Dress up your chicken and ribs with this homemade sweet and smoky low carb BBQ sauce!
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I don't know about you, but barbecue sauce is just one sauce I can not live without! Most people that follow Keto or a low carb diet are concerned about carbs in bbq sauce.
And while there are some decent sugar-free and Keto friendly barbecue sauces on the market, many of them still contain hidden carbs and questionable ingredients. Ingredients that might be fine for a low carb diet, but not so great for Keto.
Depending on what part of the country you are from, barbecue sauce can have many variations. Some sauces have a more tangy vinegar flavor, some have a prevalent tomato taste, some are sweet, some are really spicy and some are more smoky. And honestly, they all taste so completely different!
This Keto- friendly sauce is a combination of everything all in one! It gets a subtle, smoky flavor from liquid smoke. It has a little sweetness from Brown Swerve, which if you've never used it before, is so similar to real brown sugar, it's amazing!
The tanginess comes from the apple cider vinegar, which is perfectly balanced with all the other ingredients to make a wonderful healthy bbq sauce that you'll want to keep on hand.
What's in Keto Barbeque Sauce
- Tomato sauce (lowest carb/sugar)
- Brown Swerve
- Onion, minced
- Garlic, minced
- Dry mustard
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sugar-Free Maple Syrup
- Smoked paprika
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Liquid smoke
- Cayenne pepper
- Avocado oil or mild flavored oil of your choice
- Salt to taste
*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
How to Make Low Carb BBQ Sauce
Add the oil into a saucepan over medium low heat.
Sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes, then add in the garlic and cook for another 20 seconds.
Add in the spices and allow to toast for about 10 seconds, while stirring.
Add in the remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for 20-25 minutes or until your desired thickness is reached.
If you like a smooth sauce, blend it up using an immersion/stick blender or puree in the food processor.
Store this low carb barbeque sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a week or longer.
Tips for Making Keto BBQ Sauce
You can adjust this sauce to make it more to your liking. So if you prefer sweeter, add more Brown Swerve. If you prefer more smoky, add a little more liquid smoke but be careful because a little really does go a long way! If you like a little more spicy kick, add more cayenne pepper.
If you like the sauce to be milder overall, add more (keto/low carb) tomato sauce.
If you like a tangy vinegary sauce, you can add a little more vinegar.
The wonderful thing about creating your own homemade BBQ sauce is that you control the ingredients and the flavor and because barbecue sauces do vary so much, you'll want to make what you like best!
You can use this barbecue sauce on chicken, hamburgers, pulled pork these Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs!
If you prefer your ribs dry, try using this BBQ Spice Dry Rub!
More Keto and Low Carb Sauce Recipes
- Bang Bang Sauce
- Easy Alfredo Sauce
- Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce
- Cheese Sauce for Veggies
- Creamy Mushroom Gravy
- Quick & Easy Marinara Sauce
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Keto BBQ Sauce (Sugar-Free)
Ingredients
- 16 ounces tomato sauce, lowest carb/sugar
- ½ cup Brown Swerve
- 2 tablespoons onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar-free Maple Syrup
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 teaspoons liquid smoke
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or mild flavored oil of your choice
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the oil into a saucepan over medium low heat. Sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes, then add in the garlic and cook for another 20 seconds. Add in the spices and allow to toast for about 10 seconds, while stirring.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for 20-25 minutes or until your desired thickness is reached.
- If you like a smooth sauce, blend it up using an Immersion/Stick Blender or puree in the food processor. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for at least a week or longer.
Recipe Notes
*Make sure to scroll up and read the post for substitutions, additions and helpful tips for making this recipe.
*Nutritional data is provided as a courtesy and is accurate to the best of my knowledge. You can verify it using the nutrition calculator of your choice. All data is based on net carbs, without sugar alcohol: Swerve, Erythritol, Monk Fruit or Allulose.
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Roberta
Just a suggestion and actually humble request for your next creation in DIY sauces: a Worchestershire sauce that is totally sugar-free since it seems that every existing option on sale does contain this ingredients, aside of the amount that can obviously vary and have more or almost irrelevant effect for most people (but unfortunately for someone it's really a serious point even in the minus dose possible)... It's always frustrating reading ingredients list for a DIY recipe that inspire you and find out that due to a composed ingredient that you can't separate you have to renounce to thw whole thing 🙁
Thanks for your effort and sharing healthy and tasty recipes!
Keto Cooking Christian
I totally understand your frustration. I do not have immediate plans for a Worcestershire sauce recipe but in the mean time, have you tried using liquid aminos in it's place? I use Bragg's liquid amino and it adds a very similar flavor.
Patrick de Allende
Is it tomato sauce or ketchup(SF)?
Keto Cooking Christian
The recipe uses Low Carb tomato sauce, but no ketchup.
Roxana Lopez
This sauce looks so rich, thick and flavorful! I wonder if you can give us any indication of the size of a serving? 2 Tbsp would be the standard size on a bottle of commercial sauce. Would that be right for this recipe (ie the nutrition panel)? If you mentioned it here, I must have missed it. Thank you.
Keto Cooking Christian
Hi Roxana,
The serving size is actually about 2 tablespoons. I hope that helps!