Keto Bbq Sauce Recipes
Barbecue sauce is an essential part of American cookingits used to marinate meats, as a dip for chicken fingers, and as a tangy condiment to enjoy with grilled meats.
So, it can be a bit disheartening to learn that your regular store-bought BBQ sauce and traditional BBQ sauce recipes are NOTKeto-friendly.
And its not just the copious amounts of sugar they often contain. Even reduced sugar versions will still contain non-Keto ingredients like sunflower oil, food coloring, and preservatives.
But fear not, well show you how you can easily make your own Keto BBQ sauce here as well as how you can customize our basic Keto BBQ sauce recipe to create all your favorite regional BBQ sauces, including:
- Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Barbecue Sauce
- South Carolina-Style Mustard Barbecue Sauce
- Texas-Style Mop or Basting Barbecue Sauce
- Piedmont Lexington-Style Dip
Weve got recipes for all of these styles below!
Best Store Bought Keto Bbq Sauces
Sugar-free doesnt mean grill-free. Enjoy any barbecue with these keto-friendly BBQ sauces from around the web.
I have a confession: I put barbecue sauce on everything. I even add it to tuna mayo . So it stands to reason that a keto-friendly bbq sauce can be used to spice up anything.
There are loads of great keto barbecue sauce recipes out there, but sometimes you just need something quick, easy, and off the shelf.
It used to be true that a lot of keto-friendly or low sugar BBQ sauce alternatives were just plain bad, but this really isnt the case anymore. Thanks to the rise in popularity of diets like the ketogenic, sauce companies are providing more and more excellent options.
Alright, Im a sucker for good packaging and this sauce bottle caught my eye immediately.
Were here to talk about sauce though.
A good mark for any diet-friendly ingredient is that it stands up to scrutiny to more casual food lovers.
This passes the test on that alone.
It strikes a beautiful level of sweetness despite the absence of sugar, and this is partly thanks to its monk fruit ingredient.
Its other ingredients of apple cider vinegar, pink Himalayan sea salt, and butter, all come together to give a fully rounded, addictive BBQ sauce taste.
And with 2 grams of carbohydrate per tablespoon, it should suit anyone on a low carb or low glycemic diet perfectly.
Be sure to check out my other keto-friendly BBQ posts:
It has keto-friendly ingredients like salt, vinegar, chili and garlic.
Keto Carolina Bbq Sauce For Pulled Pork
THIS POST INCLUDES AFFILIATE LINKS TO SHARE THE THINGS I LOVE.
While I grew-up eating Southwest food and my moms Italian recipes my husband dined on southern staples like southern green beans, biscuits, and pulled pork with Carolina BBQ sauce. Over the years weve shared our childhood favorites with each other and are better for it!
Don’t Miss: Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce
How To Make Sugar Free Carolina Bbq Sauce
This fabulous mustard bbq sauce is so easy to make, theres simply no excuse not to. Here are my best tips for getting it right:
How simple is that?
Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Barbecue Sauce
This is a vinegar-based BBQ sauce thats naturally low in carbs already so its really easy to make it into a low carb, Keto BBQ sauce. Heres the Keto version of the Eastern North Carolina vinegar BBQ sauce recipe:
Yield: 4-6 servings
- 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- Stevia, to taste
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a small pot on the stove for a few minutes. Let cool and refrigerate.
Also Check: Healthiest Pizza Sauce To Buy
Us Southerners Are Crazy Over Bbq Sauce
Depending what part of the South you are in, you will find a mustard based sauce, sweet and tangy sauce, tomato based sauce, the brown sugar and molasses sauce, the smokey spicy sauce I could go on and on
In the Carolinas, you can not have pulled pork without vinegar based barbecue sauce.
However, we also like to have the sweet and tangy sauce on hand!
My Southern friend Karrie Holland makes a really good sweet and tangy sauce for the crock-pot. If you want to create your own Sweet & Tangy sauce, check out her Slow Cooker BBQ Sauce recipe.
If you are going to purchase the sweet and tangy sauce, skip the chain, massed produced stuff.
Our favorite store bought for the sweet tangy sauce is Cackalacky Sweet Cheerwine Sauce 33.8 Oz . It is made locally, here in North Carolina and when we put it out at our cookouts, the jar goes empty.
Helps With Weight Loss
Daily intake of certain kinds of vinegar like apple cider vinegar may help with weight loss. According to one study, obese men who took two tablespoons of vinegar per day over a 12-week period saw a decrease in body weight, BMI, visceral fat area, waist circumference, and serum triglyceride levels, compared to the placebo group..
Don’t Miss: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Recipe
Best Odds Pulled Pork Table Sauce
The Spruce
Traditional pulled pork barbecue comes with the sauce on the side and this sauce is the one to offer in a squeezable bottle at your next BBQ because it goes well on every meat you can think of, not just pork. Apple cider vinegar, ketchup, and mustard make a thick sweet, savory, and tangy base whose heat level you can adjust.
