This bbq sauce recipe is the 4th of 6 recipes culminating in one epic 7th recipe for the Bacon Mac & Cheese BBQ Blue Burger, from Dustin Harder's cookbook, Epic Vegan: Wild and Over the Top Plant-based Recipes. This recipe is easy, vegan, gluten-free, and wonderful anytime.
recipe 4 of 7: red bbq sauce
The fourth recipe in our Epic Vegan series is a summery treat that doesn’t take much effort to make: Red BBQ Sauce. So delicious slathered onto anything grilled, it’s a great all-around bbq sauce. And once you discover how easy it is to make BBQ sauce at home, you may find yourself experimenting to create your own brand. Fire up the barbecue and make this bbq sauce!
All seven recipes
- Hemp Parmesan
- Easy Creamy Shells & Cheese
- Quinoa Bacon Bits
- Red BBQ Sauce
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- All American Burger
- Bacon Macaroni & Cheese BBQ Blue Burger
Ingredients
While Dustin uses olive oil in the recipe to sauté the onion; as you'll see in my recipes, onion can be sautéed without oil. Simply preheat the pan well before adding the onion.
Onion and garlic are delicious aromatics, adding flavor. Bourbon adds a beautiful depth of flavor, too.
Ketchup is an easy way to bring a tomato vibe in - I look for ketchup without added sugar.
Brown sugar brings another level of deep flavor. I've found that coconut sugar works well, too.
Chili powder and smoked paprika bring the kick.
Dijon, red wine vinegar, and molasses each brings its own level of flavor.
Let's Make Red BBQ Sauce
Sauté the onion and then garlic in a large skillet, then cook off bourbon. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes, then blend until smooth. Easy!
More recipes in the series
Red BBQ Sauce from the Epic Vegan cookbook by Dustin Harder
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil 30 ml (optional)
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ cup bourbon 120 ml
- 1 cup ketchup 240 g
- ⅔ cup water 160 ml, divided
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar 60 g, organic (or coconut sugar)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder 16 g
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika 7 g
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 15 g
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 15 ml
- 1 tablespoon molasses 15 ml
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 3 to 5 minutes, or until softened. (Kari's note: I sauté without oil, just a hot pan.)
- Add the garlic and sauté 1 additional minute, until fragrant.
- Slowly add the bourbon and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the bourbon has completely cooked off.
- Add the ketchup, 1⁄3 cup (80 ml) of the water, brown sugar, chili powder, smoked paprika, mustard, vinegar, and molasses. Stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer to a high-speed blender (see Tip), add the remaining 1⁄3 cup (80 ml) water, and blend until smooth.
