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South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce

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Here’s a healthy version of South Carolina mustard-based barbecue sauce, with less sugar and salt and no preservatives. Vegan and gluten-free, too!

South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce

When I moved to South Carolina, I was surprised to discover that the barbecue there was yellow instead of red. Tangy and sweet, mustard-based barbecue sauce was very popular, but I never sampled the barbecued pork that the natives raved about because I became vegetarian shortly after moving there. Fortunately, the bottled sauce was available in stores, and once I tried it, I developed an instant love for it.

When we moved to Mississippi six years ago, my husband and I thought far enough ahead to bring several bottles of barbecue sauce with us. After all, we’d been importing Louisiana ingredients into South Carolina for years, and we were now prepared to drag South Carolina staples to Mississippi.

Unfortunately, our stockpile of mustard sauce eventually ran out and a decent substitute was not to be found anywhere in Mississippi. What to do? It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that I should just make my own. 

Now, I can buy mustard-based BBQ sauce in Whole Foods, but I still come back to this recipe because it is lower in sugar and salt while still tasting good. But be careful as you cook it not to lean over the pot or else you’ll get a snootful of vinegar fumes!

 

South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce
5 from 4 votes
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South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Here's a healthy version of South Carolina mustard-based barbecue sauce, with less sugar and salt and no preservatives. Vegan and gluten-free, too!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup prepared mustard I use spicy brown mustard
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • 1-2 tsp turmeric makes it yellower
  • 3 tbsp agave nectar or other sweetener
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt optional
  • 1/4 tsp rubbed thyme
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne optional

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Makes about 1 cup (enough for the tofu recipe below).

Notes

To make the Barbecued Tofu and Vegetables pictured above, I combined the sauce with 1 pound of cubed extra-firm tofu, 2 medium zucchini (cubed), 1 medium red onion (cut into wedges), and 1 red bell pepper (cubed). I poured it into a 8 X 11-inch non-metal baking dish (sprayed with non-stick spray) and baked it at 400 F for about 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.
Tofu benefits from a longer cooking time than the vegetables, so another option is to mix half of the sauce with the tofu and bake it alone for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through; then add the vegetables and remaining sauce and cook for 15-20 more minutes. The vegetables will be tender-crisp while the tofu will firm up and absorb more of the sauce.
1/4 cup is 4 Weight Watchers Freestyle points.
Nutrition Facts
South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce
Amount Per Serving (0.25 cup)
Calories 94 Calories from Fat 13
% Daily Value*
Fat 1.4g2%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 624mg27%
Potassium 159.9mg5%
Carbohydrates 19.5g7%
Fiber 1.8g8%
Sugar 14.3g16%
Protein 1.6g3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional info is approximate.

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This family favorite meal is certified as kid-friendly: even the spice-intolerant E. loves this one!

Did you know that mustard and turmeric are good for you? Mustard seeds contain phytonutrients that have been studied for their anti-cancer effects, and turmeric contains a powerful antioxidant that is believed to help people with arthritis, protect against breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer, and do a whole lot more.

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South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce: Here's a healthy version of South Carolina mustard-based barbecue sauce, with less sugar and salt and no preservatives. #Vegan and #glutenfree, too! #wfpbno #wfpb

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kyla McAuliffe

    Hi! I can not find rubbed thyme anywhere, nor any information about it on the internet. Can you use a different form in the recipe? Thanks for your help!

    Reply

  2. SusanV

    Kyla, rubbed thyme is more powdery than dried whole leaf thyme. If you want to substitute dried, I would just use twice as much.

    Reply

  3. Kyla McAuliffe

    Thanks for the quick response – I was hungry though and decided to give my dried thyme a try (before I received the info on doubling it). I have to say .. WOW! My husband (meat & potatoes guy) who absolutey refuses to touch tofu, LOVED this meal. I never make anything he likes anymore (since I've become a vegan). Thank you!

    Reply

  4. Natalie

    I know this may be a ridiculous question, but what do you suggest serving this with? For me any great sauce always has to be accompanied by some kind of starch like rice or potatoes, but since I didn’t grow up eating barbecue I have no idea what would go best with this!

    Reply

    • SusanV

      Potatoes or rice are both good choices. I think when I served it, I put the barbecued tofu and vegetables on top of the rice, but you could also try it with baked potatoes or mashed potatoes on the side, and a big, green salad is always good.

      Reply

  5. Gayathri

    Planning on making this today. Is there anything I can use instead of molasses? I have all other ingredients handy. COuld i use Jaggery (Indian unrefined sugar, aka Gur) Or Maple syrup instead or Brown Sugar?

    Also For the mustard, could we use any kind? Will Dijon Mustard work?

    Reply

  6. lea

    Delicious! I thought that this might be a bit time consuming since you make your own sauce, but everything came together so easily! I even had time to make some vegan cornbread and turnip greens to go with. The bbq sauce is so tasty, I will definitely make this one again!

    Reply

  8. Dmitri

    I’m not a big fan of tofu, but I will eat it if it’s covered in a tasty sauce as this seems to be! Could you substitute seitan for the tofu?
    Also zucchini makes me gag (I think it’s psychological); what would you suggest for a substitute?

    Reply

    • SusanV

      You can really use this sauce with anything you like. Seitan would be great, and just choose the vegetables that you like. Carrots, broccoli, and eggplant come to mind.

      Reply

  9. Laina

    Dh and I lived in Charleston for a couple of years so I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time. Today was the day! 🙂

    I felt it had the flavor of what I remember, I just thought that was way too much sauce for the veggies. The sauce overpowered the dish.

    What I would do differently next time is to roast the vegetables and add some of the sauce at serving the dish.

    Thanks, Susan for another great recipe!

    Reply

    • SusanV

      It’s the mustard in jars that you find on supermarket shelves, at least in the US. In other words, it’s not mustard powder or seeds, but the wet paste that is used on sandwiches.

      Reply

  11. KALASUNSHINE

    DEAREST SUSAN I MADE YOUR VEGAN LASAGNA TO TAKE TO SOMEONE’S POTLUCK IT WAS THE FIRST DISH TO GET EMPTIED THANK YOU FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL SITE WITH GORGEOUS PICTURES AND AWESOME RECIPES I AM MOST GRATEFUL I FOUND YOU TO START MAKING THE RIBZ FOR A FAMILY REUNION I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT TURN OUT.
    GOD BLESS YOU FOR ALL YOUR ENDEAVORS MAKING DELICIOUS FOOD!!!!
    YOU ARE INCREDIBLE MUCH LIGHT AND LOVE TO YOU & FAMILY…
    I AM SUNSHINE

    Reply

  12. Alexandra

    Made this sauce to flavor tasteless mushy cubes of seitan; the sauce made the seitan taste like hotdogs, and I had 2 helpings.

    Reply

  16. MaryA

    This is delicious! I grew up in SC loving mustard based barbecue on pulled pork. I haven’t even thought of it since going vegan. To replicate those bbq sandwiches of my youth, I made seitan, shredded it finely, sauteed it in a little oil, then let it simmer in the sauce. It was absolutely delicious! My NY born boyfriend had never had mustard based bbq and he loved it, as well.

    Reply

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