Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
On June 07, 2022 (Updated May 10, 2024)
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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 jalapeno 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.
i absolutely love this bbq sauce ! i was gifted the sauce and rub combo pack ! and am slowly working my way through trying all of them ( which have all been amazing so far ) but this apple jalapeño is by far my favorite . these are quality sauces and rubs and i recommend them to everyone you can’t go wrong with any of these products and they have something for everything ! im stoked to use my double smoked ham kit on easter
Hi Susie …. really looking forward to giving this recipe a try, however, where i am located molasses is impossible to find. What would you recommend … using honey instead or increasing the amount of brown sugar?Thanks,Greg
I would like to know if you can water bath this BBQ sauce. And if so would you save its would be a high enough PH to be safe?
I’m sure it’s possible. I’m not into canning, so I can’t say for sure.
Yes u can I do a lot of canning and doing jams and jellies make it the same wayClean jars and lids and sterilize have them warm add hot bbq sauce seal lid and place in a boiling canner for 10 mins take out and cool at room temp and then store like u do with jams I just opened one from august 2022 and it’s amazing
Made this once on Pork chops it was great. But what do you think about 1/2 cup of apple juice and 1/2 cup of Jim Beam Apple bourbon??? Think I’ma try it, let you know how it turns out.
Sounds like it could be good!
I’m going to try this same recipe with smoked paprika, cumin, orange juice, minced garlic and A1 steak sauce,
Trying this tonight . Can I do this in water bath canning ?
This is my go to BBQ sauce recipe, the most recent batch I used Apple Mango Juice and it was amazing.
@suzie – Could this be “canned” if a large batch was made up??? I like to make larger batches and use throughout the year and give as gifts as well…
I’m sure it can!
Seriously amazing! Love your recipes! I appreciated all the extra tips in the comments. (I added a chopped apple to mine and omitted some sugar.)
My single favorite sauce for spare ribs and baby back ribs. Great with chicken also
I have used this sauce for the Apple Jalapeño Ribs many times. It’s my go to for when I want to impress guests. But I have used this sauce and the Sweet Rub recently for some brisket burnt ends and sliced flat. It is amazing. I do have to admit, I made a couple modifications for the sugar and paprika. First, I used maple sugar instead of brown sugar and for the paprika I used 1 teaspoon of Spanish Sweet Smoked Paprika and 1 Teaspoon of Hungarian Sweet Spicy Paprika. It turned out so great, I’m doing it again as we speak for Mother’s Day smoked brisket.