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This Keto Sweet Chili Sauce is sweet, tangy, and a little spicy, with garlic and ginger for extra flavor. It comes together in about 15 minutes and gives you a homemade alternative to traditional sweet chili sauce without using regular sugar.
I use this sugar-free sweet chili sauce for everything from sticky sweet chili chicken wings to dipping shrimp and appetizers. It’s also one of the ingredients in my homemade Bang Bang Sauce, so I often make a double batch when I’m planning multiple recipes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple ingredients: Make a homemade sweet chili sauce using pantry ingredients and a keto-friendly sweetener.
- Quick to make: Just whisk everything together, simmer, and let the sauce cool slightly.
- Adjustable heat: Make it as mild or spicy as you like by changing the amount of garlic chili sauce.
Ingredients Needed
You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below. Here are a few things to know about the ingredients:
- Unseasoned rice vinegar: Gives the sauce its tangy flavor. Be sure to use unseasoned vinegar since seasoned rice vinegar typically contains added sugar.
- Garlic chili sauce: Adds chili flavor and heat. Look for it in the international foods aisle near the sriracha. You can add more if you prefer a spicier sauce.
- Keto brown sugar replacement: Adds sweetness and a richer flavor. You can also use a monk fruit erythritol sweetener.
- Xanthan gum: Thickens the sauce, and a little goes a long way. The recipe card also includes powdered bone broth collagen as an alternative.
- Soy sauce: Adds savory flavor to balance the sweetness. Coconut aminos also work as a substitute, but the sweetness and carbohydrate content can vary by brand.
How to Make Keto Sweet Chili Sauce
Here’s how to make this sweet and spicy sauce in a few simple steps.
Whisk the Ingredients
Add everything to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. I do this separately to keep my whisk from scratching my saucepan, but you can mix everything directly in the pan if you prefer.
Simmer the Sauce
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook uncovered over medium heat for 10–15 minutes.
Cool and Thicken
Remove the saucepan from the heat. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Tips for the Best Sweet Chili Sauce
- Watch the consistency: If the sauce becomes too thick, stir in water one tablespoon at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- Adjust the spice level: Add more garlic chili sauce if you prefer extra heat.
- Use the right collagen: If substituting collagen for xanthan gum, use powdered bone broth collagen, not prepared liquid broth.
- Make extra: Double the recipe when you need enough for a batch of chicken wings or multiple dishes.
Ways to Use Sweet Chili Sauce
This sauce is great for dipping, tossing, or adding a sweet and spicy finish to your favorite recipes.
- Chicken wings: Use it to make my Keto Sweet Chili Sticky Asian Chicken Wings for a sticky, flavorful coating.
- Shrimp: Use it in my Low Carb Bang Bang Shrimp recipe or serve it as a dipping sauce.
- Bang Bang Sauce: Combine it with the other ingredients in my homemade Bang Bang Sauce for a creamy, sweet, and spicy dipping sauce.
- Meatballs: Toss Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs with the sauce for a quick appetizer.
- Chicken bites: Serve it alongside my Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken Bites for dipping.
For another homemade sauce with Asian-inspired flavors, try my Sugar-Free Teriyaki Sauce.
How to Store Sweet Chili Sauce
- Refrigerator: Store the cooled sauce in an airtight glass jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- To use: Give the sauce a stir before serving.
If you try this recipe, please stop back and leave it a star rating and/or a review in the comments. Stay connected & share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Keto Sweet Chili Sauce
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Recommended Equipment
- Whisk
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, or 2 tbsp powdered beef bone broth collagen (not liquid broth)
- 1/4 cup keto brown sugar replacement, or monk fruit erythritol sweetener
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp garlic chili sauce, plus up to 1 tbsp more for extra heat
- 1 tsp pure sesame oil, optional
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients in a mixing bowl until combined. I use a bowl to avoid scratching my saucepan, but you can whisk directly in the saucepan if you prefer. If using powdered collagen, continue whisking until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan, if needed, and cook uncovered over medium heat for 10–15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow the sauce to cool. It will thicken as it cools.
