A simple and nutritious blueberry BBQ sauce, for when you have an abundance of berries and are running out of recipes to make with them! Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, refined sugar free, Paleo, Whole30. 
Is there really anything better than a smokey, sweet BBQ during the summer surrounded by friends and family? How about all of those things PLUS a BBQ sauce that is healthy, hearty and naturally sweetened with maple syrup and tart blueberries?
Then you have come to the right place because this BBQ sauce is all of those things and more!
This tasty sauce is packed with lots of healthy goodness, unlike conventional grocery-store BBQ sauce that is loaded with high fructose corn syrup, gluten, soy sauce and corn starch.
You can even customize it to make it Whole30 by simply eliminating the maple syrup. Now what’s better than that? Naturally sweetened for the win!
So if you’re interested in making this delicious sauce (look at that lovely shade of purple…drooling), let’s walk you through how to make it!
Start by sauteing a small onion in a bit of neutral-tasting coconut oil over medium heat until soft. This will likely take just a few minutes. Next, you’ll want to add in ALL the remaining ingredients (don’t you just love foolproof recipes? :)).
Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer until the blueberries soften and begin to disintegrate. This will likely take 10-15 minutes.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, especially if your high-powdered blender or food processor is plastic and can’t handle piping hot mixtures. Blend until pureed, in batches if necessary.
Use immediately or allow to cool fully before refrigerating. The sauce should store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you give this blueberry BBQ sauce a try, please let me know what you think in the comments below. Also be sure to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest so you don’t miss a recipe!
You will also love these other recipes:
Blueberry BBQ Sauce (Vegan, Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- 1 small onion yellow or white
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (60 ml)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (60 ml)
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2-1/2 cups blueberries (13 oz)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup omit for Whole30 (60 ml)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder and chili powder
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- few drops liquid smoke optional
Instructions
- Dice onion and saute over medium heat in a bit of oil (I recommend a neutral-tasting coconut oil) until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add in all remaining ingredients and simmer over medium low heat until the berries cook down. Be sure to continue stirring, so the mixture does not burn.
- Once the mixture has cooked down (approximately 15-20 minutes), add it in batches to a blender or food processor.
- Pulse until the mixture is nice and smooth.
- Allow to cool, then use immediately or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
4 comments
We had 5 couple social distancing cook out at our farmhouse last evening and everyone brought a sauce they’d made because here in NC, we’re serious about our bbq and what makes or breaks good bbq is the sauce. Made is written w/o maple syrup and thought but too vinegary and missing something. So when expanded for feed our party of 10, I cut the vinegar to 1/4 c each, added few drops of liquid smoke and these subtle changes got us #1 placement and recipe request from all:). Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Victoria, I’m happy you were able to customize the recipe a bit and get #1 placement! I will try it with the changes you made, it sounds delicious with the liquid smoke!
Mmmm Yummy! This looked soooo good, I love Blueberries.
I like the versatility. As you suggested I didn’t want to use the maple syrup -1/4c so I just wanted see how sweet the blueberries made it but in the end it needed a bit of sweetness. I have learned before that when cutting back on adding sugar that you also have to cut the vinegar back. I only used 2 Tbsp of both Balsamic and ACVinegar, but it needed the proper amount of liquid so I added some water 1/4 cup which made up for the cut in vinegars. So then to add sweetness I decided to use Molasses 1 1/2 Tbsp which made it perfect for my taste buds. I’m also bit shy on spicy foods so I cut the Chilli powder down to 1/2 Tbsp and for me it was perfect. Other than that I stuck to the recipe. I keep “testing” it by the Spoonful and it is sooo good, I will have to double the recipe next time to make sure there is enough for the meal!
Thank you for the recipe. I haven’t been to your site before I will have to try some of your other recipes!
Thank you so much, Linda! I am thrilled that you enjoyed the BBQ sauce!