Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
On June 07, 2022
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This amazing apple jalapeno BBQ sauce is sure to tingle your taste buds. It’s the perfect blend of savory and sweet with a kiss of heat! Try it on ribs, chicken, and more for an awesome BBQ meal.
Homemade Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
This apple jalapeno BBQ sauce takes a traditional ketchup-based BBQ sauce and adds apple and jalapenos for a twist on classic BBQ flavors. I created this sauce on a whim after craving something a little different on my ribs than the typical Kansas-City style BBQ sauce.
This sauce is the perfect combination of sweet, savory, and spicy, and when slathered all over Apple Jalapeno Smoked Ribs, the results are absolutely incredible. It’s also simply amazing on top of Simple Smoked Pulled Pork, drizzled on BBQ Chicken Nachos, and brushed on a Smoked BBQ Fatty. This sauce is good on everything!
Ingredients for Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
I absolutely love making my own BBQ sauce from scratch and have developed a pretty awesome formula for crafting perfectly balanced sauces.
When making a homemade BBQ sauce, your best bet is to remember these 4 key elements: fresh ingredients, store-bought ingredients, sweetness, and acidity. For every one of my favorite sauces, I combine fresh ingredients (in this recipe, it’s the jalapenos), store-bought ingredients (ketchup as the base), sweetness (apple juice), and acidity (apple cider vinegar).
Here’s what you need to make this sauce. Full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Ketchup
- Apple juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Celery salt
- Ground coriander
- Jalapeno
How to Make Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
Homemade BBQ sauce is one of the easiest things you’ll ever make. All you need is a stove and saucepan! Here’s how to make apple jalapeno BBQ sauce.
- Make the sauce. Combine all ingredients for this sauce in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. The sauce should thicken to a classic BBQ sauce consistency.
- Chill. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool. Transfer to a lidded jar and refrigerate overnight. While you can use this sauce immediately, the flavors are more robust if allowed to chill for 12-24 hours before using.
- Use or store. Once the sauce has had time to chill and rest, use it on your favorite recipes. Any unused sauce can be stored in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Tips for Making Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
- Adjust the spice level. If you like it spicy, you can dice the whole jalapeno (seeds and everything) and if you like it milder, remove the seeds and white ribs inside the pepper before dicing.
- Make in advance. If you are making the sauce the same day, it will totally work fine. Waiting overnight is recommended to fully enhance the flavors, but I get that sometimes it doesn’t work out. If you can plan ahead, make this sauce a day or two before you plan on using it and store it in the fridge until it’s go-time.
- Buy it premade. If you are interested in saving time making this sauce, you can purchase a bottle from the Hey Grill Hey Store! It’s the same awesome sauce packaged and delivered straight to your door!
More BBQ Sauce Recipes
If you like this Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce recipe, be sure to check out these other homemade BBQ sauce recipes that I can’t get enough of!
Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce Recipe
Follow the recipe, and let’s make some really good food! Hey Grill Hey is here to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. Head on over to Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! for more behind-the-scenes action!
This post was originally published in October 2017. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- 1 cup apple juice
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 medium jalapeños finely diced (seeds removed if you want mild sauce)
Instructions
- Make the sauce. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Use or store. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool. Transfer the sauce to a lidded jar and chill in the refrigerator overnight before using. This sauce will last 2 weeks in the fridge if stored in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great for a party. I would mix some of this barbecue sauce into a crockpot with baked beans. It already has the ingredients in the sauce, just add the beans and simmer with some fried bacon bits. Yummy!
This is my favorite BBQ sauce to use on my ribs. My family loves it! I use another jalapeño to spice it up a bit.
Love this BBQ sauce! It has enough bite that people loved it, but not so much that spice wimps like me, can still enjoy it. I am so glad that I found your website. You have some fabulous recipes! Thank you for sharing them!
This turned out fantastic. Went for Habenero instead of Jalapeño and I wasn’t disappointed. Made just the right amount to fill a 12oz bottle. You rock!
This sauce is marketable. I’m definitely be making it again. Simple ingredients and excellent flavor. Just enough spiciness but not overwhelming.
The best sauce I have come across.
Smoked Baby backs and made this apple jalapeno BBQ sauce over the weekend, they didn’t last 10 mins. Tastes good on brisket too. Next time Im doubling the recipe though. This sauce is one to keep on hand at all times. Thanks for sharing!