Homemade BBQ sauce recipe
Add Preferred SourceExperience the bold, smoky flavor of our homemade BBQ sauce recipe. Carefully crafted with a blend of spices, our sauce will take your BBQ to the next level. This sauce is versatile and delicious, perfect for marinating, brushing on, or dipping. Whether you’re grilling up some burgers or dipping pizza, our homemade BBQ sauce will add depth and complexity to your meal. Try it once, and you’ll never go back to store-bought again!
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When having people around for cheesy pizza and Neapolitan pizza, we served up our BBQ sauce recipe but didn’t tell anyone it was homemade; we wanted to see if they could tell the difference.
Everyone wanted to know the store we bought it from as they hadn’t tasted this good for a long time. They were shocked when we told them it wasn’t bottled BBQ sauce; it was our own!
Why you’ll love this homemade barbecue sauce recipe
- Bursting with flavors to suit you, this is much better than store-bought BBQ sauce!
- Double up and freeze, so you always have this delicious sauce.
- Perfect for outdoor cooking,
pizza night, or game day. - All the ingredients are 100% vegetarian.
Ingredients you’ll need
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below to make the best BBQ sauce.
Say goodbye to bland store-bought BBQ sauce and hello to homemade smoky BBQ sauce with this recipe. Perfect for your next backyard cookout.
How to make homemade BBQ sauce with step-by-step recipe
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Add tomato sauce (or tomato ketchup), vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar (or dark brown sugar), liquid smoke, yellow mustard, onion powder, smoked paprika, ground black pepper, and water to a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium heat to a gentle simmer; leave until the sauce has thickened, approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat, let it cool and transfer to an airtight container or a mason jar.
Enjoy your new favorite homemade BBQ sauce recipe!
Ingredients
- 1½ cups tomato ketchup
- ¼ cup vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- black pepper to taste
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Add tomato ketchup, vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar, liquid smoke, yellow mustard, onion powder, paprika, ground black pepper, and water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer; leave it to simmer until the sauce has thickened, approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3 months.1½ cups tomato ketchup, ¼ cup vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ¾ cup packed light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 tablespoon paprika, black pepper, ½ cup water
Notes
- Beware
Regular Worcestershire sauce is not vegetarian as it contains fish. - Spice
Adjust the ingredients to suit you, and add more spice if you like a hot sauce. - Storage
Store in an airtight container or mason jar in the fridge for p to 2 weeks, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Recipe notes and expert tips
- Beware
Regular Worcestershire sauce is not vegetarian as it contains fish. - Spice
Adjust the ingredients to suit you, and add more spice if you like a hot sauce. - Storage
Store in an airtight container or mason jar in the fridge for p to 2 weeks, and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to store homemade BBQ sauce
In the fridge, you can store homemade barbecue sauce in an airtight container or mason jar for up to 2 weeks.
You can also freeze barbecue sauce for up to 3 months.
Spice it up
If you prefer a more spicy barbecue sauce, then add cayenne pepper and just a touch of chili powder.
Make sure you taste to ensure you’ve got the perfect spicy BBQ sauce for you.
How can I make my BBQ sauce thicker?
You can either simmer the sauce for longer or add a little corn starch or flour to thicken your homemade sauce.
What to serve barbecue sauce with
This easy BBQ sauce is absolutely delicious with our Margherita pizza recipe, or you can dunk your air fryer pizza rolls.
Baked sweet potato wedges and crispy air fryer potatoes cry out to be dipped in this great sauce.
And it’s awesome slathered over a vegan burger or a
More easy sauce recipes for you to try at home
If you like our great BBQ sauce recipe, why not try these delicious sauce recipes?
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Learn how to make BBQ sauce.
