This easy, Vegan BBQ Sauce is the perfect recipe to add a bold, tangy, sweet, and smoky flavors to any meal. It's quick and simple to make from scratch in under 20 minutes and lasts for weeks in the refrigerator.
If you've been following me for awhile, you know I'm obsessed with homemade vegan sauces and condiments, DIY seasoning blends, and vegan salad dressings. If you like my epic sweet and spicy tahini sauce, creamy chipotle sauce, and cashew cream sauce, then you'll for sure want to save this vegan barbecue sauce recipe too.
Finally, after A LOT of testing and tweaking, the recipe testers agree that this version is the best (most flavorful) vegan BBQ sauce - nailed it! This winning recipe is sweet, tangy, and smoky with a kiss of heat and big BOLD BBQ flavors. It's literally the best homemade BBQ sauce with the perfect balance of flavors and thick, rich texture! Plus it's cheaper, healthier, and tastes way better than even my favorite store bought BBQ sauce!
Check out my homemade BBQ Seasoning Blend that goes hand in hand with this barbecue sauce to boost savory sweet flavors in your plant based recipes like veggie burgers, oven baked or grilled tofu, BBQ tofu wraps, and more.
Barbecue Sauce Ingredients
You need only a handful of pantry ingredients to make this easy plant based BBQ sauce (vegan and gluten free) from scratch. Grab these ingredients and let's make a batch together!:
- Tomato base: For the tomato base I love the intense tomatoey flavor of tomato paste. I tested this recipe with a ketchup base as well, but even after a week in the fridge, the ketchup flavor was too prominent. So for me, tomato paste produces a far superior homemade BBQ sauce. It's the perfect, pure tomato flavor for custom building a classic tangy, sweet, and smoky BBQ flavor profile.
- Aromatics: Sautéing onions and garlic adds a natural sweet, caramelized depth of flavor to the bbq sauce.
- Sweetness: I like the combination of dark brown sugar, maple syrup, and molasses for both sweetness and caramel notes.
- Tanginess: Vinegar (apple cider or white) and mustard (Dijon is my favorite) add tang to balance the smoky sweet flavors.
- Seasonings: A blend of smoked paprika, ancho chili powder, onion powder, salt (can skip if following a salt free or reduced salt diet), coarse black pepper, liquid smoke, and soy sauce are essential for the signature smoky, umami depth of flavor of classic barbeque sauces.
- Heat: Add sriracha sauce, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for a spicy barbecue sauce with an extra kick of heat.
Ingredient quantities and full instructions in the recipe card below.
Ingredient Variations & Substitutions
Everyone has slightly different preferences and palates, so tweak this BBQ sauce recipe to make it hotter, smokier, tangier, creamy, more or less sweet or salty to suit your taste:
- Vinegar options: Sub apple cider vinegar with white vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Soy sauce option: Sub with vegan Worcestershire sauce if you prefer.
- Smoky flavor: I go easy on the liquid smoke because it's potent! Start with ½ teaspoon then slowly add more until you find the perfect balance for your taste - or skip it all together.
- Spicy BBQ sauce: For extra heat and smokiness, add a pinch or two of cayenne, sriracha sauce, chipotle pepper flakes or chipotle sauce.
- Make creamy BBQ sauce: For my Spicy BBQ Tofu Wraps, I slathered them in a creamy, spicy BBQ sauce - it's a killer flavor combo. Here's the mix: Stir together ½ cup of BBQ sauce, 1+ tablespoons sriracha sauce (to taste), and 1 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise -that's it!
- Gluten free option: Use gluten free soy sauce or tamari.
- Mustard options: I like the subtle flavor of dijon mustard, but sub with yellow mustard or mustard powder instead. Skip the mustard if allergic.
- Sweetness: Add more or less maple syrup, brown sugar or agave.
- Reduced salt diet?: Use reduced salt soy sauce.
How to Make BBQ Sauce from Scratch?
It’s simple to make a thick, extra flavorful, vegan barbecue sauce to rival any store bought BBQ sauce in under 20 minutes. Follow these easy step-by-step instructions:
- Start by sautéing the onions and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan until golden and fragrant. If oil free, skip the oil and use broth or water to keep the aromatics from sticking.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pro Tip: Start with just 1 tablespoon of soy sauce then add more if needed.
- Bring up to a boil then reduce the heat and let the BBQ sauce simmer over medium to medium-low heat until it starts to thicken (this should take 10-15 minutes depending how high you cook it). Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. Let cool then transfer to a jar or container with a lid.
