Sweet, tangy and spicy… What a powerful flavor combo. It’s strong sauces like this that allow you to take something that is otherwise boring or inexpensive and make it into an outstanding meal. So, promise me that even if you don’t want chicken, you’ll make this sauce to use on something else.
Putting the sauce together only takes a few minutes but it does need to simmer for a good 45 minutes but it stores well so you can make it ahead of time if necessary. The sauce stores well so you can keep extra in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for 3-4 months. This Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce is super easy, will add tons of flavor to anything you cook.
I used chicken thighs as the vehicle for this yummy sauce but you could really use anything. Chicken breasts, ribs, tofu, pork chops… anything. Run wild with it.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce usually come in super small cans but even still, I usually only use one pepper at a time and have almost a whole can left over. I *always* freeze the rest. Divide the peppers and adobe sauce up into small aliquots and pop them in the freezer.
Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Chicken
Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Chicken
Servings 4 to 8 servingsIngredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.03)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion ($0.18)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.14)
- 8 oz can tomato sauce ($0.56)
- 1 cup raspberry jam ($2.23)
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar ($0.23)
- 1 pepper + sauce chipotle peppers in adobo ($0.10)
- 4 lbs chicken thighs (8 pieces) ($6.48)
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion and garlic. Cook both in a sauce pan with vegetable oil over medium heat until softened (3-5 minutes). Meanwhile, roughly chop one chipotle pepper and reserve 1 Tbsp of adobo sauce from the can.
- Add the tomato sauce, raspberry jam, cider vinegar, chopped chipotle pepper and adobo sauce to the cooked onions and garlic. Stir everything well and bring up to a simmer. Continue to simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow the sauce to cool after simmering (it will thicken upon cooling).
- Remove the skin from the chicken and trim any excess fat. The skin should pull away from the meat easily although you may need a small sharp knife to separate it in some places. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil and non-stick spray. Place the chicken thighs on the tray and slather with BBQ sauce (pour a small amount of sauce into a bowl before brushing onto chicken so that the whole batch will not get contaminated with raw chicken).
- Place the BBQ chicken in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Fifteen and thirty minutes into the cooking time, take the chicken out and slather with more sauce.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Step By Step Photos
Chop the onion and garlic very fine so there will not be large chunks in the sauce. Cook in vegetable oil until softened.
Take one chipotle pepper from the can of peppers in adobo and chop it up. Also take one tablespoon of sauce from the can to add to the BBQ sauce.
To the cooked onions and garlic add the tomato sauce, raspberry jam, cider vinegar, chopped chipotle pepper and 1 Tbsp of adobo sauce.
Stir well until the raspberry jam has completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer over medium heat. Keep it simmering (stirring occasionally) for about 45 minutes to evaporate some of the liquid.
Place your chicken thighs on a clean work surface. Remove the skin and any excess fat. (I only cooked four thighs today and froze the rest of my sauce to use later).
Here are the skinless breasts. Some people claim that removing the skin will let the meat dry out but the BBQ sauce does a very good job of sealing in the moisture. The resulting chicken thighs were some of the most moist pieces of chicken I’ve ever eaten.
Pour some of the BBQ sauce into a bowl so that you can brush it onto the raw chicken without contaminating the entire batch of sauce.
Place the chicken on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil and non-stick spray. Generously brush the BBQ sauce on top. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven.
Bake the chicken for 45 minutes, taking time to add more BBQ sauce at 15 minutes and 30 minutes into the baking time. (photos are from after 15 minutes and 45 minutes of cooking) The sauce on the foil will scorch but the sauce on the chicken will not… so don’t let that black stuff worry you!
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Ooohhh it was so delicious and moist! Sweet, tangy and with a decent kick!
These were fantastic! Thanks for another great recipe! This makes about the 12th one I’ve tried and I’ve yet to be disappointed!
Holy freakin’ cow, this sauce rocks! My DH had a rotten day at work, so I wanted to make him comfort food with a kick. I made the sauce with an extra pepper and poured it over leftover rotisserie chicken. To. Die. For. This is the first of your recipes that I’ve tried. I can’t wait to try more.
I’ve tried a few of your recipes and they haven’t disappointed so far, but I was a little iffy about this one while it was cooking. The cider vinegar flavor was so overpowering. Turns out I had nothing to worry about because after sitting in the refrigerator overnight, the flavors had a chance to meld and it was delicious (though not as spicy as I thought it would be)! Can’t wait to try it on chicken wings.
Definitely trying this recipe this coming up weekend! looks great!
The peppers should stay good fro 3-4 months in the freezer :)
I just found your blog and I love it :)
I can’t wait to try this recipe. How long do the peppers stay good in the freezer?
Josh, I always like green beans w/BBQ. Here is a quick lemon butter green bean recipe that I posted a long time ago: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2009/09/lemon-butter-green-beans-202-recipe-034.html It’s still one of my fav’s!
Any recommendations for a quick side dish to go with this?
Oh, make it brown sugar! I forgot to mention that!
Thanks, I’ll let you know how it turned out. Making it for dinner tomorrow night!
If you use fresh raspberries, you have to add some sugar to make up for what the jam provided. Sugar is an important part of BBQ sauce because it balances the tang of the vinegar… so don’t skip it. Start with equal parts sugar to vinegar (so 1/4 cup) and then taste and add more if needed.
I have frozen raspberries in the freezer, can I use those instead of jam? Which I don’t have.
Ohh, yum! I will use this on tofu, or maybe when I finally get around to experimenting with tempeh…
Thank you for the new vocabulary word – aliquot!
I’m a huge chipotle fan, and yes, I freeze the leftovers too. I learned the hard way not to thaw the frozen bits in the microwave (trust me if you haven’t made this mistake already). Anyway, this sauce sounds amazing – can’t wait to give it a try.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
:)
ButterYum
I would grate the onion rather than chop it.