Condiments
I have a strong belief that condiments love me as much as I love them. I’ll admit though it’s hard to say which is my favorite so I’ll give you my top three: mayonnaise, soy sauce and BBQ sauce. Mayo and soy sauce fit great in to my keto lifestyle, but BBQ sauce thinks I’ve been neglecting him, and honestly, he’s right! How am I supposed to indulge in something jam packed with brown sugar, white sugar and ketchup?!
The guilt started building over the past couple months so I decided enough was enough – we belong together after all. I knew it was time to create a Low Carb BBQ Sauce that would satisfy all my condiment desires! The trick to this BBQ sauce is to eliminate most of the sugars and opt in a sugar free maple syrup for the brown sugar and a “reduced sugar” ketchup for the regular ketchup.
Stir Frequently
Im pretty disappointed in myself for letting our time apart go on for so long given this recipes simplicity! We even cut down on the ingredients we used in a regular store bought BBQ sauce to make ours easy for everyone to make at home. Here’s the breakdown:
- Reduced Sugar Ketchup
- Sugar Free
Maple Syrup - Worcestershire Sauce
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Water
- Onion Powder
- Salt
- Pepper
The ingredient list may be basic, but the taste is incredible! Once you get all your ingredients into a sauce pan just bring to a boil and then let it simmer for as long as you can hold out. The longer it simmers the more developed the taste will be! But, PLEASE don’t forget to stir while it simmers – in fact, stir frequently – or it will clump up onto the sides as it reduces (we let that happen once).
What Will You Use This Low Carb BBQ Sauce For?
I know, its a tough question. Besides eating it right out of the sauce pan there are so many other ways to use it! The first thing we poured it on was pulled pork for some delicious pulled pork sandwiches, and I honestly don’t think there could have been a better place for this Low Carb BBQ Sauce! If you are interested in our pulled pork sandwich a recipe post will follow shortly!
Be sure to check out the best keto side dishes for BBQ season for something to pair this delicious BBQ sauce with.
Low Carb BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar free maple syrup
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp Onion powder
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- Pink Himalayan Salt
Instructions:
- Combine all the ingredients in sauce pan over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn heat down to a simmer. Allow to simmer for an hour while stirring frequently.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Written by
Megha Barot
Megha has always been a passionate cook, but she took this to a new level after starting her keo journey in 2015. She loves creating new recipes and producing educational content for KetoConnect, which she co-founded in 2016 with Matt. Her passion for healthy eating and personal development continues to thrive. She's the proud mom of two awesome kids.
Omigosh, what a great low carb BBQ recipe! I made it tonight to go with shredded chicken. I’ve made lc BBQ sauce b4 but it doesn’t compare to this one. I didn’t have any SF maple syrup on hand so I sprinkled some Diabeti-Sweet in it. I really think though, it would’ve been fine without any sweetner at all. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you for such a great & super easy recipe!
Can you bottle it and keep in the fridge. Is so how long will it last?
Sure! We’d keep it for a couple weeks at most.
Well slap a cape on you girl because you are my hero. I’ve tried several low carb BBQ recipes and gross. I’m in love! Living in Texas you gotta have a go-to BBQ sauce recipe. I do now. Added a little Cayenne because here we bring the heat! Thanks for another great recipe. Can’t wait for the book. Gonna surprise my non-keto fam with “BBQ
I can’t wait to try this. I am getting ready to start the Keto diet and I was so bummed that BBQ was a no go. Now I can have my meat and my fave condiment 😀
I have been searching for a Leto BBQ sauce recipe with ingredients I can get around Brisbane, Queensland. This looks a relatively uncomplicated recipe but includes liquid smoke! Does anyone from Brisbane know where I can buy it as I am pretty certain it wouldn’t taste like the real thing without it! Thank you for any help.
Fantasic BBQ recipe.
I did add a few more ingredients. I doubled the amount of syrup, added 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a quarter cup of black coffee, and a teaspoon of xanthan gum.
Turned out great!
Ohh I like the coffee idea!
Used this recipe to top a smoked brisket I made yesterday. Unfortunately, it was a miss. Perhaps it was the sugar free ketchup, Lakanto maple syrup, or quantity of cider vinegar, but it had a very artificial and cloying quality to it. BBQ sauce preferences are highly variable…this version is definitely proof of that!
I’ll keep trying out your recipes. Your low carb chicken pizza crust keeps me coming back to the site. Thank you for that one!
How long will this keep for in the fridge?
