Barbecue Sauce – gluten, soy, sugar and starch free

Here is another necessary summer recipe!  If you love to grill and if you can’t eat gluten, soy or sugar, you may be looking for a great barbecue sauce you can use on your grilled vegetables and meats.  I ended up making this recipe a few days ago when I wanted to make a Barbecue Meatloaf recipe.  I couldn’t find a barbecue sauce that was free of sugar, starch and gluten, so I made my own.

I am now in love with this sauce and found myself putting it on my zucchini noodles in place of pasta sauce last night.

I started with Ali’s Chipotle Barbecue sauce and just changed a few things.  I made it GAPS friendly by changing the maple syrup to honey and I just deleted the black-strap molasses.  I also used regular chili powder instead of chipotle because it is really too spicy for me and my son.  I also added a tsp. of paprika like Ali suggested.  In the end, I added 2 Tbsp mustard.

I too love the strained tomatoes that Ali talks about in her post, made by Bionaturae.  I buy the tomatoes along with their glass-jarred tomato paste to make most of my tomato dishes like spaghetti sauce.  This is because we are trying to avoid the BPA found in most cans of food.  Why the companies use this chemical to line their cans is beyond me!

I used my blending wand to blend it up, which I was surprised to see didn’t quite blend all the onions up.  But I actually like it a little chunky.  If you like your’s very smooth, use a regular blender for this recipe.  Here it is:

Barbecue Sauce (sugar-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and starch-free)

Again, the original recipe is from Nourishing Meals.com

1/4 cup coconut oil or olive oil (coconut oil for GAPS)

1 medium onion, chopped

6 to 8 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

one 24-ounce jar strained tomatoes

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons or sea salt

1 to 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder or regular chili powder (I used 2 tsp)

1 tsp paprika

2 Tbsp mustard

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Steps:

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and let it heat up for a minute before adding the onions. Saute onions in the oil for about 10 minutes, or until they are very soft and golden brown. Add garlic and saute a minute more.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients, stir, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  Remove from heat and transfer sauce to a blender and blend until smooth (I used a blending wand).  Taste and adjust salt and seasonings to your liking.