Quick All-Natural BBQ Sauce
My quick and all-natural BBQ sauce is healthy, tasty, and so satisfying you’ll want to slab it on everything from shredded chicken to meatballs to pizza. It’s the perfect blend of smoke, sweet, spice, and tang. No more store-bought bottles laden with unhealthy and unnecessary ingredients. Friends, meet your new recipe for BBQ sauce!
Be Sure To Try My Hawaiian Chicken Bake Next!
All-Natural BBQ Sauce From Scratch
Making BBQ sauce from scratch isn’t hard; you just need a handful of ingredients to bring it all together. My recipe uses ketchup as the base and combines all the traditional flavors of barbecue: smoke, sweet, spice, and tang. It’s naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free.
Now that back-to-school is in full swing, it’s time to whip out those easy, go-to recipes that get a delicious dinner on the table quickly. During busy school days, I need real food I can make ahead of time that won’t disappoint my hungry family. I can whip up a batch of homemade BBQ sauce and slather it on anything from shredded chicken to beef meatballs to pizza crust. It’s the perfect way to dress up an otherwise “boring” dinner.
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Ingredients
A couple of condiments and a handful of dried spices, and that’s all you need to make this sauce. Don’t skip the liquid smoke: it really gives the sauce that authentic, wood-smoked flavor, and captures the “essence” of barbecue. I love using pure maple syrup in this recipe because it complements the sauce so well. However, agave syrup also works great!
How To Make BBQ Sauce At Home
First, I recommend measuring out all of your spices and putting them side by side on a plate or in a bowl. Then measure your ketchup and put it into a bowl. Add the maple syrup and liquid smoke. Finally, add in all the spices and give it a good whisk until it’s all incorporated.
At this point, I like to determine the sweetness. Dip your pinky finger into the sauce and see what you think. If you think it needs sweetening, add a tad more sweetener. If you really want a bold, smoky flavor, add a drop or two more of liquid smoke.
You can adjust this recipe as needed and suit it to your taste.
What To Serve With All-Natural BBQ Sauce
There are so many wonderful and delicious ways to enjoy homemade BBQ sauce! Try my Hawaiian Chicken Bake for a filling casserole-style dinner. Or use the sauce on a pizza crust and add your favorite toppings like caramelized onions and chicken. You can even use this sauce as a marinade and baste your raw meats before baking or grilling.
One way our family loves to eat BBQ sauce is on shredded beef or chicken sliders. You can eat it plain and it’s delicious, or crank it up a notch and toast the sandwiches with cheese and a pickle!
Cook and shred your favorite meat, add the homemade bbq sauce and layer it on your preferred bread or bun. Top with cheese (and pickle) and broil until cheese is bubbly and bread is slightly toasted. Yum!
The sauce from this recipe can be used fresh (recommended), stored up to 1 month in the refrigerator, or frozen for later use. Check out more recipes below that offer fresh ideas for meals made with homemade sauces or marinades. Enjoy!
other recipes you might enjoy:
- 3-2-1 Apple Cider Vinegar Chicken Marinade
- Chicken with Orange Juice Marinade
- Easy Pizza Sauce
- Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Quick All-Natural BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or agave
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients in a bowl. Test the sauce to determine sweetness. Adjust the sweetener to your preference for a sweeter sauce.
- Once satisfied with the flavor, pour the sauce all over the chicken or beef and mix well.
- Store in the refrigerator up to 1 month. Or store in the freezer if using at a later date. You can also use this recipe to make a marinade for raw meat.
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