Honey BBQ Sauce Recipe – Simple, Nourishing Ingredients!

A delicious, sweet and tangy Honey BBQ sauce, made with 5 simple ingredients. Skip the jarred sauces loaded with processed sugars and opt for one made with clean ingredients. Making your own barbecue sauce means you can make it spicy, or keep it mild and sweet.

A Simple Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce

Store bought bbq sauces are 99% junk. Instead of grabbing for the same bottle your grandma brought out at Fourth of July dinners, check the nutrition label. A quick scan of the ingredient list is likely enough cause to put it back on the shelf.

Processed food manufacturers in the United States use approximately 10,000 different chemicals in our food, from dyes to flavor enhancers to stabilizers. These additives give food an attractive appearance, extend its shelf life, and unnaturally manipulate the flavors and textures of the products. But at what cost?

In the European Union (EU), only 300 additives are allowed. This is because food manufacturers in the US can use chemicals until they have been proven safe – and the EU requires safety tests to be performed prior to using them in products (source). Somehow they are managing to keep supermarket stores shelves stocked.

Until there are tighter safety restrictions on our food, I opt for making my sauces, dressings, and marinades at home.

This homemade honey bbq sauce recipe uses only 5 ingredients and takes just 2-3 minutes to whisk together. It then simmers for 10-15 minutes to thicken.

Beyond worth it for a sauce that tastes fresher, is free of harmful food additives, and actually adds nutrition to your meats rather than detracting from it.

Sweet Baby Rays Ingredients: High fructose corn syrup, distilled vinegar, tomato paste, modified corn starch, salt, pineapple juice concentrate, natural smoke flavor, spice, caramel color, molasses, sodium benzoate, garlic, mustard flour, corn syrup, sugar, tamarind, natural flavor, celery seed.

The first ingredient in Sweet Baby Rays, a popular brand of bottled bbq sauce, contains high fructose corn syrup.. High fructose corn syrup drives liver fat accumulation, which is dangerous fat that reduces the function of your liver, leading to weight gain and insulin resistance (the cause of diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, in addition to many other conditions).

Why is Honey a Great Sweetener?

Honey, despite being more calories per tablespoon than sugar, has a positive impact on fasting blood sugar levels over time.

While it is still a mystery as to why honey has a lesser impact than other sweeteners, it’s thought to be because of it’s mineral content (selenium, zinc, copper, and vanadium), phenolic acids, and flavonoids.

Studies show that using honey in place of sugar lowers fasting blood glucose levels, as well as improving blood lipid profiles (cholesterol levels). (source)

Tips for Buying Quality, Real Honey

Tip #1: Buy real honey

After milk and olive oil, honey is the 3rd most commonly faked food in the United States (source).

It’s important to know you’re buying real honey to reap it’s amazing benefits! “Fake” honey is dilluted with high fructose corn syrup, or syrups of rice, cassava, or beets.

How do you know your honey is real? Buy from a reputable company. Instead of grabbing any bottle off the shelf, try finding local honey at a farmers market or buy directly from beekeepers.

If those aren’t available to you, research online companies who test their honey for purity. Really Raw Honey is a brand I trust.

Tip #2: Buy Raw

What’s the difference between raw and pasteurized honey? Raw honey comes directly from the honeycomb and is honey in it’s purest form.

Pasteurized or “regular” honey (any honey that is not called “raw” on the label) is processed, typically by heating the honey to kill yeast that might affect the flavor of the honey. The processing kills beneficial bacteria and antioxidants found in raw honey (source).

Will cooking the honey in this barbecue sauce recipe also kill the beneficial components of honey? Yes, to some extent it will. However, the processing you do at home is for shorter durations and will have less of an impact on the nutrients in the honey.

What You’ll Need

• High Quality Raw Honey (beware of fake honey and try to source locally)
• Unsweetened Ketchup (I buy the Primal Kitchen Unsweetened Ketchup, ingredients: organic tomato concentrate, organic white balsamic vinegar, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, spices)
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Dijon Mustard
• Organic Worcestershire Sauce (Ingredients: Filtered Water, Organic Distilled White Vinegar, Organic Molasses, Organic Cane Sugar, Sea Salt, Organic Caramel Color, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Black Pepper, Organic Allspice, Organic Nutmeg, Organic Cloves, Organic Ginger, Organic Cayenne Powder, Xanthan Gum.)

How to Make Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk together to combine.

Step 2: Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 15 minutes until desired thickness is reached.

How to Store Leftover Honey Barbecue Sauce

Once the honey has fully cooled, store it in a glass jar. Refrigerate the honey for up to 2 weeks.

Honey bbq sauce can also be frozen! Make sure the glass jars aren’t all the way full (leave room for expansion), and tighten the lids so they are air tight. Freeze the sauce for up to 6 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature and then whisk well to return to the original consistency.

Ways to Use Honey BBQ Sauce

Fire up the grill and use this honey barbecue sauce recipe any way you’d use a store bought sauce.

Or, try one of these saucy recipes (subbing this sauce for the one listed):

• Hot Honey Chicken Wings
• BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
• Oven Baked Pulled Pork

Other Healthy Homemade Condiments

• Avocado Salsa Verde
• Raspberry Chia Jam
• Poppyseed Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
• Soy Free Teriyaki Sauce

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Sources

Honey and Diabetes: The Importance of Natural Simple Sugars in Diet for Preventing and Treating Different Type of Diabetes

How are raw honey and regular honey different?

Most Honey in America Is Fake—Here’s Why That Matters