I love developing recipes to a theme but I am always a bit too disorganised to publish them on time. This year I intend for that to change, so I’m focusing on special occasions ahead of time (rather than one day before the fact lol). As part of my little low FODMAP Super Bowl recipe offering, may I introduce this low FODMAP Buffalo sauce recipe?
Low FODMAP Buffalo sauce recipe
This low FODMAP Buffalo sauce is easy to make and requires, at most, 4 ingredients (with a few optional extras). It can be made with any number of commercially available hot sauces to expedite the process.
Buffalo sauce is a bit spicy, a bit creamy and a bit tangy. Having never had it before now, I bought a bottle of Franks Red Hot Buffalo sauce to compare and ensure I have the right balance. Franks seems to be one of the more popular Buffalo sauce brands, so I hope I got the right yardstick and am doing the recipe justice.
Tips for your low FODMAP hot sauce
An issue I ran into when making hot sauce is the propensity for it to split. Having never made it before, I didn’t realise that the temperature of the butter is important, as is taking the butter off the heat before adding the hot sauce. A lot of recipes I looked at barely mentioned it, so it didn’t even occur to me that Buffalo sauce is an emulsion (like mayonnaise).
So, my primary tip is to pay attention to the temperatures when you bake Buffalo sauce. Split sauce is not pleasant to look at or to eat (however, it can be saved – more below).
I recommend melting your butter on the lowest possible heat. It takes more time, but it ensures that the butter isn’t too hot before adding the hot sauce. If you accidentally let it come to a simmer, take the butter off the heat and allow it to cool before adding the hot sauce.
When you’re adding the hot sauce, add it in spoonfuls while whisking. Think of making mayonnaise: you add the oil gradually to ensure the sauce emulsifies. This way you can also taste and adjust as you go.
My second tip is to add the hot sauce to your tastes. Every brand of hot sauce will differ a little in it’s flavour and intensity, so it’s not one size fits all. Be open to tasting and adjusting as you go. This might mean the colour is a little different to store bought, but taste is more important.
I am based in Australia and a lot of hot sauce brands are less common here. I used Tabasco hot sauce because it’s readily available and doesn’t contain any onion, garlic or thickeners. Keep in mind you’ll need a bigger bottle – the 60ml bottle was not enough for my tastes.
Can I save hot sauce that has split?
If you have followed the instructions of gradually adding hot sauce to melted but not hot butter, you should hopefully have a nice smooth Buffalo sauce. However, there is a plan B if the sauce splits (with caveats!).
You can use an immersion blender (soup stick blender) to bring the sauce back together. However, it comes at the expense of a change in consistency, making more of a thick yet airy sauce (mayo consistency).
To do this, pour your mixture into a measuring jug or something only slightly wider than your immersion blender. Place the blades of the blender flush with the bottom of the jug. Start to blend and wait for the bottom part of the mixture to turn a thick, creamy and lighter orange colour. Slowly bring the blender up the jug while continuing to blend. Continue until the Buffalo sauce changes colour and thickens.
Quite quickly, your Buffalo sauce should have emulsified into a thick and creamy sauce.
This method is the same as making an immersion blender mayonnaise and works really well. However, the consistency of the Buffalo sauce is light, creamy and airy. It is a paler colour than traditional Buffalo sauce. It also solidifies as it cools into a double cream consistency.
NOTE: this style of saved split Buffalo sauce doesn’t melt back down into a perfect Buffalo sauce. It’s best as a spread on a sandwich or somewhere you can take advantage of the more solid texture.
FODMAP notes
Butter tends to confuse people when it comes to the FODMAP diet. Butter is actually extremely low lactose (almost lactose free) and thus low FODMAP. Monash currently don’t have an upper limit for butter, but they have been updating their entries.
Monash doesn’t have entries for most hot sauce brands, nor is their entry for ‘habanero sauce’ very specific. I am working on the assumption that this is their entry for hot sauce given that the bottle in their image is very similar to a Tabasco bottle.
The entry for Habanero sauce specifies that it is low FODMAP in 10g (1 teaspoon) serves per person. However, they don’t specify an upper limit or what the FODMAP might be.
Monash also have an entry for Sriracha. Sriracha is low FODMAP in serves of up to 15g per person which is approximately. 3 teaspoons. In servings larger than this, it contains moderate amounts of fructose. This is despite the fact that sriracha often contains garlic, so Monash have likely determined that the garlic threshold is too low to register in these serving sizes.
Lots of recipes for Buffalo sauce call for a small amount of Worcestershire sauce to deepen the flavour. I haven’t included it as a ‘must use’ in my recipe as I didn’t want to complicate things. It is an option ingredient, though. Worcestershire sauce is low FODMAP in 42g (approximately 2 tablespoon) serves which is quite generous. In serves of 105g (5 tablespoons) or more, it contains moderate amounts of mannitol and GOS.
Is hot sauce low FODMAP?
I haven’t been able to find a source that definitively says ‘hot sauce is low FODMAP in xxg serves.’ There is no dedicated entry on Monash that I can see. I suppose this is because hot sauces use different chillies/peppers and some contain garlic.
