Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowA sugar free BBQ sauce is exactly what you need to take your dinner from bland to outstanding. But where on earth do you find one? Getting high quality, low carb keto BBQ sauce on the shelf at your local grocery market isn’t easy… and when you do, “sugar free barbecue sauce” is usually code for flavor-free and full of artificial ingredients. No, thanks.
Before developing this recipe, I thought store-bought sauces with sucralose were the only way to enjoy that sweet and smoky flavor — but there’s a better way! This rich, tangy, smoky sugar free BBQ sauce has been popular every summer for years, and for good reason. It packs a flavorful punch with no added sugar, and will take your chicken, easy grilling recipes, or whatever else you’re cooking up to the next level. Readers have even told me it won awards in contests. Fire up that grill and get cooking!
Why You’ll Love This Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Recipe
- Sweet, smoky and tangy taste
- Thick and smooth texture
- Ready in less than 30 minutes
- No artificial preservatives, thickeners, colors, or sweeteners
- Just 3.5g net carbs per serving
- Healthy, gluten free, sugar free BBQ sauce for tons of flavor
- Award winning in reader contests!
Since BBQ sauce is a bit sweet, we’re swapping out the sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners with Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend. This blend gives super smooth texture to sauces, all with 0g net carbs and just-like-sugar sweetness. I use it to make sugar free ketchup, too!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best sugar free barbecue sauce ingredients, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Tomato Paste – Gives BBQ sauce a thick, rich texture and natural sweetness. If you don’t have any, you can use triple the amount of tomato sauce instead and just simmer for longer to thicken.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – Adds tang. If you don’t have any, you can use white vinegar or lemon juice for a similar tart alternative.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – I exclusively use and recommend this one because it dissolves completely, unlike other sugar substitutes that can leave your keto BBQ sauce recipe gritty or crystallize when you store it. If you still want to use something else, make sure it’s powdered and use my sweetener conversion chart to get the correct quantity.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Adds umami flavor and slight sweetness. I like this one, which is gluten-free. Technically it contains a trivial amount of sugar, but with 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce used for the entire recipe, each serving would contain only 1/20 tablespoon of it (like a drop). If you prefer, you could omit it or use a dash of blackstrap molasses with a little water instead.
- Liquid Hickory Smoke – For true barbecue flavor, this ingredient makes the biggest difference — don’t skip it! Many grocery stores carry liquid smoke near other seasonings or condiments, or you can find the one I use online here.
- Spices – Like many store bought brands, this sauce uses a combination of smoked paprika, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper (more or less depending how spicy you like it), and chili powder to give the perfect flavor.
VARIATION: Want brown sugar flavor?
Replace half of the Besti powdered sweetener with Besti Brown Sugar Substitute! It dissolves just as easily and tastes just like brown sugar, with zero net carbs.
How To Make Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
This section shows how to make keto BBQ sauce, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
TIP: Water quantity will vary.
Start with a cup of water, then whisk in a bit more at a time, until it reaches a consistency slightly thinner than barbecue sauce. I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of water, but it will vary depending on how thick your tomato paste is.
- Cook to reduce. Bring to a gentle boil at medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low. Simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened to your liking.
- Adjust sweetness and heat. Taste and add more Besti or cayenne pepper, if desired.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Keep homemade sugar free BBQ sauce in a mason jar, airtight container, or condiment bottle in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Freeze: Keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also freeze in an ice cube tray, then transfer to a freezer bag, to have individual portions on hand for your favorite recipes.
Best Keto BBQ Sauce Uses
You just can’t beat the sweet, smoky, tangy flavors in this sugar free BBQ sauce recipe. It can add a kick of flavor to so many dishes! Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
- Chicken – Make a BBQ chicken pizza on cauliflower crust, baste crispy oven baked chicken thighs with sauce, or use as a dipping sauce for keto chicken nuggets or keto chicken tenders. You can also toss your shredded chicken in it! My favorite way to use it though is slathered on grilled BBQ chicken legs.
- Beef – Slather sirloin steak, ribs, or chuck eye steak with keto BBQ sauce before throwing them on the grill. Or, use it to top keto meatloaf instead of ketchup.
- Pork – Make pulled pork sandwiches or slather sauce on air fryer pork chops.
