How To Make The Best Bbq Sauce
How To Make The Best Barbecue Sauce
Not only is making your own barbecue sauce from scratch infinitely more delicious than anything youll find at the store, it is EASY.
While this isnt one of those 3 ingredient BBQ sauce recipes , it is still super simple and its flavor is a dead ringer for the barbecue sauces Ive tried at legit BBQ joints.
Lets break it down, BBQ-style.
Tips For Homemade Bbq Sauce
- Be sure to use smoked paprika, not regular paprika. Smoked paprika can be found in almost every grocery store and is not expensive.
- Store your BBQ sauce in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can also freeze your sauce for later use.
- Your BBQ sauce needs to simmer on low heat if the heat is too high it may splatter onto your stove!
- I use Franks Red Hot sauce for just a touch of spice in my sauce. If youre heat adverse, you can easily omit it.
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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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The best part about barbecue sauce is that it’s incredibly versatile hence why we see so many variations. Mix and match ingredients to find what you like. The key is to combine ingredients and cook it down until it gets to the texture you like . Its as simple as that. What is not simple is deciding which one to go with, because they’re all so good in their own unique ways.
Here are few of our favorites:
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How To Make An Easy Barbecue Sauce From Scratch
By Author Angela G.Posted on Last updated: August 11, 2021
Home » Recipes » How to Make an Easy Barbecue Sauce from Scratch
Learn how to make this easy barbecue sauce from scratch and youll never go back to bottled barbecue sauces again. Its easy to tweak this recipe to your personal preferences once you get the basics down.
earn how to make this easy barbecue sauce from scratch and youll never go back to bottled barbecue sauces again. Its easy to tweak this recipe to your personal preferences once you get the basics down.
Homemade Bbq Sauce Why We Love It
- Quick and Easy: Got 15 minutes? Thats all you need. In the time it would take you to go to the store and buy some, it could already be made and taste so much better.
- Pantry ingredients: Chances are you already have all the ingredients to make this recipe.
- Incredible flavor: The perfect combination of sweet, tangy, and spicy. Its also easy to change it up to suit your taste.
- Use it for so many things: BBQ sauce and ribs are a match made in Heaven, but this condiment is also great mixed into burger patties and Pulled Pork, basted on grilled chicken, and great for dunking chicken tenders into.
- Stores well: Make up a batch to use immediately or store for later. You can store it in the fridge or freeze it.
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How To Store And Freeze Barbecue Sauce
- To Store. Store leftovers in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for about 7 days. Since it is not loaded with preservatives, homemade barbecue sauce will go bad faster than store bought barbecue sauce.
- To Freeze. Yes, you can freeze barbecue sauce! Place the sauce in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Best Ever Homemade Barbecue Sauce
About Christine
Hi! Im Christine. My passion is creating recipes that take less time in the kitchen, so that we can all spend more time enjoying life! Im a busy single mom of two, so I totally get how tough it can be. Thats why Ive been figuring things out for my own family, and thats why I want to share this knowledge with others. I now help over 2 million people a month get delicious meals onto their tables. Come along with me and see how much easier it can be!
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Best Bbq Sauce Recipe
We are big fans of barbecue sauce in all its many forms. The one Im sharing with you today is super versatile and basic while still having amazing depth of flavor. It really is the best bbq sauce!
If you want to try some of our other flavors of barbecue sauce you should try the Root Beer BBQ Sauce I used for these Pulled Chicken Sandwiches or the Beef Brisket with Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce so good!
Homemade Bbq Sauce Faqs
How long will the BBQ sauce stay fresh?
Store your new favorite condiment in an airtight container or a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Can I adjust the flavors of the sauce?
You sure can! If you find youd like a little more sweet or maybe a touch more tang to your sauce you can always adjust the measurements to add more of your preference after the fact. Pro tip though, some flavor profiles change from hot to cold. So if you do want to adjust any seasonings, wait until the sauce has had a chance to cool down before tasting.
Can I make a larger batch for parties?
Absolutely! This recipe is so easy it practically begs to be a double batch, perfect for any summer soiree. Just be sure to adjust the cook time if necessary to accommodate the extra volume in ingredients.
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How To Make Bbq Sauce
It will take you less time to make BBQ sauce from scratch than it will to fold a load of laundry! Heres a brief summary:
Barbecue Sauce Price Breakdown

This recipe yields 2 cups of sauce, and it costs $2.66 to make. This comes out to $.08 per tablespoon. You may be able to find barbecue sauce at the supermarket for less money, but its list of ingredients would include things like high fructose corn syrup, modified food starch, and sodium benzoate. Make this homemade bbq sauce recipe and youll be happier with the taste and the ingredient list.
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How To Make Barbecue Sauce From Scratch
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
You might notice that the sauce smells a little vinegary when bubbling in the pan, but the vinegar smell and taste mellows beautifully as the sauce cools
What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Homemade Bbq Sauce
For this sauce recipe, you will need ketchup, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, chili power, onion and garlic powder.
As I mentioned, you can play around with the ingredients adjusting the qty and eliminating ketchup or mustard, trying different types of vinegar or adding herbs to really create your own personal favorite style of barbecue sauce. Have fun with it! This recipe is meant to give you a solid starting point.
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Heres How You Make It
How to make the best BBQ sauce for ribs? Ill tell ya:
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A lot of people ask me should I get whole tomatoes pureed tomatoes? I like to get the ones that are uh roughly chopped because once they take a spin you still have a little bit of uh pulp to it. But it is up to you. Not everyone likes it that way, but I personally like to use it chopped. Next is a tin of tomato paste. Tomato paste by the way has 10 times the amount of antioxidants versus a fresh tomato. So theres a lot of health benefits to tomato sauce and tomato paste. Okay, weve got that all in there. Yes very nice. Throw that away now. Next, is some brown sugar. Got some brown sugar here. Wheres my cup? All right my cup. Lets open that up and the recipe says half a cup. Great.
