AIP Pineapple Bacon Dipping Sauce (Paleo, Gluten-Free)

This pineapple bacon dipping sauce is sweet, smokey, and very versatile. It's Paleo, AIP compliant, gluten-free, and of course, nightshade-free. You could maybe call it a BBQ sauce or just a general tasty dipping sauce for chicken, beef, pork, and vegetables.  Who doesn't need a handy multi-purpose nightshade-free condiment when they're doing a restrictive diet like AIP?

My daughter says this sauce tastes like you're eating a Hawaiian pizza. In fact, we made a pineapple chicken flatbread pizza using this sauce. 

Dates- Soaked and pitted. Soaking helps the sauce to come out nice and smooth.  If they are very fresh, you may not need to soak them. 

Balsamic Vinegar- This adds a nice tang to the sauce. 

Coconut Aminos- This is still one of my favorite AIP sauces- I add this stuff to everything! If you haven't tried, it is fabulous. You can add it on its own to foods or to recipes. It's sort of like soy sauce but sweeter. I usually get mine at Kroger or Walmart in the Asian foods section but there are good ones on Amazon too. 

Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Sea Salt, Ginger- These round out the flavor of the sauce. The ginger adds just a hint of spice like you'd typically get with a bbq sauce.

Bacon Grease- I don't necessarily like to use bacon grease in recipes because you generally have to go through the added step of making bacon which is annoying. I want things to be as simple as possible. Of course, when it comes to autoimmune protocol recipes, sometimes a little extra effort is required to get the right taste. 

I did end up using bacon grease for this sauce because it imparts such a wonderful smoky flavor on the sauce and I already had the bacon grease from making my Nightshade Free BBQ Sauce the same day. 

To avoid having to make bacon every time you want to make something calling for bacon grease, consider saving your bacon grease in small portions whenever you make bacon. You can freeze it for up to a year! 

Also, if you don't want to fuss with cooking bacon in general but still want to add a smoky flavor to your sauce, consider replacing the salt in this recipe with a smoked sea salt (which you can get on Amazon). I just recently discovered this stuff so I haven't tried it yet but I certainly plan to soon!

Where to Get AIP Compliant Bacon

If you're going the bacon grease route, try to use nitrate-free, uncured, or naturally cured bacon.

US Wellness Meats has a great AIP section which includes AIP-compliant bacon. Paleo On The Go also sells a nitrate-free, uncured, sugar-free bacon that is compliant.

I made a whole Guide on AIP/Paleo Bacon if you want to find out more about what's compliant and what products to use.

When you blend it, I recommend using a small food processor or single-serve blender cup. You may be able to blend it in a regular-sized blender but probably will need to scrape the sides down a few times due to the small amount of ingredients. 

This will stay fresh in the fridge for about 5 days in an airtight container.

Conclusion: I hope you enjoyed this recipe. If you made it, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought. I'd love to hear from you!