This homemade Tangy Pineapple BBQ Sauce is sticky, sweet and a little spicy. It features tropical flavors in a mouthwatering barbecue sauce, perfect for chicken, ribs and even seafood.
I love creating sauces and condiments around a single ingredient. Whether its my vibrant Blueberry BBQ Sauce, mayo-free Avocado Aioli or Sun-Dried Tomato Spread, I love finding a unique ingredient to star in a simple condiment or sauce. For this homemade pineapple barbecue sauce, I wanted to create a recipe that lets the tropical fruit shine, but is balanced enough to enjoy in a wide variety of dishes.
Why You'll Love this Pineapple BBQ Recipe
- Simple grocery store ingredients
- Easily adjustable
- Versatile: perfect for chicken, pork, seafood, pizza and more
- Tropical pineapple flavor with a tangy and spicy kick
- Ideal for a summer cookout, but right at home in a slow-cooker or air-fryer barbecue, too
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Ingredients that Matter
This fruity BBQ sauce uses a handful of pantry staples along with some fresh ingredients. Plus, there are plenty of tweaks to the ingredient line-up depending on what's available. Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this barbecue sauce with pineapple:
- Pineapple. Fruits of all sorts go very well in a homemade BBQ sauce. Pineapple, in particular works great thanks to its sweet and tangy flavor and juicy flesh. I recommend using fresh and cutting your own, but you can also use canned, if you prefer.
- Pineapple Juice. BBQ sauce is a balance of umami, sweetness and tanginess. Pineapple juice covers the tangy and sweet flavors. I recommend using a 6 ounce can of pineapple juice, which is a bit less than one cup.
- Ketchup. It's hard to beat ketchup in homemade BBQ sauce. Use your favorite brand.
- Olive Oil. A bit of olive oil is used to char the pineapple to build a slightly bitter, more complex flavor.
- Brown Sugar. I love light brown sugar in my homemade BBQ sauces as it has a delicious molasses flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. You can adjust the amount of vinegar in this recipe depending on if you like a tangy or sweeter sauce.
- Maple Syrup. For even more complexity in our barbecue sauce, this recipe uses a couple tablespoons of maple syrup. Fee free to swap in honey.
- Spices. My preferred spice blend includes hot Hungarian paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. But feel free to include others like onion powder, sweet paprika or even chili powder.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make homemade pineapple BBQ sauce
This is a cooked barbecue sauce (as opposed to a quick no-cook recipe) and there's a couple extra steps that goes into making the sauce complex and delicious. Here are the steps to making this recipe:
- Start by dicing 1 cup of pineapple. You want fairly small dices, not chunks. If using canned pineapple chunks, be sure to cut them down a bit. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add the pineapple.
- Cook the pineapple, stirring occasionally, until it starts to char a bit and turn golden brown, 4-6 minutes.
- Add the brown sugar and stir well. Cook until the brown sugar melts and starts to reduce a bit, about 2 minutes.
- Finally, stir in the pineapple juice, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until thickened and reduced to about 1 ½ cups, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool at least 10 minutes before using.
Hint: This recipe makes a BBQ sauce with small chunks of tender pineapple. If you want it completely smooth you have two options. You can simply strain the sauce and discard the pineapple chunks. Or, blend the sauce with an immersion blender or regular blender (be careful when blending hot liquids) until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, if desired.
Substitutions
This recipe is very easy to adjust based on your dietary restrictions or flavor preferences. Consider the following tweaks:
- Pineapple - If you don't want to use fresh pineapple, you can use a can of pineapple chunks or slices. Just be sure to cut them into small pieces. Be careful not to include the juices from a can packed in heavy syrup. You can, however, use the juice from a can of pineapple packed in its own juices.
- Brown Sugar- No brown sugar? No problem. Use regular granulated sugar in its place. You can use another sweetener like coconut sugar, if desired.
- Spice - This sauce already has a bit of a spicy kick, though it's not necessarily spicy. You can crank up the spice by adding ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - Just about any vinegar, including white wine, red wine and rice wine vinegars will work well in this recipe.
- Garlic - Feel free to leave out the garlic powder if you are sensitive to the allium. Instead, try using a ½ teaspoon of ground mustard powder.
Why char the pineapple first?
Sure, you could simply add all the ingredients to a saucepan and simmer until reduced to a desired consistency, but you'll miss out on some serious flavor. Charring pineapple first adds complexity and a pleasant toasty sweetness that makes this homemade barbecue sauce better than store-bought, hands-down. This is the same idea behind my Charred Broccolini with Chili and Garlic and my Skillet Charred Corn on the Cob.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this mouthwatering homemade pineapple BBQ sauce with grilled meat and slow roasted barbecue. Try serving it with:
- Cast Iron BBQ Chicken Breast
- Pulled Chicken in a Dutch Oven
- Crispy Air Fryer Red Potatoes
- Skillet Charred Corn on the Cob (trust me!)
- Air Fryer Steak Fries
- Roasted Black Beans
- Red Lentil Patties
- Loaded Potato Bowls
Storage
Leftover homemade BBQ sauce should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing this sauce. The recipe makes about 1 ½ cups which is enough for pulled pork or several servings of grilled chicken. It also makes about 3 BBQ pizzas.
Adam's Pro Tip
The sauce needs to reduce slightly, so be sure to simmer it for the full 15-20 minutes. It will coat the back of a spoon well once reduced properly. It will also continue to thicken as it cools. If you decide to blend it, the sauce will get quick thick and fibrous and should be strained..
FAQ
Both light and dark brown sugar work very well in an homemade barbecue sauce. Dark brown sugar will have a richer molasses flavor compared to light brown sugar. Either way, be sure to pack the sugar to get a proper measurement.
Canned pineapple sauce will produce a good quality BBQ sauce, but not quite as a special as using fresh pineapple. Just be sure to chop the canned pineapple into smaller pieces before using and discard the liquid if it's packed in heavy syrup.
Pineapple sauce has a lovely tangy, sweet and sticky flavor that is best served with pork ribs, grilled chicken, pulled pork and grilled shrimp. It's also great with grilled white fish and even crockpot pull chicken or pork or air fried bbq chicken.
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Recipe
Tangy Pineapple BBQ Sauce
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 ½ cups 1x
Description
This homemade Tangy Pineapple BBQ Sauce is sticky, sweet and a little spicy. It features tropical flavors in a mouthwatering barbecue sauce, perfect for chicken, ribs and even seafood.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup diced pineapple (from 1 fresh pineapple or 1 [20 oz.] can chopped pineapple) *see note
- ¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 (6 oz.) can pineapple juice (about ¾ cups)
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. hot Hungarian paprika
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ½ tsp. table salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pineapple and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and slightly charred, 4-6 minutes. Add the brown sugar and stir well to combine. Cook until bubbly and slightly reduced.
- Stir in the pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, maple syrup, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper and salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to maintain a low simmer and cook until reduced slightly and thickened, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool at least 10 minutes. Use immediately or store in an airtight container like a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- This sauce is particularly delicious on grilled chicken, air fried chicken, pulled pork, pork ribs and even grilled shrimp or white fish.
- If using canned pineapple, be sure to dice. Drain and discard any liquid from a can of pineapple packed in heavy syrup.
- Charring the pineapple first adds complexity and delicious, toasty sweetness to the barbecue sauce.
- For more heat, add ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper. The sauce is already a bit spicy, but not overly hot.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
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