Making your own homemade barbecue sauce is easier than you may think. With a few minutes of your time, you can have a flavorful sauce perfect for any meal or occasion.
Recipe: $1.48 | Per Serving: $0.37 | Servings: 4
Have you ever found yourself missing a key ingredient when preparing dinner? I've been there countless times, imagining I had everything I needed only to discover it's not in the pantry.
That's where homemade barbecue sauce like this one saves the day. It elevates every dish it touches, enhancing flavors in unexpected ways.
Give it a try with Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breasts, Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs, and Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs to experience its magic!
Crafted with a ketchup base, this BBQ sauce is rich, sweet, and tangy, adding depth to grilled meats like burgers, ribs, chicken, and pork, such as our Baked BBQ Pork Spare Ribs. Whether basting, dipping, or marinating, this versatile sauce guarantees a flavor explosion, becoming a kitchen essential.
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- Basic ingredients. It's so easy to take a few basic frugal pantry staples and cook them into a flavorful sauce. Most of the ingredients needed are probably in your own home already.
- The steps are easy. All you need to do to make this BBQ sauce from ketchup is measure, boil, and whisk. Easy enough, right?
- Flavorful possibilities. You can use this sauce on everything from chicken to Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs and still enjoy every bite.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Ketchup- This will be the base of our sauce, as most BBQ sauces tend to be tomato based.
Brown sugar- You can use regular granulated sugar if you don't have brown sugar, but the depth of flavor from the molasses makes the sauce taste great.
Worcestershire sauce- This stuff adds a depth of flavor that you're going to love!
Vinegar- You can use any vinegar, but I prefer apple cider vinegar. This contributes to acidity and brightness.
Mustard- Adding in mustard will help to cut down on the sweetness a little.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
📖 Variations
Enhanced Flavor: Adding in ¼-1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke can really take the flavors up a notch. (We also use liquid smoke in our Not So Smoked Trout Dip).
Smoother Consistency: For a smoother texture in the ketchup BBQ sauce, you can blend it in batches using a food processor until it reaches a smooth consistency. This step is optional and not required for the recipe.
🔪 Instructions for Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Step 1: Add the onions and water to a pot over medium heat.
Step 2: Cook for about 3 minutes until softened.
Step 3: Add in the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper.
Step 4: Whisk to combine.
Step 5: Whisk in the ketchup, continue to whisk until boiling, and then reduce the heat to medium-low.
Step 6: Allow the sauce to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Step 7: Remove from heat and let cool.
Use as desired.
🍴 Recipe Tips
- Batch Size Consideration- Prepare a batch of this easy BBQ sauce, and it will yield enough for multiple uses or thick layers of sauce, depending on your preference.
- Tomato Aroma- Initially, the sauce will emit a strong tomato scent due to the ketchup. However, as it simmers, the tomato flavor and aroma will mellow and harmonize with other ingredients, resulting in a well-balanced sauce.
💭 Recipe FAQs
This sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or it can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
This recipe, as written, is not vegan friendly because Worcestershire sauce is traditionally made with anchovies. You can use a vegan-friendly soy sauce in its place though. That would make this recipe vegan-friendly!
Yes, this sauce could be used as a marinade for meats. Simply place thawed meat into the cooled sauce in a covered container for up to 4-6 hours in the fridge, or place meat and sauce in a sealed container in the freezer for up to a few weeks. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then cook as desired.
❤️ More Delicious Condiment Recipes
If you tried this Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup onion, diced ($0.45)
- ½ cup water ($0.00)
- ½ cup brown sugar ($0.22)
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce ($0.12)
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar ($0.08)
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice ($0.12)
- 2 Tablespoons yellow mustard ($0.03)
- ½ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ($0.04)
- 2 cups ketchup ($0.41)
Instructions
- Add the onions and water to a pot over medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Add in the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the ketchup, continue to whisk until boiling, and then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Allow the sauce to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from heat and let cool. Use as desired.
Notes
- Each batch yields ample sauce for multiple uses or thick layers.
- Initially, the sauce may have a strong tomato scent due to the ketchup, but as it cooks, the tomato flavor mellows and blends well with other ingredients.
- Boost flavors with ¼-1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke.
- For a smoother texture, blend the sauce in batches using a food processor; however, this step is optional.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
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