BBQ Sauce Recipe with Honey – A deliciously sweet, tart and tangy Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe with Honey is absolutely essential, especially for summer! After all, the difference between a dish that’s bland and boring, and one that’s bold and memorable oftentimes, is the sauce!
While most bbq sauces are loaded with refined-sugar and include an extensive ingredient list, this Recipe for BBQ Sauce with Honey is simple, and naturally sweetened! Ready to learn more? Keep reading!
BBQ Sauce Recipe with Honey
BBQ sauce is a summer staple, and one condiment that will always be stocked in our fridge during grilling season. It’s a great way to enjoy summer cookouts, without compromising on flavor, or your health! After all, it’s not normally the main course of barbeque that is the biggest issue, but instead, the sauce. Start reading the labels of store-bought barbeque sauces, and you’ll be shocked to see that more often than not, one of the first (if not the first) ingredients is high fructose corn syrup, quickly followed by modified food starch, mystery flavors, and of course, caramel color. Not exactly our idea of clean eating.
Our BBQ Sauce Recipe with Honey, on the other hand, is made up real ingredients that you’ll know and recognize, sweetened with honey, and colored completely naturally by tomatoes…just like it should be!
The Difference in Natural Sweeteners
Here at Clean Cuisine, we’re serious about avoiding refined-sugars in our diet, and for good reason! Refined-sugars contribute to inflammation, blood sugar spikes and quick energy crashes, and of course, sugar addiction. In addition, our experience has been that the more refined sugar we eat, the more we crave. Besides, there are so many natural sweetener options, refined-sugar is simply unnecessary!
Natural sweeteners, on the other hand, normally have much lower glycemic indexes than refined sugar, which can provide steadier energy. For instance, while honey only has a glycemic index of 19, sucrose (refined sugar) has 60. In addition, the nutrient-content of natural sweeteners can also offer many health benefits, where refined-sugar is essentially an empty calorie.
Ways to Use This BBQ Sauce Recipe with Honey
You should use this Recipe for BBQ Sauce with Honey as a replacement for any recipe you’d normally use conventional BBQ sauce for! Here are a few of our favorite recipes where BBQ sauce just make it that much better…
Chicken Teriyaki Kabobs: Chicken Teriyaki Kabobs are great for grilling or baking. Add our 5-minute homemade teriyaki sauce sweetened naturally for a perfect dinner.
Hamburger Recipe on Grill: This is the BEST Hamburger Recipe on Grill – delicious grass-fed burger is juicy, flavorful and a classic dinner for your menu. Yum!
Slow Cooker Recipe with Turmeric and Vegetables: This Slow Cooker Chicken Recipe with Turmeric and Vegetables is a set-it-and-forget-it tasty that yields incredibly moist chicken.
Corn Tomato Avocado Salad: Full of healthy fats and nutrients, this Corn Tomato Avocado Salad is one you can count on keeping you satisfied and full for hours! Use this BBQ Sauce as a dressing for the perfect summer salad.
Staple Condiments for Summer
Just like barbeque sauce is a hidden junk food, so are many other condiments we use on a regular basis. Ketchup, for instance is loaded with refined-sugar! Mayo is full of inflammatory oils, and ranch dressing is nothing but dairy, inflammatory oils, refined-sugar, artificial flavors, and preservatives. All-in-all, most store-bought condiments are a no-go when it comes to clean eating. Thankfully, many brands are coming out with alternatives to these junky condiments, and creating much healthier simple options for consumers!
While this is incredibly helpful for convenience purposes, you can also make healthy condiments from home quite easily. Not only do we have Vegan Mayo and Ranch Dressing Recipes, we also have healthy Honey Mustard, Ketchup, and more! So don’t miss out on your condiments this summer, simply clean them up!
We’re sure this Recipe for BBQ Sauce with Honey is going to add so much to your summer. Try it out, and let us know what you think!
BBQ Sauce Recipe with Honey
This BBQ Sauce Recipe with Honey is simple, and naturally sweetened! Enjoy grilling season healthier this year!
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- Dash of Himalayan pink salt
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Organic Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- 5 medjool dates, if not pitted, pit before adding
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat; add the onions and garlic. Saute for 6 to 7 minutes, or until onions soften. Season with salt to taste.
- Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. Set sauce aside to cool.
- Transfer cooled sauce to a high-speed blender; add the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, apple cider vinegar, honey, dates, chili powder and paprika. Process on high speed for about a minute, or until all ingredients are well-blended. Season with salt to taste.
- Transfer to a mason jar and refrigerate for up to a week.
Last Step! If you loved our recipe, leave us a review below. This helps future recipe makers and ensures continued high-quality recipes for years to come!
Notes
The Homemade BBQ Sauce recipe will keep for up to a week if stored in a mason jar and refrigerated.
P.S. Looking for More Clean Sauce Recipes?
A great sauce really can make the meal! But so many delicious sauces are made with sugar, refined oil, heavy cream, butter and other not-so clean ingredients. Check out our Clean Cuisine Superfood Cookbook (only $2.99 as a digital download) for mouthwatering sauces that are both healthy and delicious!
Kaneez
Monday 4th of April 2016
Hi Ivy,
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I'm just a bit confused and would like some clarification. When you say tomato sauce, do you just mean crushed tomatoes because the ingredients in basic tomato sauce usually include EVOO, onions, spices etc. However, these other ingredients are already included in your recipe. Can I just blend a can of whole tomatoes in my Vitamix and use 1cup of this for the "tomato sauce" portion mentioned above ?
Thanks, Kaneez
Tory
Saturday 30th of March 2019
Also wondering this! I usually buy whole or diced tomatoes!