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
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: About 2 cups 1x
Description
This Kansas City-style homemade bbq sauce recipe is sweet, tangy, smoky, and perfect on just about everything.
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
Vegan option: To make vegan bbq sauce, just be sure to use a vegan brand of Worcestershire. (I recommend Annie’s.)
Gluten-free option: To make gluten-free bbq sauce, just be sure to use a GF brand of liquid smoke. (I recommend Wright’s or Colgin.)
Thank you so much for this great recipe! It’s so nice to know that I can whip up a great barbecue sauce myself and not have to get the store bought ones with high fructose corn syrup and chemical preservatives. I’ve added some peach and apricot preserves to it and am going to try it on crock pot chicken wings which are broiled before serving (another Pinterest idea).
Thank you, and peach/apricot preserves sounds amazing – great idea! : )
Ive made allot of BBQ sauces over the years but found I strayed away from that certain something that makes BBQ sauce so good. I tried yours on 50 pounds of smoked pork shoulder, it is delicious. I did add dark brown sugar, just didn’t seem right not to, but this is the one I’ll be using from now on.
Thanks Terry, I’m glad it worked out for you, and you can never go wrong with brown sugar (especially for BBQ)! Cheers!
This is AWESOME!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your receipe. We had a commerical BBQ sauce that we would use that didn’t contain HFCS, however, after many years they changed their receipe & started using HFCS :( . We have been searching for almost 3 years for a BBQ sauce that we all liked. Today I decided to try your receipe, & all I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. Both of my kids (teenagers) came into the kitchen wanting to know what smelled so delicious. I let them try the BBQ sauce & I finally had to banish them from the kitchen because every time I turned around they were ‘tasting’ it! I love that I could use ingredients that I already had in my kitchen, so everything that went into it was organic, sans the liquid smoke. We are all so happy that we finally have a BBQ sauce that we like again, thanks to you :)
Kym, this makes me so happy, thank you! I’m thrilled you all love it! : D
What if I don’t have liquid smoke? How will it taste?
It should be alright; just not as smoky. :)
Fantastic addition to family recipes….loved it with pulled pork
Sounds yummy! Though just a note-if people want it vegan, they need to use the agave and not the honey.
This BBQ sauce is amazing! I have been looking for a vegan BBQ sauce to make and this tastes so good. I left off theworsterchire sauce because I didn’t have any, and loved the recipe anyway. Thank you! This is now a staple in my kitchen
where can I get (or how do you make), Liquid Smoke in England – just seen answer to my other question regarding tomato sauce Thanks
I had a wing feast; made 3 flavors. This bbq sauce was one life them. It was everyone’s favorite! In fact, my guests all said that I should use only bbq next time! This sauce is legit!!!!
Lived in KC my whole life. I have tried all kinds of bbq sauces, even went to North Carolina and tried theirs. Needless to say KC has me hooked! Love this sauce over chicken, beef or pork! Like that i know what is in it! I use my homemade tomato sauce, local honey, local molasses, and Braggs vinegar. Got some simmering right now for bbq beef sandwiches tonight for dinner.
GREAT RECIPE!