Whole30 BBQ sauce – vegan, gluten free, sugar free, paleo and keto friendly recipe. This whole30 BBQ sauce makes a perfect addition to your whole30 dinner: brush it onto veggies, your favorite piece of meat or use it as a dipping sauce.
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A Whole30 Compliant BBQ Sauce
Since summer is here and the grill is hot I needed a healthy, whole30 compliant bbq sauce recipe. I wanted a keto and paleo approved BBQ sauce that is made with whole foods and also to be sugar free, gluten free and vegan, so, no nut butter should be involved. I consider this a whole30 bbq sauce recipe because even the tomato sauce is made from scratch with fresh whole foods, no ketchup base here!
Why Make Your Own Whole30 BBQ Sauce
A conventional store-bought BBQ sauce is mostly GMO processed sugar with a sprinkle of spices, liquid smoke, artificial color and preservatives. Even “healthier“ versions of BBQ sauces have some weird ingredients, lots of sugar or are kind of hard to find. But if you make your own whole30 BBQ sauce, you will be eating mostly whole veggies and some good quality spices.
By eliminating Worcestershire sauce will also make it a gluten free and whole30 compliant bbq sauce.
The point is this whole30 BBQ sauce is tasty enough even for people who are not following a whole30 diet, it’s simply delicious!
Creating A Whole30 BBQ Sauce Recipe (Paleo & Keto)
Whole30, Paleo and Keto are basically elimination diets based on grain free, gluten free whole foods and low sugar ingredients. So this whole30 BBQ sauce recipe is totally compliant with all of them.
When making a whole30 barbecue sauce recipe we need a healthy balance of sweetish, smoky, spicy, tangy flavors all layered beautifully in a smooth silky texture.
As with any recipe, you can tweak it to your tastes. Make this barbecue sauce thinner and use it as a dipping sauce, or thick to stick to grilling meats. Want a whole 30, paleo BBQ sauce with just a bit more heat? Fine! Add some cayenne pepper, and if more sweet: add some sweetener. More smoky undertones? Add some liquid smoke, but honestly this whole30 barbecue sauce tastes awesome as it is!
How To Make A Whole30 BBQ Sauce
This whole30 BBQ sauce is pretty easy to make! Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan, letting them simmer for a few minutes, blend until smooth and done!
To make it you need crushed or diced tomatoes, sautéed onions, garlic, celery, some tomato paste, stone ground mustard and dried herbs. The tanginess and sweetness comes from apple cider vinegar + coconut aminos, followed by a slightly smoky / spicy flavor derived from smoked paprika and red pepper flakes. Combining all these in the right proportions makes an amazing flavor layered whole30 BBQ sauce.
Storing Paleo & Whole30 BBQ Sauce
Whenever I make my whole30 approved BBQ sauce I usually get a double or a triple batch and store them in a few mason jars. Not too big, so I could keep the rest unopened until it’s time to use it. They can easily be frozen as well: up to 2-3 months, but they never last that long in my fridge!
Whole30 BBQ Sauce (Vegan, Paleo, Gluten Free, Keto, Sugar Free)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup tomato paste - unsalted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion - fresh, diced
- 3-4 cloves of gralic - diced
- 1 tbsp stone ground mustard
- 1 stalk of celery - diced
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup coconut aminos
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes - or 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Pinch of stevia extract powder - (optional, to make it more sweet)
Instructions
- Add oil to a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Make sure to stir and watch the garlic, it can burn easily.
- Add the rest of ingredients including the seasonings and spices. Stir to combine
- Allow mixture to come to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring. Use a lid to prevent splashing.
- Taste and adjust seasoning for desired flavor.
- Cool. Transfer to a tall jar (to prevent splashing) and use an immersion blender right in the jar to blend everything together until smooth. You can also use a regular blender too.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes about 2.5 cups of whole30 BBQ sauce. I like to pour them into two jars – one for immediate use and one for the freezer.
- To make this whole30 BBQ sauce really spicy add ¼ tsp ground up chile peppers such as cayenne, chipotle, or add a few splashes of your favorite spicy hot sauce.
- This whole30 BBQ sauce stays fresh in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (airtight container).
- If you want to add some fruit flavor, the best thing to use is blueberries – it makes a great blubbery BBQ sauce, just replace the crushed tomatoes with 2-3 cups of blueberries and simmer until reduces. Then add the rest of ingredients and mix well.
- Feel free to vary up the recipe ingredient ratios to your preference.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
If you try this healthy whole30 bbq sauce recipe please leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback is super helpful for me and readers. Thank you!
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Connie
Thursday 31st of October 2019
Since I'm doing whole30 and have been trying to avoid processed ingredients and sugar, I subbed the stevia with 5 dates, put it through the food processor and then cooked it....it turned out great!!! Thank you for the inspiration!
HealthyTasteOfLife
Thursday 31st of October 2019
That's wonderful, thanks for sharing!