This Kansas City-style homemade BBQ sauce recipe is super quick and easy to make, and full of the best tangy, smoky and slightly-sweet flavors that everyone is sure to love!
Friends, have you ever tried making homemade BBQ sauce?
If not, it’s time. ♡
And as a KC girl, I’m going to vote that you make this Kansas City-style bbq sauce recipe! It’s super-easy to make — just stir everything together and simmer for about 15 minutes — and it’s full of that famous tangy, smoky and slightly-sweet blend of flavors that we all love in Kansas City.
We use this sauce regularly in our house to make traditional bbq chicken, pulled pork, ribs and baked beans. But it also works great as a pizza sauce (hello, bbq chicken pizza ♡) and as a glaze (on meatballs, meatloaf, etc). And of course, you’re welcome to get creative and add it into everything from soups to salads, tacos, burgers, casseroles and more.
So many ways to use homemade bbq sauce. So let’s make a batch!
Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Homemade BBQ Sauce Ingredients:
To make this homemade bbq sauce recipe, you will need the following ingredients (amounts included in the full recipe below):
- Tomato sauce: One can of plain tomato sauce (just puréed tomatoes, no extra ingredients).
- Apple cider vinegar: To add some tang to the sauce.
- Honey: I really prefer the taste of honey as the natural sweetener in this bbq sauce. But you could also sub in brown sugar or maple syrup.
- Tomato paste: To intensify the rich tomato flavor in this sauce.
- Molasses: A must in Kansas City bbq sauce!
- Worcestershire: If making this sauce vegan, be sure to use a vegan brand of Worcestershire.
- Liquid smoke: To give the sauce those important smoky notes.
- Spices: A combo of smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder and salt. Plus a few optional pinches of cayenne, if you would like to give the sauce some heat.
How To Make BBQ Sauce:
This bbq sauce recipe couldn’t be easier to make! Simply…
- Combine ingredients. Stir everything together in a saucepan.
- Simmer. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then let it continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until it has thickened slightly.
- Serve. Then that’s literally it — your sauce is ready to go and use in any of your favorite recipes!
Possible Recipe Variations:
Want to customize your own BBQ sauce recipe a bit? Feel free to:
- Make it gluten-free: To make gluten-free BBQ sauce, just be sure to use gluten-free liquid smoke. (I recommend Wright’s or Colgin.)
- Make it vegan: To make vegan BBQ sauce, just be sure to use vegan Worcestershire. (I recommend Annie’s.)
- Make it sweeter: Add more honey, to taste.
- Make it smokier: Add a touch more liquid smoke, to taste.
- Make it thicker: Simmer the sauce for longer until it reduces to your desired consistency.
Ways To Use BBQ Sauce:
There are so many great ways to put a batch of homemade BBQ sauce to delicious use! Some of our faves include:
- Traditional bbq meat: Grilled or pulled chicken, pulled pork, ribs, burnt ends, etc.
- Baked beans: BBQ sauce is a simple and delicious way to flavor a batch of baked beans.
- Burgers: Use it as a spread on your favorite burgers.
- Pizzas: Use it in place of pizza sauce. (Hello, bbq chicken pizza!)
- Soups/salads: Mix it into broths to flavor soups, or use the sauce as a dressing for your salad.
- Tacos/quesadillas/burritos: BBQ sauce is a great way to give your favorite Mexican dishes a different twist.
- Dipping sauce: And of course, it’s always a great dipping sauce for everything from chicken nuggets to veggie sticks to cocktail meatballs and more!
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- optional: a few pinches of cayenne for extra heat, if desired
Instructions
- Combine ingredients. Whisk all ingredients together in a medium saucepan.
- Simmer. Cook over medium-high heat until the sauce reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer (uncovered) for 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Serve. Use the sauce immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
So gooooood!!!! I’m allergic to honey so I subbed with brown sugar and instead of molasses I subbed maple syrup. After simmering all together was a little chunky as the tomato can was chopped tomatoes in purée so I blended it into a smooth sauce. A-MAZ-ING!!!
(I added 1/3 Cup extra brown sugar to simmer & 1 red onion and blended It all together. Pour it over a beef brisket and slow cooked that! Soooo good! (Extra sugar + onion was for the brisket recipe) slow cooked that baby for 8 hours and wow!!)
Very very good Bbq sauce , better than store bought.
Can BBQ sauce be made without liquid smoke? I detest it !!
Sure thing, feel free to just leave it out. :)
Hey Ali this recipe looks very yummy! As I am a huge fan of sauce, I can not wait to make it at home!!
I hate to even ask bc I’m so excited to try your recipe but I only have tomato paste no sauce. I have a can of whole tomatoes… is there anything that I can substitute for the 15oz of sauce or should I just wait until I can get it?
Sure thing! You can just puree the canned whole tomatoes and they will be close enough substitute for the tomato sauce. :) Enjoy!
I also add pico de gallo before I simmer and it makes the sauce awesome!
I haven’t made this yet; I have two bottles of store bought I need to get through first. However, I’m wondering why it only keeps for a week in the frig. There is nothing in it which spoils that I can tell. As an aside, liquid smoke is one of the handiest things to keep on hand; it’s a natural product and I use it a lot. Definitely worth finding.
I made this today, it was good other than I could bot find where on here for how much of each ingredient. The Worcestershire sauce over powered all the other ingredients. How can I cut down the taste of Worcestershire?
This is a fantastic BBQ sauce! We had two bottles of other sauce with just a little bit left, and this sauce beat them both out of the water. We won’t need to go to the store for this anymore! Thanks for sharing.
Had everything for this except the liquid smoke. Used 2 tsp of smoked paprika and it turned out perfect! Thank you!