- Salad – I always use this to make my BBQ chicken salad.
More Low Carb Sauce Recipes
Keep sugar and fillers out of your sauces with these recipes. If you like this low carb BBQ sauce, you’ll love these other keto sauces to pair with your favorite low carb mains:
Sugar Free BBQ Sauce (Keto)
Satisfy your craving for barbecue with this sweet, smoky, and tangy keto sugar free BBQ sauce. It's so easy to make and has won awards!
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Whisk all ingredients together in a saucepan, adding the water last. Start with a cup of water, then whisk in a bit more at a time, until it reaches a consistency *slightly thinner* than barbecue sauce. I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of water, but it will vary depending on how thick your tomato paste is.
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Bring to a gentle boil at medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
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Taste and adjust sweetener or cayenne pepper if you prefer the sauce to be sweeter or spicier. If it’s still thicker than you like, you can stir in additional water, a tablespoon at a time, until reaching desired consistency.
Did You Like It?
Leave a rating to help other readers (this also helps me continue to provide free recipes on my site), or get the recipe sent to your inbox.
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 2 tbsp
- Entire recipe makes 2 1/2 cups.
- The Worcestershire sauce linked in the ingredients list is gluten-free. Technically it contains a little sugar, but with 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce used for the entire recipe, each serving would contain only 1/20 tablespoon of it (like a drop). This is factored into the nutrition info and net carbs below. If you prefer, you could even omit it or use a dash of molasses with a little water instead, but it would affect the flavor.
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂
293 Comments
Roberta
0This recipe is actually easy to make, but in my opinion, there’s too much tomato paste, which is already concentrated. So at the end you’ll have a sort of smokey tomato sauce that is not the same as a BBQ sauce in balance of flavors. Just to share my considerations…
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you for sharing, Roberta. It could be that it was cooked for too long and got too concentrated, but otherwise sorry to hear it wasn’t for you. It should be pretty easy to adjust the spices if you’d like. A few readers have said they added more hickory smoke.
Darlene
0I will definitely be trying this but I wanted to comment on freezing in mason jars. I’ve had the bottom of 2 mason jars crack in the freezer. The contents were chilled when added to the jar and there was plenty of headroom.
KTGreen
0Everyone seems to be on a Keto diet! I need to cut down on sugar. So was having a 60th celebration for a bestie and made your bbq sauce for pulled chicken in my crock pot. Big hit! Even my thin husband who doesn’t worry about that stuff loved it!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah
0Such a great quick and easy bbq sauce!! I save my old squeeze bottles so I filled one up with this. I have been using it on everything.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Yay, so glad to hear that, Sarah! Good idea to store it in a squeeze bottle.
Anja
0This was absolutely delicious as is. Thank you for providing a healthier alternative to BBQ sauce. 🙂
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so glad you liked the BBQ sauce, Anja! Thanks for stopping by!
Charlee
0Are those nutrition facts for the whole recipe or just for the 2 tbsp serving size?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Charlee, The nutrition info is per serving.
Caroline Brunet
02 1/2 cup of tomato paste or 6 oz ??
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Caroline, It’s 2 1/2 6-oz cans. So, 15 oz total.
Karen
0Too much tomato paste! I tried to weaken/thin it out and it didn’t help. I will use one tomato paste or sauce!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Karen, Thanks for sharing. It does sound like it needed to thin out a lot more.
Tracy
0I was so happy to find this recipe! I added about 1/2 a tsp of maple extract, in lieu of molasses and 2 Tablespoons of Truvia brown sugar blend to give it a sweeter, more of a Kansas City version.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Tracy! Those sound like delicious updates to the recipe.
Krista
0Made this yesterday. Pretty good. Needed more salt and a lot more liquid smoke.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Krista, Thank you for the feedback! I’m glad you liked it overall. Definitely feel free to adjust the salt and liquid smoke if you want more.
Eleanor
0Oh my God this barbecue sauce is awesome! And the fact that it’s low in carbs and sugar is even better! I want to bottle this stuff up and give it to all my friends as a happy summer gift. I definitely will make again.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked it, Eleanor!
Rodriguez Deborah
0The sauce came out very good. I didn’t have tomato paste, so I used a can of tomato and simmered it for a long time, then puréed it with a submersion blender. It was a hit!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy to hear that, Rodriguez!
