All-Natural BBQ Sauce

You may spend more time cooking up the ingredients in this All-Natural BBQ Sauce recipe than buying a bottle at a store, but it it’s worth it if you’re a barbecue sauce aficionado. It has no added sugars or artificial sweeteners just the natural sweetness of the dates, a Superfood with high levels of soluble fiber and minerals. It also has a deeper flavour, tastes  less salty, and is gluten-free compared to a recipe using soy sauce due the Tamari sauce, which is a darker brown color and slightly thicker. You can even make it as spicy as your guests like with Chipotle powder or other flavours of your choosing, so it’ll be your next favourite condiment for burgers or other grilled meals.

All-Natural BBQ Sauce Recipe

Makes about 1-2 cups

Ingredients

• 40g sun-dried tomatoes (soaked overnight)
• 120g dates (soaked overnight)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 40g chopped onion
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 medium roasted tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Tamari sauce (double-check for wheat if avoiding gluten)
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
•  2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked Chipotle powder (optional for a spicy sauce)
• liquid smoke (optional for a hickory flavour)

Note: I am not a fan of using liquid smoke unless you can get a brand that is concentrated hickory only without molasses and other artificial ingredients. However, you will indeed get that smokey flavour if you use this sauce on meats/veggies before they go on the BBQ.

Directions

1. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in 1/2 cup of clean water, and dates in 1 cup of clean water overnight. Keep all of the soaking water for blending.
2. Wash the fresh tomatoes and put in the oven at 350˚ until the skin turns dark (about 45-60 minutes). Rotate them a couple of times. Let cool, peel the skin off and remove the seeds.
3. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and cook until they turn brown.
4. Combine all the ingredients in a blender. It should be fairly liquid and easy to blend. If its too thick, add a little more water until it blends easily.
5. Put the previous mixture in a sauce pan and cook at low heat until the water starts to evaporate and the sauce gets more dense.
6. Put back in the blender to make it a little more homogeneous if needed.