This tangy, spicy, smoky, homemade barbecue sauce may lack sugar but definitely packs a punch in the flavor department!
There are many homemade barbecue sauce recipes out there. My favorite is a recipe I developed a few year back which consists of all real food ingredients and of which I dubbed The Best Homemade Barbecue Sauce. And it is dubbed such because, well, it is the best! It is lip smacking good. My hubby loves it so much that he has literally sat there with a spoon and ate it plain that way!
Well, since I began doing Trim Healthy Mama, that oh so yummy barbecue sauce had to be removed from the menu because the honey therein is not conducive to weight loss. Major bummer!
Not to be deterred, I tried adding some THM Gentle Sweet and water in place of the honey. Much to my pleasure, it turned out AMAZING! Enter: the BEST sugar free barbecue sauce!
According to the numbers, this barbecue sauce is low carb and low fat, meaning it can be enjoyed on low carb and low fat diets as well as a Neutralific (or THM Fuel Pull) condiment in a low glycemic diet!
Ch-ch-changes: The previous edition of this recipe included creating a batch of my honey substitute. However, that is a bit more work so I have since altered the recipe to make its creation MUCH simpler, but without altering its yummy flavor.
Another change: Thanks a million to commenter BobbyJ for pointing out that some liquid smoke is yummy add! I have since added that as an optional ingredient to the recipe.
The Best Sugar Free Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar free ketchup (such as our Homemade Sugar Free Ketchup)
- ¾ cup raw apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon THM Gentle Sweet
or equivalent sweetener* - 1 tablespoon unsulphured blackstrap molasses, optional (see notes) *
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons mineral salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon adobo sauce, optional
- ½ teaspoon (more or less to taste) liquid smoke, optional *
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a soft-rolling boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
- Sauce will thicken a bit as it cools. Once cooled, pour into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
VERY pleased! I made a few adjustments, but nothing major! My husband is sensitive to garlic, so I had to adjust that and compensate in other ways. But I am so happy that the first time I made barbecue sauce it’s THM-compliant, and delicious to boot!!! Thank you!
I made this for a family gathering and everyone including my kids loved this! 😍
Best bbq sauce ever!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I’m following a keto diet, so I was looking for a good barbecue sauce recipe when I came across yours. Because I was too lazy to go out shopping for the ingredients I didn’t have on hand, I did make some tweaks. I didn’t have any lime juice, so I substituted lemon juice. I used Splenda instead of THM Gentle Sweet, and even though it sounds really tasty, I left out the molasses because I’m not sure if even that little bit would throw me out of ketosis. The sauce was GREAT! I was curious as to whether a drop or two of Liquid Smoke would ruin it, so I separated some of the sauce and experimented with it. It turned out really good too. I just made sure not to overdo it with the Liquid Smoke; a little bit goes a long way. While I realize that I altered the recipe quite a bit, the beauty of it is that it’s so adaptable. Again, thank you for such a great new go-to barbecue sauce!
Thanks, BobbyJ! I’ll add liquid smoke to the recipe and give you credit in the post. Thanks for the idea!
TJ – just made your recipe with only a few of my own tweaks or what sugar sub I use. I did reduce the vinegar to 1/2 cup and used 3/4 small can of tomato paste I needed to use up. So, upped the water a bit. I did add a T of Worst and some fresh ground coriander. However – bang on with your recipe that a person can omit or add w/out changing it too much. The spice mixture is a great combo of flavors. I did add 2 T of butter and 1 tsp of pecan liquid smoke to finish it off. Great recipe though. I’m just that kind of gal that uses what I have and/or adds a few bits here and there. Off to pin your recipe, thanks again for taking the time to post it. Yum
Sounds great, Trish. 🙂
Does the molasses have sugar?
Hi, Sandy! So molasses is technically considered a sugar, but when used in small amounts (especially unsulphured, blackstrap), it usually has zero impact on blood sugar. That is why Trim Healthy Mama and other sugar free/diabetic friendly ways of eating allow it. It is there solely for flavor, so if you’re worried about it you can omit it and it should be just fine. 😀 Have a great day!