CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE - BARBECUE SAUCES

Information updated November 2024

Ah, summer barbecues . . . and yummy barbecue sauce!

If we made Barbecue Sauce at home in our kitchen, the ingredients might look something like these seen below >> we’ll use this homemade ingredient visual as a way to assess which commercial brands of Barbecue Sauce are Closest To Homemade:

Let’s take a look at America’s most used marinade and barbecue sauce, A.1. brand and see how A.1. Sauce compares to homemade. (Source for ranking: Statista 2024)

A.1. Sauce was originally "Brand's A1 Sauce" and it has been around for decades, but the ingredients have changed over the years:

Ingredient Inspector A.1. Sauce original ingredients.jpg

Once upon a time, Brand's A1 Sauce was Closest To Homemade and contained, "Aromatic herbs from old-world gardens, rare spices from the Far East, sun-ripened fruits from the orchards of the world - all these are blended together with the purest Malt Vinegar, made from English Barley."

TODAY, A.1. SAUCE IS OWNED BY KRAFT HEINZ. Below are the ingredients in the “Original” A.1. Sauce. (Source: Kraft Heinz My Food and Family Web site 11/24)

Let’s look at which ingredients are Not In Kitchen™ >> ingredients we would not have in our kitchens if we were making barbecue sauce at home.

Kraft Heinz A.1. Sauce has three ingredients Not In Kitchen including Caramel Color, a well-known potential carcinogen.

Kraft Heinz’s A.1. Sauce contains Corn Syrup as a sweetener plus added Caramel Color for dark artificial coloring and Xanthan Gum as a thickening agent.

KRAFT HEINZ'S A.1. SAUCE CONTAINS CARAMEL COLOR: It sounds so innocuous because it sounds like yummy caramel but numerous institutions advise caution in consuming Caramel Color including The Center for Environmental Health. There are numerous indications that Caramel Color is a cancer-causing carcinogen. The state of California requires lower levels of Caramel Coloring in heavily colored items like cola soda.

SWEET BABY RAY’S IS THE #2 BRAND OF MARINADE AND BARBECUE SAUCE IN THE U.S. (Source: Statista 2024)

SWEET BABY RAY’S BARBECUE SAUCE HAS SIX INGREDIENTS NOT IN KITCHEN: Ingredients NIK™ in Sweet Baby Ray’s include High Fructose Corn Syrup which is the first ingredient >> ingredients are always listed in descending order of amount; there is the the most amount of the ingredient listed first and the least amount of the ingredient listed last. (Source for Sweet Baby Ray’s Ingredients: Sweet Baby Ray’s Web site 11/24)

Other NIK ingredients in Sweet Baby Ray's include Modified Food Starch, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate - an FDA-recognized chemical preservative - Corn Syrup and Natural Flavor. (Source: U.S. FDA 2024)

‘NATURAL FLAVOR’ IS A COMMERCIAL FLAVORING. According to The Environmental Working Group, "Coloring, both natural and artificial, can contain anywhere from 50 to 100 ingredients."

It seems that, cumulatively, we are all consuming a lot of this ‘Natural Flavor’ as it is, "the fourth most common ingredient in processed foods." (Source: Environmental Working Group 11/24)

BARBECUE SAUCE COMPARISON: Below is a comparison of Sweet Baby Ray’s to one of the Closest To Homemade brands — Noble Made — which is Non-GMO Project Verified and certified Gluten Free. It is sweetened with Pineapple Juice Concentrate and Tamarind Concentrate >> there is no Added Sugar or Corn Syrups, no Chemical Preservatives and no added Colors or Flavors. (Sources: Sweet Baby Ray’s Web site 11/24; The New Primal Noble Made Web site 11/24)

Here’s a snapshot of what’s in KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce:

CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE BBQ SAUCES: These CTH brands shown below have nothing Not In Kitchen and contain no Artificial Colors or Flavors, no Chemical Preservatives and no Corn Sweeteners: True Made Foods Kansas City BBQ Sauce Less Sugar with Light Brown Cane Sugar and E. Carolina version with no Added Sugar; Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list. Non-GMO Project verified and Gluten-free verified Noble Made Less-Sugar Mustard and Original BBQ Sauces sweetened with Juice Concentrates; Woodstock Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified Original Bar-B-Q Sauce with Organic Sugar and Organic Molasses, and Triple Crown Organic Classic BBQ and Black Garlic BBQ Sauces sweetened with Organic Cane Sugar and Organic Molasses. (Sources: Brand Web sites 11/24)

*Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list*

Discover more food + beverage products whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.

Closest To Homemade® Master List

In the world of Barbecue Sauce,

AVOID: Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar from Sugar Beets, Artificial Flavors, Modified Food Starch, Chemical Preservatives, Sodium Benzoate, Caramel Color, Potassium Sorbate, Thickening Agents, Plastic Containers.

SEEK: Organic Tomatoes, Fine Vinegar, Organic Cane Sugar or Organic Honey or Organic Molasses or Fruit Concentrates or Musts or Veggie Purées, Himalayan Salt, Organic Spices, Organic Fruits, Glass Containers.

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