Keto BBQ Sauce Recipe (Low Carb & Sugar Free)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup
canned tomato sauce or puree - 1/2 cup
apple cider vinegar - 1/2 cup
powdered erythritol sweetener - 2 tbsp
worcestershire sauce - 1 tbsp
smoked paprika - 1 tsp
garlic powder - 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp
ground cayenne
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add all ingredients to a sauce pot over medium-high heat and stir together as you bring to a simmer.
- Simmer until the sauce reaches your desired thickness, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually reduce the heat as needed to maintain a simmer.
- Taste the sauce. Add erythritol and cayenne as needed to adjust sweetness and spiciness.
- Let cool. Cover and refrigerate.
NUTRITION
| Makes 10 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving (2 tbsp): |
| Calories 20 (5% from fat) | |
| Total Fat 0g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 270mg | 11% |
| Net Carb 2.5g | |
| Total Carb 3g | 1% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.5g | 3% |
| Sugars 1g | |
| Protein 1g |
How do you make low carb bbq sauce that’s keto friendly?
Low carb bbq sauce is made using tomato puree, apple cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, and erythritol sweetener instead of sugar. These ingredients are combined in a small saucepan, simmered for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens, and then chilled in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To develop this recipe, I experimented with various flavors and ingredients. Paprika is great for its smoky flavor and coloring, and the cayenne helps bring the heat.
This homemade version tastes just like the storebought kind. You can adjust the cayenne to taste to match your preference. I recommend using 1/4 teaspoon cayenne for a mild to moderately hot bbq sauce. If you’re concerned that it’ll be too spicy, start with only 1/8 teaspoon and add more to taste after the sauce has simmered and reached its desired thickness.
What is erythritol powder?
Erythritol is key to making this bbq sauce keto friendly, low carb, and sugar free. It’s a sweetener that cannot be digested by the body and has no effect on blood sugar or insulin levels. It works fabulously in this recipe, as it becomes wholly incorporated into the sauce. You won’t taste a “cooling” effect or experience erythritol crystallization.
I use powdered erythritol, and not the granulated kind. If you buy erythritol granules, you can pulverize them in a blender such as the Nutribullet until it becomes very fine powder. The volume will significantly increase as well. The powder is more easily incorporated into the sauce and I recommend using that form in this recipe.
Note that erythritol is only about 70% as sweet as table sugar. If you replace with another type of sweetener, you’ll have to adjust the amount used. You can either do the math or add your preferred sweetener to taste.
What can I do with keto bbq sauce?
There are so many ways you can use this keto bbq sauce:
- bbq meatloaf (scroll below for my 5 ingredient recipe)
- bbq ribs
- bbq burgers
- bbq shredded chicken
- bbq pulled pork sandwiches
- bbq brisket
- bbq salad dressings
- bbq meatballs
- bbq pizza or flatbread
And the list goes on. Give this recipe a try, and in the comments section below, let me know what you used the sauce for!
How about some keto bbq meatloaf?
The above recipe yields 1.25 cups of homemade keto bbq sauce. That’s more than enough to make my delicious 5-ingredient meatloaf. This is a keto meatloaf that doesn’t require milk or bread crumbs. Ingredients include:
- 1 pound 80% lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup low carb bbq sauce
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (sandy consistency)
- 1/2 cup finely diced onions
- 1 large egg, beaten
Mix all of these ingredients together except for half of the bbq sauce, and form into a loaf and place on a baking dish. Bake at 325 F until cooked through, about 1 hour. Drain out the meatloaf drippings, brush the meatloaf with remaining bbq sauce, and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the sauce is cooked in. This meatloaf yields 4 servings, each with 210 calories and 4 g net carbs.
I spent some time investigating how to make meatloaf as moist as possible. If your meatloaf is a tad bit on the dry side, I recommend using fattier ground beef (no less than 20% fat) and avoid lean meats such as turkey or chicken. Use a thermometer so that you don’t overcook the meat — take it out of the oven when the center reaches 155 F.
Simmering in the pot now! Taste delicious. I’m putting it on ribs yum.
Thank you! I used this for BBQ Chicken Wings – fantastic!
This sauce is amazing! I LOVE it and will make it again!!
This sauce is amazing! Absolutely love it. I like to double or even triple the batch and then I store in small containers in the freezer. I also do this with my homemade red sauce. Just a suggestion so you don’t have to cook as often😉
Great idea!! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Very good. I’ll have to play with the sweetener next time. I used Splenda because it was in my cupboard. I tasted the chemical component of it, which is unusual for me. I used hot paprika and chipotle instead of cayenne (personal preference). Other than that, I stuck to the recipe, which is unusual for me. I would make this with real sugar if I chose to go off low carb rather than buying sauce. That’s how much I liked it.
With the amount of sweetener it was far too sweet for me. Sickly sweet even though I used 2/3 of what was suggested. Next time I’ll probably not use any at all. Otherwise a nice sauce.
