For some, BBQ sauce has to be one of my favorite things to add to my meat. When it’s done right, its one of the most succulent, sticky, and delicious additions to any grilled chicken, beef, or fish. But just because i like it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
When looking at various BBQ sauces and how healthy they are, I considered three important factors:
Sodium: Some BBQ sauces contain a lot of salt for flavor. While it might be tasty, you’re risking your heart. The American Heart Association says too many Americans consume more salt than recommended. The organization suggests having no more than 2,300 milligrams a day, but many people have 3,500mg daily.
Sugar: Many BBQ sauce brands are loaded with added sugars. When consumed often, too much sugar can lead to weight gain and other major health concerns. According to the American Heart Association, women shouldn’t have more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day, which is around 100 calories, and for men, no more than 9 teaspoons or 150 calories per day.
Additives: Additives like high-fructose corn syrup are harmful ingredients found in many foods, including BBQ sauce, which can increase the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity and other health problems when consumed often, per Cleveland Clinic.
With that said, here are the 6 worst BBQ sauces for your body.
6. Buffalo Wild Wings Honey BBQ Sauce
Among the regularly available barbecue sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings, its Honey BBQ Sauce is among the least healthy. The Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant got its start in 1982 to give the rest of the country a taste of the type of wings that the owners enjoyed in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo Wild Wings’ sauces — including several varieties of barbecue sauce — became popular in their own right, with the company eventually bottling them for customer purchase.
Honey BBQ Sauce is the variety you’re most likely to find in grocery stores, and it’s fairly unhealthy. It has 70 calories per serving, but it has 17 grams of carbs and 14 grams of sugar. It also has the second-highest amount of sodium of any sauce on our list: 420 milligrams (the equivalent of eating 37 Lay’s Classic potato chips).
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You’ll see some healthy items on the ingredient list, like four types of peppers plus garlic and onions. However, it also includes five types of sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup as the top ingredient. In addition to all those sweeteners, it contains a thickener called maltodextrin, which has a high glycemic index. It also contains potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate as preservatives. While potassium sorbate is considered a safe preservative, there are a variety of health concerns surrounding sodium benzoate, ranging from potential cancer risks at higher levels to possible effects related to inflammation and ADHD.
5. Whataburger Honey BBQ Sauce
Whataburger Honey BBQ Sauce is another one that deserves a closer label reading. If you’ve ever gotten the fast food chain’s Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich, you likely fell in love with the barbecue sauce. When Whataburger started selling more of its sauces in grocery stores in 2022, its Honey BBQ Sauce was among the offerings. If you can’t find it in a grocery store near you, you can buy it online from Whataburger’s Whatastore.
While it has only 60 calories per serving, it’s heavy on sodium, containing 370 milligrams. Meanwhile, it has 14 grams of carbs and 12 grams of sugar.
The sauce gets its main flavors from honey, tomato paste, mustard, garlic, onion, and spices. However, not only does the sauce have the honey you’d expect, but it also contains other sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup. Another concern is that sodium benzoate is also among its preservatives.
4. KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce
Kansas City — also known as “KC” — is one of the most famous U.S. barbecue hotspots. However, its namesake sauce leaves a lot to be desired. KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce comes with 11 grams of added sugar and 230 milligrams of sodium per serving, which is around 20% and 10% of the suggested daily amounts, respectively. Although that sugar content isn’t the worst in the world of barbecue sauces, the fact some people make cookies using the KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce says something about how sweet it is.
It’s also been reported that KC Masterpiece has a chemical-like flavor, which may be due to the liquid smoke the founder added. This highly controversial ingredient is looked down on by some. Liquid smoke has been found to activate high levels of p53, a gene linked to cancer (via Johns Hopkins Medicine).
Other concerns — such as the highly processed nature of this barbecue sauce — including artificial ingredients such as caramel coloring, lead us to recommend you steer clear of it.
3. Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
Kraft is the most popular sauce on the list, but it doesn’t make it the best. They have been around for years and normally its one of the most widely available across grocery stores in various regions. But Kraft’s Original Barbecue Sauce is loaded with added sugars and contains potassium sorbate, a preservative found in many shelved foods.
2. Jack Daniel’s Original BBQ Sauce
Jack Daniel’s Original BBQ Sauce has won multiple honors, including a gold medal at the 2022 Dubai International Taste Awards. However, when it comes to health and wellness, there are some big problems with it.
Cane sugar is the first ingredient, meaning it takes up a major proportion of the recipe. The sauce also uses other sweet ingredients: molasses, tamarind concentrate (the pulp of a type of tropical fruit), and pineapple concentrate. Not surprisingly, that results in 15 grams of sugar per serving. Though it’s not high-fructose corn syrup, that’s still a lot of sugar. You also get a sizable dose of sodium, with 10% of the daily value per two-tablespoon serving.
That’s not the end of our beef with Jack Daniel’s. If you have a mustard allergy, then you’re out of luck, as yellow mustard is one of the ingredients. There’s a lot to hesitate about with this sauce. But hey, at least it’s gluten-free.
1. Sweet Baby Rays
Even though this BBQ sauce is probably a staple in many Black households, Sweet Baby Ray’s is packed full of sweetness and has a delicious flavor, but it’s incredibly unhealthy.
Many dieticians agree that this is likely the most popular brand of BBQ sauce while simultaneously being one of the worst for health purposes. At two tablespoon serving contains 17 grams of sugar, 16 of which are from added sugar, most of which comes from corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.
The long ingredients list includes sodium benzoate and caramel color, both of which are pro-inflammatory and can irritate the gut. On top of all this it is made with soybean oil, a pro-inflammatory oil which is highly processed. Overall this brand is lacking in beneficial nutrients, is calorie-dense, and full of added sugar and processed ingredients.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you, the very first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup and further down is corn syrup and sugar. There is 17g of added sugar in 1 serving (2 Tbsp). That is more than half of the recommended amount for people. Also included in the ingredients are preservatives and artificial flavors.
