Homemade Real Food BBQ Sauce Recipe
The weather’s getting warmer here in the south and that means it’s time for BBQ! There are so many ways to make a delicious homemade BBQ sauce, but most of the recipes I’ve found call for ketchup and sugar. No thank you!
I took some time to come up with my own homemade BBQ sauce recipe that uses real food ingredients to deliver a fabulous, well-balanced punch of flavor. I’m thrilled to share the final product with you today.
Check out the recipe and then scroll down for a printable version.
A Note About Store Bought Paleo Friendly BBQ Sauce
When my family first transitioned to a real food diet I had a difficult time finding store bought BBQ sauces with ingredients I felt good about my family eating. Now, several years later, there are many store-bought BBQ sauces that I love to use when I don’t have time to make my own homemade BBQ sauce.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Favorite Paleo BBQ Sauces
You can click on the pictures to find out more about my favorite paleo BBQ sauces.
Keto BBQ Sauces
I haven’t tried any of these keto BBQ sauces because I don’t enjoy the taste of no-calorie sweeteners. But I know many folks don’t mind the taste of no-calorie sweeteners like stevia or monkfruit, so here are a few keto BBQ sauces to try if your diet is completely sugar free.
My Refined-Sugar Free Homemade BBQ Sauce
When we gave up refined sugars I had to find a new way to make our favorite sweetened dishes and sauces. Fortunately, there were many natural sweeteners to choose from such as coconut sugar, maple syrup
, and sucanat
.
Sucanat imparts a lot of flavor to recipes and tastes great in chocolate dishes, tomato-based recipes and sauces, such as BBQ sauce, that are meant to pack a flavor punch. That’s why I chose to sweetened my BBQ sauce with sucanat.
The combination of apple cider vinegar, full-flavored sucanat, and spices creates a thick, hearty real food bbq sauce recipe. The addition of butter smooths and mellows the sauce while giving it a richness that delights your taste buds. (Oh, hello cliche! But it’s true, though …)
I have used my sucanat-sweetened BBQ sauce on beef short ribs, pulled pork, and shredded bbq chicken. It also tastes great as a burger sauce.
Here’s the recipe!
Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 cloves of garlic crushed
- 4 Tbs butter
- 1/2 cup sucanat
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 ounces tomato paste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until they are well combined and heated through. You can also put the ingredients in a slow cooker and heat on low for 4-6 hours.
- Pour over meat or use as a dipping sauce.
Before you go!
This is how I get a real food dinner on the table on even the busiest evenings. It’s all about planning, baby. Check it out!
If you’re looking for Keto Meal Plans I recommend REAL PLANS. They’re my favorite real food, keto meal planner.