Say goodbye to the store-bought bottles of BBQ sauce, because homemade is where it’s at! With 13 simple ingredients and 2 easy steps, you can create your own jar of the BEST Homemade BBQ Sauce in just 20 minutes on the stove! Stir in some honey for the perfect Honey BBQ Sauce!

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My Honey BBQ Chicken Wings have been one of the most popular recipes on the site since it was posted. Aside from the super flavourful meat, my favourite part of those wings was the sauce! 

Making the sauce for those wings was extremely easy. We would just combine butter, BBQ sauce, ketchup and honey and let it simmer for a few minutes. After making that sauce over and over again, I thought it was finally time to try to make my own BBQ sauce completely from scratch. 

Would you believe me if I told you the homemade version was JUST as easy to make? 

What You’ll Love

• There’s only 2 steps: stirring and simmering
• Only takes 20 minutes to make
• Tastes just as good as Sweet Baby Ray’s (my favourite!)
• Can be used for many different things (see below)

Ingredients in BBQ Sauce 

There are 13 ingredients in this barbecue sauce, but they’re all very simple and basic ingredients, some of which you probably have on hand already. 

In this homemade BBQ sauce, you’ll find:

1. Ketchup: Yes, the base of barbecue sauce is another condiment: ketchup! You can use your favourite brand, but this will work with any kind. A great substitution would be tomato sauce!
2. Dark Brown Sugar: A full 1 and ¾ cup of dark brown sugar. It adds sweetness, but it doesn’t make the sauce TOO sweet, believe it or not. Dark brown sugar adds a deeper molasses flavour. 
3. Molasses: I wanted to make a more Kansas-style BBQ sauce, so even though the brown sugar provides molasses flavour, we’re still gonna add a little bit more. 
4. Worcestershire Sauce: To balance out the sweetness. 
5. Apple Cider Vinegar: Add some tang and further balance out the sweetness!
6. Water: Does this really count as an ingredient? I don’t really think so. If you want a thicker sauce, feel free to leave it out. 
7. Dijon Mustard: Adds a savoury, tart flavour. 
8. Spices: A total of 6 spices are used to give this sauce the perfect flavour: smoked paprika (makes it extra smokey!), garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper (adds some heat!). 

How to Make Homemade BBQ Sauce 

Alright pay close attention, because the process of making BBQ sauce can get quite complicated. The steps are:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan: Make sure to do this in the order the ingredients are listed. 
2. Stir the ingredients together: I like to use a wooden spoon for this step, but you could use a whisk. 
3. Bring to a boil: Turn the heat to medium-high and let all of the ingredients bubble up to a boil. 
4. Simmer: Turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes to deepen all of those flavours. 
5. Use: Use the sauce in whatever you want!

Phew, I hope you understood that. I know it was super complicated, but I’m confident you’ll be able to do it yourself 😉. 

What Can I Use This Sauce For?

If you searched for this recipe, you probably already know what you’ll be using this bbq sauce for. If not, here’s a few ideas:

• BBQ Meat: Whether you’ve got a grill or not, you can spread this sauce over chicken, ribs, hot dogs or kebabs. 
• Burgers/Chicken Sandwiches: Spread some over your burger patties or boneless chicken before cooking to make a delicious bbq flavoured sandwich!
• Pizza: Making homemade pizza? Replace the pizza sauce with some homemade bbq sauce!
• Nachos: Drizzle the sauce over nachos, or toss some shredded chicken or pulled pork in the sauce and pile it onto the nachos. 
• Dipping Sauce: This sauce is perfect for dipping wings, fries, pizza, breadsticks and more!

Homemade BBQ Sauce Variations

• Honey BBQ Sauce: Add ¾ cup of honey (this is what I did!). 
• Maple BBQ Sauce: Instead of honey, try adding ¾ cup of pure maple syrup. 
• Sweet BBQ Sauce: Want a sweeter sauce? Double the amount of honey or maple syrup you add. 
• Smokey BBQ Sauce: Add 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke. 
• Thicker BBQ Sauce: Simmer for 30 minutes or longer until the sauce thickens in consistency. 

BBQ Recipes to Try

• Hawaiian BBQ Pizza
• Honey BBQ Chicken Nachos

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Love, Dedra

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