Summer’s here, and Canada Day and Independence Day are right around the corner! And you know what that means. It’s time to fire up the barbecue! The only problem? Commercial barbecue sauces have a LOT of sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and may also contain gluten. So I decided to try my hand at making some homemade sauce again. I tried making a paleo-friendly BBQ sauce last summer but never really got something I thought was good enough to share. And then I found my secret ingredient: apple! Pureed apple adds the needed sweetness and body to the sauce.
Heat some coconut oil in a small pot over medium heat and throw in the onions and garlic. When the onions are soft and translucent, turn the heat down to medium low and add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, apple slices, water, and honey. You can add more or less honey to suit your taste. Stir in the spices and leave it all to simmer for 30 minutes or more. You want the the flavours to deepen and the apple slices to be nice and soft.
Pour the mixture into your blender and puree everything until smooth. You can either use the sauce as is or, if you like it thicker, throw it back in the pot and let it simmer for a little while longer to reduce.
Fair warning, my sauce is not going to have that dark red colour you may be used to in commercial barbecue sauces. The pureed apples and lack of colourants make this kind of a brick orangey-red colour. Don’t worry, it still tastes great!
We’ve used this slathered on barbecued chicken thighs and ribs, or as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets. Hubs barbecued some steaks and short ribs with this batch. Dee-licious!
Homemade Paleo BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can tomato paste 5.5 oz.
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 small apple thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 teaspoons brown mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- pinch of ground clove
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of anise
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil over medium heat. Once shimmering, add onions and garlic and saute until onions turn translucent.
- Turn heat down to medium low and add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Pour mixture into blender and puree until smooth.
Yum this sauce sounds really good. I have been experimenting by attempting to make my own sauces as well. I look forward to trying this one next!
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It’s kind of fun, actually. Let me know how you like it if you do end up making it. 🙂
I love home made sauces,they are so much better than store sauces
Absolutely! And there’s something satisfying (to me, at least) about making my own.
yum – looks so good!
This sounds yummy! I will definitely have to try this! I found your blog through the Delicious Dish Tuesday link up. 🙂
Thanks, Julie! So glad you could stop by.
These ingredients are awesome! I would love to try this instead of regular BBQ sauce from the store 🙂
This sounds so yummy, never would have thought to use coconut oil
I’m sure you could use any healthy fat. I buy huge jars from Costco so that’s what I use. 🙂
I’ve switched to making homemade salad dressings b/c of all the junk in the bottled kind, but I haven’t attempted bbq sauce yet. Good idea using apple for sweetness and body. Thank you for linking, Olivia.
Yes, I make my own garlic rosemary vinaigrette for the same reason. I think I need a few more dressing recipes though. Thanks for stopping by!
Looks delicious! My husband LOVES condiments and I’ve had to move him to a Paleo diet for digestion issues, so this is perfect 🙂
Thanks, Brittney! Lots of paleo recipes around here. 😀
I now have the need to make my own BBQ sauce since my boyfriend discovered he has a sensitivity to vinegar…except for apple cider vinegar. I can’t wait to try this recipe out since one of our favorite dishes is crock pot BBQ ribs!
Sound delish! Let me know how it works with your ribs if you try it.
I have been using this for pizza sauce,and we love it
This is a “must try” recipe, although I can almost guarantee just looking at it, that I’m going to love it!
I love how healthy this is so much in comparison to the sugary, full of preservatives bottled versions.
Back in the day my mom would make bbq sauce from scratch and we went through bottles every summer! This sauce sounds really lovely; I’m gonna make it!!
Thanks for the recipe!