This sweet and tangy Hawaiian Barbecue Sauce has won it's place on the “things I only eat homemade” list and it will steal your heart too! Amazing on meat, veggies, pizza, or just on a spoon for slurping. No added sugar is just icing on the cake . . . Errr . . . you know what I mean.
Confession time again. I like barbecue sauce better than anything I ever put it on or dip it in. Why I haven't invented a barbecue sauce soup yet is beyond me. My favorite barbecue sauce is in our cookbook Master the Electric Pressure Cooker and if my freezer isn't stocked with bags of it, I'm in a panic.
Today's twist just might rival the cookbook version. I made it sweeter (without sugar!) and added bites of pineapple. This is (Instant Pot) Pressure Cooker Hawaiian Barbecue Sauce and it's better than a Hawaiian vacation . . . says the person in denial that has no time for a Hawaiian vacation.
Quick tip for ya – I found these frozen onion cubes at the store recently and I want to hug whoever invented these. It's definitely a lazy/efficient way to do onions and I'm in love with them. They also make garlic and ginger cubes. These are especially perfect for the pressure cooker because if a recipe asks for sautéing onions, you can skip right over that step and just throw them in with everything else!
Back to barbecue sauce. When I went sugar free 4 years ago, I felt like I had to give up barbecue sauce and that was a pretty sad thing for me. My little sis found this recipe for me and we adapted it to our taste and to the pressure cooker. It is now a staple for us both and I can eat it to my hearts content without getting sugar jitters.
Storebought barbecue sauce is LOADED with sugar. To really cut the sugar in this recipe I either use this Westbrae Unsweetened Ketchup or Sir Kensington's Ketchup that has half the sugar and twice the taste of the brands you're used to. Instead of sugar here I used dates and pineapple juice to sweeten it.
I've had it on veggies, pork, chicken, steak, and on pizza (with shredded chicken, onion, pineapple and mozzarella, ahhhh, so good!). My mom seriously doubted me on this recipe but gave it a chance on her famous crock pot meatballs (in place of the grape jelly, brown sugar sauce) and it was a raging success at a family gathering!
When my mama declares something a winner (like this White Chocolate Lemon Bar Cheesecake), that means I've struck gold!
Make this barbecue sauce a new staple in your home! It's good for you, easy to make, freezes great, and most importantly, tastes like a dream.
These Hawaiian Barbecue Tacos with Cashew Pineapple Coleslaw are the most perfect place to use this sauce! If I invited you all to my house, these tacos would be the main dish. BBQ + Coleslaw = ❤
Tools/products used to make Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Hawaiian Barbecue Sauce
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Pressure Cooker Hawaiian Barbecue Sauce
Hands down, this is my favorite barbecue sauce of all time! Sweetened with pineapple and dates, it's a winner on EVERYTHING.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: about 4 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups ketchup (preferably an unsweetened brand like Westbrae Natural Organic Unsweetened Ketchup or a minimally sweetened brand like Sir Kensington's)
- 6 ounce can pineapple juice
- 7 pitted dates (don't forget to pit them!)
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic (I like to use the roasted ones from the grocery store olive bar section)
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup onion, minced (or 2 frozen onion cubes – see notes)
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼–½ teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except for the diced fresh pineapple to the pressure cooker pot and stir well. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use a natural release for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
- Blend until smooth with an immersion blender or a table top blender. Stir in the reserved pineapple. Use immediately or transfer to glass jars and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Also freezes well in freezer safe resealable bags.
Notes
- I often swap chopped onions out for these frozen onion cubes in the freezer isle.
Keywords: BBQ, barbecue sauce, Hawaiian food
Recipe adapted from Or Whatever You Do
This looks amazing! What a great adaptation. Thanks for the link!
Nicole, Thanks for your great recipe! It’s the best BBQ sauce I’ve ever had and it’s not loaded with sugar!