Sweet and Smoky Whole30 Barbecue Sauce

A jar of barbecue sauce with a ribbon around the top on a gray wooden background.

5 from 8 votes

Sweet and Smoky Whole30 Barbecue Sauce

Sweet and Smoky Barbecue Sauce: Ever wonder how to make barbecue sauce from scratch? My homemade barbecue sauce is the perfect blend of sweet and smoky flavor with a little bit of heat. Once you make your own barbecue sauce, you won't buy another bottle.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Cooling Time30

Total Time1

Servings: servings

Calories: 35kcal

Author: Kari

Equipment

Small Saucepan
immersion blender

Ingredients

Date Mixture

5 small dates
5 tbsp water

Barbecue Sauce

1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5oz Fire Roasted Tomatoes are awesome as well. They add a little more of that smoky barbecue flavor!
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp coconut aminos Coconut aminos are a substitute for soy sauce. If you do not want to make a Paleo sauce, you can use soy sauce and decrease the amount of salt that you add.
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp smoked paprika Smoked paprika helps to provide the smoky flavor in this sauce - if you do not want the smoky taste, regular paprika is a good substitute.
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper Increase to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if you want a little more heat.

Instructions

Date Mixture

Chop your dates into bite-size pieces (around the size of a marble) and mix with water.
Heat for 30 seconds and check to make sure that there is still water. Repeat 3-4 times so that dates are soft and water is sweet. (1:30 - 2 minutes total.)

Barbecue Sauce

Combine all ingredients to your saucepan, including the date and water mixture.
Mix well and bring to a boil.
Once the sauce is boiling, decrease the heat to a simmer.
Simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Blend with an immersion blender* (making sure that the blender is fully submerged.) *If you do not have an immersion blender, let the sauce cool and add to a regular blender. Be sure that it is cooled before blending as it is dangerous to blend hot liquids.
Return to heat and simmer for 5 - 10 more minutes if you would like a deeper flavor or use right away.
Serve with meats - ribs, chicken, pork - whatever your heart desires!

Notes

Store your homemade barbecue sauce in the refrigerator once it has cooled off. The shelf life of homemade barbecue sauce is about 10 - 12 days. If you think that you will not use all of your sauce, you can freeze half of it - it freezes and defrosts really well! (You can also do a double batch and freeze it in portions so that you have some ready to go when you need it ;) )

Nutrition