The Best Homemade BBQ Sauce (Easy & Delicious)
While store-bought BBQ sauce might be convenient, there’s something special about a pot of homemade BBQ sauce simmering on the stove that instantly makes your mouth water. This easy recipe is rich, flavorful, and simple to customize to your taste. The best part is knowing exactly what’s in the condiments you’re serving alongside your favorite meals.
This is the best BBQ sauce for grilling baby back ribs! It’s the perfect sauce for grilled BBQ chicken or pork. Use as a base on your BBQ chicken pizza. Plus it’s the perfect dipping sauce for my Homemade Chicken Nuggets.
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Why Make Homemade BBQ Sauce?
Making your own BBQ sauce means you know exactly what’s in it! Here on the homestead we work hard to raise and grow as much of our food as possible. Pouring a highly processed sauce over the top of our from scratch meals just seems wrong! By making our own sauces we control the ingredients and can customize the flavor.
Craving something sweet, add honey or maple syrup.
Prefer a smoky flavor, add liquid smoke or smoked paprika.
Craving a spicy BBQ sauce for wings, add cayenne pepper or hot sauce.
Looking for a bit more tang? Reduce the sweetener and add a bit more vinegar.
Worcestershire sauce is the real VIP in this recipe! Rather than add a ton of spices, Worcestershire brings a depth of flavor to this homemade BBQ sauce. Not all brands are created equal, check the label to make sure it meets your dietary preferences.
Ingredients you’ll need for this recipe
Homestead Hack: No brown sugar? Use 1 cup of regular sugar and add 1 tablespoon of molasses for light brown sugar, or 2 tbsp for dark brown sugar. No need to premix, just add to the barbecue sauce!
Instructions for making this recipe
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium saucepan.
- Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Reduce heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes or desired thickness. Stir on occasion. I prefer to simmer for 30 minutes (about 40 minutes total cook time).
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Pour into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.
Be sure to check out the full recipe card and ingredient list below
Stir together sauce ingredients.- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer to desired thickness.
Find More Homemade Condiment Recipes
Check out more of our favorite condiment recipes in the
Kowalski Mountain Subscriber’s Library.
Storing Your Homemade BBQ Sauce
Once cool, store your homemade BBQ sauce in the fridge in an air-tight container. This recipe makes a little but more than a pint of sauce, depending on how long you let it cook down and thicken. I like making a double batch (or more) and process the jars in the waterbath canner to keep homemade BBQ sauce ready on the pantry shelf.
Not a fan of canning? BBQ sauce can be stored in a freezer-safe container in the freezer! Remove from freezer and thaw completely before using.
The BEST Homemade BBQ Sauce
This easy recipe is a winner at our house! Using ketchup as a tomato base give you a head start versus using tomato sauce for this household staple. Even if you discover you are out of sauce at dinner time, this recipe is easy to mix up and allow it to simmer as you prepare the rest of the meal.
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FAQ
While you can use white vinegar in a pinch, it will change the flavor or the BBQ sauce. Apple cider vinegar is milder and slightly sweet. White vinegar is more acidic and will give the sauce a bite!
Of course! After the sauce is cooked, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of honey depending on your desired sweetness.
This recipe will thicken slightly as it cools. To make the sauce thicker, simmer the recipe longer until you reach your desired thickness.
YES! Try my homestead hack . Add 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of molasses instead of the brown sugar.
The Best Homemade BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp chili powder
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium saucepan.1 ½ cups ketchup, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp chili powder
- Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Reduce heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes or desired thickness. Stir on occasion. I prefer to simmer for 30 minutes (about 40 minutes total cook time) for the perfect consistency!
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Pour into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author: Barbra-Sue Kowalski grew up on a small hobby farm. She was always drawn to farm life, however, she was stuck in an urban life far from her roots. Barbra-Sue was a single mom for 13 years, raising her 3 children on her own. She met Philip in 2018 and they married in 2021. Between the two of them, they have 5 grown children and 7 grandchildren. These empty nesters are following their dreams! As they both turn 50, they are building their off-grid homestead to live the life that they dream about. Learn more about Philip and Barbra-Sue here. Contact them here. To leave a comment on this post, please scroll down.
I used to only use this sauce on ribs, but it’s so good, I use it for all of our BBQ sauce needs! It’s easy enough to make even on the night you need it. Just get the ingredients cooking and simmer while the rest of the meal cooks. YUM!