Regular red chillies are low FODMAP in up to 33g serves. In larger servings, they contain moderate amounts of fructans. Look for a hot sauce that uses chillies/peppers, seasoning and vinegar. Try to avoid brands that contain garlic, onion or other ingredients that are high FODMAP.
Something to factor in is that a lot of hot sauce is aged for a number of years in this salt vinegar brine. Given that pickled jalapeños are low FODMAP in up to 500g serves, it stands to reason that this ageing process (which is essentially pickling, in a way) would lower the FODMAP content.
I live in Australia so a lot of the more common brands in the USA are not accessible to me. I used Tabasco Original for this recipe which contain chillies/peppers, salt and vinegar.
Other brands that SEEM to be garlic free at the time of writing are listed below. Always get the original flavour and always get the label to see if anything has changed.
- Tabasco Original (no garlic, xanthan gum or preservatives)
- Crystal hot sauce (no garlic, xanthan gum or preservatives)
- Louisiana Hot sauce (no garlic, xanthan gum or preservatives)
- Texas Pete (doesn’t have garlic but does have xanthan gum and preservative)
An important digestive note separate to FODMAPs
Before you whip up a big batch of low FODMAP Buffalo sauce and eat it by the spoonful, there are two things to keep in mind.
Firstly, chilli contains capsaicin which the component of chillies that makes them spicy. Some people find that capsaicin triggers digestive distress for them, separate to the issue of FODMAPs. It’s important to be aware of your tolerance for chilli before you eat a big batch of Buffalo sauce. You may find that your issue with chilli stems from capsaicin rather than a FODMAP.
Secondly, butter is a high fat ingredient. Fats are known to have an impact on digestive motility and can trigger digestive issues in some people. If you know that fats are a symptom trigger for you, consider how much Buffalo sauce you eat in a given serving (or maybe make a lower fat sauce instead).
Given that both ingredients in Buffalo sauce can be symptom triggers, it’s important to keep this in mind. If you make Buffalo sauce and experience symptoms after, it could be likely that one or both of these ingredients are an issue for you in larger quantities.
More low FODMAP Super Bowl recipes
- Low FODMAP vegetarian cornbread chilli
- Low FODMAP bread dipping oil
- Italian Margarita olives
- Low FODMAP blue cheese dip
- Low FODMAP, gluten free Buffalo tofu
Low FODMAP Buffalo sauce
Ingredients
For the Buffalo sauce:
- 1 stick (113g) butter (I like salted but use what you prefer) (Google says that 1 stick is anywhere from 110-115g, any amount in that range is fine)
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup+ hot sauce without garlic (see notes in the body of the post, I used Tabasco Original) to your tastes
- Pinch asafoetida powder (optional, see notes)
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional, see notes)
Optional ingredients:
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (see notes)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat. Melting the butter slowly ensures that the sauce will emulsify and thicken later.
- Once melted, take the butter off the heat and grab your whisk. Measure out approximately how much hot sauce you want to use.
- A tablespoon at a time, whisk the hot sauce into the butter. Adding the hot sauce gradually will help the sauce emulsify and prevent it splitting.
- Add the hot sauce to taste. The sauce should thicken slightly and become a vibrant orange hue. A few shiny spots of butter might be visible on the top of the sauce.
- When you're happy with the flavour of the hot sauce, add your remaining flavours to taste. Whisk, taste and adjust as necessary.
- If your sauce is looking a bit thin, return it to a very low heat and whisk constantly until it thickens a little. Keep in mind it doesn't become super thick – it should coat a spoon but not stay firm if you flip the spoon over.
- Use immediately and keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. To reuse, repeat the process of heating the sauce over a very low heat. Some solidified butter is expected prior to reheating the sauce.
Notes
- Asafoetida powder is a powder made from a species of giant fennel. It has a cooked onion and garlic flavour that is brilliant at replacing the flavour complexity of garlic or onion powder. It is low FODMAP in 1/4 teaspoon serves per person and Monash doesn’t currently specify an upper limit.
- You only need a small amount of asafoetida to pack a punch. I used 1/4 teaspoon for the whole batch of Buffalo sauce.
- Make sure you choose a gluten free brand if you need to. Asafoetida is super strong so it is generally cut with a flour. Some brands use wheat flour and others use rice flour.
- If you’re using pure asafoetida, use way less and to taste.
- A lot of recipes use a small amount of honey as a way to balance the flavour of Buffalo sauce. You can use honey as we are using a very small volume. However, maple syrup also works well and is much lower FODMAP.
- Worcestershire sauce, even with all the high FODMAP ingredients, is low FODMAP in 42g (2 tablespoon) servings. If you need this to be vegetarian, choose a vegetarian brand (they are harder to find but they do exist).
- Keep in mind that capsaicin, the compound in chilli, can also cause digestive issues separate to FODMAPs. Assess your tolerance before scarfing down a big batch of Buffalo sauce!
- Tabasco is sold in 60ml bottles as well as larger sizes. Get the larger size so you can have flexibility – 60ml is only 1/4 cup, which makes for a much milder Buffalo sauce.
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