Save This Recipe for Later
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Recipe Notes
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
JT says
When you say 2 scoops of collagen,.. is that 2 Tablespoons, or teaspoons??? My Great Lakes Collagen comes in a reddish/orange can, it has no scoop.
Davinah Cenou Montezuma says
For this recipe, 2 scoops means about 2 tablespoons of collagen total, as noted in the post. If you’d rather skip collagen, you can use the ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum listed in the recipe card instead.
Rebekah G says
OMG, Davina, this sauce is Devine! The only thing I changed was using freshly grated ginger. I’m making air fried steak bites tonight and I can’t wait to use this sauce for dipping. My partner, who has diabetes, loves when I find a new recipes he can eat. Thanks 😁
Dr. Davinah's Eats Team says
Thank you so much for trying our recipe. Hope you and your husband enjoyed it.
David Mad says
HEY THERE, Davinah, Use Liquid Amino instead of Soy Sauce there no Wheat and no Soy Bean and it Taste Incredible,
Get the Bragg’s Brand its the Best!!
Thank You and God Bless You For Having Common Sense about Keto and the Proper Human Diet!!
And Your Website and Your Recopies
Davinah says
Hi David,
Thanks for the tip! I’ve tried it and agree that it’s an awesome soy and wheat free substitute. I added it as an optional swap.
Best,
Davinah
A says
Tastes just like the “real” thing. Thank you!
Davinah says
So glad that you enjoyed this! Appreciate you stopping back and leaving a review.
Sarah Bradshaw says
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Davinah says
Hi Sarah,
I’ve kept this in the fridge for about a week at the most. I tend to make the sauce when I also plan to have bang bang shrimp, bang bang sauce as a dressing or dip, and asian sticky wings. This way, it doesn’t last more than a few days.
Karen Crow says
Just what I was looking for! Do you think I could just whisk the ingredients together and pour over meatballs before slow cooking?
Davinah says
Hi Karen,
I do think that would work and it should taste great! I often toss wings in this sauce. One thing you might do is whisk all of the ingredients except the Xanthan Gum. I’d turn the slow cooker to high once the meatballs are almost done and add the Xanthan Gum at the end to thicken the sauce.
Thanks,
Davinah
Laurie says
Just tried this tonight. OUTSTANDING!!
Davinah says
Hi Laurie!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed this. Appreciate you for stopping back to share your experience.
Best,
Davinah
Lynette says
can you use this sauce to make cocktail meatballs with chili sauce and sugar free raspberry jam? it would cook in the slow cooker for 4 hours…
Davinah says
Hi Lynette!
That sounds delicious. I haven’t tried this, but I don’t see why not. I’m actually going to try this because it sounds so good!
Thanks,
Davinah
Michelle says
What is chili garlic sauce?? Is there a brand you use or can it be made?
Davinah says
Hi Michelle,
Chili Garlic Sauce can be picked up in the ethnic food aisle at most markets. It’s typically next to the sriracha and soy sauce.
Thanks,
Davinah
Tina Russell says
If you are looking for an ingredient by name there is “Sambal Oelek” which is an asian ingredient found by the soy sauces and hot sauces or asian food areas in your local supermarket. Its fairly easy to find, I get mine at Walmart in Canada. It comes in both regular and garlic. I like garlic so I buy regular and add my own crushed/diced garlic. Sambal Oelek is ground fresh red Thai chili pepper paste. I have made this recipe also using red chili pepper flakes, and also using fresh Thai red peppers,but my favourite is using both the Sambal Oelek and red pepper flakes to taste (its spicy!). YUM!! I am a canner, but so far have not found a sugar free recipe that is approved for canning. I suspect this might be okay based on the acid content, but wont bet my family’s health on that.
Davinah says
Hi Tina!
Yes – I really love Sambal Oelek and use it in this recipe often. I appreciate your comment and thoughts about canning. Since I don’t can, I wouldn’t be able to give you advice on that and agree it’s best not to make a guess!