The recipe uses cayenne and black pepper, but feel free to experiment with hot sauce or chili flakes to make a spicier version.
Cooks in 20 minutes and keeps in the fridge for 1 week.
Is Bbq Sauce Keto
Store-bought BBQ sauce is not keto. It is high in added sugars. Homemade BBQ sauce is keto. It has no added sugars and is extremely low in carbohydrates.
You can definitely eat this tangy sugar-free BBQ sauce recipe on the keto diet. But avoid the store-bought barbecue sauces. They are incredibly high in added sugar. In fact, some BBQ sauces have more sugar than caramel sauce. Imagine that next time you pour it over your meal.
Most BBQ sauces you will find in stores are loaded with refined sugars, glucose syrup or corn syrup. Even a low carb BBQ sauce that claims to be sugar-free may use sweeteners that will impact your glucose levels.
So if you want to eat a storebought sauce you will need to look closely at the nutrition label. Avoid the ones that contain maltodextrin and maltitol.
Don’t Miss: Mountain House Lasagna With Meat Sauce 10 Can
Best Odds Pulled Pork Sauce
This thin, vinegary sauce is added to smoked pulled pork in the tradition of the eastern Carolinas and can be used on pork while it smokes or added when the pork is pulled. The tangy combination of apple cider vinegar and spices builds flavor and keeps the meat moist, while the black pepper, paprika, and cayenne give a little bit of a kick. This minimalist sauce cuts through the fat and allows the naturally sweet pork to shine.
Cooks in 15 minutes and keeps in the fridge for 1 week.
Why Monk Fruit Is The Perfect Low
You probably noticed there is no sugar in this recipe. Thats because sugar even natural sugar like molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey raises the carb count considerably.
While keto-friendlysweeteners such as stevia, Swerve, erythritol, and Splenda work well for baking, some people complain of a distinct aftertaste, which wouldnt quite work in a BBQ sauce.
Monk fruit sweetener tastes, well, sweet. Monk fruit is 150200 times sweetener than regular sugar, which means you need just a small amount in various recipes. While a traditional BBQ sauce recipe calls for 12 cups of brown sugar, you will need just one tablespoon of monk fruit in the below recipe.
Take the keto quiz
Recommended Reading: Prego Creamy Vodka Italian Sauce
Mustard Based Bbq Sauce:
If youve never had a mustard BBQ sauce before, youre in for a treat!
Traditionally, barbecue sauce starts with ketchup or tomatoes and a whole lot of sugar. Tomatoes are already fairly carb-y and then adding all that sugar just makes traditional BBQ sauce totally not low carb friendly.
Starting with mustard solves that problem nicely and makes for a really unique, boldly flavored, tangy, semi-sweet sauce. The flavors all just explode in your mouth!
Word of warning: If you dont like mustard, you will probably hate this sauce. Just throwing that out there, because I know Ill get emails asking if you can taste the mustard. You can definitely taste the mustard.
Make This Keto Bbq Sauce Recipe Your Own
There are so many ways to customize this Keto BBQ sauce recipe. Here are a few other suggestions:
- Add in additional spices like onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne powder, and hot sauce to these recipes.
- Instead of water, use bone broth. The gelatin in bone broth will help thicken the BBQ sauce as well as provide it with extra flavor and nutrition.
- Add in more or less stevia, erythritol to sweeten the BBQ sauce to your liking while keeping it low in carbs. Then itll truly be reduced sugar!
- The vinegar and/or mustard in the recipes helps to create that tangy flavor, so dont forget to add it in.
You May Like: Heinz Beans In Tomato Sauce
G Hughes Keto Bbq Sauce And Ketchup
G Hughes makes some of my personal favorite keto BBQ sauces and ketchup. This is the same great tasting tomato based table sauce without sugar. Slather this sweet, tangy, and guilt & sugar-free condiment sauce on your favorite foods. “Award Winning” and “Pit Master” are two words that stand alone, but when they are used together, they are simply impressive. G Hughes is someone who knows his BBQ whether it’s a cooking technique or a secret ingredient, he knows where to start and how to finish.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Secret Ingredient Bbq Sauce
Lavishly Low Carb
Ingredients: olive oil, garlic, onion, tomato sauce, Diet Dr Pepper, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, ground clove.
The secret ingredient in this wonderful ketogenic recipe is Dr. Pepper soft drink which makes a great base for BBQ sauces. This sauce works with chicken, pork or any other meats you are cooking on the grill and can be reduced even more if you like your sauce really thick. Deglazing the pan with the soft drink means that all the flavors from the pan are picked up and included in the sauce.
