Low-Carb Spicy Chocolate BBQ Sauce
Martina Slajerova- Ready in 10m
- 0.9 g net carbs
- 15 kcal
- Serves 24
This post may contain affiliate links, see our disclaimer.
This barbecue sauce has the perfect balance of sweet & spicy. It's ideal for marinating any proteins or brushing over grilled meat like BBQ Pork Ribs, fish or some halloumi if you are vegetarian.
This is the best sugar-free, whole foods based barbecue sauce you will ever try. And don't take my word for it, here's what one of my users and KetoDiet App users said about this sauce:
Brian: "... By the way, love the app! Such great, useful information and the recipes are awesome! Fat bombs, home-made protein bars and that chocolate BBQ sauce are all new to me and I love them. Keep up the good work!"
The preparation is simple. You just need to mix it, boil it, chill it & store it! If you have my homemade ketchup already prepared, it literally takes just a five minutes to make (or an extra five if you need to make the ketchup first).
We're using Erythritol although Allulose is a better option to use if you want perfection. It tastes just like sugar and won't crystallize once chilled. The more Allulose you use, the stickier the sauce will become. You can use just a few tablespoons or up to about a cup of Allulose syrup or granular Allulose.
Apart from Erythritol and Allulose, you can use other healthy low-carb sweeteners from this list.
Step-by-step
Start by making our low-carb ketchup. Peel and crush the garlic.
Place everything into a saucepan: the ketchup, butter, garlic, coconut aminos, vinegar, smoked salt, cacao powder, paprika, chili powder, Erythritol and stevia. Cover with a lid, cook for 5-10 minutes over a medium heat. When done, take off the heat.
You can adjust the spiciness by using either mild or extra hot chili powder. Coconut aminos is a healthier alternative to soy sauce and is recommended as a healthy substitute on paleo diets. You can use any vinegar you like such as apple cider or white or red wine vinegar or even try making your own fruit vinegar.
Transfer in a glass jar and keep in the fridge up to a month or preserve for longer (water-bath canning works best).
Done - it's ready to be served!
Try with BBQ Pork Ribs and don't forget to also check out my Blackberry BBQ Sauce!
Recipe
Low-Carb Spicy Chocolate BBQ Sauce
★★★★★4.7This barbecue sauce has the perfect balance of sweet & spicy. This is the best sugar-free, whole foods based ...
- Hands on
- 10m
- Overall
- 10m
- Servings
- 24
- 0.9 g
- Net carbs
- 0.3 g
- Protein
- 1.1 g
- Fat
- 15
- kcal
Ingredients makes 1 medium jar / 1 1/2 cups
Instructions
Start by making our low-carb ketchup. Peel and crush the garlic.
Place everything into a saucepan: the ketchup, butter, garlic, coconut aminos, vinegar, smoked salt, cacao powder, paprika, chili powder, Erythritol and stevia. Cover with a lid, cook for 5-10 minutes over a medium heat. When done, take off the heat.
You can adjust the spiciness by using either mild or extra hot chili powder. Coconut aminos is a healthier alternative to soy sauce and is recommended as a healthy substitute on paleo diets. You can use any vinegar you like such as apple cider or white or red wine vinegar or even try making your own fruit vinegar.Transfer in a glass jar and keep in the fridge up to a month or preserve for longer (water-bath canning works best).
Done - it's ready to be served!
Try with BBQ Pork Ribs and don't forget to also check out my Blackberry BBQ Sauce!
Nutrition per 1 tbsp/ 15 ml
Carbs 25%Protein 8%Fat 67% of calories
- Net carbs
- 0.9 g
- Total carbs
- 2.6 g
- Fiber
- 0.4 g
- Sugars
- 0.4 g
- Protein
- 0.3 g
- Fat
- 1.1 g
- Saturated fat
- 0.6 g
- Calories
- 15 kcal
- Sodium
- 114 mg · 4.94% RDA
- Magnesium
- 4 mg · 1.11% RDA
- Potassium
- 43 mg · 2.13% EMR
Nutrition by ingredient
| Per 1 tbsp/ 15 ml | Net carbs | Protein | Fat | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ketchup | 0.6 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 3 |
| Garlic, fresh | 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Butter, unsalted, grass-fed | 0 g | 0 g | 1 g | 8 |
| Paprika, smoked (spices) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 |
| Chile (chili) powder, spices (ancho, chipotle, Mexican chile powder) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Cocoa powder, raw (cacao) | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 1 |
| Smoked salt | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Apple cider vinegar | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Coconut aminos (substitute to soy sauce) | 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Pepper, black, spices | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Total | 0.9 g | 0.3 g | 1.1 g | 15 |
Serving size 1 tbsp/ 15 ml
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Nut free
- Pork free
- Avocado free
- Fish free
- Shellfish free
- Beef free
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
Serve it with
Dishes that go well with a condiment.
