Chocolate Chip Week: Chocolate BBQ Sauce

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There was a phase when I put BBQ sauce on everything. And I mean everything.

Baked beans? Well, obviously.

Crispy tofu? You bet.

Sandwiches? Lay it on.

Salad? Oh yeah.

Carrot sticks? Give me something harder, why dontcha?

I think I was going through my ambiguous post-physics pre-dietetics phase, where kitchen experiments abounded and common sense was in short supply. Poor Peter. The things I used to cook for us. The turning-up-my-nose at diner food because when I asked the waitress if they had whole grain pasta, she laughed in my face. He’s a good man for putting up with the crazies.

(Of course, if I ever need a good comeback, I have only to show him this picture:

Yep, that oughta do it.)

I guess you could say I was stretching my food creativity with BBQ sauce. Of course, there’s always room for creativity within BBQ sauce. Why not add the richness of chocolate? Chocolate Week, indeed.

I served the BBQ sauce with oven-baked chicken fingers: chicken tenderloin, dipped in egg, then panko mixed with oregano and sweet paprika, baked at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes. I also dipped my baby sweet bell peppers in the sauce — what? Carrot sticks, remember?

This recipe gave me the idea of putting chocolate in BBQ sauce. I was planning to adapt my own recipe around it, and I literally started making the BBQ sauce before realizing that one of the ingredients in the linked recipe was “8 oz. barbeque sauce”. Um, what? I thought that’s what I was making.

Anyway, so I made up this. Just for you, dear reader.

Chocolate BBQ Sauce

  Prep Time: 5 minutes

  Cook Time: 15 minutes

  Keywords: condiment vegetarian vegan chocolate

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 cup crushed or pureed tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 oz. chocolate chips
  • Salt

Instructions

Heat olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil for 2 minutes, or until onion turns golden.

Add tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, stock, cinnamon, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce temperature and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until thick.

Add chocolate chip and stir until melted. Add salt to taste. Can be eaten immediately or refrigerated for 8-12 hours to allow flavors to combine.

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Pass the bell peppers!

Q: What do you put BBQ sauce on?

5 Comments

  1. Hmmm, I think I never really use BBQ sauce. Strange, it seems like such a staple. I do, however, use copious amounts of tomato pasta sauce on top of all sorts of things. I don’t think chocolate would work quite as well in that context though haha.

  2. I used to be more of a bbq sauce fiend than I am now…but with chocolate in it, I’m pretty sure my passion will resurface! ANd hey..if it works in mole and chili..why not bbq sauce!?

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