The Best Cocktail Sauce Ever Recipe

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5 from 48 votes
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The Best Cocktail Sauce Recipe is made with a handful of ingredients, ready in 5 minutes, and is delicious served with fish and seafood! Quick, easy, and delicious recipe!

Homemade Cocktail Sauce is delicious served with boiled shrimp, scallops, shrimp tacos, and everyone’s favorite shrimp boil.

Homemade cocktail sauce and a serving spoon in a white bowl with blue rim on a marble surface with fresh herbs

I’m pretty picky about my Cocktail Sauce. The bottled stuff doesn’t make the cut with me. That’s the reason I developed my own years ago. And it’s absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted – and the reason I call it the Best Cocktail Sauce Ever.

This sauce comes together very simply in just a few minutes with only a handful of ingredients! My family loves this cocktail sauce! I think you will love it as well!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Quick and easy. This cocktail sauce recipe uses simple ingredients and is ready in 5 minutes! You control the amount of zestiness and heat without any ingredients you can’t pronounce!

Flavorful. This homemade cocktail sauce is flavorful and delicious served with fish and seafood.

Meal Prep Friendly. You can make this cocktail sauce and store it in the refrigerator to make dinner even easier. See the make-ahead information in my Storage Tips below.

How to Make Homemade Cocktail Sauce Recipe

Cocktail Sauce in white blue rimmed bowl surrounded by boiled shrimp

When you are making a special dinner that includes seafood or an appetizer like Boiled Shrimp, this homemade cocktail sauce is essential! It’s so easy to whip together right before serving the meal or to make ahead and keep in the fridge. Its fresh, zesty taste makes seafood so much more delicious!

Ingredients

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

Photo of ingredients used to make homemade cocktail sauce recipe.
  • Ketchup – the basis of this recipe is ketchup. Use your favorite brand that is mild-tasting with minimal ingredients.
  • Worcestershire Sauce – for the savory, or umami, flavor. You can use coconut aminos if you are sensitive to soy.
  • Lemon Juice – adds a touch of acid to the cocktail sauce to enhance the flavor. It also adds a zip of freshness to the sauce.
  • Horseradish – grated horseradish adds a bit of zestiness and a touch of spiciness to the cocktail sauce. Adjust the amount of horseradish to your preference. I’ve written this recipe as a “base recipe” that you can increase the amount of horseradish to your tastes. I also recommend serving additional horseradish on the side so those who prefer more can add it.
  • Stone House Seasoning – (optional) My house blend of salt, pepper, and garlic enhances the flavor of the cocktail sauce but I recommend trying the sauce first and then add if you feel like it needs it. It really depends on the brand of ketchup used if you need this additional seasoning.
  • Hot Sauce – (optional) Can also be served on the side for those who prefer it.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Add the ketchup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce (or coconut aminos), and horseradish to a bowl. Mix together until they are well combined. Taste and add more horseradish or hot sauce as desired. Add the Stone House Seasoning if you believe it is needed as well.
  2. Serve or refrigerate if making ahead.

Storage Tips

To store leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. If the ingredients have settled, you may need to stir the cocktail sauce before serving.

To make ahead. Prepare the cocktail sauce according to the directions. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months or cover the serving bowl with wrap if planning to serve within a day or two. If the ingredients have settled, you may need to stir the cocktail sauce before serving.

To freeze. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for 6 to 12 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. You may need to stir the cocktail sauce to make sure well combined once thawed.

More Favorite Sauces

Photo of homemade cocktail sauce with a serving spoon in a white bowl with a blue rim.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long can you keep homemade cocktail sauce?

Homemade cocktail sauce kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator lasts up to 6 months and in an airtight, freezer-safe container can be kept for 6 to 12 months in the freezer.

What are the ingredients for the best cocktail sauce recipe?

My homemade cocktail sauce recipe uses ketchup, lemon juice, horseradish, and Worcestershire sauce (or coconut aminos). You can also add more horseradish to taste if you like more zest and add hot sauce if you like it spicy. Depending on the brand of ketchup, you may enjoy adding salt, pepper and garlic in my Stone House Seasoning.

What do you serve cocktail sauce with?

