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.
What Makes This Keto Bbq Sauce So Good
- Its got all of that amazing flavor you love from traditional BBQ sauce. Trust me, living in Memphis has given me some, um very strong opinions about BBQ sauces, so when I tell you this one is amazing, I mean it.
- Theres zero added sugar, so it wont spike your blood sugar or knock you out of ketosis. If youve ever looked at the label on a bottle of the store-bought stuff, you know just how much sugar goes into them. And I get it! The sweetness of the sugar combined with the tanginess and spiciness of the other ingredients is *chefs kiss* but there are a lot of situations where that content is less than ideal.
- Its fully customizable! With homemade sauces, youre in 100% control, so you can adjust the types and quantities of spices you use to really perfect your sauce flavor.
- This keto BBQ sauce keeps really well, so you can make up a batch and keep it on hand for any of your barbecue needs. Refrigerate the sauce in an airtight container and itll last up to 2 weeks assuming you dont use it all before then!
How To Make Sugar Free Bbq Sauce
PRO TIP:
Read Also: Rufus Teague Smoky Apple Bbq Sauce
Tips For Homemade Bbq Sauce
The Homemade Low Carb BBQ Sauce is so much better than store-bought BBQ sauce, so spend just a few minutes and make your own. Its worth the few minutes that it takes to make it, its delicious!
Use smoked paprika, instead of regular paprika. The smokey flavor is what you need to give it that taste of BBQ sauce. The same with the liquid smoke. It was something I never knew existed. I wasnt sure that I would find it in the grocery store but it was easy. Just look for it where the other BBQ sauces are and you will find the liquid smoke.
Try These Tasty Ideas:
- Sub smoked paprika for the chipotle pepper
- Add dried mustard powder or prepared mustard
- Sub cinnamon or Chinese 5 spice for the clove
- Use all cider vinegar for less tang
- Use all red wine vinegar for more tang
- Add a little chile powder, cumin, instant espresso or cocoa powder
- Make it sweeter by adding your favorite sweetener to taste
- Simmer longer for a thicker sauce or less time for a thinner sauce
My favorite brown sugar substitute is SUKRIN GOLD. Dont have it? Try Swerve Brown Sugar, Lakanto Golden or my homemade low carb brown sugar recipe.
For convenience, make this barbecue sauce ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Just be sure its cooled to room temperature before doing so. The flavor mellows after refrigeration so taste to adjust the seasonings if needed.
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Can You Eat Bbq Sauce On A Keto Diet Will It Kick You Out Of Ketosis
No it wont kick you out of ketosis, its on your Keto diet, so enjoy.
This recipe is good for people who want or need to be on a low carb or Keto diet because 2 of the main ingredients are the no-sugar ketchup and the swerve brown sugar. Both these ingredients are designed to be eaten by people on Low Carb or Keto diets.
For example, we found 2 good choices for no sugar ketchup, one is by Heinz which is 1 carb per Tablespoon, and the other one is by Primal and is 2 carbs per tablespoon. And the swerve products have zero net carbs so also a good choice for keeping carbs at a bare minimum.
How Do You Make Bbq Sauce Thicker
To make your Low Carb BBQ sauce thicker, what you need to do is when you put it on the stove, cook it longer than you normally would. As you keep stirring your BBQ Sauce, you will see that it will start to thicken up. Just make sure you dont let it burn or stick.
Keep stirring and when it reaches your desired thickness take it off the burner and cool. Then when its cool its ready to be poured into your glass jar or container and then place in your refrigerator.
Another way to make your BBQ Sauce thicker is to add a little arrowroot or konjac powder, both thickening agents that are low carb, and it only takes a small amount. Once again stir while thickening so that it doesnt stick or burn. After its thickened brush onto ribs or chicken and it forms a glaze while cooking, yummy!
Also Check: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Walmart
Can I Replace The Coconut Aminos
Coconut aminos are used in keto BBQ sauce recipe not only to deepen the color of the BBQ sauce but also to provide more depth of flavor. However, depending on where you live coconut aminos can at times be difficult to find or expensive so I want to provide you with some substitution options.
