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.
Damn, that was good! I just brushed it on chicken thighs and was quite pleased
This Recipe was just perfect! Thanks for sharing. I am hooked to your website now!
This was perfect! I used this for my little cocktail weenies, and it was amazing. Thank you so much!
This recipe called for waaaaaay too much pepper. Much too spicy for my taste.
Heinz has sucralose, not a good sugar substitute. There are many new ketchups on the market now, that do not use sucralose.
2 teaspoons of (I assume black) pepper seems like a lot. I made it that way, but it’s way too peppery for me. Is it just me or is it a typo. Maybe 1/2 t pepper?
It is correct, but if you prefer less you don’t have to add all of it.
So my husband smoked a beef brisket the other day. With some of the leftovers we cut it into cubes and added your barbecue sauce. It was amazing! My husband usually doesn’t like barbecue sauce but he really love the taste of your recipe! It will definitely become a staple in our house!
This sounds yummy…will be making this to go with my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken. I bought some low carb bbq sauce…YUCK! Bad aftertaste. Homemade is always better.
Sugar Free Maple Syrup ? Are you referring to ‘sugar free maple flavored syrup’ because real maple syrup has ‘sugar’ on the nutrition label, but no added sugar.
Yes, sugar free maple flavored syrup like walden farms or lakanto
I’m trying to make keto Sweet and sour meatballs. I have no problems with the meatballs but it’s getting the sauce just right.
My family likes that I use the jar of Concord grape jelly, BBQ sauce, mustard and tomato sauce with some chili powder , to make a very sweet and goey sauce that the meatballs simmer in. I haven’t made them for the last couple of years. I’m trying to make a recipe but can’t seem to get it right.
Can you help me out?
Using this recipe as a base and then you can add in mustard, sugar-free grape jelly, and whatever else you want and simmer it down until it is thick enough for you.
Love the recipe. Have made it twice for Baby back ribs. My kids like it also which is a good way to have low carb, no sugar meal for them. One question, how do I make it thicker. Do I just simmer it and stir it longer?
Yup! Just let it simmer and stir longer. The longer you cook it, the more liquid that will evaporate, making it thicker. This is called reducing 🙂
Hello. Thanks for the BBQ recipe. I noticed it has 2 grams of carbs, but per what? Is that per tablespoon? Maybe I missed it in the reading .. sorry if I did!
Hi, the whole recipe is 8 servings which is 1-2 tablespoons depending on how much you reduced the sauce. You could see how many tablespoons you get out of our sauce and then use that as the new servings for the whole recipe.
2 carbs per serving. But how much is a serving?
We divide the recipe into 8, we don’t weigh or measure serving sizes.
This is delicious. Making it now.
This recipe is amazing! I didn’t use the liquid smoke , but used smoked paprika and added somecrushed red pepper, thanks guys?
I dont see the serving size in your nutrition label. Is it 1tbsp or 2tbsp?
Sorry, we don’t measure/weigh nutrition sizes. We just divide it into the number of servings.
Hi, is this recipe going to be sticky? That is the kind I want to make.