Homemade BBQ Sauce
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This sweet, tangy and smoky barbecue sauce is easy to make and delicious slathered on grilled chicken or ribs.
You can buy a tasty barbecue sauce at the supermarket, but it really is so easy to make your own. My kids put this sweet, tangy, smoky homemade BBQ sauce on just about everything. It’s a classic Kansas City-style BBQ sauce made from ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, cider vinegar, and spices, and it’s delicious slathered on BBQ chicken, pulled pork, or baby back ribs. Because of the high sugar content in the sauce, it’s best to use brush it on the meat towards the very end of the cooking time so that it doesn’t burn. Feel free to double the recipe if you’d like to make extra; the sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade BBQ Sauce
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat and add the onion.
Cook, stirring frequently until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the ketchup, water, brown sugar, molasses, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cumin; stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. At this point, the sauce is ready to serve, but if you’d like to make it completely smooth, transfer it to a blender and blend until smooth.
Store the BBQ sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
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Homemade BBQ Sauce
This sweet, tangy and smoky barbecue sauce is easy to make and delicious slathered on grilled chicken or ribs.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ cups ketchup
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the ketchup, water, brown sugar, molasses, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cumin; stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. At this point, the sauce is ready to serve, but if you'd like to make it completely smooth, transfer it to a blender and blend until smooth.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Serving size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 69
- Fat: 2 g
- Saturated fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Sodium: 232 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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This sauce was PERFECT for our bbqed chicken tonight for dinner. Just the right amount of sweet and tang! Will be using this one a lot! Thank you!
Omg, this is our family’s favorite of all the BBQ recipes we have tried! Perfect blend of spices and flavors!
Very tasty and so easy.
Hi Jenn, I’ve used and loved your homemade BBQ sauce for a couple of years now but I’m sure I’ve never sautéed onions as part of it. Is this an updated recipe? If so, is the old recipe the one described in your Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs recipe?
Hi Ellie, I haven’t changed the recipe — it’s always had the sauteed onions. 😊
Whoops! I guess I’ve just been using that one from the short ribs recipe all along – oops! Thank you
I just made this BBQ sauce and the BBQ chicken on the grill. We were ready for a summer style meal, after all the winter comfort food. In the summer I keep a jar of it in the fridge at all times. I could eat it plain with a spoon it’s so good!
I have been looking for a good homemade bbq sauce and think I found it.
After making it a few times, I have made the following modifications:
– reduce ketchup to 1 cup and add 1/2 cup tomato sauce
– deleted the cumin
Add: 1/2 tsp onion powder, garlic powder, ground mustard and cayenne as well as salt and pepper and a few dashes of Franks Hot Sauce.
I also mince the onions so I don’t have to blend it after it cooks.
Thanks for the great recipe!