Next are tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Love that apple cider vinegar. All right three tablespoons. Why are you using um apple cider? It is just because its a little bit sweeter. Someone asked me can I use regular vinegar? Well sure you can f you want to. But apple cider is sweeter. So thats fine. Up to you.
Bbq Sauce Recipe
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Foodthese Are The Most Popular Barbecue Sauces In America: Here’s What’s In Them
The first thing to do is to choose your sauce . You can certainly go to your grocery store and purchase a barbecue sauce, but it is among the most simple items to make and customize at home. Americans love their regional cuisine and barbecue is the ultimate test of preferences. Across the South, from the Carolinas to Kentucky, youll find completely different takes on this complex thing called “barbecue sauce.” It often starts with ketchup and vinegar and can expand to include items as disparate as mustard, molasses and mayonnaise. You can keep it classically Southern or even take inspiration from outside the U.S., all the way to Korea.
Best Way To Store Homemade Sauces
I prefer old fashioned Mason jars for storing sauces. However, I dont like the metal lids since they rust and therefore arent super reusable so I buy special lids that are dishwasher friendly and are easy to put on and take off.
You can buy reusable lids in plastic or glass. The plastic lids arent always 100% leak proof but work great if youre storing things upright. Wek brand jars use a glass lid that seals well. So depending on your use, you may want to check into that brand. You can shop everything on Amazon of course. Here are some links to get you started:
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This Bbq Sauce Is Great For Your Next Cook Out
Now lets cook them up. Here we are all right so we have our meats and our veggies now. If you have vegetarian folks coming or vegan you would wanna grill your veggies first. So that theres no meat flavor in your pan. A little bit of extra virgin olive oil. If you havent seen the other video that we made for flatbreads please check that out. Its a fantastic recipe and you can really take this barbecued meat and veggies, and you could just have a ball with it! Lets get grilling. I like using that special tool I have because it really gives the veggies a nice attractive feel. Okay, were doing great.
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Kansas City Barbecue Sauce

This is most often what people think of when they are imagining a traditional barbecue sauce. It is that sweet and tangy combination with a base ketchup and molasses layer. Slather it on ribs or brisket before you cook it and then save some for basting right before you eat. If you have a crowd, you know everyone will love this classic version.
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is your desired consistency.
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What Is Stone House Seasoning
Made of three simple ingredients, it really is one of those seasoning blends that combines the flavors that perk up so many dishes from meats to vegetables with such ease!
Most likely, you already have these three ingredients on hand in your pantry, but by combining them in these specific ratios, you can quickly add a pinch, teaspoon, or more to dishes to add so much flavor in a flash!
Kansas City Bbq Sauce
This homemade BBQ sauce is so easy to make from scratch, simply combine the ingredients and simmer on the stove for less than 30 minutes and what you end up with is a thick, tangy sauce with the perfect balance of sweet and spice perfect on Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, BBQ Shrimp, chicken, ribs or beef.
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Bbq Sauce A Summer Staple
Backyard barbecues are nothing without a classic BBQ sauce! A good BBQ sauce is as versatile as it is flavorful. Use it for a marinade, for basting, seasoning, or as a condiment for your favorite mouthwatering meats.
Homemade barbecue sauce is a standard for ribs, pork, chicken, and burgers of any kind! Whether you like tangy, sweet, or smokey, this sauce has it all. Trust me, youll never go for the store bought artificially flavored stuff again!
Making Homemade Barbecue Sauce Is Super Easy
Sure, store-bought barbecue sauce is alright, and 3-ingredient barbecue sauce sounds good, but is it?!? I know many people make their barbecue sauce with ketchup, but thats not what we do over here! You know why?! Because I like to know EXACTLY what goes into my homemade sauce no extra additives and preservatives from prepackaged ingredients.
This barbecue sauce is thick, tangy, smoky, sweet, and MADE COMPLETELY FROM SCRATCH! Yes, I repeat: This is a homemade barbecue sauce without ketchup! .
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How To Make The Best Homemade Bbq Sauce
This easy, sweet-and-spicy homemade BBQ sauce is super quick and simple to make. Its really the ultimate addition to any summer backyard grill-out and goes perfectly with chicken, pork, ribs, and beef.
Grilling season is right around the corner. Need more recipes? Try my Grilled Honey BBQ Bacon Chicken Kabobs, Mini Grilled BBQ Chicken Tacos, or Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork with this sauce at your next summer BBQ!
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Versatile While we used this BBQ sauce recipe for burgers, we found that not only were people eating it on burgers but putting it on their brats too. It also works on hot dogs, sausage, ribs, chicken, pork tenderloin basically anything you want a simple BBQ sauce ontrust me, its the best!
Flavorful This sauce is a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce because it has sweet and also some cayenne and paprika for spice. Its also a little tangy thanks to the apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. In a nutshell, this easy BBQ sauce has it all!
Keeps well Make up a big batch and keep this sauce in the fridge for up to two weeks, if it lasts that long!
Easy ingredients I bet you have most of these ingredients in your pantry or fridge right now. Go check, Ill wait! You with me? A little dash of this, a pinch of that, stir and serve!
Can You Add Other Flavors To This Bbq Sauce
This homemade barbecue sauce recipe is a great base recipe for a lot of other flavors. You could easily add any of the following flavors that you like:
- Liquid smoke
- Honey
- Swap the Worcestershire for Soy Sauce and the apple cider vinegar for rice wine vinegar for an Asian flare
- Add some chipotle in adobo for a smokey heat
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