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.)
I was looking for a homemade BBQ sauce and found this one. I had all the ingrediants in my pantry. So I made it. I have to say this is one of the best BBQ sauces. I made the sauce as instructed then put it in a slow cooker with left over turkey from Thanksgiving. I now have the best BBQ pulled turkey. I topped it off with a homemade relish I bought at a famers market. Thank you for the insperation.
Thank you Nancy, we’re so happy you loved this, and that you were able to make delicious use out of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey! :) Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
One fourth cup tomato paste? Leaving 2 tbsp. from the small can? I hate that! Small partially empty csns of tomato pasre in my fridge is so annoying. I either use the whole can, substitute ketchup, or just omit…depending on the recipe.
You can use the whole can Debbie, the extra 2 TBS won’t be a problem. :)
This is the best BBQ sauce I have ever tasted! There is no reason to buy store bought sauce, when this is so easy and so delicious!
Thank you Nancy, what a nice compliment! We’re so glad you’re a fan! :)
Can you freeze this? Is there a way to make this that it has a shelf life longer than a week?
Yes, you can freeze this!
Used your recipe for BBQ sauce….it is amazing!!! My family & friends all loved the pulled chicken I made with it in my crock pot. Could not have been easier. Question for you. Could this be made in a larger quantity and frozen for later use?
Hi Ruth, we’re so happy this sauce is a hit with folks! Good question, and yes, you could totally make a larger batch of this and freeze it!
Just a clarification on a couple of things:
1. When you say 1 can of tomato sauce – is this crushed tomatoes or pomodoro?
2. I want to make a homemade BBQ sauce for bonbonierre for my wedding but need something that will keep. If the jars are properly sterilised, will this keep longer? Any tips for adding anything that will make it keep longer?
Hi Josh! Good questions. I just used the can of tomato sauce that is essentially crushed tomatoes, not seasoned. And unfortunately I’m not a canning expert, but have been told that this recipe holds well if canned properly. Have a great wedding!! :)
This has become my go to base sauce, I usually double the batch and then put it in the fridge and use it to to sauce my meats for the week.
That’s awesome Richard, we’re glad to hear that! :)
I’m from Australia and our bbq sauce here is terrible. I came across a sauce in Aldi called Sweet Baby Rays hickory and brown sugar sauce and thought I’d give it a try. I mixed it with slow roasted pork and my husband and I loved it so much that I would make it on special nights. As I started running out I panicked since Aldi doesn’t sell it anymore (it was a one off) so I searched for a recipe to make up for it. Your recipe stood out from the rest because all ingredients are natural so I just had to try it. I compared it to the Sweet baby rays sauce and it’s almost identical! The fact that it also fits my clean eating lifestyle is an added bonus! Thank you so much for this recipe, I can’t wait to cook with this sauce for the rest of my family!
Oooh all of this is great to know Veronica, thanks for sharing with us! We hope you and your family love the BBQ sauce recipe! :)
Hi!
If I wanted to use brown sugar, would I swap out the honey for the sugar? And would that be dark brown, or light?
Thanks!
Hey Toni! You could most definitely swap out the honey for some sugar, and either dark brown or light would be fine. We hope you enjoy the sauce!
I made this as a base sauce for another sauce, this was so good I kept some of this just because. The one thing that I didn’t do that this calls for is to let it simmer, if I had done that then my sauce would have been thicker. Overall, it was easy and tasted amazing.
Hey Richard, we’re happy to hear you enjoyed the BBQ sauce, thanks for giving it a try! :)