You can replace the coconut aminos with strongly brewed black coffee. You may need to increase the amount of sweetener in your sauce if using black coffee. So, be sure to taste your BBQ sauce and adjust accordingly.
You can also use soy sauce, however, many people avoid soy sauce so this may not be suitable for you.
What Style Bbq Sauce Is The Best
Thats a good question and before making BBQ sauce from scratch I never realized that there were so many styles. I think some people pick the sauce from the area that they grew up in as their favorite. I guess thats only natural. Its all about what you get used to.
Only if you travel around do you realize that there may be other options out there in things for you to try! Its easy to get hung up on one thing, especially if you like something so much, you reason to yourself, Why should I try something different when I love something so much?
But you may want to try some other varieties, some are sweeter than others, like the ones from Kansas City that are thick, sweet and tangy. Some are a hickory flavor or a smokey flavor. Some are thicker or thinner, and then there are glazes made from meat too.
Texas is known for there BBQ sauce that is called a mop sauce or a basting sauce.
North Carolina is known for a hot, tangy and peppery BBQ sauce, just to name a few.
So the bottom line is to try a variety and then see which one is your favorite!
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Which Type Of Sweetener Should I Use
You need brown granular sweetener when making sugar-free bbq sauce. It melts easily and helps bring out a smokey/charred flavor in the BBQ sauce.
You can typically order this online if you are not able to find it in stores. However, feel free to use whatever sweetener you prefer. You can learn more about different sweeteners by reading through my Ultimate Guide To Low-Carb Sweeteners.
TOP TIP: As with ALL recipes here, ALWAYS taste your batter BEFORE cooking to ensure you have added enough sweetener to suit YOUR tastebuds. Read the Ultimate Guide To Low-Carb Sweeteners.
Bbq Sauces Offer A Variety Of Choice To Flavor Our Meat To Our Liking Making A Barbacue Sauce Sweet Yet Naturally Low On Carb Is Not A Challenge At All
If we had to pinpoint the beginning of our culinary demise to one single dish or condiment that should be the BBQ sauce. There isnt a dish or rather tradition more penetrating into our culture than grilling meat on smoldering charcoals.
If eating together binds a family together then 4th July barbecues binds the nation together. Of course, there are other big celebrations where there are some kind tradition woven into demolishing a big pile of food, like Thanksgiving but these arent associated with who we are.
The cradle where barbecues sauce have grown out of, is rooted deep in the land we come from. There isnt one variety hold as the golden standard and should be used by every one who has ever been touched by the smoke of the dripping fat onto the embers.
Some traditional sauces dont even have the nowadays deemed crucial sweetening ingredient in them but most of them do call for something to sweeten up the meat. At least in this one, we cant blame the big food industry.
Sure enough, we can look for someone to blame who didnt say that sugar was not supposed to be in our meals or sugar should be reserved for special occasions to indulge in, like celebrations or occasional desserts. The question is who would have listened.
Since sugar is so cheap, readily available and above all, delicious why should we have denied this from ourselves? Probably, we wouldnt be here musing about sugar free barbecue sauces if we or some of our ancestor did.
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How Do You Make Bbq Sauce Thinner
A thinner BBQ sauce makes for a good dipping sauce, like if you have chicken or something similar.
If you find that your Low Carb BBQ Sauce is too thick, then there are a few things that I can think of that you can use to thin it out a bit, and they are all depending on what you like as to taste. So experience tasting your BBQ sauce with different ones to find your favorite taste for each recipe.
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Hot Sauce
- Chicken or Beef Stock
Add these to your BBQ Sauce drop by drop to see how it tastes and not too fast so that you dont overdo the thinning process, otherwise, you will be trying to do the opposite and make your BBQ Sauce thicker
Tangy And Bold Keto Bbq Sauce
THIS POST INCLUDES AFFILIATE LINKS TO SHARE THE THINGS I LOVE.
