Keto BBQ Sauce
Keto BBQ Sauce Recipe and Video – a low carb homemade barbecue sauce. Ready in 5 minutes! 7 ingredients. Paleo, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, vegan, clean eating, real food.
You are going to LOVE how easy this Keto BBQ sauce is! It is ready to eat in 10 minutes. I’m serious. Now that I know how easy it is to make a healthy, sugar free BBQ sauce I’m never going to buy store bought again.
It is healthy, with just 7 easy ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Have you read the ingredients on store bought BBQ sauce? PACKED with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Homemade is for sure the way to go.
The best part? You can’t even tell it is sweetened naturally. Still sweet and thick and tangy, with the added bonus of being much healthier for you.
Table of Contents
Tessemae’s BBQ Sauce Copycat
I went to buy Tessemae’s at the store, and it was sold out! ? I asked the Whole Foods manager, and he said Tessemae’s BBQ sauce was out of stock for the foreseeable future, even on their website and Amazon.
It is July! I need my BBQ sauce!
So I set out to make my own. I read the ingredients on the label of my almost empty Tessemae’s bottle, and tried to recreate it at home. After a few tries, I got it right! A perfect Tessemae’s BBQ sauce copycat recipe.
Keto BBQ Sauce Ingredients
This BBQ sauce is made with balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, monk fruit (use dates for Whole30!), dijon mustard, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. That’s it! All real ingredients that make it a paleo, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and vegan BBQ sauce.
I add all the ingredients to a pan to slowly warm so the flavors can marry, and also to get the pitted dates soft and plump so they blend really well.
After it warms on the stove for 5 minutes, I add all the ingredients to my blender and blend on high for 2 minutes. When it’s done blending, it’s ready to start eating. It’s that easy.
Storing Keto BBQ Sauce
I find that this BBQ sauce is best when it is thick, so when I brush it on meat and grill it, the BBQ sauce really stays on. I hate when it’s too runny and drips off. But this is personal preference. If you like your BBQ sauce thinner, just add water and blend again until it reaches the consistency you like.
I store my BBQ sauce in wide mouth pint mason jars. This recipes makes about 2-1/2 cups. I use 1/2 cup right away on whatever I’m cooking, and the rest fits perfectly in the mason jar.
I also love using wide mouth pint mason jars because they’re freezer friendly! I like to make a double batch, freeze 2 pints, and leave the rest in the fridge.
Watch How to Make BBQ Sauce Recipe Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RrD-H-ln44
Keto BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup water, or more to desired consistency
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup or more to taste of monk fruit (for Whole30 substitute 8 pitted medjool dates
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat a sauce pan over medium low heat. Add all ingredients, stir to combine, and bring to a low simmer for 5 minutes. You don't want it to boil, just get warmed through. Heating will allow the flavors to marry.
- (If using dates, transfer the BBQ sauce to a blender, and blend on high speed for 2 minutes.)
- Store in an airtight container or wide mouth pint mason jar. Will keep in the fridge for at least 3 months, or frozen for 1 year.
Notes
- Gluten Free: Be sure to use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
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128 Comments on “Keto BBQ Sauce”
I make this all the time! Spicy and sweet (with the dates). My husband and I love it for all of our bbq
Loved this recipe! Perfect combo of sweet and tangy. I used the dates for a sweetener. Not sure what the serving size is though, could you please let me know? I saw 17 calories and two cups, just couldn’t find the breakdown. Thanks!
So glad you liked it! It’s my fav! It makes 2 cups total, and the serving size is 2 tablespoons!
I was excited until I saw medjool dates. Is there another more common, easily accessible substitution for that. I already have too many packages of half used, high-priced ingredients spoiling in my pantry.
Of course! If you don’t need this to be Whole30 or keto, you can use 1/4 maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, white sugar, coconut sugar, etc. Or more to taste.
For keto only monkfruit will keep it low carb.
If you need this to be whole30, sadly dates are the approved substitute.
Hi Natalie,
This looks so good! I want to use it tomorrow but I am confused…I thought soy sauce was not allowed on Whole30. Is this true and if it is can you think of a substitute that would be compliant?
Thanks so much for all the great recipes.