You may also like
Homemade Sugar-Free Ketchup
Low-Carb Blackberry BBQ Sauce
Easy Homemade Mustard Three Ways
Quick & Easy Pickled Onions
Low-Carb & Paleo Spicy Chow Chow
Homemade Low-Carb Zucchini Pickles
Low-Carb Pickled Avocado
Healthy Homemade Mayo - Three Ways
Simple Tomato Salsa (Pico De Gallo)
Low-Carb Sweet Aminos Glaze
Low-Carb Pickled Radishes
Low-Carb Refrigerator Gherkins
Low-Carb Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
The Best Ever Low-Carb Marinara Sauce
The Best Ever DIY Taco Sauce
Homemade Pink Sauerkraut
Comments & ratings (34)
Martina, girl you are awesome! Thank you for this!
😊 ❤️
Not enough tanginess or sweetness.
Recommend using 2 tbsp of tomato paste instead of ketchup, increase apple cider vinegar to 1/4 - 1/3c and 1/4c Brown sugar substitute (Swerve)
Thank you for your suggestions Christine, this is always good to adjust to individual taste.
Very tasty but I had to add a cup of almond milk after cooling. It set almost solid and I couldn't get it out of the large glass jar I cooled it in. Unexpected benefit: I now have much more sauce. 😊
I might use the less hot chilli powder next time. :o
The more the better! 😊 I think water would be ok to add to thin down too.
This is very good! So glad I found your recipes! I put too much salt and according to your recipe. I don’t think I understand what type of salt you’re talking about just as a warning to others also.
Thank you Sheri, I'm happy you enjoyed! The salt I used (smoked salt) which was flakey. I think that if you use regular fine salt it may be better to start at 1/4 teaspoon and add more to taste.
Wow - what a great tasting BBQ sauce. I have been lucky enough to find a tomato sauce (ketchup) made with stevia so it made this recipe super easy to make. I have been LCHF/Keto for the last 6 years & haven't had BBQ sauce since then. This goes so well with my fat head pizza dough sausage rolls! Thank you for all your experimentations - it helps make this way of eating so interesting.
Thank you, that's great to know! I'd love to be able to find stevia sweetened ketchup but I haven't seen any (yet).
Martina, I am in Australia & I am very surprised to find sugar free tomato sauce or ketchup! I am still making my BBQ sauce & have found so many uses for it. I make a hot chicken salad & throw a tablespoon of the sauce in with my chicken which gives it a bit of a boost - it is so versatile. Thank you again for the recipe.
Anne, thank you so much for your kind words! ❤️
Love the recipe! Unfortunately, I do not have coconut aminos. If I remove it from th erecipe, will it change the overall taste? And if so, what can I use to substitute?
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie, you can try tamari sauce (fermented soy sauce that is gluten-free and can be used occasionally) or skip it. I don't know if there is another alternative.
Wow. I will NEVER buy BBQ sauce again!! This is ABSOLUTELY amazing!! Martina, you ROCK! 😄
Thank you so much!! 😊
Hi Martina - thanks so much for your great recipes (just bought one of your books... and its fabulous!). Could you let me know if you can freeze this sauce as I'm going away tomorrow, but want to make it for dinner this eve 😊
Thanks again!
Thank you Janice! It will keep in the fridge for up to a month or you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and keep for up to 6 months 😊
I just made this using your homemade ketchup recipe. I added a teaspoon of liquid smoke and used Chipotle chili powder as the chili powder. It was absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe. I love BBQ sauce but it is so hard to find good low carb BBQ sauce.
I've never tried liquid smoke but it sounds like something I have to "test"! 😊
Wow! Great flavor and I had all of the ingredients at home! Thanks for your amazing work!
Thank you! I hope you like it 😊
Love this! Only change I made was to reduce the cocoa powder by half and I used soy sauce because I cant get amnios.
Thank you! 😊
Great recipe! I came here looking for a keto version of Sweet Baby Ray's -- something smoky and sweet. This was perfect. I did add 1 tsp. each of liquid smoke and worcestershire sauce, to deepen the flavors.
Thank you! That sounds like a great addition! 😊
I found your website just yesterday. I made your ketchup and then your Spicy Chocolate Barbecue sauce. That sauce is incredibly good. I will be making a pork loin in the crockpot today and am excited to try the barbecue sauce on it. I am so glad I found your website. I have saved you to my favorites and look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thank you Teri, I hope you like it! 😊
I was looking for the Spicy Chocolate BBQ sauce recipe. The link brings me to this page, with the recipe for the ribs, but no recipe for the BBQ sauce!
Thank you so much for noticing, Terri! I must have accidentally uploaded the wrong recipe when I was making some changes on the blog. Thanks again - it's all working now 😊
Since I'm allergic to tomatoes, I'm gonna try a variation/shortcut here: using Sambal Oelek (which is chili paste with garlic already in it), and going from there. I'll report back.
Thank you - sure, please, do!
Hi Martina, I just wanted to let you know that I'm totally getting your book!!! Can't wait for it to be published 😊
Thank you Kelly! 😊