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 sometimes I go to start cooking and it turns out I don’t have them. This happens a lot with barbecue sauce, which I definitely need on hand when grilling season starts up again. This is my go-to recipe for when this happens!
I always think I have a few bottles of BBQ sauce 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 brown sugar. 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, beef, or pork. 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 it all up once guests arrive.
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.
More Delicious Sauce Recipes
I’m a firm believer that a great sauce can transform a meal. That’s why I’ve come up with over 40 delicious sauce recipes, which you can browse through over here. I’m also going to link to a few of my favorites for you, for extra inspiration:
- The Best Cheese Sauce Recipe
- Homemade Cocktail Sauce
- Creamy Horseradish Sauce For Prime Rib
- Gravy Made Without Drippings
- Garlic Butter Sauce
- Chili Garlic Sauce
Podcast Episode: Making Easy BBQ Sauce
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this BBQ sauce, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintBest 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 found it too bland. 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. Enjoy! -Christine xo
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/8 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.
Melissa Struss says
Can this be used as a dipping sauce? Does it have ro be put on meat and be cooked?
Christine Pittman says
Melissa, It doesn’t require cooking and can be used as a dip.
SueJean Heinz says
Love the recipe!
I always seem to have way more ketchup on hand than barbecue sauce. It makes me wonder why I bother buying ketchup when my “cowboy” is always reaching for the other anyway. This gives me the perfect way to use up all that ketchup!!
Thanks!
Kelsey says
Can this be canned and stored? Even if you add other ingredients to it? Well so long as they are not dairy based that is. LOL
Christine Pittman says
Kelsey, it depends on the other ingredients. If everything is shelf stable, it will keep in the fridge for awhile for sure.
Malvin M Johnson says
i had never made homemade sauce before and decided to surprise my family….so l found this recipe and followed it to the dot….believe you me the sauce was sticky,,tangy and sweet the balance was on point and we ended up eating the whole chicken thats how nice it was
Dawud says
Hi
I just wanted to thank you for giving me the basics
of BBQ sauce. My wife will be surprised when gets home!
Steve says
I was making a Pulled Chicken Barbeque when I discovered I did not have any Barbecue Sauce in the pantry. I Googled Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce and found your recipe. All I can say is, Why did I not try this sooner?!?! I used the basic recipe with Dark Brown Sugar. I then added Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce, a drizzle of Maple Syrup, a teaspoon each of Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika and Fresh Ground Black Peppercorns then blended and chilled the mixture. Wow! It is absolutely amazing! :)
Christine Pittman says
Steve, fantastic! So happy you liked it and your added ingredients sound amazing!!
Angela P. says
I found this recipe on a google search! It took me a few tries to get the right mix of things to go into it! Finally after like 3 tries,I found that it was best for me and my family to use only 1 c. ketchup and to add to this recipe;
1 tsp- Spice Supreme Chili Powder
1 tsp- Blazin Blends Garlic & Pepper
1 tsp- McCormick Onion Powder
1/4 c. Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrup
I plane on using it on my chicken legs that my son love to have! So, Thank you, Christine,for your recipe!
Sharon says
Thank you, thank you! The recipe came in handy. Just like the rest had cook my chicken breast & thought I had barbecue sauce but no sauce in cabinet. I was ready to eat so I Google & I found this site recipe quick & easy & I added Worcestershire sauce & molasses. Great recipe!
Christine Pittman says
Thanks Sharon! So happy you liked it!
Lilla says
I’ve been looking for a quick and easy BBQ sauce recipe and I was so happy to have come across yours. My only question is.. for how many lbs of chicken is this BBQ sauce good for? I’m having a small get together and plan on using 4,5lbs of chicken. Can’t wait to try this at home.
Christine Pittman says
Lilla, I find it easier to think of it as sauce per piece of chicken. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons of sauce per piece of chicken. There are 16 tablespoons in a cup and the recipe makes 2 cups so you’ll have 32 tablespoons, or enough for 16 pieces of chicken. If you like it really saucy, then you could say 3 tablespoons of sauce per piece of chicken, in which case it would cover about 11 pieces of chicken.
Stacie Prater says
Hmmm I did as instructed and mine tastes more like ketchup.
Christine Pittman says
Stacie, It should taste tangier and sweeter than ketchup. If you want a more distinctive taste and darker color, you can go with molasses instead of honey. And go in with a good drip of Worcestershire sauce and a dash of hot sauce.
Dario Clarke says
i just want to know if its mustard powder or the finished product
Christine Pittman says
Dario, The finished product. Plain yellow mustard like you put on hot dogs at the ball park.
Tammy McClary says
How much worchester sauce to add
Christine Pittman says
Tammy, Just a couple of drops. Then taste. Add more if you’d like. It is potent stuff though so a little at a time is key.
MaryJo N Kraft says
So you just mix it all together- no need to cook it, right?
Christine Pittman says
MaryJo, Correct. Just mix and use.
Natasha says
I just stumbled across your recipe and am about to glaze my chicken with it. Yep, I too thought I had BBQ sauce, there is a snow storm, and the closest store is 30-45 minutes one way so this will have to work :D Can’t wait from all the awesome reviews. I plan to tweak just a smidgen with extra garlic and perhaps a little Worcestershire
Christine Pittman says
Natasha, Happy to help. I hope you liked it and your tweaks sound great!
Nena says
So glad I found this recipe. I am making bbq pulled pork and didn’t have enough sauce so I made this recipe with chili powder garlic powder seasoning salt and a little soy sauce. Turned out perfect. Now its in with the pork and heating up. Thank you for the recipe. You saved me from having to try to get to the store in my power chair with 6 inches of snow to fight through.
Christine Pittman says
Nena, So happy to help and I’m delighted that you liked it.
Joan brown says
I Wanted to do a homemade bbq sauce so searching the net I found yours and gave it a try. Well my visitors just loved it and wanted to know how I made it. I was almost gonna take the credit? I did it with spare ribs chops. It was absolutely delicious. Thanks very much for posting your receipt. Next time I’ll try it on chicken. No more bottled or packed bbq for me.
Ps. I did write out your receipt for my friend to try.
Jacynda Peterson says
Thanks so much for this recipe!!! The food was already in the grill and i was beginning to panic!! Tastes sooooo good, only i used more honey and added garlic and herbs <3
Christine Pittman says
So happy you liked it, Jacynda!
Denise Abney says
Can you use white sugar instead of brown sugar. What if you have no honey?
Christine Pittman says
I think white sugar would work. Use a bit less and then taste and see. Molasses works too.
Micka says
Hi, I would like my BBQ chicken to look more dark red than orange. What can I add to make it look redder? Would paprika or some dark soy sauce work?
Christine Pittman says
Yes, either of those would work. Molasses is another option.
Missy says
Hello! Can you tell which type of mustard you use? Thanks in advance!
Christine Pittman says
Missy, I used yellow mustard and I edited the recipe to say so. I’m sorry about that. I do think you could use any kind of mustard though, except perhaps a really spicy one. You’d put in much less if it was hot.