Best Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipes in 2023

Flavors are endless when it comes to making your own sauces. Our unique BBQ sauces are irresistible, with a wide variety of flavors and bold spices. If you’re looking for a unique BBQ sauce recipe, we’ve got plenty this year!

Baste your smoked chicken thighs with BBQ sauce before you sear to finish.

Table of Contents

What Makes a Great Barbecue Sauce?

If you’re looking for how to make your own homemade BBQ sauce, then you’re in the right place! We’re always updating this list with new recipes and ideas.

Balance is the key to a great barbecue sauce.

Most sauces will have a combination of sweetness, tang, savory, and sometimes heat. Depending on your personal taste these 4 components will shift around, creating completely different sauces.

I promise, not every recipe is a spicy BBQ sauce!

Once you make your own homemade BBQ sauce, swapping out different ingredients ends up being a fun experiment. Switch honey for jam, or hot sauce for enchilada sauce. The combinations are truly endless.

Slather this sweet heat bbq sauce on your meat.

How to Store Homemade BBQ Sauce

Thankfully there’s no special trick to storing homemade barbecue sauce. The key is realizing how long it’s going to stay fresh.

Once you make any BBQ sauce, allow it to cool to room temperature before transferring it to the fridge. Mason jars work very well, otherwise, tall food-safe squeeze bottles are great. Homemade BBQ sauce will stay the freshest for the first two weeks in the fridge. It might last longer, it depends on the recipe you choose.

The Coffee BBQ sauce is smoky, toasty, and sweet.

Top Homemade BBQ Sauces

Here you’ll find the list of our best homemade BBQ sauce recipes. These are unique, carefully crafted sauces that will enhance your smoking and grilling when paired with the right foods.

You might realize that this list is NOT just a list full of regional sauces. There are amazing recipes out there across the country, but if you’ve poked around the website you’ll notice that things are done differently here.

Over time this list is going to keep expanding. Bookmark this page, take a look, and have fun!

Smoky Sweet Heat Sauce

Our irresistible Smoky Sweet Heat Sauce is fortified with chipotle, molasses, honey, soy, and more to create a sweet and savory flavor. Slather it on your smoked or grilled meats and become a legend among your friends and family.

Spoonful of honey bourbon bbq sauce to go on chicken wings.

Sweet Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Dip into a boozy spoonful of Sweet Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce. This rich sauce is asking to coat your wings, glaze pork ribs, or be brushed onto grilled shrimp. There is alcohol in this recipe, and you can definitely taste it too.

Buffalo BBQ Sauce in a small jar with a wooden spoon

Spicy Buffalo BBQ Sauce

Classic buffalo sauce transforms into this thick and spicy Buffalo BBQ Sauce. Slather it on your grilled meats or toss wings for a sweet heat. Don’t worry, the flavor is still prominently buffalo sauce, so you’ll get what you expect.

Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Spicy, savory, sweet, and vibrant, this Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce has it all. Marinade pork chops, slather it onto ribs, or dunk your wings. This mustard-based sauce is so versatile and packed with flavor, that the hardest choice will be deciding which way to transport it to your mouth.

Cranberry Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce

Cranberry Honey Mustard BBQ sauce belongs on your smoked meats during the cooler months. Tangy flavors brighten up just about any sandwich, salad, or appetizer. Try this over smoked turkey or chicken for a fun meal.

Mexican Buffalo Sauce

Kick up the heat with this thick, spicy Mexican Buffalo Sauce. Familiar flavors are twisted into this bold, fiery sauce, which belongs on anything. Using Mexican hot sauce as the base, each bite is extremely spicy and savory.

Korean BBQ Sauce

Chiles and strawberries come together for this sweet, savory Korean BBQ Sauce. Baste this on chicken, pork, seafood, or anything that needs a big kick of sweet heat. The flavors are very intense and tastes delicious when basted and grilled.

Korean Honey Mustard Sauce

Kick up the heat with this irresistible Korean Honey Mustard, which can be used as a marinade, BBQ sauce, or even for basting meats. It only takes a few ingredients and a whisk to create this addicting, flavorful sauce.