Andre
0The sauce came out great but I did tweak it a bit. Only one can of paste and about 1 cup of Heinz sugar free ketchup. Also to kick up the flavor a bit I put in one tablespoon of Korean GOCHUJANG PASTE. If you have never tried it before I highly recommend it. Gives a lot of spicy, sweet umami body to the sauce. It does add a little bit extra carbs but it is well worth it.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thanks for sharing with us, Andre! Have a great day!
Lora Ball
0Can you use honey as your sweetener? If you can would you still use the listed 1/3 cup?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lora, Yes, you can, but it would not be sugar-free or low carb. The amount would probably be similar, but I recommend starting with a bit less and adjusting to taste just in case.
DeeD
0Love this sauce!!! Didn’t have tomato paste but did have 1gram sugar ketchup…turned out great!!!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi DeeD! I am so happy you liked the BBQ sauce! Have a great day!
Claudia
0Hi there,
What would you use to substitute evaporated milk for a more keto friendly ingredient list?
Thanks for your help with this. I get so much value from your blog!!
Claudia
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Claudia, There is no evaporated milk in this. Are you looking at a different recipe?
Julie a Carlson
0Great try, but it’s not that good. Too much tomato paste, and is lacking real onion, real garlic, and carb free things that might make it a lot better. Sorry…
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Julie, Thank you for the feedback. I wanted to make it as quick/easy as possible, and keep the carb count down, so opted for garlic powder and onion powder, but you can use the actual veggies if you prefer. If you feel it’s missing other ingredients, I’d love to hear what you would add.
Lisa Cowan
0I was so happy to find a low carb sugar free barbeque sauce – Thank You! After adding the 1 and 1/2 cups water, it was still quite thick for us. So, I add beef broth to thin, and it is really good. The recipe fills a glass quart jar and that’s an easy way to store it in the fridge.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lisa! I am so happy you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!
Rick Cann
0This is some VERY good tasting bbq sauce!!! I did add the molasses (couple tablespoons) and ended up adding close to 3 cups of water to get the right consistency. The finished product was quite tangy, which concerned me a bit, but once it was cooked on the chicken, it was the best bbq’d chicken my wife and I have ever eaten!!! (we used thighs with bones in).
Thanks for this great sauce….you can bet we’ll be using it frequently – btw………I did a double batch of it………so good!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you like it, Rick! Thank you for stopping by!
Brittani
0Has anyone tried this without any sweetener? I am trying to stay away from all sweeteners.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Brittani, I haven’t tried since BBQ sauce is generally sweet. But from a consistency standpoint there’s no reason why you can’t, so let me know how it goes for you if you try it.
Rick Cann
0I could definitely understand the no sweeteners – I even added 2 tsp of molasses, BUT….I’m betting the sauce would still be very good with no sweeteners at all. Most people like it sweet, even put honey in it (which isn’t as bad for you as sugar or even any fake sweeteners). I do like mine somewhat sweet for sure.
Lisa
0How long can you store it in the fridge?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lisa, It stores for a while! At least a week, but even a few weeks has worked out fine for me. Give it a stir or shake if it sits for a while.
Anna Jalovec
0Maya,
I’m thinking of using Heinz Reduced Sugar ketchup instead of tomato paste. You haven’t by chance tried it have you? Any thoughts on how this would work? I like all the ingredients you out together for this sauce.
Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Anna, Sorry, I haven’t tried. Let me know how it goes if you do!
Connie
0Very tomato tasting. Had to add many spices and tweak it to taste like a bbq sauce. Thank you though. I love all the keto recipes.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Connie, Sorry that it wasn’t for you. I’m glad you were able to tweak it to your liking.
Charity
0Made this today (had to use Splenda as my Swerve isn’t arriving until next week) and it’s good, but very heavy on the tomato flavor (obviously due to the paste). I added about a tbsp of liquid smoke which helped the flavor. Like I said it’s good and going on my ribs later, but I think next time I’ll cut back on the tomato paste and try some other minor tweaks.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Charity, Thank you for the feedback! The recipe does have liquid smoke already but you can always add more. Let me know how it goes if you make some other tweaks!
