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.
Fraps Crack says
your site content really impressed me. well done job
Great Grandpa says
I made your bbq sauce, wow it was very good everybody fell in love with it. it just what i was looking for my labor day cookout! TYVVM FOR YOUR RECIPE/MDF.
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome. Thank you for letting me know. I’m so happy that you all liked it!
yahYA says
really really good loved it.can you make a chili garlic source but not to chili
Nick says
This is not a homemade sauce…. Homemade means you actually make it with basic ingredients, not by bashing together ketchup and mustard.
Stephanie Washington says
Christine,
Thank you so much for this very easy recipe. I did tweek it some to make it my own but with your guidance made an AWESOME SAUCE!!? I guess since you helped me create the masterpiece I call MY OWN LITTLE SECRET I’ll let you on the greatness…instead of ketchup I used one can of manwhich, 1/4 cup of spicy mustard, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons of hot sauce and salted taste. My husband who is normally the cook in our house LOVES IT!! So again thank you, thank you, thank you. You have definitely peeked my interest to see and use some of your other easy and just as tasty recipes.
Christine Pittman says
Stephanie, So happy you liked it! Your version sounds delicious!
Lamar Fleming says
Thank you miss for the delish bbq sauce recipe instead of using normal mustard I used honey maple mustard it came out wonderful
Christine Pittman says
Fantastic! Great idea, Lamar!
Shana Isaacs says
Thank you for this simple BBQ Sauce recipe. This is a better tasting recipe for my mother who is a stroke victim and her taste buds have dramatically changed and doesn’t like the store bought ones anymore. The store bought ones are just too spicy and really doesn’t taste that good anymore. I used both honey and brown sugar and no salt since there is salt already in the mustard and ketchup. If I want a little spice I can add the spice flavors to my own and not hers. Thank you again.
Christine Pittman says
Shana, You’re welcome. I’m delighted that you and your mom like it!
Veronica M says
Thanks Christine for this simple mild recipe I love bbq but can no longer enjoy it because I have a lot of stomach issues and all the commercial products are too harsh on my stomach they all are too spicy and will make me end up in bed. So I so appreciate this recipe it was perfect. And f or those seeking more heat it is so workable you can add whatever you desire. Thanks again?
Christine Pittman says
Veronica, You’re welcome. I’m really happy that this mild bbq sauce works for your stomach and that you enjoy it!
Grill Trip says
Do you know how long this will last in the fridge? I made some last week and loved it, but haven’t really had a chance to use it up. I hate to waste it!
Christine Pittman says
It should last for a really long time, 2-3 weeks for sure. The ingredients in it all last really long. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Susannah Hayes says
I have always made my own bbq sauce. It’s easy and quick. Unfortunately I never measure my ingredients. But I normally use brown sugar, ketchup, and liquid smoke as my base. I love the addition of liquid smoke as it adds that smokey flavor. From there I will add a little garlic powder, hot sauce, honey, and red pepper flakes for some heat. The flavors can be changed depending on my mood. Everyone always asks what brand I use as it’s so good. Works perfectly on ribs, chicken wings, grilled chicken and bbq pork.
Christine Pittman says
Susannah, Love this kind of improvisational cooking! Thanks for the great ideas!
Nina says
Thank you for the great recipe. I never thought barbecue sauce could be this easy–easy to prepare and easy to adapt to your personal taste. I added more ketchup, some cider vinegar, a touch of Worcestershire, and some seasoned salt to my chicken. So delicious over baked potatoes!
Christine Pittman says
Nina, your additions sound delicious. Thanks for letting me know. Glad you liked it!
Stacey says
I made this sauce but with a major twist of my own. I used honey and brown sugar. Also I users 1 tbs lemon juice, 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce and salt, lemon pepper and garlic. Tasted awesome!
Christine Pittman says
Stacey, Love your variation. It’s such an easy sauce to adapt. I can’t wait to try adding lemon juice – never done that before!
FL Studio 12 Crack says
Just what I was looking for. I am going to try for dinner with some ribs in oven. Barbecue sauce is one of my favorite sauces. Especially with chicken! I shall try this out this week. Looks easy to make and tasty!
Nini says
I tried it, and not too impressed with it. It tasted like sweet mustard and ketchup.
John says
Tried your recipe tonight, I added the Worcestershire sauce, a few drops of jalapeno sauce and garlic powder. Was fantastic, kids really enjoyed, “best sauce ever” was banded about.
Christine Pittman says
John, What a nice compliment. Thank you! I’m glad you guys liked it and your variations sound delicious.
Ingrid Kvalvik says
BBQ sauce must do things to some people. A few of these comments are a bit bizarre. I want to let you know that I tried your simple and easy BBQ sauce recipe on my ribs and they were simply to die for! Thanks again for taking the time to share it with us.
Christine Pittman says
Ingrid, Fantastic. Thanks for letting me know you liked it. (I’m not sure but maybe BBQ sauce is one of those things that is really personal – people like it a certain way and feel passionate about it. It’s definitely interesting to see what people have to say!).
Amy Garren says
I made it for my chicken tweaked a little. They loved it thank you so much.
Christine Pittman says
Amy, You’re welcome!
JP Colter says
It looks from the commons as if quite a few people like this recipe. I don’t. The ketchup taste is way too pronounced. To me a barbecue sauce must have vinegar, onions, garlic, and brown sugar at a minimum. Ketchup is a good at dishing to barbecue sauce but a barbecue sauce for me is best based in tomato sauce.
Crys Cassano says
Thank you SO much for posting this simple, basic recipe, Christine! I was serving a vegetarian meal and wanted BBQ Chick-n-Strips (Gardein); I didn’t like the ingredients of many prepared BBQ sauces (high fructose corn syrup, for starters), so I went in search of a simple recipe and came upon yours (with all the wonderful comments left with variations galore!). I doubled the catsup (3 cups), mustard (1/2 cup), and brown sugar (1 cup), then added 1 Tbsp. of molasses, 2 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, and 2 tsp. liquid natural smoke flavoring. That made enough to cover 8 bags of the Chick-n-Strips generously, and my guests licked the casserole clean and came asking for more! Even some who weren’t BBQ enthusiasts came back for seconds. So, thanks a million, once again!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Crys. Thanks so much for letting me know!
fernand van vlokhoeven says
I use concentrated tomatoes as ketchup is part of my anti American activity, on the other hand I use JD Black and Dijon mustard Amora brand. thanks much.