Thanks,
Davinah
Lori Hewitt-Muhly says
This chili sauce is fantastic. I added a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro at the end and it was just amazing.
Thank you for sharing your recipes. I’ll be trying some more.
Davinah says
Hi, Lori! I loveeeeee the idea of adding cilantro at the end! So happy that you enjoyed the sauce! Thanks for stopping back to leave a comment & rating.
Sakina says
I noticed the recipe for the sauce for sticky wings and this sweet chili sauce are different…I’m making Thai lettuce wraps and the wings…which recipe do you recommend since I noticed you said you make double sweet chili sauce so you have extra for the wings and bang bang shrimp. Thanks in advance! Bye…your cheesecake was AMAZINGGGG!!! A staple for sure!
Davinah says
Hey Sakina!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it. The recipes are virtually the same. I’m realizing the order is a bit all over the place :). The only difference is how to thicken the sauce. When I first shared this recipe, I was using collagen (unflavored or beef flavored) as a thickener. A lot of people asked me if there was a substitute. So, when I made the wings, I used Xanthan Gum to give an option for those that didn’t have the ingredient.
Hope that helps!
Davinah
Kali says
First time using Xanthan gum in a sauce. I didn’t wait for it to cool down because I was in a rush, so the xanthan gum clumped up in small chunks-oops! Lesson learned! I also added fish sauce and it turned out to be pretty close to Thai chili sauce. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Davinah says
Ha! So happy that you enjoyed this! It’s one of my favorite sauces to make. Yes – Xanthan Gum is so powerful! Happy that it still worked out for you! 🙂
Sherry Annand says
Hi there. This recipe and the Bang Bang Shrimp look great. If using another sweetener, like Swerve, would it be a 1:1 swap? Quality sweetener is expensive where I live, so I prefer to avoid waste whenever possible.
Davinah says
Hi Sherry!
Yes – the sweetener that I use and Swerve are comparable. You can absolutely swap it 1:1. Thanks for asking.
Best,
Davinah
Dana Jackson says
Hi,
I was wondering if coconut aminos could be used instead of soy sauce? Would you need to adjust amounts or anything like that? Thank you! 🙂
Davinah says
Hi Dana!
Yes – coconut aminos will work! When I’m substituting, I usually just swap it 1:1 with soy sauce.
Thanks,
Davinah
Imagine says
This was super easy to make. I did sub with Xanthan Gum and it came out too thick. Next time I’ll know to reduce the amount to have a better consistency. Otherwise, everything else was ok and it still came out good. Just very thick. Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe.
Davinah says
Thanks for sharing that feedback! I’ll make a quick note about that substitute. I also want you to know that if it reduces too much (and gets too thick) you can simply add some water. It’ll thin the sauce out.
Catherine Dempsey-MacDonald says
How much xanthan gum did you use??
Davinah says
Hi Catherine,
I actually just made this and really enjoy it with about 1/4 tsp of Xanthan Gum. I’m going to update this post soon with a how-to for Xanthan Gum only since most people tend to use this ingredient!
Best,
Davinah
Dani says
Hi Davinah! Just curious on your thoughts of using Xanthan Gum as a sub for the Beef Bone Broth Collagen? How much would you recommend?
drdavinahseats says
Hi Dani!
I haven’t tried that but it should definitely work! I’ve swapped them before in baking and it worked perfectly.
Thanks,
Davinah
Tee says
Is there something else you can sub for the bone broth collagen if you trying to make this today?
Davinah Smith says
Hey! Do you have regular collagen? If not, the flavor will be there, but it’ll be loose. I’m using collagen as a keto-friendly thickener.
Susan says
Is the Beef Bone Broth Collagen necessary bc of the beef flavoring? Or can I use my Multi Collagen?
Davinah Smith says
Hi Susan,
I used the Beef Bone Broth to thicken the sauce. I don’t think it adds much to the flavor so feel free to use your multi-collagen. I used mine today in a compote and it worked wonderfully!