A simple sugar free sweet chilli sauce that has multiple uses, is quick to make and all you need is a pot and a stove. No food processor or blender required. With this sauce it’s easy to add spice and flavour to your favourite dishes without all the added calories or excess sugars.
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Storebought sweet chilli sauces are loaded with sugars – in fact it’s the main ingredient in it which is how they get that incredibly moreish sweet and spicy flavour. The huge amount of sugar has to balance out the hot chillies.
So, why not make your own sweet chilli sauce without the sugar. My version only takes around 10 minutes and you can make it with ingredients you buy from the supermarket. No special trip to the Asian food store needed.
What’s in Sugar Free Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sambel Olek (Chilli Paste)
- 1 teaspoon Crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup granulated sweetener that measures like sugar
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons arrowroot mixed with 3 teaspoons water
When the sauce is made, it will be quite runny, as the main ingredient is water. To thicken the sauce I used Arrowroot powder, sometimes also called arrowroot flour, or arrowroot starch but they are all essentially the same thing.
Arrowroot powder can be used in replacement of cornflour. Arrowroot in my opinion is better to use for thickening for sauces because using cornflour to thick sauces, alters the colour of the sauce so its duller and less vibrant.
Arrowroot as a thickener maintains the original colour of the sauce and doesn’t have any after taste.
Tips for making a Delicious Healthy Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Sambel Olek is an Indonesian chilli paste available from the Asian food aisle of supermarkets. It is basically pulverised chilli with nothing else added. If you can’t find Sambel Olek, or you want to use real chillies, for a medium intensity, use 3 chillies, remove the seeds from 2 of them and leave seeds in on one. Pulse in a food processor or mash with a mortar and pestle to make into a paste.
- For the granulated sweetener, I used Monkfruit sweetener, but you can also use granulated stevia.
- Avoid the temptation to add more arrowroot powder if you think it’s not thick enough. As the sauce cools down and especially after is has been in the fridge for a day, it will appear thicker. Stick with the 3 teaspoons of arrowroot and 3 teaspoons of water and this should result in a good consistency once cooled.
How to Use Sugar Free Sweet Chill Sauce
There are many uses for sweet chilli sauce but some of the more common ones are:
As a Dipping Sauce: for chips or wedges, vege sticks chicken, steak or anything really
As a Stirfry Sauce: make up a batch of this sugar free sweet chilli sauce on the weekend, and use it on a busy week night by firing up the wok and tossing together chicken strips, your favourite green veges and the sauce. Serve with rice or noodles.
Over Cream Cheese as a Dip: the combination of tart and creamy, with sweet and spicy in a winning combination with crackers, and vege sticks.
How To Store the Sauce
I purchased some glass bottles from the Dollar Shop, washed them in the dishwasher, and they were ready to go. Just make sure that whatever you end up putting your sauce in that it has a good seal on it.
You could use glass sauce bottles, plastic sauce bottles, or even reuse old jars you already have.
Importantly, this sauce should be kept in the fridge with the lid firmly sealed. It will be good for 7 days – if it lasts that long!
This is such a simple sauce to make, especially if you love condiments on anything and everything. This is a sauce that has many uses from using at dinner, to creating yummy healthy snacks to enjoying with friends as part of a savoury platter.
A simple healthy sweet chilly sauce you can eat every day.
More Sugar Free Sauces:
- Super Quick Sugar Free Teriyaki Sauce
- Smoky Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
- Simple Sugar Free Stirfry Sauce
- Tangy Sugar Free Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Healthy Peanut Butter Satay Sauce over Meatballs
- 10 Minute Easy Sugar Free Ketchup
Sugar Free Sweet Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sambel olek - (note 1)
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 cup tap water (room temp)
- ½ cup granulated sweetener that measures like sugar
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons arrowroot powder
- 3 teaspoons tap water (room temp)
Instructions
- Add ½ cup granulated sweetener that measures like sugar and 1 cup tap water (room temp) to a pot and heat on high until the sweetener dissolves.
- Add 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 teaspoon sambel olek , 1 tablespoon fish sauce and 1 tablespoon white vinegar and stir through. until it begins to bubble, then reduce heat to medium.
- Mix 3 teaspoons arrowroot powder with 3 teaspoons tap water (room temp) to make a liquid and add it to the pot, stirring in. Sauce will begin to thicken slightly and become glossy. Keep stirring on medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat, cover with a tea towel and leave to cool for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, pour the sauce into a clean jar with a lid. Screw the lid on tight and refrigerate for 24 hrs before using.
- Keep sauce stored in the fridge and once opened, use within 7 days.
Notes
- Heat Intensity: 1 teaspoon of sambel Olek will make a mild to medium intensity sugar free sweet chilli sauce. For a hotter version, use 2 teaspoons of sambel olek.
- Sambel Olek: this is an Indonesian chilli paste available from the Asian food aisle of supermarkets. It is basically pulverised chilli with nothing else added.
- Sambel Olek Alternative: If you can’t find Sambel Olek, or you want to use real chillies, for a medium intensity, use 3 chillies, remove the seeds from 2 of them and leave seeds in on one. Pulse in a food processor or mash with a mortar and pestle to make into a paste.
- Sweetener: For the granulated sweetener, I used Monkfruit sweetener, but you can also use granulated stevia.
- Garlic + Ginger: For convenience sakes, you can use the bottled garlic and ginger, just make sure to read the label and ensure that nothing else has been added.
- Arrowroot: This is a gluten free and corn free starch (thickening agent) obtained from a tropical plant. Arrowroot is also often referred to as Tapioca Flour and they are basically interchangeable. Using arrowroot as the thickener creates a glossy sauce that maintains its vibrant colour.
- Sauce Thickness: This is not meant to be a super thick sauce. When it comes off the heat, it might look like its not thick enough but avoid adding more arrowroot to further thicken as this will make it gluggy and clumpy once it has cooled down and been refrigerated. Stick with the 3 teaspoons of arrowroot and 3 teaspoons of water and this should result in a good consistency once cooled.
- Can you use Cornflour? You can if that is all you have on hand, but cornflour will change the colour of the sauce, making it less red and vibrant and making it paler. It will also lessen the intensity of flavour. For these reasons, I prefer using Arrowroot, as it doesn’t affect the colour or taste.
- Storage: Keep sauce stored in the fridge and once opened, use within 7 days. Discard after this time.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
Sharyn Whittaker says
Wonderfully tasting sauce, swapped out the Arrowroot for Xantham Gum, made it a little cloudy, but saved 8 carbs