This easy homemade BBQ sauce is perfectly tangy with just the right amount of sweetness. Mix up a batch for your next cookout or use it as a dipping sauce. It’s finger-licking good!
I’ve posted A LOT of homemade sauce and dressing recipes over the years. From Homemade Italian Dressing to Sweet and Sour Sauce to Pizza Sauce, you might be wondering if I do nothing all day but experiment in my kitchen!
I don’t, but I sure would like to!
I make time for the things that are important to me, like making our own bread, cooking good food (both that tastes good and is good for us), and having homemade BBQ sauce on a tri-tip sandwich. Yep, that last one is what led to the discovery of this easy homemade BBQ sauce recipe.
I ran out of bottled barbecue sauce, so I went searching in my all-purpose cookbook for a recipe. I didn’t have a few of the ingredients, and there were a couple that didn’t even make sense for BBQ sauce. So, I made some adjustments based on what I had, threw everything in a saucepan, and hoped for the best.
And it was. I ended up with a delicious slightly sweet, slightly tangy BBQ sauce that would rival any BBQ joint.
WHY MAKE THIS BBQ SAUCE RECIPE
While you can normally find bottled barbecue sauce for pretty cheap at the store, it’s definitely worth your time to make your own.
- Cheaper. Made up of mostly pantry staples, you’ll probably still save money over the lowest price at the grocery store. And in this case, it’s not just about price…
- Healthier. No high fructose corn syrup or preservatives here! Just simple, real food ingredients.
- Easy to adapt to your tastes. Just like everyone has a favorite ranch dressing, most people have a favorite style of BBQ sauce. I’ve got plenty of tips in this post to make this barbecue sauce recipe your own.
- So so yummy! Seriously, you’ll be licking this stuff off your fingers.
HOMEMADE BBQ SAUCE INGREDIENTS
Although the ingredients list for homemade BBQ sauce looks long, it’s actually mostly pantry staples and condiments.
- Ketchup (consider making it from scratch)
- Apple cider vinegar (you can make this from scratch too, and it’s so easy!)
- Rice vinegar. Use all apple cider vinegar if you don’t have rice vinegar on hand.
- Soy sauce. Substitute coconut aminos if you’d like.
- Worcestershire sauce. This adds a salty depth of flavor to the finished sauce.
- Brown sugar. Honey or molasses will work as sweeteners too.
- Yellow mustard and spicy mustard. Use both or just use one or the other.
- Seasonings: Ground ginger, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BARBECUE SAUCE RECIPE
Step 1: Mix all barbecue sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Whisk ingredients together to make the sauce smooth.
Step 2: Simmer, stirring often, for 5-10 minutes. It should have a slightly thickened consistency. Cool slightly before serving.
Store any leftover BBQ sauce in a mason jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
BBQ SAUCE RECIPE TIPS
This BBQ sauce recipe is easily adaptable.
- Switch up the vinegar. The original recipe called for 1 cup of apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar. I only had ⅔ cup of apple cider vinegar and was feeling stingy with the red wine vinegar, so I opted for the smooth, lighter taste of rice vinegar. Use what you have on hand, but I wouldn’t recommend using white vinegar. You can also use all apple cider vinegar and skip the rice vinegar.
- Adjust the spices. Add more or less ginger, garlic, and chili powder to your liking! A little ground black pepper is tasty too!
- Try fresh garlic and ginger instead of ground.
- Swap sweeteners. Try honey instead of brown sugar to get a sweeter flavor or use molasses for a deeper taste.
- Change up the mustard. Use all spicy brown mustard, all yellow mustard, or even double the quantity.
HOMEMADE BBQ SAUCE TRI-TIP SANDWICHES
My absolute favorite way to use this homemade sauce is on tri-tip sandwiches.
Allow yourself about 2.5 hours of total cooking time for these amazing sandwiches. In case you’re wondering, here’s how a typical night of BBQ tri-tip sandwiches looks in our house. Assuming dinner is at 6 pm:
- Start the bun dough around 3:30 pm – warm the milk and add to yeast.
- While the yeast is proofing, light the grill to get the charcoal hot.
- While waiting on the charcoal, finish the dough and let it rise.
- The grill should be hot, so put on the meat.