I may be missing something, but following your recipe and using the brands you use, the carb total for the 8 serving batch seems to be 51g. (16g for the Ketchup and 35g for the Maple syrup.) How does this then become 2g of carbs per serving?
The sugar free maple syrup uses sugar alcohols which are subtracted from net carbs. We actually had the wrong brand linked. Although it was a sugar free brand we have since switched to a different brand that uses a better natural sweetener.
What brand of sugar free maple syrup did you switch to or is the recipe you posted with the updated brand
Lakanto has a great option that is linked in the recipe!
This was worth the hour!! I make my own ketchup, which I used in this recipe. Turned out amazing!
I’d like to make a bigger batch. Would it be ok to double all the ingredients to double the yield? Just not sure if the liquid ingredients would be too much if doubled.
Doubling the recipe would be just fine. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
LOVE your recipes!! I’m using this awesome BBQ Sauce recipe with your Chicken Pizza Crust recipe to make a BBQ Chicken Pizza,which is what I’ve been missing the most being on a Keto diet. Thanks,Guys!
Ohh sounds awesome. Let us know how it turns out.
I tried the BBQ sauce excellent…
Thanks
I can`t really get that type of ketchup in UK, what else should I use?
Can you find any ketchup that’s low sugar? You could also try using tomato paste and some extra water.
Look for a ketchup recipe online, then mix small amounts of the spices and a sugar substitute such as xylitol into tomato paste and water until you get the right consistency for the barbeque recipe. Heck, just make a regular batch of ketchup and skip the ‘low sugar’ store bought toxic stuff. 🙂 I’m a lazy cook so instead of cooking down and straining tomatoes, I’d really just use the same amount of tomato paste/water, heat it in a pan and add the spices, vinegar and xylitol, whisking until fully incorporated, let simmer maybe 5 minutes, cool it jar it and presto blammo, KETCHUP! Did I mention I’m also thrifty? 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for the idea Cris – we like to be thrifty too.
pulled pork sandwich! pulled pork sandwich!! pulled pork sandwich!!!
This possible post is a must, please do it!
Hey,
I have been following you guys for about three months now and I really enjoy your episodes. I was in the service and was blown up and with that I gained over 100 pounds. In three months I’ve lost close to 40 pounds. And it’s because you inspire me to get creative. You guys are awesome
Marcus, thank you for your service to our great United States, I appreciate, more than I can say, your sacrifice for our country and its people in the name of FREEDOM!YOU are awesome!
Please correct recipe 1. No Worcestershire 2. No salt
I use liquid smoke and onion powder to subtitled ? Maybe I over look at the ingredients wrong?
Thank you Loretta! It’s been corrected.
I made the BBQ sauce tonight for my pulled pork and it was simply delicious. I added a little chipotle red pepper and it added a little more smokiness and some heat. Thank you!
So to make it spicy you would just bad a ground pepper or crushed pepper
Love this recipe! My husband and I made tonight – but we added 2 Tbspn sugar free peach preserves to the sauce to give it even more of a southern flavor. It is absolutely amazing. Thank you for the recipe!
That sounds incredible!! Thanks for sharing the idea
That sounds incredible! Glad you enjoyed and improved the recipe.
Thanks! I guess that might me a bit dramatic to say I cant find in all of Canada haha..but I check stores every time and still cant find anything low carb enough. However I do have the brown sugar truvia in my cupboard actually and am excited to make it now. Thanks so much..I was thinking I would just use sugar anyways but probably would have forgot about the brown sugar substitute..so Thanks!
Natasha,
I live in Ontario, Canada. You can find various sugar free or sugar reduced products online at http://www.thelowcarbgrocery.com They have maple flavoured syrups and reduced sugar ketchup. Check the ingredients on the syrups carefully. Some have high carb counts and/or maltitol. There were 2 options that seemed to be OK, but they do have sucralose. I usually go to the store that is about an hour away for me but you can order online and they advertise free shopping in Canada. Good luck. It is more challenging to find various keto ingredients in Canada, especially if you live in a more rural area with fewer shopping options.
Try Amazon, they have it. Amazon.ca
? definitely be trying your sauces/condiments……I Love condiments too ? but what if u can’t find sugar free may please Syrup??? Ugh canada can be so frustrating… any other suggestions??
Natasha
Oh no! I can’t believe you can’t find the maple syrup in Canada – i use it too frequently haha. After talking to Matthew we thought the Truvia Brown Sugar (hopefully you can find that in stores) could be a good substitute! It might be more or less sweeter than the maple syrup so I would definitely recommend tasting as you go! Also, are you able to order off Amazon and have it shipped to you? There is a link in the blog post to it on Amazon!