Low Carb BBQ Sauce – Paleo Gluten Free

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It’s tough to find a good low carb BBQ sauce in the stores. But, it’s so simple to make your own from common ingredients you likely have in your kitchen.

I can’t believe it’s already July. June seems to have just come and gone so quickly. Before you know it, summer will be over and the kids will be heading back to school

It’s a long weekend for me as the 4th of July falls on a Tuesday and I took the Monday off. Friday was my scheduled day off so I’ve got five days off work to enjoy the weather.

I’ve been cooking easy summer meals and thought I’d try making homemade low carb BBQ sauce. I based my recipe on one I found at Food.com. Turns out it was super easy to make with ingredients I already had in the kitchen.

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I’m not sure why I’ve never made my own barbecue sauce before. I make my own low carb chicken marinade for grilling. And, I love making just the right amount so there’s no bottle to store in the refrigerator.

I suppose you could make a larger batch if you’d like to store some for later. However, I like the idea of making the low carb BBQ sauce for when I need it. Things tend to get lost in my refrigerator.

The recipe made enough to brush onto ten chicken drumsticks as they were grilling. I added a lot to each piece so you should be able to use it for more servings. I just didn’t want to waste any.

My husband is the pickiest eater I know and he ate up the chicken without any complaints. So, it’s got to taste pretty good to get past him.

If you don’t have any liquid smoke, you can leave it out, but it gives the sauce a nice smokey flavor. I had two teaspoons left in my bottle so that’s the amount I used.

Liquid smoke is also an ingredient you’ll want to have on hand for making your own beef jerky. I also use it to to make venison jerky if we have a lot of meat from hunting season.

You’ll definitely want to keep a bottle of liquid smoke in your kitchen for making your own low carb BBQ sauce. And, you may decide you want to make your own jerky too.

Another ingredient you’ll need is Worcestershire sauce. I just use Lea & Perrins as it’s readily available in local store and the small amount of sugar isn’t much. But, added sugar bothers you, feel free to make this paleo friendly version.

I included a photo of how the sauce looked on my chicken drumsticks below. But, this low carb BBQ sauce can be used for a lot more than grilling chicken!

The original recipe state that you can cook chicken or pork in the sauce and shred it after it’s cooked. So, it’s a homemade sauce that you can use for BBQ pulled pork or chicken.

Another idea is to cook the ingredients in a crock pot slow cooker with raw meat so you can skip making the sauce on the stove first. You can even use if for seasoning a whole chicken for slow cooking.

Both my brothers have been experimenting with cooking meat in a smoker. I may have to give that a try soon too. That’s one way to get the smokey flavor into meat without it coming from the sauce.

Low Carb BBQ Sauce Recipe

4 from 2 votes

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Low Carb BBQ Sauce

It's tough to find a good barbecue sauce in the stores without added sugar. But, it's so simple to make your own from common ingredients you likely have in your kitchen.

Calories 14 kcal

Ingredients

• 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce with no added sugar
• 2 Tablespoons mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon stevia concentrated powder or 1/4 teaspoon liquid (see note)
• 1/4 teaspoon monk fruit concentrated powder or 1/2 teaspoon liquid (see note)
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke optional for smokey flavor
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together in small sauce pan.

2. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If desired, cook boneless skinless meat in the sauce and shred for BBQ pulled pork or chicken.

Recipe Notes

You can sub out the stevia and monk fruit with any low carb sweetener. The entire recipe needs about 1/3 cup of sugar equivalent.

All ingredients can be combined in a slow cooker with raw meat for BBQ pulled pork or chicken or for slow cooked BBQ seasoned meat.

Nutrition Facts

Low Carb BBQ Sauce

Amount Per Serving (1 Tbsp)

Calories 14

% Daily Value*

Sodium 505mg 21%

Potassium 41mg 1%

Total Carbohydrates 3g 1%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 2g

Vitamin A 7%

Calcium 1%

Iron 1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.