Victoria
0how long can I store this BBQ sauce in the frig.?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Victoria! I don’t have an exact duration for how long it would last in the fridge, but it should be the same as any other BBQ sauce (which is a while). I’ve had mine for a couple of weeks and it’s still good. There’s a fair amount of vinegar in it, so that helps it stay fresh. Have a great day!
Jackie
0I didn’t realize that tomato paste can be loaded with sugar. The 12 oz can I got has 30 grams of sugar and 60 carbs. Need to look for a low sugar or sugar free type for this recipe to work
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jackie, Tomato paste does not usually have any added sugar, it is just very concentrated tomato puree. When divided among multiple servings, this barbecue sauce comes out to 3.5g net carbs per serving (2 tablespoons).
Jen in ND
0I made this for the Superbowl last weekend. It was super thick due to the 15 oz. of tomato paste, and I even doubled the water! Next time I’ll take the extra carbs and use tomato sauce, with maybe a half can of tomato paste, and some water. My mother is convinced you meant sauce instead of paste, but I scrolled through the comments. Otherwise, I really liked the flavor, and nobody complained, I’ll make it again for sure, just with the changes I mentioned.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you for the feedback, Jen. The recipe was with tomato paste but the sauce thickens depending on how long you simmer and even the simmer temperature, so the amount of water is variable. If it was thick, you would need even more water. It might work fine with tomato sauce, too, but the paste has more intense flavor.
Tobler William
0Hi Maya. Excellent BBQ sauce. A little sweet for me, and I will fix that next time I make it. “Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes” is not possible. Your whole kitchen will be red with BBQ sauce. Next time I’ll put less water in and simmer “covered” for 10 minutes and call it good. Thanks for all your hard work, I think you nailed it.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Tobler, Thank you so much, I’m glad you liked it! If it splatters, I’m thinking either the heat was too high or it wasn’t enough water. But, you can probably cover it if you want to.
Jessica
0If using tomato sauce, instead of paste, would you recommend omitting the water, or still add water and reduce liquid until it’s the consistency of a bbq sauce?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jessica, You will still need water, but less of it. You can add more until it reaches about the consistency of barbecue sauce. It will reduce more as it cooks, but you can always add a bit more water if needed to thin it out.
Barb
0Started low carb, just made this. It’s fantastic! I used xylitol and there is no aftertaste. It’s tangy smoky goodness! Thank you.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Barb!
Frank
0Tried it today, found it way too sweet. I’d suggest cutting the sweetener in half and then adding to taste. Otherwise very flavourful, I’ll be trying it again.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Frank, I’m glad you liked it otherwise. The sweetener can definitely be adjusted to your taste. 🙂
Brian
0What is the serving size for the nutrition facts?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Brian, the serving size is two tablespoons of BBQ sauce.
Jim Hallmark
0You list the net carbs as 3.5 but shouldn’t it actually be .5 instead? My understanding is that you also subtract the sugars to get the net carbs.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jim, No, 3.5 is correct. You should not subtract sugar when calculating net carbs. Sugar definitely counts as carbs.
Healthy World Cuisine
0Loving this sauce- all the main components, spicy, slightly sweet, savory and tangy! Can’t wait to try it! Just pinned!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you!
Patrick Manley
0I used this with pulled pork at our church lunch, and everybody loved it. Tasted others in the family on it, and they couldn’t get over how good it was. For the sweetener I used 1/2 honey and 1/2 pure maple syrup, and I doubled the cayenne and chili powder. It wasn’t too hot at all.
Great Recipe. Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Patrick! Happy to hear everyone enjoyed it!
Sherie
0I made this today and used 1/2 cup of Splenda and it’s AWESOME! Sweet and then you get the fabulous smoked spicy from the paprika for a great finish! I love it and will keep it on hand at all times!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Sherie! I like to always keep it on hand, too.
Linda Carter
0I was thinking it will freeze well – kind of like spaghetti sauce will. I think I will try freezing it in ice cube trays, then when frozen putting the cubes in a freezer tight bag. I am single so I do this with spaghetti sauce and it is awesome. Just take out what you need.
This is a GREAT recipe. Thanks for all the work that went into it AND how patiently you answer people.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Linda! I love the idea of freezing this in ice cube trays. I’ll need to try that next time I make it!
Gene Olvera
0You poor thing, having to repeat yourself over and over. I tried this recipe and it is awesome.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Gene! I’m glad you liked it.