- Make the garlic butter: Mix 4 Tablespoons of softened butter with 2-3 minced garlic cloves and ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Make the BBQ sauce (as directed in this post).
- Be productive for an hour… like making Macaroni and Cheese or Sautéed Green Beans or Greek Pasta Salad to serve alongside your tri-tip sandwiches.
- Check the meat, and flip if necessary.
- Check the dough. Turn out the dough, shape the buns, and let them rise a second time.
- Be productive for 30 minutes or check the meat and pull it off the grill if it’s done. Let it rest.
- Put the buns in the oven to bake.
- Be productive until the timer goes off.
- When the buns are done, cool them slightly before using a bread knife to slice them in half.
Assembly: Coat each half of the bun with ample garlic butter – don’t skimp out! Layer the thinly sliced tri-tip on top, douse with homemade BBQ sauce, and dig in.
The official best homemade BBQ sauce and best tri-tip sandwich on the face of the earth.
And no, I’m not biased. 😉
Enjoy with sides like Baked Beans, Broccoli Salad, and Pasta Salad!
MORE DELICIOUS WAYS TO SERVE THIS BARBECUE SAUCE RECIPE
If you’re not enjoying this barbecue sauce recipe on tri-tip sandwiches, try these instead!
- BBQ Chicken Pizza (use barbecue sauce instead of buffalo sauce)
- Barbecue Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad (again, replace the buffalo sauce with barbecue sauce)
- Dip your Chicken Nuggets
- Top the Best Burgers
- Drizzle over tender Slow Cooker Brisket or pulled pork
- Make Slow Cooker Ribs
- Sauce up your Chicken Wings
HOMEMADE BBQ SAUCE RECIPE FAQS
What are the different types of BBQ sauce?
While all BBQ sauces have similar ingredients – tomato sauce, something acidic like vinegar, a sweetener, and seasonings for flavor depth, BBQ sauce is usually divided into 4 types based on the region and specific characteristics of the sauce.
Carolina sauces focus on the tangy mustard and vinegar, Texas sauces have a smokier flavor, Kansas sauces are on the sweeter side and are usually a bit thicker, and Memphis sauces are tangy and thinner. There are also Alabama barbecue sauces, which are mayonnaise-based.
Do you have to cook homemade BBQ sauce?
You don’t technically HAVE to cook the sauce, especially if you’re going to be using it as a mop sauce to coat meat on the grill, but it does help the sauce thicken and the flavors meld together, so I don’t recommend skipping that step. It only takes a few minutes!
How can I make spicy barbecue sauce?
Add extra chili powder or some cayenne pepper to kick your BBQ sauce up a notch. You could also replace ¼ cup of the ketchup with Hot Sauce.
MORE DELICIOUS SUMMER MEALS
- Slow Cooker Brisket
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Cobb Pasta Salad
- The Best Burgers Ever
- The Best Chicken Marinades (perfect for grilling!)
- One Week Grilling Meal Plan
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Homemade BBQ Sauce
This easy homemade BBQ sauce is perfectly tangy with just the right amount of sweetness. Mix up a batch for your next cookout or use it as a dipping sauce. It’s finger-licking good!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: About 3 cups 1x
- Category: Sauces/Condiments
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups ketchup (consider making it from scratch)
- ⅔ cup apple cider vinegar**
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar**
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp spicy mustard
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground garlic
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder
Instructions
Notes
** The original recipe called for 1 cup of apple cider or red wine vinegar. I only had ⅔ cup of apple cider and was feeling stingy with the red wine vinegar, so I opted for the smooth, lighter taste of rice vinegar. Use what you have on hand, but I wouldn’t recommend using white. Feel free to adjust the ginger, garlic, and chili powder to your liking!
Additional Recipe Options: The overall flavor of this sauce can be changed significantly with few, minor ingredient changes. Swap honey for brown sugar to get a sweeter flavor, or use molasses for a deeper taste. Use all spicy brown mustard, all yellow mustard or even double the quantity. Try fresh garlic and ginger instead of ground, or all apple cider vinegar instead of partly rice vinegar.
Nutrition
- Calories: 1091
Cynthia Kerr
Hi Tiffany,
Just made your barbeque sauce with a couple of adjustments. I had my husband taste it before I put it on our pulled pork & asked him if it needed anything. He said it was great only thing it needs is the meat! LOL.
Thank you!
