How to turn spent coffee grounds into barbecue sauce – recipe | Waste not

Spent coffee grounds add depth to a smoky-sweet, intense barbecue sauce that’s a knockout with pulled mushrooms, grilled veg and meat alike Three pillars underpin my cooking style – pleasure, people and planet – and I believe that all three need to be taken into account to make a truly delicious and nourishing meal, hence the title of my most recent book, Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet. Today’s recipe is taken from one of the tastiest recipes in the book, Venezuelan corn cake arepas with “pulled” oyster mushrooms and this sweet, umami-rich and intense barbecue sauce, all topped with a refreshing kohlrabi and mango salsa. Here, I’ve added spent coffee grounds to the original barbecue sauce in my book, not only to save on waste, but also to add serious depth of flavour and further complexity to the sauce. As well as all the usual meaty suspects, from chicken wings to ribs, it’s delicious as a marinade for grilled vegetables, or as a simple condiment. 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 onions, peeled and finely diced4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped4 tbsp spent espresso grounds 1 tbsp smoked paprika 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 4

Jun 3, 2026 → Jun 3, 2026