Did you use erythritol as opposed to erythritol blends like Swerve and Lakanto? Erythritol is only 70% as sweet as Swerve, so if you used Swerve then it would have been too sweet. Also, the recipe calls for powdered erythritol. The same amount of sweetener often takes up significantly more volume when in powdered form as opposed to granulated.
How long do you think the keto BBQ sauce would stay fresh in the frig?
Hi Christine. I usually use mine up pretty fast, within a week, so it should last at least that long.
I freeze mine and thaw it out as needed.
can I add this in a slow cooker to make pulled pork or will that be a problem? im not familiar with the heat stability of sugar alcohols.
Not a problem at all, you can definitely do that.
I made this without the erythritol using Monk instead because my wife can’t tolerate erythritol. It turned out very good so the next day I started with fresh tomatoes, classic mirpoix w/ Anzac cognac flamebee, deglazed with white wine and veal stock then reduced by 2/3 with a bouquet garni adding some Kerrigold butter at the end for the sheen. I apologize for Frenching a barbecue recipe but French IS Keto- except of course for the bread, pastries, potatoes, flour-based roux, etc., etc
Thanks! Great recipe – I added a bit more ACV to 1/2 the batch and it made a great Carolina style sauce delicious on some smoked country ribs and pulled pork!
Did you add more erythritol to counter the ACV?
This is so yummy!! I did not have smoked paprika so I used regular paprika and added some liquid smoke. I am in love!
This sauce is amazing!!!! Very happy with the results
I have to thank you for turning me on to Erythritol. I’m diabetic and use a little splenda… But I’m always concerned with the long term health effects. I’m super excited to try experimenting with it in other recipes.
I only have the granulated erythritol should I used less?
I would use less, better to err on the side of too little than too much. In Step 3 you can do a taste test and add more if desired.
I know this is 5 months too late lol… but you can always run granulated sugar/erythritol through the magic bullet, vitamix, blender, etc. and it will turn to powder very nicely.
Hi there. I just started keto. I’m not a big fan of sweetners like stevia etc. How would this be if I left the sweetener out? I did order some monk fruit& eythorol. I haven’t tried that yet.
I recommend trying this with a sweetener. Your monk fruit erythritol should work well here. You can either do the conversion math (knowing that pure erythritol is 70% as sweet as sugar, and check your monk fruit packaging to see how it compares to sugar), or add your sweetener to taste.
The sauce and meatloaf recipes look great! I plan on making this for dinner. Do you have the nutrition information for the meatloaf? I’m keeping track of my macros. Thanks!
Sorry, I don’t have the nutrition info for the meatloaf. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi, can I use swerve?
Definitely! Erythritol isn’t a 1:1 substitution for sugar like Swerve is, so the amount will be a bit different. If you use confectioners Swerve, I suggest using 1/3 cup. If you use granular Swerve, start with 1/4 cup. If the end result isn’t as sweet as you’d like, you can add more to taste.
How long can this be stored in a fridge? Can this be froze for later use?
I haven’t tried freezing this so I can’t say how it’ll turn out.
WOW — I’m impressed! Best low carb recipe I’ve had! Easy to make, love the flavor.
You’re welcome, Cedric! Hope you get a chance to make this again soon.
I used a Stevia/Erythritol blend and although I doubled the recipe, I only used 1/2 cup of this blend. I used well rounded teaspoon of garlic powder and extra smoked paprika and cayenne powder as well. Nicely spicy
Sounds great, thanks for the feedback!
I added a teaspoon of onion powder, 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke and 2 teaspoons of chipotle powder instead of cayenne. I used half homemade ranch and half BBQ sauce to make BBQ Ranch dressing for my BBQ Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad. I’m really excited to use it on slow smoked ribs next! Good stuff!
Yum!! Love those substitutions 🙂
Can i use stevia ?
Yes, that should work. I suggest adding it to taste until the sauce reaches your desired sweetness.
This is great tasting bbq sauce. Highly suggest you try it if you haven’t.
I used half of the eurithritol and it was really sweet. I suggest you add some taste add more as you like. Glad I didn’t put the whole half cup in.
I never use any erythritol in any cooking. So I substituted 1 tsp ginger and added 1 Tbs liquid smoke. I only used 1/4 Cup ACV(braggs) and used 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce in place of ground cayenne. It tastes great.
Great!! Thanks for your feedback. It’s very useful to know what other substitutions would work well.
Thank you for the recipe! I made this tonight, and really liked it…and so did my non-Keto husband. I used half the xylitol and thought that was perfect.
I was looking at the ingredients and that sugar substitute has as many carbs as regular sugar 4g and on yiur list it say 3g so how did u get to that number
Did you count sugar alcohols like erythritol? Erythritol cannot be digested by the body (like fiber), so it should be subtracted. You should be calculating net carbs, which is equal to total carbs minus fiber minus erythritol.