Do you have ketchup, mustard and brown sugar? You have to try this best EVER Basic Homemade BBQ Sauce. It’s a simple base for starting your own BBQ sauce deliciousness, then add and customize from there.
There are several ingredients that I always think I have on hand, but when I go to start cooking it turns out I don’t have any. This happens a lot with barbecue sauce, which I definitely need on hand when grilling season starts up again.
I always think I have a few bottles in the pantry. I go to grab one, and there aren’t any. Because of this, I’ve developed a quick, basic barbecue sauce base. It uses simple ingredients that I always have and it only takes a minute to whip up.
It’s made out of ketchup, mustard, and honey. That’s all you absolutely need, but I’ve got suggestions for more ingredients to make it extra tasty.
Video: BBQ Sauce Base + How To Doctor It Up!
Adaptable Homemade Barbecue Sauce
The beauty of this sauce base is that you can change it if you’re in the mood. You can use honey or molasses instead of brown sugar, you can use Dijon mustard instead of the regular yellow mustard, you can use tomato sauce for some of the ketchup. There are lots of ways to vary the base.
And then you get to add other ingredients to deepen it more, things like Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, garlic powder, smoked paprika, or all of the above!
Finally, optionally make it more complex by adding in additional spices like cumin, chili powder, or cayenne pepper. Really the options are endless. Soooo good. You’re going to love making this easy staple and doctoring it up in new ways.
The reason this simple sauce works is because of the flavor balance. You have salty and sweet flavors in the ketchup, more sweet from the brown sugar or honey, and then a good tang from the mustard. It’s also great because the sugar content in the sauce makes it caramelize on food when it’s cooking.
Using Barbecue Sauce
I love using this sauce when I’m grilling chicken. It has the best flavors that pair well with poultry or beef. To make really great barbecue chicken drumsticks, I follow the basic method for Easy Make Ahead Chicken for a Crowd. I love it because you pre-cook the chicken in the oven so you know it’s done, then add the sauce and grill once guests arrive. While the chicken bakes, before my guests arrive, I throw together this sauce and I’m done!
You could also use this for Pulled Pork Sandwiches or to dip French fries in.
If you don’t want to start with a BBQ sauce base and add to it with your own ideas, here’s my recipe for a fully done BBQ sauce. It’s a sweet, spicy, smoky BBQ sauce that still only uses ingredients that I usually have on hand, but it gets simmered on the stove.
Oh, and if you want to increase your BBQ sauce knowledge, take a look at this whole series of BBQ sauce recipes from around the country and beyond!
Here’s the easy homemade BBQ sauce recipe. Let me know if you love it!
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Best Ever Homemade Barbecue Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Do you have ketchup, mustard and honey? You have to try this best EVER Basic Homemade BBQ Sauce. It’s a simple base for starting your own BBQ sauce deliciousness. Mix up the ingredients below and you’ll have a mild-tasting sauce.
Then, if you’d like, add in some pantry favorites like smoked paprika, cumin, and chili powder to really bring in the flavor.
RECIPE UPDATE: A lot of people in the comments below really love this sauce as is, as does my family. However, a lot of people really dislike it also. I therefore retested the recipe and adjusted it. The original recipe, in case you loved that, was 1 and 1/2 cups ketchup, 1/4 cup yellow mustard, 1/4 cup honey, a pinch of salt. The revised recipe is now given below. It’s still very basic and can still be used as a sauce base but it has some more flavor elements to start with. -Christine
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup prepared yellow mustard
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. hot sauce
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Stir until sugar dissolves.
This post originally appeared in August 2015 and was revised and republished in June 2022.
Marcia says
Liked recipe because had everything in it that most people would have in their kitchen. Way too much mustard. Had to tone it down with extra ketchup, brown sugar, worcestershire and hot sauce. Can’t wait to make it again maybe using half the amount of mustard. Easy to make and who doesn’t like that!
★★★★
Christine Pittman says
We do like easy, Marcia! Thanks for letting us know your tweaks. This is a great one to play around with to suit preferences.
jessica vehrs says
thought this bbq sause was excellent we had it on grilled chicken legs and had some friends over everyone kept asking me what the brand of the bbq sauce was lol so i was giving everyone the recipe before they left my house after the cook out so thank so much for sharing your recipe it was awsome!!
Christine Pittman says
Thank you so much, Jessica. Love that!
Aaron Carlson says
I was looking for a simple recipe when I stumbled across this one. WOW! I did it exact the first time, without the salt, Then tweaked it for my own preferences. An extra dollop of mustard, an extra shake or two of Worcestershire, and several extra shakes of Tabasco. Yea, baby!
Christine Pittman says
Awesome, Aaron! I love to hear how different people tweak this. :)
Falode temilade oluwafisayo says
Wow,its so yummy,wen i first tasted it uhm it was sooo good and delicious.but can’t we use another ingredient apart from dis ketchup.once again thanks 4 sharing dis recipe.i l luv it soooo much
Sharon Braswell says
This is such a simple recipe and I can add the options for more flavor. I think I’ll try the basic recipe first. Thank you!!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Sharon!
Sarah L says
This looks good and tasty. What I need is a BBQ sauce that doesn’t have tomatoes in it for my friend who can’t have that. But is it a BBQ sauce without tomatoes?
Christine Pittman says
How about Alabama White BBQ Sauce? It’s got a mayo base instead of ketchup/tomato.
Rebekah Kalinowski says
My husband got a Traeger so I’ll be making bbq sauce!
Christine Pittman says
Have fun, Rebekah!
Dorothea Collington says
I think making your own gives it a little extra love to it .
Christine Pittman says
Absolutely, Dorothea! Plus, it gives you the option of making it just the way you like!
Frank Zumpf says
Truly love BBQ sauce, will make this today
Christine Pittman says
Have fun, Frank!
Francine Anchondo says
Thanks for the recipe.
Christine Pittman says
You are welcome, Francine!
Saundra K. Warren says
I’m not a big fan of bbq sauce
Tom Thalon says
Needs liquid smoke.
I also need and therefore do make lots of minced and sauteed onions in my homemade BBQ sauce.
Too many bad recipes out here trying to attract readers by claiming it’s a quickie “hack”- the newest trendy culinary buzz word.
Look at all these negative reviews. You want shortcuts in the kitchen, you get what you deserve.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for your feedback, Tom. This is intended as a base with pantry staples, but I understand it’s not for everyone. We’ve got a wider variety of BBQ sauce recipes at our sister site, The Cookful.
Deborah Waddell says
This isn’t the BBQ sauce I’ll use. Tastes like ketchup and mustard.
Cheryl says
I’ve never made my own sauce. This sounds easy and delish.
Christine Pittman says
Enjoy, Cheryl!
Debbie Yoder says
Im going to try this east recipr,Honestly Ive never thought of making my own sauce.Always came out of a store bought bottle.
Christine Pittman says
Enjoy, Debbie!
Sandy says
I have never had a store bought sauce I really like so I am going to give this a try.
Christine Pittman says
Hope you enjoy, Sandy!
Calvin says
Always been a fan of bbq sauce, just can’t get enough. Now this sounds magical.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Calvin!
Jennifer Phillips says
I’ll be trying this out next week when I make some oven baked bbq chicken
Christine Pittman says
Let us know how it turns out, Jennifer!
Thomas Gibson says
I would love to try this sauce on grilled chicken.
Christine Pittman says
Yummy! Enjoy, Thomas!
Richard Deyarmond says
Going to try this when I smoke tri-tips
Christine Pittman says
Sounds good, Richard!