This homemade BBQ sauce is a blend of tomato, spices, cider vinegar and brown sugar, all simmered together to create a thick and rich condiment that’s perfect for any barbecue. Homemade barbecue sauce is SO much better than the store bought kind!
It only takes a few minutes to make your own BBQ sauce, and my version has the perfect blend of sweet and tangy. This sauce is great on pork chops, chicken dishes, wings and more!
It’s so easy to go to the grocery store and grab a bottle of barbecue sauce. That being said, I find that so many store bought BBQ sauces are overly sweet and contain ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and preservatives. This homemade BBQ sauce tastes so much better than the store bought kind, that it’s really worth it to take the 15 minutes to make your own.
How do you make homemade BBQ sauce?
This barbecue sauce starts with ketchup as the base. Look for ketchup that is organic or conventional ketchup that is not sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. The ketchup is combined with apple cider vinegar, an array of spices, a dash of hot sauce and brown sugar to make up this intensely flavored condiment. All you have to do is throw everything in the pan, let it simmer for a bit, and you’re done!
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 Frank’s Red Hot sauce for just a touch of spice in my sauce. If you’re heat adverse, you can easily omit it.
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. It’s particularly good on smoked meats such as chicken and pork. It makes an amazing pulled pork sandwich and the best barbecued chicken wings you’ll 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 can’t be beat!
More grilling recipes
- Steak Kabobs with Garlic Butter
- Grilled Chicken Kabobs
- Grilled Chicken Tenders
- Grilled Shrimp Skewers
- Grilled Potatoes in Foil
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 5 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce or more to taste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a pan over medium low heat. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until thickened.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Laura Migliore says
This a fantastic bbq sauce. Trying to find a bbq sauce with no corn is not easy. Made this today to use on chicken thighs tomorrow. I love it, very well balanced. Slightly smoky, with just enough sweet to balance. This is my new go to recipe. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipes. P.S. I was surprised how nice and thick it became as it cooled. Plan to make a big batch and freeze some.
MikeinDC says
Great recipe! Even better to play with. I used balsamic vinegar, maple AND honey, and added roasted garlic with my fav habanero hot sauce, Aardvark. Better than any store bought BBQ sauce. Next time, I’ll just riff it another way and I’m sure it will be fantastic, maybe jerk inspired.
Jessica says
I am so excited to try this recipe, but I don’t have ACV on hand. Would any other type of vinegar work?
Sara says
You could possibly use half the amount of red or white wine vinegar but I have not actually tested it that way so I can’t say for sure!
Joni says
This is a wonderful recipe-I will no longer be buying barbecue sauce-thank you for the recipe
Timmy D says
This recipe is outstanding and is my go-to recipe, now! When my kids hear we’re smoking a pork butt, the first thing they ask is “are we having Dinner at the Zoo sauce??”
I typically split this recipe in two, keeping one half for regular sauce and turn the other half into a vinegar sauce. To do that, I add 1 part apple cider vinegar to every 3 parts BBQ sauce. It’s a really good sauce on top of a pulled pork sandwich or on ribs.
Liz nichols says
Oh my! Must try! Delicious and super easy! I’m telling all my friends!!
Cindy says
I was out of store bought BBQ sauce so I was so pleased to find this recipe. It was much better than the jar sauces.
M8ke says
Love this sauce, we do like it a tich hotter, so we improvised, pepper flakes. Thanks, no more bottled sauce.
Charles says
Spot on just like it is
Sarah says
This bbq sauce is amazing! I used grape jelly instead of the honey but kept most everything else the same. I liked that it was tangy and not too sweet tasting.
Jenean says
I made this bbq sauce as directed. It was amazing, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Babs says
I added 8 tbls dark brown sugar
Better than bottled bbq sauce
Shalonda Garcia says
Normally my family despises BBQ sauce. This sauce made them love it. My husband put it on everything!
Vera says
Excellent easy BBQ Sauce. I did double the amount of Smoked Paprika, as recommended for “extra smokey”. My only other change was I added @ 1 Tablespoon of Molasses – personal preference for deeper flavor.
deepak says
nice
Veronica Brooks says
I loved the sauce..
I added molasses and lemon juice..
Delicious
PAM says
Excellent! Didnt change or add a thing. Easy and so good.
John says
The sauce is spectacular! It is also very easy to make.
Susan vaughan says
Can you add the hot sauce to hot sterilised jars and store for longer
Tracy Fisher says
My husband loved it!!! Thanks for the freezing tips, we will always have some 😁
Rachele Thomas says
Let me just leave this here and say your barbecue sauce was truly amazing!! By itself fabulous. However adding it to the tenderloin for the last 30 minutes of smoking took this barbecue sauce to a whole new level. Let me just say WOW!!!! Truly the best my husband and I have ever tasted. Thank you for sharing. Only one question. I couldn’t find dry mustard Is this the same as ground mustard? I substituted Colman’s English Mustard and used the ratio of one tablespoon of English mustard for one teaspoon of dry mustard.
Sara says
Yes it’s the same as ground mustard!
Cecille florido says
Supper yummy!
My kids love chicken barbeque.
We have them whole year round.
Thanks Sarah 😘
Cassie says
At first it tasted like weird ketchup so I looked at other barbq recipes in two of my cookbooks and started adding all kinds of seasonings until I got it to where I wanted it. It was still a little weird tasting when I put it on the drumsticks in the slow cooker but luckily between the barbq rub I also used and 5 hours of slow cooking, everything turned out ok. I ended up adding a lot of cumin, 2 cloves of garlic and doubling all of the seasonings to try to offset the ketchup and vinegar taste of the original recipe .
Max Morse says
Used pickle juice instead of apple cider added yellow mustard a splash of soy and some red pepper flake to really spice it up. Delicious!
Stephanie says
This sauce is fantastic! I had run out of bbq sauce, saw this recipe and made it for our ribs. My husband loved it! I don”t think I will be buying bbq sauce when it is so easy to make! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Mimi says
Crazy easy and tastes gr8. We added a few of our own things because it’s such a gr8 base to start with it helped us make a really, really good BBQ sauce with everything needed right in our fridge! Thanks!!
Tammy Howard says
Just tried . Tastes really good 😋. Also used molasses instead of honey. And used fresh minced garlic. Didn’t have powdered garlic. But it was really easy to make probably will use again.