Tomato-Pineapple BBQ Sauce For Full GAPS

This tomato-pineapple BBQ sauce has a generous tomato base, ripe pineapple and the smoky flavor of paprika. It simmers covered for an hour before you blend it smooth. The onion and pineapple soften in the pan, giving you a sauce that can coat cooked meat or be offered alongside a meal.

The batch uses eighteen ounces of pure tomato paste and twenty ounces of fresh pineapple flesh. It is a separate recipe from my smoky pineapple BBQ sauce, which uses twelve ounces of paste and beef meat stock. Choose the version you want before measuring the tomato paste; their amounts and cooking sequences differ.

I do most of our weekday cooking in the morning before work. For a recipe with a long simmer, I want to know which parts need attention and which can happen while another kitchen job is going. This pan needs a gentle heat and occasional checking. Prepare the ingredients first, then keep the sauce where you can stir it when needed.

Start with one cup of finished homemade chicken meat stock. Make and strain it separately. Having that cup ready keeps the stock-making job from becoming an unexpected extra step when you thought you were starting a sauce.

The Ingredients That Matter

Tomato paste: Weigh eighteen ounces of pure tomato paste from glass packaging. Use tomatoes with salt as the only possible addition. Jar sizes vary, so weighing is more useful than assuming that any three containers give the same amount.

Pineapple: Use twenty ounces of ripe, fresh pineapple flesh after removing the peel and hard core. Dice it and keep any juice released by the measured fruit. The weight is for what goes into the pan, not for a whole untrimmed pineapple.

Chicken meat stock: The cup of strained stock gives the thick paste and fruit liquid to simmer in. The linked stock uses natural salt to taste. Choose a lightly seasoned batch for this sauce, which also includes a teaspoon of sea salt.

Onion and garlic: Dice one white onion and four garlic cloves. The sauce is blended after cooking, but smaller pieces still help the aromatics soften evenly. You should not have a hard center in a large onion piece when the covered simmer is finished.

Mustard and vinegar: Measure two tablespoons each of plain prepared mustard and apple-cider vinegar. For the mustard, choose a plain preparation with mustard seed, water, vinegar and salt, without added sugar or starch. The vinegar and mustard provide the sauce’s tang.

Cooking fat and spices: Use a tablespoon of natural, non-hydrogenated coconut oil, two tablespoons of pure smoked paprika, one teaspoon of sea salt and a quarter to one teaspoon of pure cayenne. The coconut oil is the cooking-fat choice in this GAPS version.

How To Make Tomato-Pineapple BBQ Sauce

1. Prepare The Measured Ingredients

Have the chicken meat stock ready. Peel and core the pineapple if starting with a whole fruit, then weigh and dice the flesh. Dice the onion and garlic. Weigh the tomato paste and measure the remaining ingredients.

The preparation estimate assumes the pineapple flesh is already peeled and cored. Give yourself extra time if that is the first job you need to do. The ten-minute estimate is for gathering and chopping the prepared ingredients, not for making the meat stock too.

2. Mix In The Saucepan

Combine the onion, garlic, tomato paste, stock, mustard, apple-cider vinegar, coconut oil, smoked paprika, salt, cayenne and pineapple in a saucepan. Use a fork or spoon to work the stock through the tomato paste.

Scrape around the bottom and sides as you mix. Thick paste can sit in a dense pocket even when the top looks mixed. Distribute the fruit, aromatics and seasonings through the whole pan before turning up the heat.

3. Bring To A Gentle Simmer

Heat over medium heat until simmering, stirring every few minutes. Look for small bubbles through the sauce rather than a rapid boil that throws thick sauce against the sides.

Once the mixture is simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low and put the lid on. Keep the heat low enough for a gentle simmer. If the bottom begins catching, lower the heat and stir the mixture through.

4. Cook Covered For An Hour

Continue the covered simmer for sixty minutes. Check occasionally, stir as needed and replace the lid. The pineapple and onion should soften as the sauce cooks.

Near the end, check an onion piece with a spoon or fork. It should be soft rather than crisp in the center. The pineapple should be easy to break down with the blender. If the pot has spent much of the time below a simmer, give it the additional cooking it needs to reach those cues.

5. Blend Smooth

Take the pan off the heat and use an immersion blender to purée the sauce. Keep the blade head under the mixture while it is running and stop it before lifting it out. Work around the pan until the large pineapple and onion pieces are gone.

