This quick homemade BBQ sauce is a delicious blend of Kansas City and Memphis styles, offering the best of both worlds. It’s slightly thicker than the tangy Memphis style but not as sugary sweet as the classic Kansas City version. Our recipe is the perfect DIY replacement for those store-bought bottles. It tastes better, and after looking at a few store-bought nutrition labels, this homemade version has significantly less sugar added. Less sugar, but with more flavor! Plus, it’s easily adaptable for a vegan diet with a few simple swaps (check out our tips below!).
Key Ingredients
Ketchup: We recommend using organic or natural ketchup for a thicker, less sweet sauce. Homemade ketchup also works! Brown Sugar and Molasses: These add a rich sweetness to the sauce. I love how the molasses adds a richer flavor than brown sugar alone. Pineapple Juice: Until testing this BBQ sauce recipe, we had never used pineapple juice in barbecue sauce. But after tasting the sauce, we are sold! It’s sweet and tart. I love it! Look for pineapple juice with no sugar added. Worcestershire or Pickapepper Sauce: You can use either, but my favorite is Pickapepper sauce. If you’ve not heard of it before, you’ll find it near the condiments and where Worcestershire is sold. Pickapepper is a little thinner, slightly sweeter, and more aromatic than more savory Worcestershire. It’s also vegan, so if you hope to make a vegan BBQ sauce, use Pickapepper. Apple Cider Vinegar: I love tangy BBQ sauces, so we add some apple cider vinegar to balance the sweetness from ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, and pineapple juice. Spices: You probably already have most (if not all) of the spices you need in your kitchen. We add smoked paprika, mustard powder (or mustard, see our tips section), garlic powder, onion powder, and ground turmeric. For spice, which is optional, add cayenne pepper or Aleppo pepper.
How to Make Homemade BBQ Sauce
If you can add ingredients to a saucepan, you can make this easy BBQ sauce. Once you make it, try it slathered onto these tender baked ribs or stir it into our oven pulled pork (amazing!). Simply whisk everything together in a saucepan until it bubbles. Once it bubbles, reduce the heat and cover for 8 minutes. Then uncover the sauce and transfer it to jars so its ready for your next meal. At first taste, you might find the sauce too sweet or vinegary, but as it sits in the fridge, the flavors will bloom and become one. I love this sauce immediately, but it gets even better after an hour or two if you can wait. We love this homemade bbq sauce with pork ribs, pork chops, barbecue chicken, pulled pork, and roasted tofu! 5 tablespoons (65g) packed light brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses 6 ounces (177ml) pineapple juice with no added sugar (3/4 cup) 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce or Pickapepper sauce, see tips 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika 2 teaspoons mustard powder, like Coleman’s, see tips 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper, optional for heat 2Once the BBQ sauce bubbles, cover the saucepan with its lid and reduce the heat to the lowest flame or setting. Leave the sauce covered for 8 minutes. 3Transfer to jars and let cool. Keep refrigerated for up to one month. 4At first, this homemade barbecue sauce tastes sweeter and vinegary. However, after it has cooled, the flavors mellow a little, and the sauce becomes one.
