Description

This homemade BBQ sauce recipe is easy to make, in just 25 minutes! It’s deep and smoky, tangy, sweet with a little bit of heat. Vegan, gluten-free adaptable!

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup shallots (or sub 1 cup red onion) finely diced ( or sub other
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or oregano)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
15-ounce can tomato sauce (or sub 1 3/4 cups ketchup,or 6-ounce can tomato paste –see notes)
1–2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Amino Acid ( GF)
1/3 cup molasses (or sub honey or maple syrup)
1/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar or other sugar alternative)
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Optional additions: chipotle powder, cayenne, adobo sauce from canned chipotles

Instructions

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sauce pan or pot. Add shallots and sauté, and stir continuously for 3-4 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low, and cook until they are deeply golden, fragrant and soften, 5-6 more minutes.
Add thyme, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and saute one minute. Add tomato sauce, liquid smoke, vinegar, soy sauce, molasses and brown sugar.
Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer gently, uncovered, for 10-ish minutes, letting it reduce, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.
Taste. Adjust salt, vinegar and sweetness to your liking. If it lacks depth try adding a bouillon cube (break it up first), or even a little miso paste.
To add heat, use the adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers one tablespoon at a time, or add ground chipotle or cayenne to taste.
Store in a sealed jar in the fridge. Keeps up to 2 months and miake a great hostess gift.

Notes

Molasses really adds beautiful deep color here.

If using 6-ounce can of tomato paste, add 1 cup water.

If using ketchup, reduce brown sugar, salt and vinegar by half, then add more back in to taste at the end.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
Calories: 59
Sugar: 10.8 g
Sodium: 295.6 mg
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
Carbohydrates: 12.1 g
Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: homemade bbq sauce, easy bbq sauce, bbq sauce recipe, barbecue sauce recipe, easy vegan bbq sauce