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Cynthia!
We’re so glad he enjoyed it! 🙂
Erin Woolsey
Oh my gosh this was amazing!!! I’m never buying it again! Quick question, how long will this keep in my fridge?
And on another note you personally are responsible for my success in the kitchen. I’ve been married almost 10 yrs and my cooking has been touch and go…mediocre at best and now my husband is over the moon thrilled about the flavor and lower spending budget!!!!! So, I can’t thank you enough or sing your praises enough!
Tiffany
Aw, what a compliment! Thank you so much Erin – you just made my week!! ♥
Lisa Powell
Made pulled pork and couldn’t find just the right sauce until this recipe! It was exactly want I wanted. It will become our standard bbq sauce from now on. So very good.
Tiffany
Thanks Lisa!
Monique
Wow This was so good … my daughter whom does not like meat ate a full pork chop wiht the bbq sauce ! Thank you so much
Tiffany
That’s great news Monique – so glad she liked it!!
April
So happy you posted this recipe and there is no sugar, honey, molasses etc in it! We’re trying to cut out sugar at our house. Thank you!
Tiffany
You’re most welcome April!
Aaron
Thanks for the recipe. Looking forward to making it within the next couple of days. You may have already addressed this and I missed it, but I was wondering how long will the sauce last in the fridge?
Tiffany
Hi Aaron! The sauce should be good for 1-3 weeks in the fridge. The vinegar will help preserve it a bit. 🙂
Jayme
Just started following your blog this month and LOVE it! Made these sandwiches for the first time tonight and my husband’s exact words were, “Did you write this recipe down?! This is the BEST bbq sandwich I have EVER had!” Thanks!
Miz Helen
Hi Tiffany,
What an awesome sandwich, that sauce is heavenly! Hope you are having a great week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Christine
I’m saving this recipe!! The BBQ sauce looks sooo darn YUMMY!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!
ash
Looks so good. What a great blog you have makes me hungry lol. have a great day
Rachel - A Southern Fairytale
Oh my word.. YUM!!!
Carole
Great post. I found this through Turning the Clock Back’s What’s Cooking Wednesday. I have linked in a post about some home-made steak burgers I did. Have a lovely week.
Cassie
Mmm, this sounds perfect. I’ve been itching to try making my own BBQ sauce for pulled pork sandwiches, and this recipe sounds killer. I think I need to give it a try sometime this week!
Tiffany
I think this would go well with pulled pork. You can add your own liquid smoke if you were wanted some of that rich-type flavor – we just didn’t have any in the house. I hope you like it!
Debra Elliott
Yummy! Stopping by from Creative Me Link Up . I love your blog!
Krista@EverydayMom'sMeals
Oh my, my mouth is watering! Thanks for sharing at Church Supper. Have a blessed week & come back soon.
Mrs. Delightful
This looks so yummy.
PS: Thank you for linking up to Show Me What You Got Tuesday’s @ ODH!
Mrs. Delightful
femmefrugality
Yay, yay, yay! My favorite’s always anything prepared by someone else…so this will be a new experience for me. 🙂
Leona Davison
Please! I beg you, send 3 sandwiches right over. I’ll pay for them!! 🙂
Have a great day.
Leona
Tiffany
Leona, you crack me up! We miss you dearly. If you were here, I’d make you an entire batch so you could enjoy them all week long!
Jamie Sue
Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely try it. The one I buy has Guinness Stout as an ingredient so I might add that. How about some home-baked beans? It’s something I make regularly, it’s inexpensive, healthy, and an amazing transformation of simple ingredients into something totally different and delicious. Goes well with BBQ and I’ve been adding some BBQ sauce to the bean mixture. (I’ll post my basic recipe when I’m at my home computer.)
Tiffany
Mmmm… beans! Mr. Crumbs isn’t a huge fan of beans, but as we inspect our diet and the nutrition of foods more, I’ll venture to say they’ll be included more often in our meals. Guinness sounds yummy in a bbq sauce!
Mary Katherine
I noticed you have mustard and ketchup in your sauce. Is there any xantham gum in those products?
Great recipe – i’ll have to try it : )
Tiffany
I checked both labels and there’s no xantham gum, but the ketchup does have high fructose corn syrup. Thanks for the catch! My family and I plan to buy organic ketchup from here on out!