The Paleo List Answers:IS BBQ SAUCE PALEO?

Whether you’re looking for a way to spruce up your Paleo burgers, or you want to top your cauliflower pizza crust with barbecue chicken, BBQ sauce is a much-loved condiment. From sweet and spicy to tangy and salty, there are a ton of different styles of barbecue all across the country. The real question: is this sauce Paleo?

What is Barbecue Sauce?

One of the traditional American foods, barbecue sauce is a thick tomato-based sauce used primarily with grilled and slow-roasted meats. Sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, you can find a wide array of styles across the country. It’s kind of like seasoned ketchup, including tomatoes, sweetener, some sort of chili or spice component, garlic, onion, and vinegar.

Store-bought BBQ sauce is another story. As much as we sometimes really love Trader Joe’s, even theirbarbecue sauce contains sugar (third ingredient), cornstarch, “natural flavor,” and caramel color. Annie’s Naturals Organic BBQ Sauce contains both sugar and refined oils (soy, canola, sunflower).

Is Barbecue Sauce Paleo?

From the grocery store, normally, no. This is when you really have to be a label detective though, because claims like “all natural” and “sugar-free” can lead you down the wrong path. You might have some in your markets that fit the bill, but we haven’t seen any Paleo-approved barbecue sauces in the store yet! We have discovered some Paleo-friendly barbecue sauces you can order online, but your best bet is to make it yourself. (Much cheaper, too!) Check out the links below for more information.

Are you struggling with which foods are Paleo?  Do you need help planning some Paleo meals?  Check out this great Paleo cookbook: