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Cocktail Sauce

This is the perfect cocktail sauce recipe. It's sweet, spicy and delicious with shrimp or oysters or any seafood. The best part, you probably already have all the ingredients at home.

This is the perfect cocktail sauce recipe. It’s sweet, spicy and delicious with shrimp or oysters or any seafood. The best part, you probably already have all the ingredients at home.

Video: How To Make Homemade Cocktail Sauce

New Orleans Cocktail Sauce

I was at an oyster bar in New Orleans a couple of months ago. I ordered oysters, of course. When the waiter brought them he asked, “Do you know how to make cocktail sauce?”

I actually do, and did, know how to make cocktail sauce but I found the question surprising. It’s not usually what one gets asked when the waiter brings your food. So I just looked at him blankly. He took this as a no and proceeded to make cocktail sauce in front of us at the table while explaining away…

“You take a little cup like this. You squirt in ketchup, scoop in horseradish, and then go in with a splash of Worcestershire and hot sauce. Maybe a bit more. Stir. Taste. Do you like it? Good. Enjoy!” And then he was gone.

After he left, my delightful dinner companion admitted that he had never made cocktail sauce before, and until that moment he’d had no idea what was in it or that you even could make it yourself. So we experimented by making a couple of little batches, one for each of us. Both of us wound up with more hot sauce and a lot more horseradish than the waiter started us with.

Want to try a spin on this sauce? Try Marie Rose Sauce which is the cocktail sauce commonly used in England.

Making Cocktail Sauce At Home

Making cocktail sauce like that was so fun that it got me thinking about making cocktail sauce at home and how, just like we did at the table, you can customize it to your own taste. You can make it spicier, saltier, sweeter – whatever you want!

I’ve said above that this is a “perfect” cocktail sauce recipe. And it really is. Because you get to adjust it to be perfectly right for you. I’ve given you the ingredients and measurements that I use, and trust me when I say that it’s good stuff. But I’m also giving you permission to change it up and add more or less of things to suit you more.

Use the sauce for Classic Shrimp Cocktail or another seafood recipe.

What Kind Of Horseradish?

There is one thing that I’ll say before sharing the recipe though. Make sure you like your horseradish. Not all horseradish sauces are created equal. Some are very mild, some are creamy, some are crazy-spicy. Taste your horseradish before adding it. If it’s really mild you might never get the pungency that you want once you mix it with the ketchup. If it’s very hot, you might not end up needing to add very much.

For your reference, the horseradish I buy is sold in the refrigerated part of the grocery store near the refrigerated pickles. I find it to be much spicier with a richer flavor than the horseradish that is sold in the aisles. If you can get your hands on fresh horseradish, do give it a try. Just, as with the jarred horseradish, taste a tiny bit before you start adding it.

If you’re a horseradish lover, you’ll want to try my Creamy Horseradish Sauce recipe too. It’s perfect for steak.

More Sauce Recipes

Want to try making more sauces? I have lots of great recipes for you that can totally elevate your meals.

Podcast Episode About Making Cocktail Sauce

Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this cocktail sauce, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:

Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.

Print

Cocktail Sauce Recipe

  • Author: Christine Pittman
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cup 1x
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Mix
  • Cuisine: American

DESCRIPTION

This is the perfect cocktail sauce. It’s sweet, spicy and delicious with shrimp or any seafood. And, you probably already have all the ingredients at home. The first three ingredients are required. The second set of three you can use zero, one, two, or three of.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 2 Tbsp. horseradish
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. hot sauce, like Tabasco (optional)

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
  2. Taste. Add more horseradish if desired.

This post originally appeared in December 2017 and was revised and republished in April 2020.