The finished sauce should spread across a spoon without leaving large pieces behind. Some fine pineapple fiber can remain, but it should feel like a sauce rather than chopped fruit stirred into tomato paste.

6. Serve Or Refrigerate

Serve the portion you need with cooked food, or transfer the sauce to covered containers for refrigeration. A refrigerated rest overnight is optional and gives the flavors more time together. You can serve it after cooking instead if the meal is ready.

The batch gives roughly a quart, with the finished amount depending on reduction. Have an extra container ready rather than forcing the whole pan into a jar that is already full. Leave space appropriate for freezing if you are saving part of it frozen.

Where This Fits In GAPS

This is a Full GAPS condiment after the pineapple, tomatoes, mustard and spices have been introduced. The pineapple cooks during the covered simmer. It is a different preparation from serving raw fruit alongside a meat meal.

Dr. Natasha’s 2020 Gut and Physiology Syndrome includes fresh pineapple, pure tomato purée without additives apart from salt, compatible mustard and pure spices. It also allows natural, non-hydrogenated coconut oil for cooking. Use that cooking fat here and keep raw cold-pressed olive oil for finished foods.

Fresh fruit replaces canned pineapple. The book lists canned vegetables and fruit among the foods to avoid. Peeling and coring the fruit yourself lets you measure the flesh that will actually cook into the sauce.

The chicken meat stock is a separate homemade preparation. Its linked recipe starts with a raw whole chicken and water, then strains the finished liquid. Measure the strained cup for this recipe.

The sauce has no dairy or egg ingredients, but it does contain mustard and coconut. It is not an early Intro condiment and does not fit No-Plant GAPS. For Ketogenic GAPS, choose portions and other foods according to that plan.

Serving And Storage

Allow about ten minutes to prepare the measured ingredients and sixty minutes of covered cooking, for a seventy-minute preparation-and-cooking estimate. The stock is made ahead and the pineapple starts peeled and cored. Refrigerating overnight is optional and is additional time.

Spoon a little sauce over cooked chicken or serve it in a small bowl alongside the meal. Start with enough to coat the food and add more if desired. A quart-sized batch can be divided between meals; you do not need to put it all onto one plate.

Keep covered sauce refrigerated and use a clean spoon for taking out portions. Freeze cooled portions for later meals if useful. If you want it warm, gently heat only the amount you need and stir as it warms.

The 2× setting makes two batches. Use a larger pan and allow additional heating time before the covered simmer begins. Keep the same gentle simmer and check the softened onion and pineapple before blending.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is This The Same As The Smoky Pineapple Sauce?

No. This recipe uses eighteen ounces of tomato paste, chicken meat stock and an hour of covered cooking before puréeing. The linked smoky version uses twelve ounces of paste and beef meat stock, with its own method. Make the ingredient list belonging to the recipe you choose.

Can I Use A Jar Of Pasta Sauce?

Use pure tomato paste. Pasta sauce is a different concentration and can contain other ingredients. Weigh the eighteen ounces of paste rather than substituting the same weight of a thinner sauce.

Why Does The Sauce Need Stirring?

Tomato paste makes a thick mixture that can sit against the hot bottom of the pan. Stir through the bottom and edges, keep a gentle heat and replace the lid after checking. Increasing the heat does not help a thick layer that is already catching.

Do I Have To Chill It Overnight?

No. The overnight rest is an optional flavor step. Serve it after cooking if you need it for the meal, or refrigerate it covered when preparing ahead.

How Much Cayenne Should I Use?

Choose within the quarter-to-one-teaspoon range for the base batch. Start at the lower end for less heat. The smoked paprika stays at its separate two-tablespoon amount and gives the sauce its smoky flavor.

Recommended Equipment

You need a saucepan with a lid and enough room for stirring, an immersion blender, a fork or spoon, a kitchen scale, measuring cup and spoons, and a knife and cutting board. Set the hot pan on a heat-safe support when blending away from the stove.

Have covered storage containers ready if making the sauce ahead. The approximately quart-sized yield is a planning guide, so use enough container space for the actual finished batch.

More Homemade Condiments

For a creamy sauce with a different base, mayonnaise chive ranch dressing uses homemade mayonnaise and herbs. A fermented dill pickle gives a meat-and-vegetable meal a sour, crisp addition alongside a spoonful of sauce.

My upcoming Sauces, Dressings & Condiments Cookbook will bring these kinds of homemade choices together. Watch the WFLI shop for it if a collection of prepared condiments would help your meal planning.