You May Like: No Salt Added Spaghetti Sauce
The Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty sauce. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Apple cider vinegar: I haven’t experimented with other types of vinegar, although red wine vinegar might work too. I don’t recommend using distilled white vinegar, though. It’s too acidic.
Hot pepper sauce: It can be as potent or as mild as you’d like.
Seasonings: I use smoked salt , black pepper, and smoked paprika. I highly recommend the smoked paprika – it adds a wonderfully smoky flavor to the sauce.
The Best Keto Bbq Sauce: Primal Kitchen
The reviews are in and Primal Kitchen has one of the best keto BBQ sauces available on Amazon. This three-pack includes their Classic BBQ Sauce, Golden BBQ Sauce, and Steak Sauce. These bbq sauces are Whole30 Approved, Paleo, Primal & Keto Friendly. These are unsweetened and sugar-free. This is our pick for the best keto BBQ sauce.
- Includes: Classic BBQ Sauce, Golden BBQ Sauce, and Steak Sauce
- USDA Organic Ingredients
- Whole30 Approved, Paleo, Primal & Keto Friendly
- Steak Sauce: Sugar Free
- Classic & Golden BBQ Sauce: Unsweetend – No High Fructose Corn Syrup, Agave, Honey, Dates, Maple Syrup or Cane Sugar
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Don’t Miss: How To Make Cheese Sauce
How To Make Carolina Bbq Sauce
Many homemade Carolina BBQ sauce recipes are short and simple vinegar, a little sugar, salt and pepper, and maybe some red pepper flakes for heat. Simmer the ingredients until the sugar and salt dissolve. Cool, then store in a jar or a squeeze bottle. Shake before use. Any additional ingredients than whats listed above is considered fancy!
I prefer to temper the acidity by adding balance to the sauce with a little more sweetener. Cayenne pepper adds subtle heat and a little ketchup adds body.
This version of Carolina style bbq sauce may appeal to those who are used to the sticky sweet bbq sauces found in the grocery store. Try it on pulled chicken, too!
Keto Carolina Mustard Bbq Sauce
This keto Carolina mustard barbecue sauce is my sugar-free version of this tasty condiment. It’s absolutely packed full of flavor!
The following post contains affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you I can make a tiny bit of money to help support this blog. Thank you!
This recipe was created because I recently ordered ribs from a new restaurant. I always order them dry, because typically restaurant-style sauces are loaded with sugar. They still sent the sauce along, but on the side. And they included a yellow barbecue sauce , which I’d never had before. It still had sugar in, but I knew immediately that I needed to make my own version! So what is it?
Part of South Carolina is known for its yellow barbecue sauces made primarily of yellow mustard, vinegar, sugar and spices. This sauce is most common in a belt from Columbia to Charleston.Source: Wiki
I read a load of recipes and discovered that the main ingredients apart from the mustard and vinegar were honey, brown sugar, ketchup or tomato, and some kind of chipotle sauce or seasoning. After some experimenting I came up with a sauce that is REALLY easy to make and has a ton of flavor. It’s my new go-to barbecue sauce!
Read Also: Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
How Long Does Bbq Sauce Last
All three sauces will last around 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Keep them in a mason jar or another airtight container. Give the sauce a quick stir or shake before serving. You can serve it chilled or warm it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds. Be sure to cover it with a paper towel if you are warming it up.
You can also freeze it too. Place it in a sealed container or freezer bag, and it lasts 2-3 monthsâThaw in the fridge overnight or set on the counter until defrosted.
Like what you see? ! Love this recipe? Leave a comment & a 5-star rating right here! Make sure you donât miss new recipes by getting email updates!
Recipe Notes & Variations
- I used Erythritol for a sugar-free, low carb BBQ sauce . However, feel free to use your favorite sweetener
- You can use soy sauce or coconut aminos instead of the GF tamari. Alternatively, vegan Worcestershire sauce would work great.
- This recipe makes a small batch . Feel free to increase the recipe, as required.
- One serving is 1/8th cup with 15 kcal and 3 g carbs.
- Instead of hot sauce, you can use chipotle pepper or chili pepper powder. Or even a combination of two, for more heat.
- I prefer the taste of apple cider vinegar BBQ sauce however, you can use a variety of vinegar options, including balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, etc. They will all affect the flavor in different ways.
- For a thicker sauce, you can simmer it for longer. This will reduce the mix and intensify the flavors.
- Flavors may mellow when chilled, so feel free to taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed, before serving.
- If youre using this BBQ sauce as a marinade that is going to be baked/grilled, then you can get away with not heating the mixture at all when making. Just throw everything together, mix well, and baste.
If you give this keto BBQ sauce recipe a try, Id love a below. Also, dont forget to tag me in re-creations on Instagram and/or Facebook with and #elavegan I love seeing your recreations.
Don’t Miss: What Is Alfredo Sauce Made Of
