Sugar-free BBQ Sauce (Keto and Gluten-free) and TexMex soup using leftovers

This recipe is taken from Wholesome Yum. The recipes from this site are always clear, logical and successful.

I decided to make this BBQ sauce recipe to spice up pulled chicken for a family lunch one Saturday. This was for 5 adults. We needed something quick and easy for lunch as my 7 year-old sister and 2 female cousins aged 7 and 5 years choose different meals. We served the BBQ pulled chicken with salads, steamed broccoli and sourdough bread for those who wanted it.

This sauce is very easy and quick to make – approximately 5 minutes prep time and 20 minutes cooking time; it is sweet, smoky and spicy. When you first make it is quite thick but can be thinned down with the addition of more water to brush on for BBQ chicken or ribs.

I used it to mix into shredded chicken, thinned down with some of the chicken juices that came out during cooking. The recipe makes approx, 2.5 cups.

Ingredients

2.5 x 6oz cans of tomato paste (I only had tubes of tomato paste so weighed out 15 ounces)

1/3 cup of powdered erythritol or sweetener of choice (preferably powder or liquid)

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I didn’t have gluten-free so used soy sauce)

1 tbsp liquid hickory smoke (I didn’t have this and it was still good)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp chili powder (I used mild)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

1.5 cups water approximately (see method)

Method

Whisk all the ingredients together in a largish sauce pan (otherwise it does spit out even on a low simmer) adding the water last.

Start with a cup of water, then whisk in a bit more at a time until you get the consistency you want. I used 1.5 cups water but it varies with how thick your tomato paste is. The one I used was double concentrate.

I was happy to have it thick because it gives me the option of thinning it down when needed to paint it onto chicken thighs or ribs or adding it to other dishes.

Bring to a gentle boil at medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. I put the pan lid half-on during this time to prevent the sauce spitting out of the pan.

Taste and adjust the sweetener or cayenne pepper to make the sauce sweeter or spicier. If it’s still thicker than you like, you can stir in additional water, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.

I added a heaped cup of the BBQ sauce to the pulled chicken plus the chicken stock you can see in the bowl. I had already seasoned the chicken before it was cooked slowly in the oven; once shredded it was moist so the consistency was good.

This left with with 1.25 cups of the BBQ sauce left. I used this in a ‘TexMex soup’ recipe below.

(Please note my sous-chef, Bella, who is trying to hypnotise me into dropping some).

TexMex Soup using leftovers

This was a recipe that I put together the following day to use up a variety of leftovers and vegetables. It is one of the nicest and warming meal soups that I have eaten in a long time. I have started using the chopped up stalks of the broccoli in soups and casseroles,

Ingredients

1 large organic leek – very finely sliced/shredded

2 of the thick stalks from organic broccoli – very finely diced

6 medium sized flat mushrooms

500ml vegetable stock

1 cup of leftover BBQ pulled chicken

1.5 cups of (frozen) BBQ pulled pork with black beans

1 can of butter beans in water

4 heaped tbsp of keto BBQ sauce.

salt and pepper to taste at the end

1 heaped tsp of cumin

Method

Saute the leeks in oil or a mix of oil/butter. Add the chopped mushrooms and gently cook.

Then add the finely diced broccoli stalk and stock; simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the leftover pulled pork/black beans and chicken; stir and add 4 heaped tbsp of the keto BBQ sauce.

Drain and wash the butter beans and add.

Simmer for 20 minutes check the diced broccoli stalk is softened; season with the salt, pepper and cumin. The cumin adds warmth and depth of flavour to the soup.

• 

bbqGluten Freeketoleftoversquick and easyRecipessugar-freetexmex