Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe
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Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe that is ready in 15 minutes that makes the best Homemade Barbecue Sauce. Sweet and tangy and made from scratch!
BBQ sauce is one of those topics that people can become really, really passionate about. There are the regional camps of North Carolina style BBQ sauce, Kansas City style BBQ sauce, white Alabama BBQ sauce, and then the Memphis style with no sauce at all (well, maybe just a smidge). Everyone has their personal favorites.
And you know, I really love them all.
I’ve shared my Mama’s Coca Cola BBQ Sauce with you that is the one that I grew up with. I’ve also shared our Spicy Mustard BBQ Sauce that we use from time to time, as well as my Peach BBQ Sauce that is the perfect BBQ sauce with a fruity twist. And, I’ve also included our favorite molasses-based Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce in my cookbook which just takes ribs to a whole new level!
But today friends, I want to share with you this quick and easy, 15-minute BBQ sauce that takes just a handful of ingredients to make and comes out perfect every single time.
We’ve had friends who call this the best BBQ Sauce they’ve ever tasted and it’s pretty easy to see why!
How to Make Homemade BBQ Sauce
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. I’ve had friends ask me to please make extra for them to take home and if I’d bottle it, they’d surely buy it. ♥️
Ingredients
To make this homemade BBQ Sauce, you’ll need:
- Ketchup – You’ll use 2 cups of your favorite ketchup as the base in this recipe. I prefer to use one with the fewest ingredients and one that does not include high-fructose corn syrup.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – the apple cider vinegar gives the sauce a delicious, tangy flavor that helps to balance it perfectly.
- Brown Sugar – just 1/4 cup of brown sugar not only helps sweeten the sauce but deepens the flavor adding just a hint of molasses flavor.
- Honey – use a couple of tablespoons of your favorite honey. If you can find a reliable local honey provider, I always recommend it!
- Worcestershire sauce – this balances the sweetness with savory flavor in the sauce. If you are gluten-free or sensitive to soy (like me!), you can use coconut aminos in place of the Worcestershire sauce.
- Stone House Seasoning – this is my favorite, go-to blend of seasonings that I have shared previously. It is a blend of kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic that tastes amazing on so many dishes and adds flavor in a snap! We named it Stone House Seasoning since we use it practically on everything except desserts!
- Lemon Juice – A tablespoon of fresh or bottled lemon juice adds just the perfect amount of acid to this sauce to make it perfect.
- Hot Sauce – We love to add just a splash of hot sauce to this BBQ Sauce recipe. It is entirely optional if you’d rather not include it.
Instructions
- Cook the BBQ Sauce. Whisk together all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Allow the sauce to bubble and then reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. This helps to deepen the flavors and thicken the sauce.
- Serve. You can use this sauce immediately or see the Storage Tips below.
Storage Tips
To Store. Allow the sauce to cool and then pour it into a quart-size mason jar. Seal it with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
To Freeze. Transfer the cooled sauce to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
Favorite Ways to Use BBQ Sauce
- Chicken – Use on grilled chicken for a flavorful meal or drizzled over shredded chicken for a BBQ Chicken Sandwich.
- Pork – Delicious with BBQ pork chops, slow cooker ribs, and of course pulled pork sandwiches.
- Burgers – Delicious on hamburgers in place of ketchup for a tasty BBQ Burger.
- Pizza – Use in place of pizza sauce for a BBQ Chicken Pizza or a Pulled Pork Pizza. Yum!
- Dip – as a dip with Sweet Potato Fries and ranch dressing
Here’s my best Homemade BBQ Sauce recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Stone House Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- Whisk together all ingredients in a medium saucepan situated over medium heat. Allow to come to a bubble and then reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately or allow to cool slightly and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Yesterday i was cooking ribs in oven, realized towards end of cook time i had no barbeque sauce and found this recipe. The sauce was easy to make, i had everything on hand and very tasty. It is definitely a keeper, in fact, i had some leftover (i did cut recipe in half) and will use on grilled chicken tomorrow.
Thank you for sharing.
Pati, I’m glad you liked this BBQ sauce. I love how easy it is to make with ingredients most people have on hand. Thanks.
How do i find past recipes from your web site? I am looking for the Stone House Seasoning.
There is a Search icon on the far right side at the top of my page, Marjorie. Just click on it and enter Stone House Seasoning and the recipe will appear. You can also click on All Recipes on the left hand side at top of page, and then Recipe Index to see all my past recipes. Hope you find many more recipes you want to try.
Good recipe, used it on chicken in my smoker,,,yum yum. now go find one like the South Carolina vinegar base sauces,,like to find one and you have more time to experiment. Their my favorite for using on pork butt or pulled pork sandwiches ,
Stoney
Doug, you might like my Spicy Mustard BBQ Sauce.
Excellent. Had chicken and everyone wanted bbq chicken but didn’t have bbq sauce. So found this recipe. Even though we didn’t have all the ingredients, this came out great. Didn’t have honey so with your suggestion added a bit more brown sugar. Also didn’t have apple cider vinegar but did have vinegar and apple juice so mixed the two. The stonehouse seasoning was fantastic. We also used it on pork chops. Thank you as this helped put a smile on our faces.
I’m so glad you loved the bbq sauce and the Stone House Seasoning. We use that seasoning on just about everything. Thank you, Sharyn. xo
I made this bbq sauce today beacuse i had all the ingredients already and didn’t want to put store bought bbq sauce on my husbands delicious brisket he had been cooking for hours. It was awesome on it. I made bbq brisket sandwiches and we loved it. My kids and nephew ate the hell out of the sandwiches. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Savanna. My family loves this bbq sauce on brisket, too. So glad everyone at your house loved it. xo
I made this sauce for baby back ribs made in my Crock-Pot. After using a dry rub, I brushed some sauce on the ribs before I placed them in the pot. After cooking on low for 8 hrs I removed the ribs and brushed more sauce in them . Then I broiled for about 3 min. The sauce was sweet and savory. Delicious! Thank-you for sharing this recipe. No more bottled BBQ sauce for me!
Thank you so much, Susan. Those ribs sound wonderful! xo
Really quick and easy.. Very tasty too
Thanks, Kim.
very tasty, but this time I added a secret of my Texan father-in-law, peanut butter!!! Who Hoo!
oh, here I am! I did send in a comment, also I want to make known that I have your cookbook Robyn-I am a home girl from California with a Southern Heart-thanks to years in Texas and North Carolina!
I hope you enjoy the cookbook. You don’t have to be born in the South to have a Southern heart, do you? xo
I made this sauce today. Exceptional! Thank you 😉
Thanks, Clayton!
I will love to try and make this.