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    Home » Vegan Sauces

    Vegan BBQ Sauce

    Published: Jul 28, 2021 Updated: Jul 28, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan BBQ Sauce

    This vegan BBQ sauce is so easy to make and so delicious. It’s packed with all the smokey, salty and sweet flavors that you love. It’s also the best thing ever brushed onto veggie burgers!

    Vegan BBQ sauce drizzling from a spoon into a glass jar.

    It’s so easy to make your own vegan bbq sauce at home. And honestly it tastes SO much better than any of the pre-made sauces you can buy. The flavors really pop!

    It has all that smokey, spicy, salty and sweet flavor that you know and love.

    It’s absolutely divine brushed onto any and all veggie burgers, and especially on our homemade vegan burgers.

    It’s also wonderful as a dip for any vegan nuggets or some baked tofu. And it’s the best thing ever on our BBQ cauliflower wings, crispy BBQ tofu, BBQ jackfruit pulled pork and jackfruit tacos.

    Ingredients You’ll Need To Make This Sauce:

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan bbq sauce.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Tomato paste and ketchup – we need both in this recipe, the tomato paste to intensify the flavor and the ketchup to create that rich tomato base to the sauce.
    • Light brown sugar – or dark brown sugar both work great in this recipe.
    • Dijon mustard – is our favorite mustard for flavor, but feel free to use another prepared yellow mustard instead.
    • Apple cider vinegar – adds tang to the sauce. I don’t recommend replacing this with any other kind of vinegar.
    • Liquid smoke – if you can’t get hold of liquid smoke you could switch this for an extra 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika.
    Spoonful of vegan bbq sauce.

    How To Make Vegan BBQ Sauce

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Add all ingredients to a saucepan on medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking regularly to mix well.
    Two photo collage showing ingredients added to saucepan and whisked together.
    • When it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes, whisking regularly, to let the sauce reduce and thicken. If you want a thicker sauce, you can let it simmer for longer.
    Two photo collage showing the sauce reduced in the saucepan and then the finished sauce on a wooden spoon.
    • Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely.
    • Transfer the sauce to an airtight container or jar and refrigerate.
    Two photo collage showing the cooled sauce being poured into a glass jar and then a spoon lifting some of the sauce out of the jar.

    Chef’s Tips

    Make it thicker. If you want a thicker sauce, just simmer it for longer so that it reduces more.

    Make it spicier. This sauce has only a small hint of spiciness from the cayenne pepper (we used ¼ teaspoon). Feel free to increase the cayenne pepper or add in some crushed red pepper flakes to make it spicier.

    Make it smokier. The sauce is beautifully smokey already, but feel free to add more smoked paprika and/or liquid smoke (to taste) if you want it super smokey.

    Make it gluten-free. To ensure this sauce is gluten-free use a gluten-free soy sauce and make sure your liquid smoke is also labeled gluten-free.

    Close up photo of a bowl of vegan barbecue sauce.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep your homemade vegan barbecue sauce stored in the fridge where it will stay good for 7-10 days (use your best judgement on freshness when it’s past 7 days).

    It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then use as normal.

    Brushing vegan bbq sauce onto a veggie burger.

    More Vegan Sauces

    1. Vegan Buffalo Sauce
    2. Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
    3. Vegan Tartar Sauce
    4. Vegan Tzatziki
    5. Vegan Teriyaki Sauce
    6. Vegan Chipotle Sauce
    Veggie burger topped with vegan bbq sauce.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan BBQ sauce drizzling from a spoon into a glass jar.

    Vegan BBQ Sauce

    This vegan BBQ sauce is so easy to make and so delicious. It's packed with all the smokey, salty and sweet flavors that you love. It's also the best thing ever brushed onto veggie burgers!
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Sauce, Savory, Side
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 65kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
    • ½ cup Ketchup (120ml)
    • ½ cup Water (120ml)
    • 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
    • 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
    • 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
    • 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
    • 2 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar
    • ½ tsp Liquid Smoke
    • ½ tsp Garlic Powder
    • ½ tsp Onion Powder
    • ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
    • ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
    • ¼ tsp Salt
    • ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Add all ingredients to a saucepan on medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking regularly to mix well.
    • When it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes, whisking regularly, to let the sauce reduce and thicken. If you want a thicker sauce, you can let it simmer for longer.
    • Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely.
    • Transfer the sauce to an airtight container or jar and refrigerate.

    Notes

    1. Quantity: This recipe makes around 1 cup of vegan bbq sauce. 
    2. Storing: Keep your homemade vegan barbecue sauce stored in the fridge where it will stay good for 7-10 days (use your best judgement on freshness when it’s past 7 days).
    3. Freezing: It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then use as normal.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2Tablespoons | Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 197IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Laurel Dhalla says

      May 11, 2022 at 12:01 am

      We thought it was excellent!! We left out the brown sugar and it was just the perfect spicy/sweet combo. We used it for vegan ribs and wow – delicious! Better than any bottled sauce!!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 11, 2022 at 9:45 am

        Awesome! Thanks for the great review Laurel!

        Reply
    2. Sally says

      February 25, 2022 at 2:40 am

      OH MY, This sauce is heavenly! I put it over some cooked navy beans and it was amazing. My favorite lunch is the barbequed beans heated up, then spread on sourdough toast and topped with pickled red onions for more flavor and crunch. I don’t see a recipe on your site for pickled onions but they are so simple and keep for a long time in the fridge. I slice red inions, salt them liberally, let them sit for a couple of hours, drain and rinse off the salt, then add 1 part water and two parts apple cider vinegar. They get better with age.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 28, 2022 at 9:18 am

        Hi Sally, so happy you love this sauce, we’re crazy about it too. And thanks so much for sharing your recipe, I’ll definitely have to try it like that! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Mo says

      February 23, 2022 at 1:44 pm

      Delicious! You were spot on with the spices as usual! I had to make the smoked paprika sub as can’t get liquid smoke here. You mentioned subbing liquid smoke with 2tsp smoked paprika (thank you!!). I was thinking that 2.5tsps total sounded like a lot in 1cup of sauce, so started with 1.5 tsps and taste tested. Quickly realized I could trust you and that it did need the additional tsp to get the Smokey flavour! All your recipes turn out great, I should know by now that I can trust them 100%! 😊5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 28, 2022 at 9:24 am

        Thanks so much Mo! So glad you loved the recipe and that the smokey flavor was spot on! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Alison Sirak says

      September 10, 2021 at 4:30 pm

      Is it okay to omit the oil?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        September 11, 2021 at 12:02 pm

        Yes you can definitely do that. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Duane from Australia says

      August 02, 2021 at 7:44 am

      Had to make this tonight. I skipped the garlic and onion powder as I don’t eat either. Wife’s comment was “By far the most superior BBQ sauce we’ve ever had.” I liked it so much, I ended up just eating what was left over with a teaspoon 😀5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 02, 2021 at 12:22 pm

        Yay! That’s so good to hear, thanks so much Duane!

        Reply

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