Tracy's Tips!
One of the best things about homemade sauces, is they're totally customizable. Use this recipe as a template and tweak to suit your taste. Maybe you don't use refined sugar or you follow a salt free or gluten free diet - no problem. Here's a few tips to help you make the perfect BBQ sauce:
- Boost of flavor: Take the extra few minutes to sauté the aromatics which is a gamechanger for flavor. It's doesn't take long, and it's totally worth the extra time. Trust me on this! Pro Tip: While the onions and garlic are cooking, use that time to measure out the other sauce ingredients.
- Tangy: The vinegary flavor in the sauce will soften over time as the barbecue sauce chills and ages.
- How to thicken BBQ sauce: When barbecue sauce reduces (simmers) on the stove, two things happen. The flavors become more concentrated and the sauce gets thicker. The longer you cook the sauce, the thicker it becomes. You don't need any thickening agents like cornstarch!
- Texture: Keep in mind that the barbecue sauce will continue to thicken as it chills over the next several days. If your BBQ sauce becomes too thick, stir in a tablespoonful of water at a time to thin it out. If after it's cooled, the texture is too thin for you, put it back on the stove and let it simmer for another 5 minutes or so until desired consistency is met.
- Million Dollar Flavor Tip!: Although this vegan barbeque sauce is amazing straight away, the change in depth of flavor and richness from day 1 to day 4 and beyond is quite impressive. So it's a great make-ahead BBQ sauce!
How to Store?
When recipe testing, it's not just flavor and texture I test for; how long the BBQ sauce lasts is important too! Once made, it's stored then tasted every few days for several weeks to see how the flavor, texture, and quality hold up over time. Here are my recommendations:
- Storage: Once cool, transfer the BBQ sauce to an airtight container or jar. This homemade BBQ sauce will last for 3+ weeks in the refrigerator.
- Freezing: I like to freeze my barbecue sauce in ice cube trays for convenience. Then just pull out a few cubes as you need them. They thaw very quickly in these smaller portion sizes.
- Thawing: Thaw your bbq sauce cubes at room temperature or in the fridge overnight. For a speedy thaw, put the cubes into a sealed zip top bag in a bowl of warm water. The BBQ sauce ice cubes can also be used from frozen in hot dishes like baked beans.
Ways to Use Vegan BBQ Sauce
The ways to use a jar of BBQ sauce in everyday plant based recipes is endless. BBQ sauce isn't just for summer cooking, you can use it year round for basting, glazing, marinating, dipping, and slathering! Here's a few of our favorite ways to use BBQ sauce as a flavor booster:
- as a condiment: Slather it on Pulled Pork (jackfruit) Burgers, veggie sandwiches, and tofu wraps.
- as a glaze: Brush it on vegan meatballs, grilled mushrooms, baked tofu, grilled vegan chicken or ribs.
- as a sauce: Makes a fabulous sauce on pizzas, stir it into baked beans or slather on top of meatloaf.
- as a dipping/drizzling sauce: It's the perfect dipping sauce mixed together with mayonnaise and sriracha sauce for vegan chicken nuggets, French fries, onion rings, and grilled or roasted veggies.
- in any recipe that calls for barbecue sauce!
More Rockstar Vegan Condiments
If you love this vegan BBQ sauce recipe, you're sure to love these easy vegan sauces and dressings too!:
- Hoisin Peanut Sauce
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Sweet and Spicy Tahini Sauce (my all time favorite!)
- Vegan Tzatziki Sauce
- Everyday Lemon Vinaigrette
- More Sauces, Dressings and Condiments
Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce (vegan + gluten free)
Rate this recipe!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider, white, red wine vinegar)
- 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon mustard (dijon or yellow)
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- ½ - 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- more water for thinning
Optional Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce (more or less to taste)
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne powder (to taste)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden (~around 4-6 minutes) stirring periodically. Add the minced garlic and cook another 1 minute.
- Add all other ingredients*. Bring up to a boil then reduce the heat to medium (medium-low) and let simmer until the BBQ sauce thickens (~10-15 minutes). Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasonings as needed - ie. sweeter, tangier, saltier, spicer, etc. Add more water as needed to correct the consistency. *Start with 1 tablespoon soy sauce then add more to taste.
- Cool the barbecue sauce completely (it will continue to thicken as it cools). Then transfer to a glass jar or container and store in the refrigerator for up to several weeks.
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