This Bbq Sauce Recipe Is Quick And Easy To Make And So Good Youll Never Want Store
This homemade BBQ Sauce recipe is an intoxicating blend of sweet, tangy, spicy, smoky and ready in less than 20 minutes 15 of those minutes are hands-off simmering! Its made by simmering simple pantry staples of ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, seasonings and my secret ingredient to create the best barbecue sauce you ever tasted! This BBQ Sauce recipe is the perfect condiment for grilled chicken, brisket, ribs, burgers, sandwiches, and even nachos or pizza! It is make-ahead friendly, freezer friendly and make-EVERYTHING-better friendly!
How To Use Homemade Barbecue Sauce
The beauty of this easy sauce is that it can be used in any recipe that calls for premade barbecue sauce, or you can use it to spice up your favorite protein or even salad.
- Ribs. You can use this homemade BBQ sauce for pulled pork and for ribs .
- Salad. I love using this sauce to make my favorite BBQ Chicken Salad.
- Chicken. This is a delicious BBQ sauce recipe for chicken recipes like these Maple Bourbon Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches. Or this Crock Pot BBQ Chicken. It would also be yummy brushed over grilled chicken breasts.
- Meatballs. Brush it over these Baked Turkey Meatballs for a different flavor spin.
What I Love About This Bbq Sauce Recipe:
- The perfect flavor combo. It has a little tang and sweetness, and a little smokey flavor that I cant get enough of. Liquid smoke helps to add that amazing smokey flavor.
- Made with pantry staples. Basic ingredients including tomato sauce, ketchup, sugar, molasses, red wine vinegar, and spices. The only thing you may not have on hand is liquid smoke, which is inexpensive and easy to find. Use liquid smoke in fajitas, baked beans, and Instant Pot Ribs.
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Easy Homemade Bbq Sauce Recipe Takes Very Little Work To Prepare
It is a simple recipe you can throw on the stove while you do other things and you are left with a delicious homemade sauce that compliments beef, chicken, or anything else you want to smother it in. I rarely buy barbecue sauce from the store anymore.
This simple recipe is much better than anything store bought and cheaper too!
How Can I Add Smoky Flavor
If you like smoky BBQ sauce, you can double the amount of smoked paprika and/or add 1 or 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke along with the other ingredients. I left the liquid smoke out of the main recipe because I wanted to keep it simple, since liquid smoke is an ingredient that you may not have on hand.
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Tips For Making Homemade Barbecue Sauce:
The recipe calls for chopped onions and I prefer them chopped fine. You can certainly chop these by hand but I prefer to use my mini food processor so the onion is very tiny.
The kids like it better that way when the onions are practically invisible.
If you need to hide veggies like I do, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this mini food processor here for chopping and hiding veggies.
Bbq Sauce Flavor Profiles
Four basic barbecue sauce flavor profiles combine in varying degrees, balancing one another so the sauce is not too sweet or too spicy.
Sweet: Typically, sweetness comes from brown sugar, but you can substitute or supplement with molasses, white sugar, maple syrup, honey, soft drinks or corn syrup.
Tangy: Tang is the acid component that starts with tomato but is usually boosted with white, apple cider or other flavored vinegars and acidic fruit juices.
Salty: Salt brings it all togetherthe sweet, the tang and the heat. We recommend kosher salt because its less salty than iodized salt, but you can also use smoked salt, celery salt, onion salt or other seasoned salt.
Spicy: Your sauce needs a little kick to balance out the sweetness. Black pepper brings basic heat, but you can turn it up with peppers, hot sauces and chili powders like ancho, cayenne and chipotle.
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How To Thick Your Barbecue Sauce With Tasty Thickeners
Another great method is by using the so-called Tasty Thickeners.
Tasty thickeners can add so much flavor and meanwhile can thick your barbecue sauce to your desired level. That doesn’t necessarily mean they change the integrity of the recipes overall taste, but these next thickening ingredients are powerfully delicious and often add a creamier, velvety texture to your mixture.
Some Tasty Thickeners:
1. Butter
Organic butter is always best. Margarine is not a good choice. Butter’s natural balance of water and fat creates a creamy, dreamy consistency on its own. You can also make a rue out of flour and butter for added thickening measures.
