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Healthy Homemade Plum Sauce Recipe

 

I am pretty sure a good plum sauce has the ability to take any meal to the next level. I know – plum sauce isn’t anyone’s first choice of condiment and I am here today to perhaps convince you that it should be. Why does ketchup get all the cred? Healthy homemade plum sauce is so easy to make, it’s incredibly delicious and thanks to the natural sweetness of ripe plums, you don’t need to add any sweetener to it.

Given that this is harvest season, at least here in Canada, everyone is hyped up about their tomato sauce making and even ketchup making. And when it comes to stone fruits, peaches get all the hype with all the peach pies and jams. But what about plums? This antioxidant powerhouse never gets its day to shine. Until today!

Way, waaaaaaay back in the day when I would venture into a fast food joint as a rare indulgence (usually while travelling far away overseas), I would always get the chicken nuggets with plum sauce. The plum sauce made it feel like a special treat. Ever since creating my grain-free chicken nugget recipe, whenever we ate them, we always talked about how good it would be to have a plum sauce to go with them.

This recipe has been a long time coming but I wanted to wait until the fruit was in season.

Plum sauce recipe

About The Sweetness

The first thing I noticed as I began researching traditional plum sauce recipes was the insane amounts of sugar being used. I decided I would give this one a go without any added sweetener and I found that by the time it was simmered and reduced and puréed, it absolutely wasn’t needed. If you’re just transitioning away from processed foods, you might want to add a little honey or maple syrup, but I would challenge you to give it a try with just the naturally occurring fruit sugars doing the work.

About the Spice

This sauce does have a bit of a bite which I love. It comes from the ginger and the chilli flakes. If you’re sensitive to spice, you may want to reduce the amounts of each or omit the chilli altogether.

Since making this, we’ve enjoyed it with my homemade chicken nuggets, on burgers and turkey lettuce cups.

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healthy plum sauce

Healthy Homemade Plum Sauce


  • Author: Meghan Telpner
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 3 cups 1x

Description

A healthy plum sauce without added sugar.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 medium plums (about 3 cups coarsely chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 Tbsp tamari
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • Sweetener of choice as needed (optional)

Instructions

  1. Slice plums in half and discard pits. Cut each half into about 6 chunks.
  2. Add plums, garlic, onion, ginger, tamari and chili flakes to a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally.
  3. Bring to a low simmer and continue to stir every 8 minutes or so to keep from burning the bottom. Continue for 30 minutes or until plums have broken down and sauce begins to thicken.
  4. Using an immersion blender, or allow to cool and place in your blender or food processor, mix until smooth.
  5. If using sweetener, add a little at a time and continue blending until you reach desired sweetness.
  6. Pour into jars and keep in the fridge for up to 6 days, or freezer for future use.

Notes

Recipe will thicken slightly as it cools.

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Category: Condiment

plum sauce

25 responses to “Healthy Homemade Plum Sauce Recipe”

  1. Larisa says:

    Love this recipe, I make plum sauce almost the same way

  2. Linda Freed says:

    Oh my goodness this looks so delicious. Can’t wait to make it and use it to add flavour to various vegetables. I’m eating a lot of them every day and this will be such a nice new way to enhance the taste.

  3. Chantal says:

    Oh my goodness! I just made plum sauce the other day! Although mine only had lots and lots of fresh plums from my dad’s garden with a little maple syrup and sea salt. I will have to try your version as it also sounds fantastic! And, you’re right a tasty plum sauce could beat out any old ketchup for sure!

  4. Peggy Baldridge says:

    Oh my goodness! This is amazing! I made it today and had it with dinner. I can’t have tomatoes, but even if I could, this is so much better. Thank you for sharing!

  5. Gisele Skelcher says:

    Are the plums peeled before cooking or removed before blending?

    • https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/599ccdf73b6d2f26a247dd52e9e5f8b8?s=51&d=blank&r=g Meghan Telpner says:

      No need to peel them. They’ll mostly break down as they cook and then will get pureed during blending.

  6. Kathleen says:

    Can’t wait to try this with Italian plums from my tree. Can you preserve this via a water bath for longer shelf life?

    • https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/599ccdf73b6d2f26a247dd52e9e5f8b8?s=51&d=blank&r=g Meghan Telpner says:

      Hi Kathleen! I don’t have canning expertise so I haven’t tested this recipe in that way. You can certainly freeze this.

      • Joanne A Bush says:

        There shouldn’t be an issue with canning, as long as you follow the proper steps. I can just about everything. Making this tomorrow and will be canning any unused sauce.

  7. Mary Labbe says:

    How long will this keep and what’s the best way to preserve it?

  8. Sarah says:

    Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing. The only thing I noticed I needed to add at the end was some acidity. I battled between whether to use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and went with ACV. all in all. Super pleased :)

  9. Jared says:

    Rather than vinegar, consider some jus vert.

  10. Kathleen Meehan Lorenzo says:

    How much ACV did you use?

    • https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/599ccdf73b6d2f26a247dd52e9e5f8b8?s=51&d=blank&r=g Meghan Telpner says:

      I didn’t add any ACV to this recipe, but if you want to add some start off with a small amount such as a teaspoon.

  11. Marian Pohl says:

    Thank you got sharing your ideas with all of us grateful recipients. Can we substitute something for the soy sauce/tamari. We want to eat as healthy and unprocessed as We Can. Thank you again

    • https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/599ccdf73b6d2f26a247dd52e9e5f8b8?s=51&d=blank&r=g Meghan Telpner says:

      Hi Marian! You could try coconut aminos for a soy-free, similar flavour to tamari. Or you can use sea salt to taste.

  12. Elaine Hunt says:

    Looking for a recipe for 15-20 lbs of plums?

  13. Rachelle Thibodeau says:

    I made this and it’s delicious except the spice. I love spicy food and slather hot sauce on everything but 1 tsp chili flakes was waaay too spicy for this sauce in my opinion. The plums I used were large. After it cooled and was super spicy, I made a second batch and blended the two together. It is okay but still quite spicy for plum sauce. I guess chili flakes can vary in heat. (I get crushed chilies from Costco, nothing unusual.) Next time I make this I would use maybe 1/4 tsp. Everything else was perfect. So much healthier than the sugary junk from the grocery store.

    • https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/599ccdf73b6d2f26a247dd52e9e5f8b8?s=51&d=blank&r=g Meghan Telpner says:

      It’s possible the chili flakes you used were way spicier than mine! Of course, please adjust the spice level for next time.

  14. Kelly Francis says:

    I have not made this yet, as I have a tree full of plums that I’d like to use to can some plum sauce.
    I really get frustrated with recipes don’t use measuring cups for fruit. What is your idea of a “medium” plum compared to “large” for example? If you ask to pit the plums and cut in half, how many cups of plums should you end up with? Even if you stated “8 cups of prepared fruit (approximately 18 medium size plums)” would be really helpful.

  15. Greta deJong says:

    I echo Kelly Francis’ question. Fruit by cups (or weight) would be so much more useful. Six of my plums, pre-pitted, equal one cup and weigh 7 oz. Even with the other ingredients, and then cooked down, there’s no way this will result in 3 cups of finished sauce. (Maybe Canadian plums are much bigger? Grins.) I’m a beginning cook and not too confident but I may just wing it, following the above ingredients and procedure. The plums are picked. The fruit flies are gathering. Today’s the day! Thank you for the inspiration.

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