22 Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipes

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Homemade BBQ Sauce is the best! You can whip up these barbecue sauces recipes in no time. That means you could enjoy a different sauce every night with dinner.

BBQ sauce in cup next to chickenPin

There are so many different types of BBQ sauce recipes from all over the world. Just in the southeastern US, you’ll find many types with different levels of smokiness, spiciness, and sweetness. They range from white sauces to gold and yellow.

You’ll find a huge variety of recipes for BBQ sauce if you look beyond the US. Some version of barbecue sauce exists in most cuisines. 

Just in the US, you’ll find dozens. What defines them all is that they all have varying degrees of smoky, spicy and sweet notes.

Why Make Homemade BBQ Sauce?

There are plenty of store-bought barbecue sauce recipes to choose from, so why make your own? Because it’s easy (just simmer some ingredients over medium heat in a saucepan)  and delicious, and in time you’ll have fun changing ingredient ratios to make your own personalized sauces.

What’s In a BBQ Sauce Recipe?

It varies, but in general barbecue sauces are made with ingredients like apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar, molasses and spices like paprika, mustard, cayenne and even horseradish. You may also run into onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke or lemon juice.

Note that white barbecue sauces use mayonnaise for a milder base. They usually still have some spicy and smoky notes, but less of the tangy tomato flavor. 

How to Use BBQ Sauce

You can serve BBQ sauces with just about any meat except some fish, because it overwhelms delicate flavors. But even shrimp and salmon can take a good barbecue sauce.

It can also work with many vegetarian dishes. It’s famously mixed into beans and bean-based dishes all the time. Vegetables like corn can take it, and so can greens. It can even be great in vegetarian tacos and casseroles.

Barbecue Sauce Recipes

 

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Last Updated:

December 12, 2025

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