Cocktail sauce is delicious served with seafood. Try it with shrimp, scallops, oysters, and more!

Here’s my recipe for Homemade Cocktail Sauce. I hope you enjoy it!

Homemade Cocktail Sauce Recipe

5 from 48 votes
The Best Cocktail Sauce Recipe is made with a handful of ingredients, ready in 5 minutes, and is delicious served with fish and seafood! Quick, easy, and delicious recipe!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 12 – about 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons horseradish, adjust to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Stone House Seasoning, Optional, to taste
  • hot sauce, Optional, to taste

Instructions 

  • Add the ketchup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce (or coconut aminos), and horseradish to a bowl. Mix together until they are well combined. Taste and add more horseradish or hot sauce as desired. Add the Stone House Seasoning if you believe it is needed as well.
  • Keep refrigerated.

Notes

Storage Tips:

To store leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. If the ingredients have settled, you may need to stir the cocktail sauce before serving.
To make ahead. Prepare the cocktail sauce according to the directions. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months or cover the serving bowl with wrap if planning to serve within a day or two. If the ingredients have settled, you may need to stir the cocktail sauce before serving.
To freeze. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for 6 to 12 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. You may need to stir the cocktail sauce to make sure well combined once thawed.

Nutrition

Calories: 42kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.05g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 573mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 206IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

5 from 48 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Review




138 Comments

  1. larry h. says:

    5 stars
    WOW! You shared a fantastic recipe which I made and found to be so delicious. Truly awesome. I will never purchase bottled cocktail sauce again. What I made was so easy to make and was so good.
    Thank you.

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Thank you, Larry. I never buy cocktail sauce now.

  2. Cori says:

    5 stars
    Delicious recipe! Iโ€™ve made it several times and continue to get compliments. I used to use Crosse & Blackwell Cocktail Sauce religiously and have tried several recipes however none came close…This is superior! Thank you!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Thank you so much, Cori!

  3. Beta says:

    I tried this recipe a few weeks ago because you had said โ€œyโ€™allโ€ in your comment. Southern gal. Southern cooking. Iโ€™m back at it for Super Bowl Sunday. My wife requested it. And I always consider her requests, especially when they align with my own!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      So glad you and your wife both liked the Cocktail Sauce recipe. Y’all have a good week!

  4. linda says:

    This cocktail is the BOMB….

  5. Twila says:

    5 stars
    Great recipe!

  6. Sue says:

    This is my go to sauce. BF can’t handle spicy food but this was just perfect! (Of course I added an extra 1/2 tspn horseradish ) and he raves about how good this.

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      So glad you and your boyfriend like this sauce, Sue. Don’t you love how simple it is to make?

  7. Linda Rogers says:

    I never made my own sauce (and I do cook) but I ran out of the bottled stuff during company visiting. I googled home made and found this one so I tried it. Not only did I like it better than the bottled stuff but my guests raved about it and asked where I purchased it. They did not believe I made it from scratch in about 5 minutes. Well, that’s it. Easy, quick and much tastier. No more bottled stuff for me!!! Thanks Robyn Stone !!!!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Don’t you just love how easy this is to make, Linda! I’m so glad you found this recipe and it worked so well for you.

  8. Dana says:

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing your recipe, it is fabulous. I have some tempura shrimp that I haven’t been loving, I finally decided it was the bottled cocktail sauce. I found your recipe and in 5 mins had the best tempura shrimp ever.
    The sauce has such a fresh flavor, the ingredients play so well on each other. I love lemon and horseradish in cocktail sauce, and this was the perfect amount of both. I will not buy bottled cocktail sauce again, ever

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      I’m so glad you loved this cocktail sauce. I didn’t like the taste of the commercial cocktail sauces, either.

  9. Frekki says:

    5 stars
    Just made up a cup and ate a dozen shrimp. Man, I’m stuffed. My wife says it’s better than the stuff out of a jar.
    It’s real good.

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Thanks, Frekki. So glad you liked the sauce.

  10. Pamela Johnson says:

    5 stars
    So good! ย We loved it. ย My husband likes it spicy so I added more horseradish. ย It is now in our fridge at all times!!ย 

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Hi Pamela,
      So glad you loved it.