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This easy and homemade Vegan Barbecue Sauce is sweetened with dates, made with simple ingredients, and ready to indulge in less than one hour. It’s the must-make vegan condiment of the summer!
Table of Contents
Growing up, Sweet Baby Ray’s was our store-bought barbecue sauce. While Sweet Baby Ray’s is one of the many Vegan-Friendly BBQ sauce brands you can pick up in grocery stores, we all know homemade BBQ sauce is always better. Store-bought BBQ sauce is usually made with high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients that probably aren’t great for regular consumption.
This homemade vegan sauce uses simple pantry staples and is easier to make than it sounds. Making your Vegan BBQ sauce recipe is a great place to start your DIY sauce adventure! It’s the perfect summer recipe for Grilled BBQ Tofu, BBQ Pizza, BBQ sandwiches, spreading on Grillable Veggie Burgers, dunking Chicken Nuggets, and more.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This homemade vegan barbecue sauce requires just a handful of ingredients:
- Ketchup: Contributes a classic tomato flavor to the barbecue sauce, bold flavor, and some sweetness. Feel free to use any ketchup of your choice.
- Molasses: Adds another layer of flavor and helps provide barbecue sauce’s characteristic color, flavor, and thick, sticky texture. It also helps this sauce achieve a silkier consistency.
- Yellow mustard: Adds a touch of tanginess to the sauce.
- Apple cider vinegar: Enhances the acidity and tanginess in the BBQ sauce.
- Medjool dates: In order to make this condiment a healthier recipe, we opted for Medjool dates as the main ingredient that adds sweetness. Before adding to the sauce ingredients, make sure to remove the pits!
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce: Adds savory depth and complexity. Make sure to use a vegan version—regular Worcestershire is made with anchovies and is neither vegetarian nor vegan.
- Spices: Paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper contribute the perfect flavor and complexity to this homemade recipe. If you’re looking for a spicy BBQ sauce, we suggest adding in some cayenne pepper to taste.
For complete measurements and recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Equipment Needed
How to Make Vegan Barbecue Sauce
- Boil the sauce. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, add all of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. As it simmers, the dates will soften and sweeten the barbecue sauce.
- Cool. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Blend until smooth. Transfer to a high-speed blender and run until completely smooth.
- Season to taste. Adjust seasonings as desired. Enjoy immediately or bottle and chill until ready to use.
How to Use This Barbecue Sauce
Chances are you won’t need help finding recipes to drizzle or dunk in this easy vegan BBQ sauce, but if you’re looking for new ideas, here are a few of our favorite ways to use this BBQ sauce:
- On Barbecue Tempeh (pictured below)
- As a pizza sauce or salad dressing
- Drizzled on mac and cheese
- Brushed onto tofu
- Slathered on Tofu Sandwiches, Veggie Sliders, or Plant-Based Burgers with Fresh Vegan Coleslaw
- As a dipping sauce for Vegan Nuggets, Crispy Tofu, Garlic Smashed Potatoes, and Vegan KFC Fried Chicken
- Drizzled on Sweet Corn Pasta or a Corn Cob Grilled in the Husk
Recipe FAQs
This barbecue sauce will last about a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes, the leftover BBQ sauce will freeze well. Transfer to an airtight, freezer-safe container like a wide-mouth glass mason jar. Keep the sauce below the freeze line, or the jar will break. Tightly screw on the lid and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then use as desired.
Filipino barbecue sauce has a different flavor complex than American barbecue sauce. For the best vegan Filipino barbecue, make our Filipino barbecue skewers!
Most barbecue sauce brands in stores are naturally vegan, but you need to watch out for a few sneaky animal ingredients. Honey, anchovies (usually from traditional Worcestershire sauce), gelatin, and bone broth are a few of the most common non-vegan ingredients to check the bottle label for.
More Homemade Vegan Sauces You May Enjoy:
Dips Spreads & Sauces
Easy Vegan Chipotle Sauce
Dips Spreads & Sauces
Vegan Big Mac Sauce (Vegan Special Sauce)
Appetizers and Sides
Homemade Vegan Tartar Sauce | Easy + 5-Ingredients
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you make this recipe. We love to see your photos!
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Vegan Barbecue Sauce Recipe
- Total Time: 48 minutes
- Yield: ~3 cups
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy and homemade Vegan Barbecue Sauce is sweetened with dates, made with simple ingredients, and ready to indulge in less than one hour. It’s the must-make vegan condiment of the summer!
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup water, or as needed to reach your desired consistency
- 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
- 1/4 cup chopped dates, pitted packed
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup vegan Worcestershire
- 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Large pinch of salt, or to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Boil the sauce. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, add all of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. As it simmers, the dates will soften and sweeten the barbecue sauce.
- Cool. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Blend until smooth. Transfer to a high-speed blender and run until completely smooth. If sauce is too thick, thin out with water as desired.
- Season to taste. Adjust seasonings as desired. Enjoy immediately or bottle and chill until ready to use.
Notes
- Storage: This barbecue sauce will last about a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Spice: If you’re looking for a spicy BBQ sauce, we suggest adding in some cayenne pepper to taste.
- Freezing: Transfer to an airtight, freezer-safe container like a wide-mouth glass mason jar. Keep the sauce below the freeze line, or the jar will break. Tightly screw on the lid and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then use as desired.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 33 minutes
- Category: Sauce, Summer
- Method: Stovetop and Blender
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This bbq sauce is seriously good! Using it tonight on baked tofu triangles. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Easy, healthy, delicious. Even better after a couple of days for flavours to blend!
Just made this – amazing!!
Made it without the Worcestershire sauce and used tomato basil passata. And only 1/5 teaspoon salt. Turned out amazing. Making bbq jackfruit tomorrow! ????
You say it is oil free. Then how do you saute the onion and garlic???
You can use water or broth! 🙂
Can you freeze the sauce?
Yes, you should be able to!
Step #2 says to add in cloves, but I don’t see cloves listed in the ingredients anywhere…
am I missing something?
Thanks for catching that, its just an optional pinch of cloves 🙂 We added it in!
Do you mean 1/2 CUP white onions? Or 1/2 of a white onion?
1/2 of an onion 🙂
how long do you think this will last in the fridge?
Hi Anna! This barbecue sauce will last about 10-14 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator 🙂
This sauce is AMAZING! I substituted soy sauce for the Worcestershire, and it turned out so well! I’ll definitely be making this any time I want BBQ
I am so glad that you liked it, thanks for sharing! And that is a great tip with the soy sauce, too.
Made this the other day and put it on as a sauce for my pizza tonight, it was delicious!!
Hi Theresa, this sounds so amazing on pizza and we are going to have to try that. Thanks for sharing, glad you liked it 🙂