Grilling season is quickly approaching and I am getting ready by making some homemade BBQ sauces starting with this seasonal strawberry BBQ sauce. This strawberry BBQ sauce was inspired by the flavours in my strawberry and balsamic grilled chicken salad and my balsamic strawberry and chicken pizza with sweet onions and smoked bacon which predominantly feature the strawberry and balsamic vinegar flavours along with some Asian influences. I really wanted to be able to taste the strawberries in this BBQ sauce so that meant starting with a lot of strawberries and roasting them to concentrate their flavour. I like a BBQ sauce with a nice sweet side so for the sweetener I went with a combo of maple syrup and some homemade strawberry jam to add even more strawberry flavour. Up next was the balsamic vinegar for some tartness, soy sauce for the saltiness and a smoky and spicy chipotle chili in adobo. Continuing with the Asian influence I added plenty of garlic and ginger along with some BBQ sauce staples with a fresh cilantro finish. I have to say that this roasted strawberry BBQ sauce is addictively good! The strawberry flavours shine through and it has a really nice balance of sweet, spicy, tart and salty and lets not forget those sultry smoky undertones.
For my next batch I plan on adding bacon since both the salad and the pizza that inspired this dressing include bacon!
This roasted strawberry BBQ sauce is great on grilled chicken and also by the spoonful!
Roasted Strawberry BBQ Sauce
A sweet, spicy and smoky strawberry BBQ sauce.
ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries, hulled (if they are large cut them in half)
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves/jam
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
directions
- Place the strawberries in a single layer on a baking pan lined with foil folded up on the sides to capture the juices and roast in a preheated 425F/220C oven until they start to caramelize, about 15-20 minutes.
- Bring everything except the cilantro to a boil, reduce the heat, simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat, mix in the cilantro and puree in a food processor or blender or using an immersion blender.
Tieghan says
May 14, 2013 at 12:33 pmI think is would go crazy for this bbq sauce! Roasted strawberries!! That sounds awesome! What a great idea, I can not wait to try it!
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch says
May 14, 2013 at 12:38 pmI bet this tastes amazing, Kevin!!! I love that you included strawberries. Yum!!!
Irina @ wandercrush says
May 14, 2013 at 12:58 pmThis sounds absolutely amazing. Strawberries are really so much more versatile than I thought!
Johanna GGG says
May 14, 2013 at 1:26 pmgreat sauce – I could just imagine this sauce with halloumi cheese (not that I have ever had halloumi with bbq sauce before)
kevin says
May 14, 2013 at 1:28 pmJohanna GGG: That sounds like the perfect excuse for me to pick up some halloumi and try!
Erika says
May 14, 2013 at 2:35 pmHave Mercy…Roasted Strawberry BBQ sauce sounds incredible!!
Marie Matter says
May 14, 2013 at 3:35 pmWOAH. Totally making this! I love my BBQ sauce a tad sweet, and usually make a peach or raspberry version, but strawberries sound incredible! Pinned!
Gwen says
May 14, 2013 at 7:50 pmOh my goodness! How is this just now coming into my life!
Arthur in the Garden! says
May 14, 2013 at 9:38 pmOooo, That looks interesting!
vanillasugarblog says
May 14, 2013 at 11:59 pmKevin I never ever would have thought to use strawberries in a BBQ sauce, but it makes perfect sense.
They are naturally sweet and definitely add a layer.
All homemade BBQ sauces have layers of flavor.
Genius!
Anonymous says
May 15, 2013 at 12:11 amWould love to try this but my husband's stomach doesn't tolerate strawberry seeds. Do they get pulverized?
Alesia Barker-Smith says
May 15, 2013 at 8:02 amSounds amazing! Just got a question. Do I roast strawberries with other ingredients or just boil all together?thank you
Joanne says
May 15, 2013 at 10:20 amI love fruity bbq sauces and this one sounds crazy awesome! Roasting the strawberries must deepen their flavor so much!
Jill P. says
May 15, 2013 at 11:46 amThis sounds amazing to make a chicken pizza with. I just pinned this as I will be making it very soon! Love your recipes, I have you listed as a side bar favorite on my blog 🙂 – Jill (MamaGing.com)
kevin says
May 15, 2013 at 1:44 pmAnonymous: The strawberry seeds are still going to be in there. You would need to strain the sauce through a sieve that is fine enough to catch the seeds and let the rest pass though.
kevin says
May 15, 2013 at 1:45 pmAlesia Barker-Smith: You roast the strawberries and then boil them along with everything else.
J Wynia says
May 15, 2013 at 3:14 pmHmmm. I grew up eating strawberry jam on fried fish (walleye and northern pike we caught ourselves), which everyone thinks is weird until they try it. Will definitely be making a batch of this this weekend.
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
May 15, 2013 at 9:18 pmLast year I made a strawberry-bourbon bbq sauce. Such a tasty combination. I'm need to roast my strawberries this year!
