Best tomato ketchup: does it have to be Heinz?

Which supermarket ketchups are tastiest? And do any fancy brands beat Heinz? Our consumer taste test has revealed the answers.

Our 76-strong panel of ketchup fans blind-tasted a range of supermarket own-label ketchups and branded ketchups to uncover the tastiest options.

Among the six supermarket ketchups we tested (from Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and more), we found a delicious ketchup that’s also excellent value and a fraction of the price of Heinz.

We also pitted the big brands against each other, including Hellmann's, Stokes and Tiptree, and found that few can hold a candle to Heinz – though some are closer than others.

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Best supermarket tomato ketchup

Lidl’s ketchup came top in the supermarket own label category. Co-op and Aldi are also good options that are worth considering.

Best Buy: Lidl Batts Tomato Ketchup – 75%

£1.05 for 650g (16p per 100g)

Lidl’s ketchup proved an impressive all-rounder, and it's much cheaper than branded options (less than a quarter of the price per 100g of Heinz).

The majority thought it had the right strength of flavour, tanginess and sweetness, and a whopping 92% said the colour looked appetising. 

78% felt the consistency was spot-on, too.

Lidl’s ketchup has less sugar and salt than average. 

Available from Lidl (in-store).

Co-op Tomato Ketchup – 72%

£1.10 for 550g (20p per 100g)

Co-op’s ketchup was enjoyed by most of our tasting panel. Its colour was well-liked as was the level of sweetness. 

More than 60% thought it had the right thickness and a good strength of flavour, though a third found it too tangy for their liking.

It’s the priciest of the supermarket own label ketchups, but it's still significantly cheaper than branded options and a good choice overall.

Available from Co-op

Aldi Bramwells Tomato Ketchup – 71%

89p for 560g (16p per 100g)

A good-looking ketchup. Most of our testers enjoyed its flavour and said it had a pleasing thickness.

However, around a third found it too sweet, a little too tangy and runnier than they’d like.

Overall, though, this ketchup was reasonably well-liked – and it's pretty cheap, too.

Available from Aldi

How the rest of the supermarket ketchups scored

Of the other ketchups tested, Sainsbury's tomato ketchup (16p per 100g) was next best with a 68% score, dividing opinion when it came to flavour. Less than half felt it hit the spot. Morrisons (20p per 100g) scored 66% overall. It had the lowest salt content and less that the average amount of sugar, but fewer than 40% of our tasters were satisfied with its strength of flavour, and more than half said it looked too dark.

Bottom of the pile was M&S’ ketchup (20p per 100g, in-store only), which scored 64%. More than two-thirds of tasters said it was too thick and too dark in colour. It had the highest sugar content of all the ketchups on test, and although most testers said the sweetness was about right, 29% found it too sweet. 

Ketchups from Asda, Tesco and Waitrose weren't included in this test due to either availability or comparability issues.

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Best ketchup brands: Heinz vs Hellmann's, Del Monte and more

We tested Heinz against rival branded options, and it emerged triumphant.

Hellmann’s and Del Monte also put in a good showing, with Del Monte being a Great Value branded option. However, offerings from Stokes, Tiptree and The Foraging Fox were less well received.

Best Buy: Heinz Tomato Ketchup – 77%

 £3.40 for 460g (74p per 100g)

Our testers loved the colour of this iconic ketchup and an overwhelming 82% said the thickness was just right.

It hit the spot with the majority of our testers for strength of flavour, while around two-thirds found the sweetness and tanginess to their taste.

Overall, our test shows you can't really go wrong with Heinz if you're looking for top-tier taste. 

It is joint-highest for salt content though, which is worth bearing in mind if you’re keeping track of your intake.

To save on costs, it's best to stock up when it's on offer (which it almost always is, somewhere) and make sure you double check the price per unit, as bigger pack sizes aren't always cheaper, depending on the offers available.

Available from Amazon, Co-op, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose

Hellmann’s Tomato Ketchup – 75%

 £2.15 for 473g (50p per 100g)

Hellmann’s also fared well in our taste test. Its colour, thickness and sweetness levels were all rated highly by tasters.

Around two-thirds of our panel were fans of the strength of flavour, and most also felt it had the right tanginess.

Hellmann’s makes for a worthy runner-up to Heinz, and is also a cheaper choice. But bear in mind that while it is relatively low in sugar, it is high in salt.

Available from Amazon, Morrisons, Ocado and Tesco

Great Value: Del Monte Tomato Ketchup – 74%

 £1.80 for 550g (33p per 100g)

Del Monte’s ketchup was the cheapest branded option we tried, but also one of the best-liked.

Most said its colour and thickness were just right, while 62% felt its sweetness was good. Just shy of 60% said the strength of flavour was perfect.

It lost marks with more than a third of our panel for being a bit on the tangy side.

But if you like a tangy twist to your ketchup, it's a Great Value option.

Available from Iceland and Ocado

How Stokes, Tiptree and The Foraging Fox compare

The remaining ketchups were criticised for being too dark in colour, and tasters didn't rate their flavour and tanginess as highly.

• Stokes Real Tomato Ketchup Squeezy – 69%. Scored well for thickness and strength of flavour, and just under 60% liked its tangy sweetness. More than half felt it looked unappetisingly dark, though. It's also one of the saltiest options. £3.65 for 485g (75p per 100g). Available from Amazon and Ocado
• Tiptree Tomato Ketchup – 65%. 36% found it too sweet, while 37% said it was over-thick. Around half were happy with the strength of flavour, but nearly two-thirds said it looked too dark. £3 for 310g (97p per 100g). Available from Amazon, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Tesco and Waitrose
• The Foraging Fox Classic Tomato Ketchup – 60%. This was the priciest ketchup on test and the least liked. Two thirds said it was too dark in colour. Just over 40% said it was too tangy and not sweet enough, while a similar number found the flavour overpowering. £4 for 255g (£1.57 per 100g). Available from Amazon and Ocado

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Is tomato ketchup healthy?

While you get a decent dose of tomatoes, high in the health-giving antioxidant lycopene, ketchup also contains a fair amount of sugar and salt.

Of the ketchups on test, M&S has the highest sugar content at 36%, while Hellmann’s has half this amount.

A modest serving (15g) of M&S ketchup is equivalent to more than a teaspoon of sugar, which is worth knowing if you regularly have ketchup with your food. 

Although Hellmann’s is relatively low in sugar, it ties top for salt, along with Heinz and Stokes.

Many supermarket own-labels and brands offer reduced sugar and salt versions of their ketchup. For example, Heinz's 'no added sugar & salt' ketchup contains 4.4g sugar and 0.05g salt per 100g. This is a good deal lower than its standard ketchup, which contains 22.8g and 1.8g respectively.

All ketchups on test are suitable for vegans. 

How we tested tomato ketchup

The tomato ketchups were tested in March 2024 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume tomato ketchup. The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK. 

Each brand of ketchup was assessed by 76 people. The tasters rated the taste, texture, aroma and appearance of each and told us what they liked and disliked about each one. 

The taste test was blind, so our testers didn’t know which brand they were trying. The order in which they tasted the ketchups was fully rotated to avoid any bias. Each person had a private booth, so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The overall score was based on:

• 50% flavour
• 20% appearance
• 15% aroma
• 15% texture

These weightings are based on how consumers rank the importance of different attributes of tomato ketchup.

Recycling tomato ketchup

Plastic and glass bottles are usually recyclable at home.

Rinse out the bottle thoroughly and replace the lid before recycling.

Note: story originally published on 5 April 2024, but amended to correct the price of Lidl's Batts ketchup and the size of Aldi's. Price and availability correct as of 9 April 2024.