2. Coconut Oil or Coconut Cream
Coconut oil or coconut cream may not sound like a typical barbecue-related ingredient but, try adding a little to your rue and watch out. This is one of nature’s finest ingredients to add to almost anything.
3. Heavy Cream
Heavy cream made from cow’s milk, goat’s milk and other natural sources adds intense richness to thickness of a mixture. Add it to your mixture and simmer until the desired thickening is reached.
These are some of the tasty thickeners you can add and try to make your barbecue sauce more thicker.
Adding oils and creams does increase calories substantially. But, reaching optimal flavor goodness knows no bounds!
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Homemade Bbq Sauce Recipe Ingredients
This BBQ Sauce comes together quickly with just a handful of ingredients that I generally have in my refrigerator or my pantry and is one that I think you all will fall in love with as well. Ive had friends ask me to please make extra for them to take home and if Id bottle it, theyd surely buy it.
To make this homemade BBQ Sauce, youll need:
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Do You Put Bbq Sauce On Chicken Before Or After Baking
Most bbq baked chicken recipes call for the chicken to be baked first and the sauce added at the end. We found a better method for testing recipes. The BBQ sauce becomes sticky when the chicken is baked in it for the entire time. The skin is still tender and juicy, so dont worry about it. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
How To Make Bbq Sauce
Here is an overview of how to make this recipe. Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the printable recipe card below.
Making this homemade BBQ sauce is so simple! Youll start by combining all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.
Heat the BBQ sauce on the stove over medium heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to blend the flavors together. Stir it often as it simmers, to help the BBQ sauce cook evenly.
At this point, the BBQ sauce may be too thick. Stir in water until it reaches your desired consistency. You may also want to taste the BBQ sauce and adjust the flavors to your preferences. If you want it sweeter, add another tablespoon or two of brown sugar. For more acidity, add another tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
You can either use the BBQ sauce right away or let it cool and store it for using later.
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Heres How You Make It
How to make the best BBQ sauce for ribs? Ill tell ya:
What Are The Four Types Of Barbecue
You may have heard of different types of barbecues: Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, and Memphis. There are others of course, but these are the most popular styles. But what makes them different?
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How To Use Your Bbq Sauce:
- BBQ Marinade: Marinate grilled chicken, pulled pork, and ribs or spread it on top of any bbq meats during the grilling process.
- Condiment: Spread it over the top of your homemade nachos, salads, tacos, meatloaf, or on the bun of your juicy hamburger or chicken burger.
- Dipping sauce: dip meats and vegetables in it or stir a couple tablespoons into your homemade ranch for a BBQ ranch twist.
- Pizza sauce: spread it over bbq chicken pizza crust or create your own favorite pizza and drizzle it over top.
How To Make Homemade Bbq Sauce:
1. Combine ingredients. Add all ingredients to a large saucepan and mix together until smooth.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or up to one hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.
3. Serve. Slather this stuff on just about anything or store in an air tight container or jar in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Double it? I love to make this sauce and keep it in the fridge for several weeks. Depending on your family size you could double the recipe to make a bigger batch. Its delicious for dipping/marinating grilled chicken, spooning on hamburgers or ribs, or dipping as a sauce. Its my go-to when I dont have a dinner plan.
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Homemade Bbq Sauce Ingredients:
To make this homemade bbq sauce recipe, you will need the following ingredients :
- Tomato sauce: One can of plain tomato sauce .
- Apple cider vinegar: To add some tang to the sauce.
- Honey: I really prefer the taste of honey as the natural sweetener in this bbq sauce. But you could also sub in brown sugar or maple syrup.
- Tomato paste: To intensify the rich tomato flavor in this sauce.
- Molasses: A must in Kansas City bbq sauce!
- Worcestershire: If making this sauce vegan, be sure to use a vegan brand of Worcestershire.
- Liquid smoke: To give the sauce those important smoky notes.
- Spices: A combo of smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder and salt. Plus a few optional pinches of cayenne, if you would like to give the sauce some heat.
Homemade Bbq Sauce Variations
- Spicy BBQ Sauce: Add up to 1 tablespoon of hot sauce or 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
- Maple BBQ Sauce: Substitute 1/4 cup maple syrup for the honey.
- Extra Smoky BBQ Sauce: Double the amount of smoked paprika.
- Coca Cola BBQ Sauce: Add 1/2 cup Coca Cola to the recipe.
