This easy homemade buffalo wing sauce recipe is an original and a crowd-pleaser! We start with Frank’s red hot sauce (mild yet spicy) and it gets tastier from there – It’s even better than Buffalo Wild Wings’ sauce! Try this sauce with crispy baked chicken or on buffalo chicken pizza.
My dad is a chef. So naturally, you would think I would be the one to bring in the best recipes to my marriage.
Well, little did I know my husband had the skills to make amazing homemade pizza and the best wing sauce ever!
Not kidding! Friends, this wing sauce is about to change your life! (Even my dad, the chef, approves!) It only contains FOUR ingredients! You can also use this sauce on buffalo chicken pizza.
Reasons to Make Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce
- It’s healthier than store-bought. Yep, I’m pulling THAT card on you. Anytime you make a recipe at home, you can be certain it’s going to be better for you.
- It beats the pants off of any store-bought buffalo wing sauce. Hands down, no doubt about it. And we have dozens of friends who have come over for wing night to back us up.
- You know what the ingredients are. This homemade buffalo wing sauce uses just four ingredients – FOUR!
- It can be made with what you already have on hand. I have no doubt you have the ingredients needed in your pantry right now.
- You can make as much as you need. As written, this recipe makes a lot of wing sauce. But you can easily halve this recipe if you need less.
Here’s What You Need
- Hot sauce (or try my homemade recipe)
- Ketchup
- Butter
- Cornstarch
Notes on Ingredients
- Hot Sauce. We typically use Frank’s hot sauce because it is cayenne pepper sauce. However, my homemade hot sauce recipe is a Frank’s copycat and works as a great substitute.
- Ketchup. I know. Ketchup in buffalo wing sauce?! This replaces the typical vinegar/Worcestershire sauce you need to make legit buffalo sauce. It’s my husband’s secret ingredient!
- Butter. The butter mellows out the tang of the ketchup and levels the hot sauce to medium heat. It makes the sauce thicken just right, too!
PS…I have to tell you – when I saw my then-future husband put hot sauce, butter, and ketchup in a saucepan, I thought he was nuts. Somehow THAT was going to turn into amazing buffalo wing sauce?! IT DOES!
Step by Step Instructions
The first time I made this, I asked Mr. Crumbs for instructions. Here’s what he told me:
“Dump the entire bottle of hot sauce in a pan. Then squirt ketchup until it peeks out the top. Add the butter. Wait, then add a spoonful of cornstarch with a smaller spoonful of water and you’re done.”
Thankfully, I’ve learned to decipher his code and get a few more details so this awesome sauce can be replicated elsewhere.
Step 1. Mix hot sauce, ketchup, and butter in a small saucepan. (Melting the butter separately isn’t necessary.)
Step 2. Add a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken the sauce.
Step 3. Use a nifty whisk like the “saucinator” to mix until desired thickness.
Step 4. Use immediately on hot foods (like the best crispy baked chicken wings ever) or let cool to room temperature to use on cool foods (like buffalo chicken bacon ranch salad).
Recipe Tip
In the rare event, you have leftover sauce, you can store it in an airtight container or a mason jar in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Once it chills, the saturated fat from the butter will cause it to thicken. You can warm it up in a saucepan before using it on your next favorite buffalo chicken recipe.
FAQs
Buffalo wing sauce has a spicy and tangy flavor!
They are different. The hot sauce consists of mainly hot peppers, vinegar. Some seasonings may be in there as well. The taste is HOT. A little goes a long way.
Wing sauce consists of hot sauce and melted butter. It is a mild version of hot sauce and spicy. This can be tossed with the chicken.
The original buffalo wing sauce was invented in 1964 at a small family business called Anchor Bar. While I don’t have their original recipe, the traditional ingredients include:
First, there is cayenne pepper sauce, this ingredient gives the recipe that spice! Second, there is white vinegar, which adds a unique tang. Then finally, there is butter to mellow out the spice and tang, making it finger-licking good.
Note: Some people add ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
To Serve
Here are a few of our favorite recipes that you can use with tasty buffalo wing sauce:
- Buffalo Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
- One Pan Buffalo Chicken Potatoes
- The Best Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Pair any buffalo chicken recipe with homemade ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing and you’ve got a crowd-pleaser!
- You can make a veggie platter with carrot sticks and celery and use the buffalo wing sauce for dipping.
More Homemade Sauce Recipes
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This easy homemade buffalo wing sauce recipe is an original and a crowd-pleaser! We start with Frank’s red hot sauce (mild yet spicy) and it gets tastier from there – It’s even better than Buffalo Wild Wings’ sauce! Try this sauce with crispy baked chicken or on buffalo chicken pizza.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 18 oz 1x
- Category: Sauces/Condiments
- Method: Saucepan
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 12 oz hot sauce (I use Frank’s regular hot sauce)
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 8 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the cornstarch and water. Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring often, until the butter is melted.
- Combine the cornstarch and water in a small mug and stir until it is completely dissolved.
- Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and immediately start whisking it into the sauce. Keep whisking, and the sauce will start to thicken. When the sauce is noticeably thicker (i.e. will heavily coat the back of a spoon), remove the sauce from the heat and set it aside.
- Use immediately on foods that are hot (i.e. chicken wings) or let cool to room temperature to use on foods that are cold (i.e. salads).
Notes
Best enjoyed the day it’s made, but leftovers will last for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Calories: 486
Keywords: Buffalo wing sauce
Hi, this is for Tara Mac Ginty–Hello, Tara. I’m Louisiana born and bred. Tabasco is a fine substitute, and, to MY way of thinking, preferable to Frank’s Hot Sauce. Frank’s is very good, but I prefer Tabasco. I hope that helps. Have a lovely day.
Brown sugar sounds really interesting! I already put regular sugar, but next time…
I was born in Buffalo NY. I’m 38 years old and this recipe is very similar to what I grew up watching my parents make. We didnt eat chicken wings, we ate chickenfingers. This was our dipping sauce. Frank’s hot sauce, butter and the secret ingredient, brown sugar. Just a hint of sweetness. Amazing
★★★★
All food if you live somewhere where you can buy Frank’s Hot Sauce. I live in Ireland and no such product to be found. Can I use Tabasco?
Sorry Tamara! I can’t possibly be knowledgeable about all the different food across the world. 🙂 I’d suggest making your own hot sauce, using the link in the post!
Can I sub arrowroot, tapioca or potato starch for the corn starch? Some friends coming to our Super Bowl party have wheat and corn allergies.
I haven’t tested those options Jackie, but I’m sure that would be fine!
Hi Tiffany,
I’m looking for an app where I can add my stores I shop for groceries and then I add the items I prefer to shop for and it helps me find the items on sale. It’s crazy the difference in price from one day to the next.
It’s totally worth visiting two or three stores if I can svae $30.00 per shopping effort.
★★★★★
I agree – that’s well worth the savings! I don’t know if there’s an app that does everything you want, but Flipp collates the weekly ads from stores in your area and you can search the ads with your list. Maybe that would work?
Check out an app called Basket. I believe it is available for iPhone and Android and I think it could be what you are looking for.
This looks delicious! As far as substituting ghee for butter goes, I have made a “whole30” crock pot buffalo chicken recipe (it’s a favorite) and the sauce is similar to this recipe. I’ve always made it with ghee and it turns out great! So I’m sure it’d be fine in this recipe too.
Thanks for the tip Katie!