A good barbecue sauce makes becoming plant-based an easier endeavor. You can prepare a wide variety of dishes with this sauce that make you forget you aren’t eating meat.  Added to veggie burger ingredients, it gives them a sweet and savory flavor with a hint of heat. This sauce is an indispensable ingredient in BBQ Jackfruit aka Vegan Pulled Pork. (See Instant Pot Vegan Pulled Pork.) It can also serve as a tangy spread for veggie burgers. Slather on vegetables and cook on a grill, or sear under a broiler flame. Do the same with Tofu, Tempe or Seitan, in strips or cutlets. They can then be enjoyed as a side or as the main ingredient of a vegetarian sandwich with oven fries and green vegetables on the side.

This recipe makes a large batch, suitable for an outdoor party. You may reduce the recipe in half if you prefer less. It freezes very well so I find it useful to save it in one or two cup Pyrex containers in my freezer so I can have it whenever I want to make a quick meal of pulled pork sandwiches or barbecued tofu. It is also excellent as a dip for oven fries. We love it so much, we use it up quickly, even though there are just the two of us in our household.

>Whenever possible, I buy organic ingredients. In this recipe it is especially important as conventionally grown peppers may be extremely toxic, having been heavily treated with pesticides. This concern applies particularly to hot peppers, which can be even more toxic than bell peppers. We tend to overlook this in seasonings, but there is no reason to believe that non-organic cayenne and chili powders are any less toxic just because they have been dried and ground into a powder. Always buy organic when purchasing any variety of pepper. Organic brown sugar is available in most grocery stores and easy to find. Organic molasses can be found at most large health food stores. I’ve not found a source for organic cocoa.