There’s a reason that all my recipes start from scratch, despite many other health cheerleaders offering simpler recipe options that include shortcuts using pre-made sauces and such.
I want to make sure you’re not innocently being misled by food marketers to think you’re buying something whole or natural when it’s really the same sugar laden, processed sauce in a more homey looking bottle. It is for this reason you will never see ingredients like yellow mustard, ketchup or mayonnaise (vegan or otherwise) in any of my recipes, unless I offer you a recipe for that ingredient. Then it is up to you what you want to do.
Why Make Your Own Gluten-Free Barbecue Sauce and Ketchup?
Call me a control freak, but I want to know what I’m eating and if you’re following my guidance, I also want to know that you’re eating the best you can too. When packaged food just gets too complicated, well, that’s when I stop with packaged food and just do it from scratch.
The typical Heinz ketchup you buy in stores is made from tomato concentrate, white vinegar and not one but two kinds of corn sweetener – the high fructose variety and the regular corn syrup variety. They do also have an organic variety but as we know, organic doesn’t always mean healthy. In the organic version, they simply swap the GMO corn sweeteners for organic sugar.
Heinz also has a reduced sugar option, that throws the sugar right out the door and replaces it with artificial sweetener in the form of sucralose. Yep. Or my personal favourite, the no-salt ketchup that instead contains something they call “ALSOSALT®”. This is a salt substitute made of stuff you are better off scrubbing your floor with – potassium chloride and L-lysine monohydrochloride.
Our favourite organic brands from the health food store aren’t always that much better – often replacing the sugar with agave.
The point is – it is so easy to make condiments like gluten-free barbecue sauce and ketchup yourself, which invites you to put as much, or as little sweetener, salt and vinegar in as you like.
If you are ready to make your own, here is my world famous ketchup recipe.
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A homemade ketchup recipe, without the sugar and agave that’s often added to ketchup you might find on a grocery store shelf.
Ingredients
Scale
10 cups tomatoes (Roma preferred), chopped and seeded
2 large onions, chopped
3 large tart apples, cored and chopped
5 whole cloves
5 whole black peppercorns
5 pieces of whole or pinches of ground all spice
1 Tbs sea salt
1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp Sucanat (raw unprocessed sugar, or coconut sugar)
2 sprigs fresh sage (or 1 Tbsp dry)
1 sprig fresh rosemary (or 1/2 Tbsp dry)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
Measure out all the spices (except sage and rosemary) and tie them up in a little square of gauze, cheesecloth, or light cotton fabric (good use for an old but clean t-shirt) with a thread to form a little bag.
Process tomatoes, onions and apples in a food processor or blender. As this is a large recipe, you have to do this in batches.
Pour blended ingredients along with the spice bag into a pot. Simmer until volume is reduced by one half.
Chop the sage and rosemary and add to the pot.
Add salt, vinegar, sucanat and cayenne powder and bring to a boil again.
Turn off the heat and pour hot ketchup into jars. If using sterilized jars, seal immediately. Otherwise let cool and then cover and store in fridge or freezer.
Prep Time:10 mins
Cook Time:25 mins
Category:Condiments
Yes, this ketchup is great and all, but recently I took my love for things made with tomatoes to the next level, and also wanted to woo my husband at the same time. I took on the discerning challenge of barbecue sauce. I wanted to slather gluten-free homemade barbecue sauce across the top of a beautiful veggie loaf and so I got mixing, matching, simmering and sizzling.
And wowza is this what making love in the kitchen is truly all about.
The final product was amazing. Just enough zip, though you could always add more, and this made up two 250ml jars full of gluten-free barbecue sauce. The first one vanished in the first weekend.
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Love a good BBQ sauce without the additional preservatives or refined sugar? Whip up a batch of this Gluten-Free Barbecue sauce and you’ll never look back.
Ingredients
Scale
3 tsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 500ml jar tomato sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup organic dijon or honey mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 Tbsp or more sambal olek or organic hot sauce
½ tsp sea salt or more to taste
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium heat and then add the onions. Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another two minutes.
Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and let it gurgle with love for 25-30 minutes, stirring often.
Taste test your sauce and decide if you want more heat or sweetness to it.
Remove from the heat and let sit to cool.
Run the whole mix through your food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Transfer to jars, allow to cool completely, seal and store in fridge or freezer.
Prep Time:15 mins
Cook Time:30 mins
Category:Condiments
If your homemade barbecue sauce and ketchup are left unopened, it will last a few months. Once opened, consume within 3-4 weeks.
More Condiments!
If you are into making your condiments, then you should probably try out:
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