Homemade barbecue sauce is delicious on any type of meat. Its particularly good on smoked meats such as chicken and pork. It makes an amazing pulled pork sandwich and the best barbecued chicken wings youll ever eat.
I always keep this BBQ sauce in my freezer so that I have some on hand when the grilling mood strikes. It just cant be beat!
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How Long Can You Let Chicken Marinate In Bbq Sauce
I like my chicken to beMarinated for at least 30 minutes, but I prefer it to be on the chicken for at least 2 hours. The chicken can be left in themarinate for up to 24 hours.
I like to marinate my chicken with a combination of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. If you dont have any of these ingredients on hand, you can also use a blend of garlic, onion, celery, red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, cayenne, chili powder and paprika.
How To Make It
To make it, youll add your tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chopped peaches to a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Give it a quick stir to combine it and then let it come to a low boil. As it boils, it will thicken and the chopped peaches will soften and infuse the bbq sauce with their sweet, peach flavor.
Talk about a heavenly aroma!
Allow the bbq sauce to continue to cook until the bbq sauce just coats the back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Then, stir in the peach preserves until well combined.
Remove the bbq sauce from the cooktop and let it cool slightly before tasting. Then, give it a taste and adjust to your preference.
At this point, it is ready to serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
We love this bbq sauce with so many dishes, but it is out of this world delicious with chicken and pork!
Ive provided the recipe for the amount of flavor and spice that I prefer. However, you can easily adjust the ingredients for what equals perfection for you and your family. Just give it a little taste test once it has cooked and cooled just a bit and adjust to how your family loves it.
I cant wait to hear how you like it.
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How To Make Homemade Vegan Barbecue Sauce
Step 1: Cook aromatics. Add the oil to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot but smoking. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and cook until fragrant and tender .
Step 2: Simmer. Add the tomato soup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and hot sauce to the saucepan and stir. Lower the heat and gently simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. And that’s it!
Bbq Sauce Recipe Varitions
- Homemade Spicy BBQ Sauce. This BBQ Sauce already has a nice kick due to the chipotle, but I would categorize it as more sweet-spicy. For a spicier BBQ Sauce, either increase the chipotle, add cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce.
- Homemade Maple BBQ Sauce. Substitute half of the brown sugar for pure maple syrup not the breakfast imitation kind!
- Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce. Substitute the brown sugar for honey.
- Homemade Smokey BBQ Sauce: Swap the chili powder for smoked paprika and increase the liquid smoke.
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How Do You Store Homemade Bbq Sauce
We store our BBQ sauce in a pint size mason jar and keep it in the fridge. I like this set because it comes with different sizes and labels.
This is perfect if you plan to make different types- sweet, vinegar etc. It is also great for gifts.
The smaller size is perfect to pop into gift baskets and such. You can also use these to take a hostess gift.
I also like to put some in a squeeze bottle for the kids. It makes it very convenient and mess free.
This option is also really good for cookouts. You can order a set of squeeze bottles that also includes a funnel to easily fill the bottles, labels and marker.
I love this set and its very frugal buying it together.
Spicy Peach Bbq Sauce Recipe
Sauces 15 mins
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This Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce is a delicious combination of sweet peaches and spicy bbq sauce! Perfect on so many dishes, this is amazing on chicken and pork!
This Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce recipe is an absolute favorite in my family and one that is on repeat throughout peach season at my house! Those ripe juicy peaches add just the right amount of sweetness and intoxicating aroma to this spicy bbq sauce. Its simple to make and always a hit whenever I make it!
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Ways To Use Bbq Sauce:
There are so many great ways to put a batch of homemade BBQ sauce to delicious use! Some of our faves include:
- Traditional bbq meat: Grilled or pulled chicken, pulled pork, ribs, burnt ends, etc.
- Baked beans: BBQ sauce is a simple and delicious way to flavor a batch of baked beans.
- Burgers: Use it as a spread on your favorite burgers.
- Pizzas: Use it in place of pizza sauce.
- Soups/salads: Mix it into broths to flavor soups, or use the sauce as a dressing for your salad.
- Tacos/quesadillas/burritos: BBQ sauce is a great way to give your favorite Mexican dishes a different twist.
- Dipping sauce: And of course, its always a great dipping sauce for everything from chicken nuggets to veggie sticks to cocktail meatballs and more!
