This Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce is so delicious, you can say goodbye to store-bought BBQ sauce for good. It's super easy to prepare and ready in under 15 minutes! The sauce has a nice spicy kick, yet is sweet, tangy, and is everything a good barbecue sauce should be. It's great drizzled over an Impossible Burger, or to dip your fries or onion rings into. Of course, if you're not a vegetarian, you can slather some on my Instant Pot Ribs recipe or in Pulled Pork sandwiches.
Why This Recipe Works
This Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce is the perfect recipe for those times when you reach for your favorite barbecue sauce only to find the bottle empty. Don't you just hate that? Luckily, making BBQ Sauce couldn't be any easier.
Using ingredients that you most likely already have at home, you can make a fantastic Vegan BBQ Sauce. Just dump the ingredients into a saucepan, whisk, and simmer for around 10 minutes.
If you're not a vegan, it's ok, I'm not either. In fact, you'd never know it's a vegan recipe if I hadn't already spilled the beans. 😉
What Goes Into This Recipe
You will also need some HP Sauce to make this Vegan BBQ Sauce recipe. HP (House of Parliament) Sauce is a UK original and reminds me of a mixture of Heinz 57 and A1 Steak Sauce.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
- Molasses — Molasses has a deep, rich flavor. It's usually used to make gingerbread, but it's also an excellent sweetener to use in barbecue sauce. If you need to, you can substitute the molasses with brown sugar. It gives the BBQ sauce a richer flavor than fructose corn syrup ever could.
- Liquid Smoke — Liquid Smoke is usually used to give meat or jerky a wonderful smokey flavor. It's also excellent in this homemade BBQ sauce and adds a wonderful smokey flavor. However, a little goes a long way. Start with ½ a teaspoon and add more if you want the sauce smokier.
- Vinegar — Vinegar adds acidity, which is needed to balance out the sweetness of the molasses. If you don't have apple cider vinegar, you can use white or red wine vinegar instead.
- HP Sauce — The reason I use HP sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce is that HP sauce is vegan, while Worcestershire sauce is not. It also happens to be delicious and contains tamarind, which I absolutely love! If you can't find HP Sauce, you can use vegan Worcestershire sauce instead.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Add all ingredients into a small saucepan and whisk to combine.
Step 2: Add HP sauce for vegan BBQ sauce, or Worcestershire sauce for non-vegan BBQ sauce.
Step 3: Simmer, covered, over low heat, for approximately 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Step 4: Serve with ribs, burgers, or use to baste BBQ chicken. Store the remaining sauce in the refrigerator for later use.
Recipe FAQs
BBQ sauce is usually vegan, however, there are some that are not. One of the main ingredients to watch out for is Worcestershire sauce, which contains anchovies.
Using HP sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce makes this a vegan BBQ sauce recipe.
The main BBQ ingredients include tomato paste, sauce, or ketchup. BBQ sauce also contains vinegar, sweeteners like honey, brown sugar, or molasses.
Spices, crushed red pepper, liquid smoke, garlic powder, and onion powder are also found in most barbecue sauce recipes.
Pro Tips
- This is a pretty forgiving recipe so you can be flexible with the ingredients.
- Honey, brown sugar or maple syrup can be used instead of molasses.
- My Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce has a bit of a kick. If you prefer a less spicy sauce, skip the cayenne pepper and/or the crushed red pepper flakes. Another option is to use a little of each and slowly add more until it has the right amount of heat.
- Store the barbecue sauce in a squeeze bottle (purchase at the dollar store) for later use.
- If you want to kick this recipe up a notch, you can add a tablespoon or two of your favorite whiskey before you simmer the barbecue sauce.
- Stir this BBQ sauce in baked beans or use it to make some barbecue chicken pizza.
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📖 Recipe
Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon HP sauce (or Worcestershire Sauce- non-vegan )
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a small saucepan. Whisk to combine.
- Add HP sauce for a vegan version, or Worcestershire sauce for non-vegan BBQ sauce.
- Simmer, covered, over low heat for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with ribs, burgers, or use to baste BBQ chicken. Store the remaining sauce in the refrigerator for later use.
Notes
- This is a pretty forgiving recipe so you can be flexible with the ingredients.
- Honey, brown sugar or maple syrup can be used instead of molasses.
- My Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce has a bit of a kick. If you prefer a less spicy sauce, skip the cayenne pepper and/or the crushed red pepper flakes. Another option is to use a little of each and slowly add more until it has the right amount of heat.
- Store the barbecue sauce in a squeeze bottle (purchase at the dollar store) for later use.
- If you want to kick this recipe up a notch, you can add a tablespoon or two of your favorite whiskey before you simmer the barbecue sauce.
- Stir this BBQ sauce in baked beans or use it to make some barbecue chicken pizza.
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