Moira says
May 16, 2013 at 2:00 amWe're running a trial on this over the weekend. I'm using honey instead of maple syrup, and leaving out the mustard. A friend's subbing tomato sauce for the ketchup and salt for the soy sauce. It'll be fun, cooking through cyber-space ! Can't wait to taste this.
Stephanie says
May 17, 2013 at 2:07 pmSounds amazing!
Anonymous says
May 18, 2013 at 8:23 pmKevin, do you think this is acidic enough to "can" in a water bath?
kevin says
May 19, 2013 at 12:01 amAnonymous: Yes it should be.
Jennie says
May 26, 2013 at 4:35 pmThis sounds wonderful. It is hard to get fresh strawberries where I live overseas. Do you think it would work to thaw whole frozen strawberries, and then roast them?
kevin says
May 27, 2013 at 12:42 pmJennie: I do not think that frozen strawberry would roast all that well but you can use the frozen strawberries without roasting.
Heather says
May 27, 2013 at 7:37 pmI just made this and it tastes AMAZING! I love things that hit you with a little bit of heat after you taste everything else, so the spice level here is perfect. My batch is sitting in my crock pot with some chicken breasts for pulled chicken right now!
Maeralin says
June 7, 2013 at 5:47 pmI made this as gifts for people in my department. There's a wonderful balance of heat, sweet, and tangy/sour. The second batch came out better than the first, because I made very sure to transfer every last drop of those roasted strawberry juices that the oven cooked out into the sauce.
Rachel Adamus says
June 15, 2013 at 12:55 amWe are going strawberry picking tomorrow, I cannot wait to try this! How long does this last in the fridge? Does it freeze well?
kevin says
June 18, 2013 at 2:42 pmRachel Adamus: This will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and even longer in the freezer!
henthorm says
July 11, 2013 at 5:47 pmDo you think this would do well being canned?
kevin says
July 13, 2013 at 5:48 pmhenthorm: This should work well with proper canning methods.
Anonymous says
September 4, 2013 at 8:00 pmI made this sauce today. It is SO good! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Julie K.
Callan Cudd says
February 21, 2014 at 3:30 pmHow long does this sauce keep or if refrigerated? Looks amazing! Cannot wait to try!
kevin says
February 23, 2014 at 9:38 pmCallan Cudd: This will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and even longer in the freezer!
Joy Bodwell says
February 26, 2014 at 7:27 pmJust made this today! I almost can't believe anything can taste so good! You've done it again Kevin, and we thank you 🙂 Yummy yummy!
Toni S says
April 12, 2014 at 9:10 pmHey:) Is there now a recipe including bacon?
Kiki Surlechamp says
May 19, 2014 at 4:36 amLove it! I included the bacon – just can´t say no to bacon! Almost ate the whole jar for dinner and saved the rest for breaky …with baguette and goat cheese !! YUM
Anonymous says
June 4, 2014 at 11:40 pmCannot wait to try this, looks amazing, I will definitely add the bacon. The baquette with the goat cheese sounds like a great idea.
Thanks Kikii 🙂
Anonymous says
June 5, 2014 at 1:52 amWhere can you find the chipotle pepper in adobe?
kevin says
June 5, 2014 at 1:39 pmAnonymous: They are usually in the Mexican section of your grocery store and they will be in small cans. If you cannot find them you can replace them with cayenne for the heat and smoked paprika for the smokiness.
Jake DeTrempe says
June 5, 2014 at 3:15 pmMade this last night. I used two chipotles because I like the spicy! It is great, can't wait to bbq it up with some chicken tonight!
kevin says
June 5, 2014 at 3:42 pmJake DeTrempe: I'm glad you like it and enjoy it on the chicken!
Anonymous says
June 16, 2014 at 12:59 pmSounds amazing …… Does anyone know how long the sauce will last in the refrigerator once made ?
kevin says
June 25, 2014 at 10:52 amAnonymous: It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.
The Perpetual Ausländerin says
June 27, 2014 at 7:16 pmThis sauce is AMAZING! It's going to be the hit of our Strawberry Festival. Thank you!
Rachel Farnsworth says
July 16, 2014 at 6:46 pmUsing this recipe for my sister's wedding dinner this weekend. It's a great one! Thanks Kevin!
doyle says
September 29, 2014 at 12:02 pmGreat sauce. Pair it with some pork ribs for an Epic win!
http://cookingwithdoyle.com/index.php/strawberry-bbq-sauce
Kim Bahr says
May 24, 2018 at 12:37 amHi Kevin! I love a lot of what you make, but I recently have discovered new allergies. Is there a way to make this without the ketchup or peppers? I can no longer have nightshades or citrus… I’m having a hard time finding something that would work. Thank you!!!
kevin says
May 31, 2018 at 2:32 pmKim Bahr: In this recipe you can simply omit the ketchup and use more strawberries! You can also omit the chili peppers and if you want add some 'bite' with extra vinegar, mustard or even horseradish but these would be optional!