Jack Tripper
0I made this tonight to go on some ribs and I have to say it was quite crackin’ good. I didn’t have worcestershire or onion powder but I added a couple tablespoons of this Pepper Plant Chipotle sauce in instead, and a LOT more cayenne pepper and some black pepper. I mean, wow. That’s proper sauce and thanks to the smoked paprika and liquid smoke its pretty amazing. I still can’t get over the weird artificial flavor of the stevia/erythritol, it gives you that “diet soda taste” but all in all I really like the recipe. Thank you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jack, I’m glad you enjoyed the barbecue sauce and that your modifications worked for you. There is no stevia in the recipe (though it could be used if desired). You could definitely try a different sweetener if you’d like, if you’re detecting a flavor from the powdered erythritol. I chose powdered erythritol, because the powdered consistency keeps the sauce smooth and to me it doesn’t have an aftertaste, but everyone’s taste buds are a bit different when it comes to sweeteners.
Karen
0Can you use honey?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Karen, Honey might work, but it would not be low carb or sugar-free.
Lauren
0I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to notice this! Worcestershire sauce contains a LOT of sugar and, unless you’re specifically buying a gluten free variety, it also has soy sauce. I guess Maya isn’t reading her labels very carefully!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lauren,
This should have had more clarification. I do always read labels. 🙂 The Worcestershire sauce linked in the recipe has no soy sauce in it and is gluten-free. I added some notes to the recipe card about it as well.
The amount of Worcestershire sauce per serving comes out to 1/20 of a tablespoon. A teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce has 1g of sugar according to the label, and 1/20 of a tablespoon is about 1/7 of a teaspoon. So that’s about 0.14g sugar per serving from the Worcestershire sauce, which I thought was low enough to call it sugar-free. (The rest of the carbs in the BBQ sauce come from the tomato paste, with no sugar added). The nutrition facts do reflect all of this. Hope that helps!
Monika
0So 15 ounces of tomato paste? And Worcestershire sauce isn’t typically gluten-free, so is the one you link to gluten-free? It contains mostly sugar.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Monika, Yes, the recipe uses 15 ounces of tomato paste – either tomato sauce or paste is an integral part of BBQ sauce. The Worcestershire sauce used in the recipe is gluten-free (there’s a link in the ingredients list). It does technically contain sugar, but the amount of Worcestershire sauce per serving ends up being only 1/20 tablespoon. I added some notes to the recipe card about this.
Kim | Low Carb Maven
0I love making my own BBQ sauce for the exact reason you list above. Store bought is good, but aspartame is something I try to avoid and sucralose is something I try not to have too much of. I bet your version is good with the chili powder in it. I agree, you can’t skip the liquid smoke – it’s like liquid gold. I like this recipe very much Maya! Thanks for sharing.
Taryn Scarfone
0Yum! I really need to make bbq sauce. I don’t use it very often so I normally just cave and use a tiny bit of the bad for you store bought ones.
Georgina
0I love anything that contains liquid smoke – yum!!
Michelle
0I am going to try this recipe this weekend. I like to use BBQ sauce to make my version of sloppy joes. The low carb sauces in the store just don’t work because they are way too thin.
Katrin
0I am so trying this recipe – my kids go crazy for BBQ ribs, I am sure they would love this sauce
Rhiannon Taylor
0How long would it last in the fridge? And could you freeze it?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Rhiannon, I don’t have an exact duration for how long it would last in the fridge, but it should be the same as any other BBQ sauce (which is a while). I’ve had mine for a couple of weeks and it’s still good. There’s a fair amount of vinegar in it, so that helps it stay fresh. You should be able to freeze it without a problem too, but I haven’t tried it. If you do, keep air away to prevent freezer burn, and just thaw it in the fridge or in water before use.
Abby
0I’m eager to try this recipe…. GUY’S BBQ SAUCE is the one I use also. this recipe sounds so easy & looks yummy ! Thanks
Sarah
0Oh, I can’t wait to make this! I love to grill chicken, slather it with barbecue sauce, and top it with bacon and cheese – Smokey mountain chicken!
Stacey Crawford
0I love making my own suace & trying out new BBQ sauce recipes. You’re right , the ones in the store are not so great.