Keto sauces & condiments – Best products for the UK

Eating just meat and vegetables can get a bit bland (and tasteless) after a while. This may lead you to sneak the odd treat here or there. It’s a slippery slope and could lead you to hit your daily carb limit very quickly! One of the easiest ways to add some flavour is to use a sauce. However, most of the popular staples sold in the UK are full of sugar. Luckily, there are some great sauces that are low carb, keto-friendly and readily available in the UK! Let’s take a closer look at some.

Tomato Ketchup

Every household probably has a bottle of this in their cupboards. Made from tomatoes with a whole load of sugar added. A tablespoon of Heinz Tomato Ketchup contains around 3.5g of carbs. That might not sound a lot but it soon adds up.

There are low carb no added sugar versions available, as well as ones with 0 sugar which use sweeteners instead.

Check out this article to find the top 3 keto-friendly tomato sauces that can be purchased in the UK.

Barbecue

Another popular sauce that contains even more sugar than ketchup. A single tablespoon contains around 4.7g of carbs. Finding keto-friendly alternatives is a bit more difficult as the sugar needs to be replaced with sweetener. Getting the balance right can lead to some odd flavours and strange aftertaste.

I’ve sampled quite a few barbeque sauces marketed as keto-friendly (or keto safe). Save your time (& taste buds) and take a look at this article – Best barbecue sauces for keto in the UK.

Mayonnaise

Sometimes better known as simply ‘Mayo’. It’s a thick condiment made from egg yolks, oil and an acid (vinegar or lemon juice). There are vegan options available which use vegetable protein instead of eggs. However, they are generally higher in carbs.

Mayo is an extremely versatile sauce and goes well with a lot of foods. You can serve it plain or mix it with other ingredients to make a brand new sauce that is creamy, rich and full of flavour.

What makes mayo a great keto sauce is that it is naturally low in carbs. A 100g serving only contains around 1.3g of carbs but a whopping 720 calories! Lighter versions are available that contain fewer calories by removing some of the fat with sugar. Resulting in a carb count of around 3-4g per 100g.

Check out the best keto mayonnaise products article to find out which shops (online and in-store) in the UK stock the lowest carb varieties.

Peri-peri

A hot sauce commonly made using Piri Piri (and sometimes bird’s eye) chillies. In the UK, the Nando’s restaurant chain helped to popularise the sauce. It comes in a variety of flavours and heat levels. The most common one is Medium and it is naturally low in carbs at only 1.1g per 100g. Making it a great keto-friendly sauce.

The Peri-Peri sauce can even be used as a marinade for meat or you can just brush it on towards the end of cooking. Similarly, Nando’s do actually sell marinade versions of most of their sauces but they contain around 7g per 100g. I find it’s better to use their sauce and water it down (if needed) when marinating meat.

You can buy Nando’s branded sauce in most UK supermarkets as well as online. However, some flavours are higher in carbs than others.

Carbs per 100g are as follows:

• Medium – 1.1g
• Lemon & Herb – 1.2g
• Lemon & Herb Extra Mild – 1.2g
• Hot – 2.4g
• Mild – 2.6g
• Garlic – 4.2g
• Vusa – 5.0g

Hot / Chili Sauce

Hot sauce is known by a couple of names such as chilli or pepper sauce. There are so many varieties and brands, that it’s impossible to list all of them!

At its core, hot sauce is just chilli peppers mixed with common ingredients like salt and vinegar. That makes it keto-friendly but of course, many brands use other ingredients such as sugar and starches to bulk and thicken it.

You won’t need much sauce per serving, so the carb count per 100g can be higher than other sauces. Rule of thumb is to keep it under 10g of carbs per 100ml.

Some of the best keto safe hot sauces available in the UK include:

Sriracha

Sriracha is a type of hot sauce made from chilli peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Popular in Asian cuisine and is frequently used as a dipping sauce. It can also be mixed with other sauces such as Mayo to add a spicy kick (seriously try it out, recipe available here, it’s a life-changer!).

Check out our article on the best keto sriracha sauces you can buy in the UK.

Mustard

Mustard is made from the seeds of a mustard plant. There is a wide variety available that differ in texture (smooth to coarse), colour (yellow to dark brown) and taste (sweet to spicy). Some of them are keto-friendly and can be paired with meats & cheeses. They can also be used as an ingredient in marinades, dressings, sauces and general recipes.

Check out our complete article on the best low carb keto mustards for a breakdown of all suitable mustards.

Tartare

A classic condiment, great with fish. Primarily made of mayonnaise and capers. Some brands add a mixture of gherkins, pickles, lemon juice, dill and parsley.

The bigger brands tend to be higher in carbs but supermarket own ones can often be found with less 7g per 100g.

Recommended products

Asda Tartare Sauce

Available at: Asda

Carbs per 100g: 5.6g

Note: Check other supermarket own-brand versions for a similar carb count.

Maille Tartare Sauce

Available at: Amazon, Asda and most other UK supermarkets

Carbs per 100g: 7.1g

Winiary Tartar Sauce

Available at: Asda and most other UK supermarkets

Carbs per 100g: 7.6g

Note: Check the polish section of the supermarket.

Any more?

So that’s all the keto sauces currently sold in the UK that I could think of!

Do you have a sauce or condiment that you miss on keto? Let me know and we can try and find a suitable alternative.