ketchups and they really just like this one. I agree, it tastes like the ketchup of my childhood.”

It’s made with tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar, cane sugar, salt, spices, and natural flavoring.

Capon, who is a seven-time Burger Bash champion at food and wine festivals, says, “I’m not gonna lie…I am a Heinz ketchup guy! I use it as my secret schmear for my award-winning burgers.”

As for “Top Chef” contestant Barua, Heinz sets a high bar for all other ketchups, and no other contender has been able to top it. “It’s what I’m most familiar with. I can count on Heinz to be consistent, which is useful when you want to retain people’s memories of what they want ketchup to be,” Barua explains.

Heinz is so beloved that earlier this summer, the brand debuted a fashion line with Kate Spade New York so devoted fans could pay tribute to their condiment crush by rocking a shirt, loafers, or handbag emblazoned with the logo or inspired by the packets.

If you peeked in Capon’s refrigerator at home, you’d spy one other option, which is the runner-up in our chefs’ favorite ketchup rankings: Primal Kitchen Organic Unsweetened Ketchup. Since his wife is “a little healthier,” she opts for this brand that touts a slightly shorter ingredient list, including organic tomato concentrate, organic balsamic vinegar, salt, and seasonings.

How to Use Ketchup Like a Chef

You probably already know ketchup is delicious for dunking fries and chicken tenders, decking out meatloaves, and lending a pleasant, sweet-savory backbone to baked beans. It also plays a lovely supporting role in other globe-trotting sauces, such as Honey-Garlic Sauce and Sweet and Sour Sauce. Serious condiment fans rave about this Great Canadian Heinz Ketchup Cake, too.

Beyond that, consider these chef-approved ideas for how to use ketchup—Heinz, Primal Kitchen, or your preferred brand:

• As a dip for grilled cheese sandwiches. Skip the tomato soup and pair the easy, cheesy sandwich with ketchup instead, Hill suggests.
• For family-friendly chicken Parm. “My kids don’t love chicken Parmesan, but we can slice up the breaded cutlets like chicken katsu and they love to eat the strips with ketchup,” Hill says.
• On pizza. This one depends on the other toppings, but hey, the flavor in marinara sauce isn’t all that different from ketchup. “In some cultures such as Mexico and Brazil, it is totally normal to put ketchup on pizza,” Hill says. My husband does this!”
• As the star of DIY special sauce. You probably know this from its VIP status on the Big Mac and other similar sandwiches (and now, bowl and casserole variations). Although a McDonald’s chef says that there’s actually no ketchup in the official Big Mac Sauce, Barua believes that “ketchup benefits the flavor and consistency of most ‘special’ sauces that are served with burgers, fries, onion rings, and our wildest imaginations. I can certainly notice if it’s not there, and it doesn’t hurt that tomatoes offer a good amount of glutamates [compounds related to umami flavor] that make things more delicious.”
• To tame the heat in certain dishes. Barua admits he sometimes gets “overzealous in the chile department while making curries or stews.” So when that happens, he adds a bit of ketchup. “It functions similar to tomato paste in these specific applications, and brings sweetness and balance back into the equation.”

Other Chef-Approved Condiments Worthy of Shelf Space

As you can tell, these chefs are sweet on ketchup. But it’s far from the only condiment they swear by. We asked them to reveal the other jars and bottles that they deem as essentials in their “condiment capsule wardrobe.”

Start your shopping list now: 

• Mayonnaise 
• Dijon Mustard
• Yellow Mustard
• Sriracha
• Hot Sauce
• Calabrian Chili Oil
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Sour Cream
• Barbecue Sauce
• Soy Sauce
• Oyster Sauce
• Kimchi
• Yondu
• Maple Syrup