Skip the sugary store-bought BBQ sauce and make this easy and healthy BBQ sauce recipe at home! It has the same bold, sweet and spicy flavor that you love from regular BBQ sauce, just made healthier.
I don’t know if it’s the thought of summer or what, but I’ve been craving BBQ flavored things. And not just snack stuff like barbeque Popchips (although I do love those). I’ve been wanting the saucy stuff.
My first thought was to run to the store to grab a jar of BBQ sauce, but I quickly realized that healthier bottled BBQ sauce is kind of hard to find. Most store-bought sauces are loaded with sugar and some brands like Sweet Baby Ray’s still use high fructose corn syrup… and it’s the FIRST ingredient!! They’re also packed with a hefty dose of sodium and added preservatives. Not real food or EBF friendly!
Ultimately I said no thanks to the bottled sauces and grabbed ingredients to make my own healthy BBQ sauce at home instead.
Turns out, the process of making homemade BBQ sauce is so easy! Literally everything goes into one pot and it takes less than 20 minutes to cook.
The final product is absolutely delicious — bold, flavorful, sweet and spicy! I personally think the homemade version tastes way better than most store-bought sauces I’ve tried. I want to put it on any and everything.
I know many of you will be using BBQ sauce this summer and I’m happy to share this easy recipe with you. It makes about 2 cups and you can use it in a variety of ways. As a marinade, dipping sauce, salad dressing… the possibilities are pretty much endless. I’ve been using the sauce to test a couple different recipes that I’m super pumped to share. The first one is this BBQ tempeh and it’s delicious.
If you decide you don’t have time to make homemade BBQ sauce and you’re going to pick up a jar from the store, just be sure to read labels. The serving size is usually 2 Tablespoons. Look for brands that don’t have high fructose corn syrup or some form of sugar listed as the first ingredient. It’s also ideal to have less than 10 grams of sugar and 300mg of sodium per serving.
There are a few brands that make healthier BBQ sauce with natural/organic ingredients. If I don’t have time to make my own I buy Primal Kitchen’s BBQ sauce (their golden BBQ sauce is delicious) or Tesserae’s BBQ Sauce. If you’re on the hunt for healthy store-bought condiments, I also have a list of all my favorite healthy store-bought salad dressings.
If you try this healthy bbq sauce recipe please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers.
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Quick, easy, all kitchen staples (in my kitchen), and delicious, Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Do you know of I can switch out the tomato paste and tomato sauce with pumpkin??? Tomato’s instantly cause me pain, and I miss BBQ Sauce and I love making beef Jerky.
I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure how that would change the flavor of this sauce, but let me know if you end up trying it!
Excellent flavor and comes together quickly. Day two: using this as a base for baked beans. Yum!!
So glad you enjoyed this bbq sauce, Lynn! Thanks for the review and star rating!
Is there a substitute for molasses?
Maple syrup or honey would work!
Hey there! Thanks so much for this recipe 🙂 I was wondering, could I replace the Maple Syrup with Jaggery?
I’m not sure how that would turn out as it would be replacing a liquid sweetener with a dry sweetener. Let me know if you try it!