Sweetened with fruit juice, this Paleo BBQ sauce does not contain processed sugar. It’s super tasty, easy to make, and perfect for those who stick to a real food diet.
I made this Whole30 compliant BBQ sauce because lately several readers have been asking me for paleo condiments that do not contain white sugar, or even natural sweeteners such as honey.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ¼ cup shallots, minced
- 1 (7 ounce) bottle tomato paste
- 1 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Warm oil in a saucepan over medium heat
- Add garlic and shallot; cook until soft
- Add tomato paste, orange juice, vinegar, mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper
- Simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often
- Baste over chicken
- Marinate in fridge for 1-3 hours
- Grill
- Serve
Spring is in full bloom here in Colorado and it’s gorgeous. Bright clear days in the high 70’s, perfect for hiking, taking the boys to the park, and breaking out the grill!
In order to get my BBQ bearings I went to bbqrecipesecrets.com. On that site, I learned that there are three types of barbecue sauce –tomato, mustard, or vinegar. Unfortunately, each of these types generally contains a significant amount of sugar. I decided to use the Basic Tomato BBQ sauce recipe as a map, adding and subtracting from it to create this new lower glycemic BBQ sauce recipe.
Feel free to use this gluten-free barbecue sauce creatively. I imagine it would be delicious on pasta or a sandwich –I must have eaten half a batch by mopping it up with bread the night I first made it.
Here are some of my other paleo condiment recipes:
Carrie says
I’m wondering if I threw these ingredients in a crockpot with some chicken breast of it would come out like pulled chicken. That’s how I’ve made it with jarred BBQ sauce before but I have been searching everywhere for a recipe like this without all the sugar!
Julie says
This recipe looks great, however, I’m allergic to paprika (and all peppers for that matter). Any ideas for things I could substitute? Or do you think the sauce would still taste ok without it?
Pamela says
Hi Elana:
just stubble across your website, love it! I am going to try that Barbeque Sauce. One question I cannot have orange juice could you let me know what I can use instead? Thanks much!
Lakisha Scott says
Hi Elana, I love your web-site(just wanted to let you know that.) I saw your beautiful barbeque sauce recipe, and I was wondering if you had a ketchup recipe that you could share? Thanks
athena says
i found an amazing ketchup on Hungry Girl
Emily Jo says
I have been wanting a sugar free BBQ sauce recipe for a very long time. This looks great! I can’t wait to try it. Still enough summer left to grill out and enjoy. Thank you, Elana!
Cari says
I found some Applegate Farms little smokies the other day and was wondering what kind of BBQ sauce I was going to use to simmer them in. Looks like I found it! Do you think this recipe will make enough to simmer about a pound of smokies, or should I double it?
Renee at Applegate says
Great idea to mix it up for the usual “pigs in a blanket” for New Years!
Chelsea says
What brand of dry mustard do you use ? Thank you
Brock says
Thanks for the gluten free BBQ sauce recipe. I have a friend that will be able to use it. And for the website bbqrecipesecrets*com, I have to add it to my favs.
elana says
Monika,
Not sure how it would turn out, you could try using lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar. Also, you might want to post this query in my forums as others might face this same issue and have ideas for you.
Hope this helps.
Elana
Monika says
I had reveiwed the FAQ page but I didn’t see anything about a substitution for apple cider vinegar. Both of my children are grain free, gluten free, dairy free but my youngest daughter is also corn free and apple free. Is there something that I can use other than the Apple cider vinegar as I would love to finally have a barbecue sauce that we all can enjoy. Thanks
elana says
Eden-
Thanks so much for your kind words and for letting me know about your fabulous dinner party –so glad your crowd enjoyed the food.
Elana
Eden says
I love the bbq sauce and I got rave reviews on the bbq chicken at my dinner party tonight. It was a hit, Elana. Also served the vanilla cupcakes, spinach salad with pistachios, and lemonade. I was feeding a gluten-intolerant crowd and they loved the food. I am so happy to have found your site. Your creativity and excellent recipes are truly appreciated.
elana says
Paula -Welcome to the world of gluten-free foods and thanks for joining us here! Elana
Paula says
I’m new to the world of g/f foods, and this recipe will join my growing catalog. Looks great!
elana says
Chef Erik -Thanks for reporting back. So glad you liked it!
Chef Erik says
It came out great, the Celtic sea salt was a little pricy so I used regular sea salt. I love the smokyness from the paprika. I’ll be making this BBQ recipe all summer long. Thanks!
elana says
Thanks Erik! Let us know how it works out with the tofu.
Chef Erik says
That looks fantastic. I will try it with tofu. Super yummy recipe!
elana says
Bucky -Thanks for stopping by and thanks for pointing out my oversight. It is great to have readers such as you that keep me on my toes and make this blog better! Per your tomato paste question, I updated the recipe above with an amount (7 ounces). You could try out the 6 ounce jar, I think it would probably work. Hope this helps.
Emilia -Thanks for your kind words; please let us know how it turns out when you make it.
Jerry -Thanks!
Jerry says
This sounds great! Very inventive!
Bucky says
I am excited by a barbecue sauce recipe that doesn’t call for preposterous ingredients like ketchup or liquid smoke.
I do have one question, though:
How much is your “jar” of tomato paste? I have a choice of 6 or 12 oz in my supermarket.
Emilia says
What a great recipe, I love the fact that you didn’t use any unhealthy ingredients in it.
I will definitely try this the next time we grill.
elana says
Katie -You are so welcome! It was nice to have the inspiration of your request, in creating this recipe.
LizzieI LOVE the pic of the cupcake with the dog on your site –GREAT! Thanks for reviewing my recipe and glad you liked it.
Lizzie says
Good thing it’s almost lunch time for me; that photo is making me hungry! :)
I love your blog Elana. I recently made your cupcakes and posted about them: http://thegoodeatah.blogspot.com/2008/05/two-thumbs-up-elanas-cupcakes.html
They were sooooo good. I can’t wait to make more of your recipes.
Katie says
Elana~ this recipe looks great! I’m going to the store right now to get these ingredients and i cannot wait to try this sauce! Thank you again for going through the troubles to find this for me, it is much appreciated:)
LILLIE says
I am new to g/f foods. I like what I am reading and I must go with it.
Thanks Lillie