And there it is! At the very bottom! I missed that very last line where you say to use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce if you are on Whole30. Answered my own question! Now to go buy those coconut aminos whatever those are.
Haha! No worries! You can find them at Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, and other markets! It’s such a great substitution for so many things!
You would substitute coconut aminos for Whole30! (It’s in the recipe notes 🥰)
Love this recipe.
I use prunes (pitted of couse) instead of the dates, less expensive and gives a richer flavor. I also cut the water in half and add tomato sauce or add both (for anyone who loves tomato). I also add smoked paprika and chipotle power to taste (I’m a texas girl and if it’s not smoky with a kick, it’s not bbq lol). I make this for family dinners and my husband and college aged sons love it, don’t know it’s whole 30 at all.
Hi Nat! Your substitutions are so fun! Love that you have made it your own!
I was so excited to make this but after realizing that it calls for soy sauce, when it is described as being “gluten free, grain free” is highly disappointing. Please remove the “gluten free/grain free” description before someone new to Celiacs makes this not realizing that soy sauce has wheat in it.
Hi Michelle! I appreciate your feedback! At the bottom of the recipe, there are notes that include how to make it gluten free! I hope this helps! Honored to have you here!
Will it change the taste much if you substituted coconut aminos for the soy sauce?
No it won’t change the taste much at all to sub coconut aminos for soy sauce Ashley. They have a very similar flavor profile.
I really like this recipe, but I noticed it now says soy sauce where it used to say coconut aminos.
So glad you liked it Carolyn!
Now that it has soy sauce as an ingredient it’s not paleo :(
I’ll just use coconut aminos as a sub, but I can’t recommend it to others as paleo since it has soy sauce in the ingredients.
Just tried this and it is amazing! I made a few tweaks based off of personal preference. I added a little less vinegar and added two teaspoons of a paleo liquid smoke. Even my picky husband loved it.
I love the tweaks you did to it Molly! Adapting a recipe to your personal taste is always the best idea. So glad your picky husband liked it too!
Love it! Has tang and sweet and I added smidge of Chipolte pepper becuase I like that kick. Thank you for a great recipe, totally works with my BBQ addiction :)
I too have a BBQ addiction Melissa. LOL! I sure hope you like the pulled pork when you make it this weekend. Sounds like you have an awesome weekend planned.
What is a good name brand of tomato paste & Balsamic vinegar that doesn’t have sugar and thickeners in them? Thank You!
I am currently using Sprouts brand organic balsamic vinegar Debra. You can purchase it at any Sprouts store. I also like Thrive market organic tomato paste. You can purchase that at Thrive Market online.
I sure hope you like the BBQ sauce.
This recipe is SO GOOD!! I had no idea how easy it was to make my own BBQ sauce. My husband is obsessed- I’ve made it several times and today he asked me to donate the other BBQ sauce in our pantry because he can’t eat it anymore after having the BBQ I made with your recipe. You ruined store-bought BBQ sauce for him LOL! Congrats on the babe!
I love that it has ruined store bought BBQ sauce for your husband Kara! I am so glad it was easy to make and you have made it several times.
Love this recipe so much and it’s forgiving when I’m missing some of the ingredients! Ha. Topping chicken with it in the crockpot then shredding it up and eating in on top of salads or lettuce wraps is the best meal.
You are so right, it is a very forgiving recipe Caitlin! I also love it on shredded chicken. Yum!
I have to be honest, I have not had much luck with W30 BBQ sauces. They usually turn out tasting like spicey tomato paste But I made this BBQ sauce tonight and OMGGGGG it is soooo good!! I won’t buy another store bought sauce again. I made the recipe as is and to me it was the perfect tangy sweet, but my Mom who has a major sweet tooth thought it was too tangy so I had a few more dates and some pineapple juice for her and it was even better! I had to stop myself from just eating it with a spoon!
I love that you enjoyed it so much you won’t be buying store bought again Cristy. That is a great idea to sweeten it up for your mom. It’s always tricky to adjust recipes for everyone’s personal taste.
A little too sweet for my taste but overall very, very good! I would just use 5-6 dates next time instead of 8!
Finding the right sweetness level is difficult in a BBQ sauce since everyone’s taste is different Emily. That is a fantastic idea to reduce the dates next time. I hope next time you make it it turns out perfect. Thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it.