Sugar Free Barbecue Sauce Recipes

Before we start let's just take some of the confusion off the table about what is sugar free barbecue sauce and what isn't. If you're reading any sugar free BBQ sauce recipe that has either ketchup or Worcestershire sauce in it then they're not sugar free. Both ketchup and Worcestershire contain added sugar yet what the recipe writer is saying is that there's no further additional sugar.

If you're diabetic (or indeed have any food allergy) then trying to keep track of all these issues must be a real nightmare. I really can sympathize.

Any BBQ sauce whether home made or off the supermarket shelf has to have some form of sweetness to it so the challenge is to make a sweet BBQ sauce recipe that doesn't have any added sugar. Therefore in the second of my two recipes I'm tapping into the techniques that soft drinks manufacturers use to make sweet sugar free drinks and adding the drink as a sweetener.

This first sugar free barbecue sauce recipe however doesn't skimp on flavor and the sweetness comes naturally from the caramelization of the onions.

I've gone to great lengths to create this recipe that has no added sugar or artificial sweetener and I hope that you enjoy it.

You'll notice in my recipe that I've used tamarind concentrate. This is one of the ingredients in Worcestershire sauce that gives it that distinctive flavor and usually tamarind is free of added sugar. (Do always check the label though because I have found some tamarind pastes and sauces that do have added sugar).

If you want something with a traditional tomato base then this barbecue sauce recipe is essential reading. You’ll need to be patient though in order to caramelize the onions – but it’s worth it!

In essence, all the sweetness in this recipe comes from the natural sugars to be found in each ingredient, there's no added sugar, but releasing the natural sugars does mean that the recipe takes some time to prepare.

Allergens:

Not only is this first recipe sugar free, it's also allergen free.

Yield:- 1 pint or 480ml

Preparation Time:- 10 mins
Cooking Time:- 120 mins

Total Time:- 2hrs 10 mins

Ingredients:-

1 onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon water
1 14oz or 400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato purée
3 tablespoons of cider vinegar
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate

A pinch each of:-

chili powder
cinnamon
paprika
salt and pepper all to taste.

Method:-

Put the onions in a non stick pan with a tablespoon of water and cook very very gently for an hour or two until the onion starts to brown (not burn). This caramelizes the onion in it’s own natural sugars and creates the sweetness when added to the tomato barbecue sauce.

Once the onions have caramelized the rest of the recipe is easy. Just throw all the ingredients in a saucepan, add the onions and warm through whilst stirring well to ensure that all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Quick Sugar Free Barbecue Sauce Recipe

This second sugar free barbecue sauce recipe uses artificial sweeteners by complementing the ingredients with a soft drink so not only is it sweet but it's also really quick to make.

Allergens:

There are no allergens in this recipe either.

Preparation Time:- 10 mins
Cooking Time:- 10 mins

Total Time:- 20 minutes

Ingredients:-

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
A pinch of cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons tomato puree (or paste)
225ml or 1 cup sugar-free cola

Method:-

Mix the tamarind concentrate and tomato paste together in a saucepan to ensure that they are thoroughly mixed and then water the solution down with the cola, stirring all the time to make sure that you don't get any lumps.

After that you can just throw in all the remaining ingredients, warm through until everything has dissolved and that's it!