Blender BBQ Sauce - quick and easy

I always feel a little guilty when I use condiments like BBQ sauce because I know they are loaded with sugar. That’s what makes them taste so good! To placate my conscience I decided to make my own BBQ sauce. I can’t claim this blender BBQ sauce contains less sugar than store-bought, but at least I know it’s made with healthy sweeteners.

NutritionFacts.org shares an interesting video that compares different types of sweeteners. Date sugar and black strap molasses are shown to have significantly more nutritional value compared to other options.

I opted to use whole dates in addition to date sugar as the main sweetener in this blender BBQ sauce. I added a bit of molasses to enrich the flavor.

Many BBQ sauce recipes begin with ketchup. Ketchup is also loaded with sugar. I used tomato paste instead. It required a little more tweaking to get the right flavor and consistency – but it was worth it! 

Taste Tester Approved

My family was kind enough to perform taste testing. I knew I was headed in the right direction when my fourteen-year-old daughter told me I was a good mom.

However, my eighty-five-year-old mother-in-law’s reaction sealed the deal. She appeared surprised as she declared it “quite good.”  She then expressed dismay over my plans to share the recipe online. The concept of a food blog is lost on her…

Blender BBQ Sauce

This blender BBQ sauce is quick and easy to make – no cooking required! It’s thick and sweet with a kick from:

• Onions
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Cayenne pepper

The recipe makes 4 cups, so you have lots to go around!

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Blender BBQ Sauce

This blender BBQ sauce is thick and sweet with a kick from onions, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper. It's quick and easy to make - no cooking required!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 32

Ingredients

• ½ cup low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 ¾ cups water
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 16 Medjool dates pitted (about 2 cups)
• 1 Tbsp. black strap molasses
• 2 Tbsp. date sugar
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ cup red onion chopped
• 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp. fine sea salt
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Add ingredients to a high-speed blender in the order they are listed.
• Begin blending on lowest setting and increase speed to highest setting.
• Blend on high for approximately 1 minute, tamping if necessary.

Notes

Recipe makes approximately 4 cups of BBQ sauce.

Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze for longer storage.

 Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.