Clean Eating Barbecue Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a healthy barbecue sauce? ›

Healthy Store-Bought BBQ Sauce

Look for brands that don't have high fructose corn syrup or some form of sugar listed as the first ingredient. It's also ideal to have less than 10 grams of sugar and 300mg of sodium per serving. There are a few brands that make healthier BBQ sauce with natural/organic ingredients.

Fruit-based sauces are a great option for people looking to cut down the acid content in tomato base sauces like the BBQ. These sauces use fruits like pineapples, mangos, apricots, apples, and even peaches to enhance the taste while doing away with the need to add granulated sugar.

Adding garlic or onion powder are standard flavors for barbecue, but get a little creative and try out different chile powders, peppers, cumin, or dried herbs to add body to the sauce.

Choose a Lean Protein, Preferably Chicken

Barbecue restaurants usually serve a variety of meats like baby back ribs, brisket, pulled pork, spareribs and grilled chicken. Your best option is to stick with grilled chicken. It may not look as appealing as the brisket, but chicken is delicious when done right.

Combine brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water, and Worcestershire sauce in a blender. Season with mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Generally, barbecue sauces is categorized into four varieties: tomato-based sauces, vinegar-based sauces, mustard-based sauces, and mayonnaise-based sauces. Each category can have a range of BBQ sauce styles, ranging from sweet and tangy to hot and spicy.

How to make a good barbecue? ›

Making BBQ sauce is a lot easier than many people think. It requires only a few ingredients most people have already in their homes and minimal cooking! I prefer to make most of my condiments homemade. That way you can control the taste and quality, and it's cheaper than buying store-bought versions.

Take a tip from North Carolina and look to vinegar—white vinegar, apple cider vinegar—as the key to great barbecue sauce, cutting its sweetness and lending a little tang.

Ingredients vary, but most include vinegar or tomato paste (or a combination) as a base, as well as liquid smoke, onion powder, spices such as mustard and black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar or molasses.

Using leaner cuts of meat can greatly reduce your saturated fat intake. Buying loin of pork instead of ribs, or lean steak rather than a fattier cut, are healthier choices. And don't forget to remove skin from chicken. It might be more expensive to buy leaner meat, so you need to think differently about how you use it.

Sweet Baby Ray's also uses sodium benzoate as a preservative, which can convert to the carcinogen benzene (via Healthline). Overall, you should consider having Sweet Baby Ray's as an occasional treat, rather than as a dietary fixture.

Stubb's Sweet Honey and Spice BBQ Sauce | Gluten Free, No High Fructose Corn Syrup - 18 oz.