Summer is here grilling and smoking season is on! Going low carb doesnt mean you cant enjoy your favorite grilled meats and burgers. Just be smart and avoid overly processed store bought barbecue sauces which are often full of sugars and NOT keto friendly.
Enjoy your killer burgers, juicy smoked chicken leg quarters, and pulled pork with this sugar-free BBQ sauce. Its so delicious youll want to mop every last drop of it up with a piece of low carb cornbread.
And since its not sugar based, this low carb barbecue sauce adds great flavor to grilled meats without burning. Expect a bold tangy-sweet taste up front bolstered with onion and garlic, finishing with a gentle heat on the back of the tongue.
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Is This Homemade Bbq Sauce Gluten
Yes, this Low Carb BBQ Sauce is definitely gluten-free. This makes our friends who have to eat gluten-free very happy because they can have so many more foods now, that they couldnt eat before.
What makes this homemade BBQ sauce gluten-free is that its made with sugar-free ketchup instead of regular ketchup and Swerve brown sugar instead of regular brown sugar.
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.
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Low Carb Bbq Sauce Brands
Laras personal favorite is Alterna Sweets. She first met the owners Misti and Jared 3 years ago at KetoCon in Austin, Texas. Since then when shes not making her own sugar free barbecue sauce, she loading up her BBQ with theirs.
In our homemade barbecue sauce, you wont find any cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup or preservatives. So many store bought BBQ sauce brands out there are loaded with them. We keep our keto BBQ sauce low in carbs but full of flavor by using minimally processed ingredients.
Key Ingredients For Keto Bbq Sauce
Tomato Paste As always, you want to be sure youre using a tomato paste thats as keto-friendly as possible. That means low carbs, low sugar, and no added sugars or sugar substitutes. Whatever sugar you consume should come from the actual tomatoes.Liquid Smoke A good BBQ sauce needs that rich, deep, smoky flavor, and liquid smoke is an easy and effective way to get it! Its just what the name suggests smoke in liquid form. Its made by burning wood, capturing the smoke, and condensing it into a liquid. A little liquid smoke goes a long way, too, so a bottle will last you a while. If you dont want to use it, you can leave it out you just wont have that intense smoky flavor to your keto BBQ sauce.Brown Swerve Brown Swerve mimics that delicious caramely-molasses flavor of traditional brown sugar without the actual sugar, so its perfect for keto. Its a zero-calorie, non-glycemic, erythritol-based sweetener. I promise once you try it, youll want to use it for almost everything. If youre new to this sweetener, add it to the sauce mixture 1 tablespoon at a time and taste as you go. Thisll help you keep the flavors just right.
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Why Arent Most Bbq Sauces Keto
The majority of store-bought barbecue sauces contain high amounts of sugar and corn syrup, making them off-limits to anyone adhering to a keto diet. For example, the average tablespoon of BBQ sauce contains about 7 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of which are sugar. If you love sauce as much as I do, this can add up quickly.
The good news is that this recipe does away with the sugar and comes in at just 2 grams of carbs per tablespoon. It also has about half the amount of sodium, making it healthier on your heart too.
- ½cuphot wateroptional
Customize It To Suit Your Taste
Everyone has their own idea of how a good BBQ sauce should taste. Some prefer a sweet sauce while others like it savory. Some like a thick sauce while others like it thin. And some like a tangy or spicy bbq sauce while others want it mild or less peppery. Below are a few ideas how to make this your own.
Also Check: Good Pizza Sauce To Buy
Why You Should Make Your Own Keto Bbq Sauce
The main reason why you should cook up your own homemade BBQ sauce is that you get full control over what goes into your sauce. Most modern store-bought condiments contain a number of additives that we wouldnt normally put in homemade sauces, and premade keto BBQ sauce is no different.
You can manage the amount of sweeteners that you use, while also tweaking the levels of spice according to your own personal preferences.
