Low-Sugar Texas-Style Barbecue Sauce

Most store-bought bottled sauces are packed with sugars and preservatives, so if you need to keep your sugar intake in check, or are sugar-conscious, you know how hard it is to find something flavorful that is also suitable for your dietary needs and preferences. Besides naturally occurring sugars in the tomato paste and no-sugar ketchup, this flavorful preparation contains a total of two teaspoons of agave (9.2 grams of sugar) plus a minimal amount of sugar contained in the Worcestershire sauce. It's up to you and your needs to omit the agave altogether or to use less of it. Our flavorful mixture makes around one cup of sauce, so when eating a tablespoon or two at a time, the sugar intake shouldn't be too much. Our preparation is an easy and budget-friendly recipe that makes an ideal substitute for sugar-heavy sauces, and it's also a really delicious one.

This is a great sauce to use on pork chops, chicken, or fish. Use it as a table sauce alongside your favorite grilled meats, or brush it on salmon, tofu, seitan, or tempeh before baking to make a delicious and chewy crust. This sauce can also be a great marinade for chicken thighs, wings, pork chops, or tough cuts of meat that could use some tenderizing, as the vinegar in our mixture will help with that while the sauce will inject a ton of flavor into the meat. Add a few tablespoons next time you're making beans in your crockpot, or use it as a dip for fries, yuca batons, or cheese fingers. Mixing this sauce with no-sugar mayonnaise makes creamy dressing for original cold pasta and potato salads. It's also a great spread for sandwiches stuffed with your favorite cold cuts and cheeses.

If you need to double the recipe to make a bigger batch, let the sauce cool off completely and take out only what you need for your meal, keeping the rest of the sauce in the refrigerator, covered, at all times for up to a week. Because it has tomato paste and ketchup, the sauce can get sour and very acidic after a few days and lose its pleasant flavor. This recipe only requires 17 minutes of your day, a small investment for a tasty reward.