This is the best homemade BBQ sauce recipe. It’s the BBQ sauce I crave at every cookout, and it traces back to a bottle. I learned to make BBQ tofu when I first went vegan, glazing it with whatever was on the supermarket shelf, and that sticky sweet-smoky flavor is still what shows up in my head when I think “cookout.” Thick, glossy, dark, a little smoky, a little sweet. The kind you usually buy store-bought. This one gets you there from scratch with pantry ingredients and a little time on the stove.
What I love about this sauce is…everything. The way it gets glossy and dark after the simmer, the way it coats whatever you put it on, the way you can taste a hundred decisions in it even though everything came out of your own pantry. That’s why I make it instead of buying it.
What’s In This Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe
Every ingredient is doing its thing, and a couple are doing even more than that. Here’s what’s in the pot:
Yellow onion and onion powder. The fresh onion gets sautéed until properly golden, which is where some of the caramelized sweetness comes from. The onion powder brings that familiar savory note you expect from bottled sauces. They’re doing different jobs and you need both.
Smoked paprika. Makes the sauce taste like it’s seen the inside of a smoker, no liquid smoke required.
Molasses. The dark glossy color and the faint licorice undertone come from here. If you don’t have molasses, you can make it with dark or light brown sugar instead but hold off on the granulated sugar until you taste for sweetness toward the end.
White vinegar. Keeps the molasses and sugar in check. Brings the bright, tangy flavor that makes the sauce taste alive. Apple cider vinegar works too if that’s what you have, but I prefer the acidic cut of white vin.
Allspice and ginger powder. Subtle but they round things out and give the sauce a little extra something.
Yellow mustard. Goes in at the end for a lil extra tang. Dijon works too.
Photos by Hannah Kaminsky
Why This Recipe Rocks
Simple pantry ingredients and one-pot. Every ingredient is something you probably have already, and everything comes together in one pot. No chopping mountain, no special techniques.
Tastes like the bottle but better. Perfectly balanced, sticky-sweet and smoky, that exact flavor you remember from the supermarket shelf. No ketchup needed.
Smoked paprika does all the smoke work. One tablespoon, that’s it. No liquid smoke, no actual smoking.
Thickens itself. The long simmer reduces it to bottled-sauce thickness, glossy and thick.
Makes 4 cups. Enough to glaze tofu, brush burgers, dunk fries, and still have a jar in the fridge for next week.
Uses For Almost Bottled BBQ Sauce
A one quart batch means you’ll be looking for places to use this homemade barbecue sauce. Some of my favorites:
Use it as a marinade. Douse your seitan or vegan chicken in it and let sit overnight (or a few hours) before cooking.
Toss it with Chickpea Cutlets. Pan-sear the cutlets, then toss them in a generous pour of BBQ sauce. Pile on a soft roll with Cookout Coleslaw. Add My Favorite Ranch Dressing if you’re feeling extra. It’s the vegan BBQ chicken sandwich of your dreams.
Make mushroom or seitan BBQ sandwiches. Pulled mushrooms or shredded seitan sautéed till golden then cooked in BBQ sauce. Coleslaw, pickles, soft bun. Dinner that eats like a real cookout. Trumpet mushrooms work great for this, I haven’t written anything about it online but I will soon (google how to pull them for now).
Glaze burgers. Brush the last minute on the grill so it caramelizes onto the patty without burning. These Meaty Seitan Burgers work great. Or just pour the sauce on after.
Glaze hot dogs. Brush over Smoky Vegan Hot Dogs in the last minute in a pan and caramelize. It’s the way.
Glaze a vegan meatloaf. Brush a thick coat on top before the last 15 minutes of baking. Caramelizes into the glossy, sticky crust meatloaf is supposed to have.
Spread it as a pizza base. Use it instead of marinara. Top with caramelized onions, vegan mozz, and shredded seitan or mushrooms. The pizza that always gets a third slice.
Brush on portobellos, cauliflower steaks, or eggplant. Substantial vegetables that take a char and turn into dinner. This is the perfect homemade barbecue sauce recipe for them.
Top baked sweet potatoes. Split a hot baked sweet potato, drizzle with tangy BBQ sauce, top with vegan sour cream. Add scallion, if you like, or mushroom bacon for a fully loaded vibe.
Dunk vegan nuggets. Bagged or homemade. Sticky, smoky dipping sauce that clings to every nugget.
Brush it on BBQ Tofu. The original purpose. Marinated tofu slabs grilled and glazed with this sweet smoky sauce gets you the deep char and dark lacquer of backyard barbecue. Look how gorgeous!
Homemade Vegan BBQ Sauce FAQ
Is this sauce spicy? Not especially, no. The teaspoon of red pepper flakes gives you a low background warmth, not serious heat. If you want more kick, double the pepper flakes, add a chipotle in adobo to the pot, or stir in a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Can I freeze this vegan bbq sauce? Yup. Cool completely, portion into freezer-safe containers, and it keeps for 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
How long does it last in the fridge? About 3 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The vinegar helps it keep.
My sauce isn’t thick enough. What happened? Probably needed more time. Simmer 10 more minutes uncovered. It’ll also thicken further as it cools.
How did I end up here? You were looking for a homemade BBQ sauce recipe, vegan bbq sauce, maybe an easy homemade BBQ sauce, or you typed “how to make BBQ sauce homemade” and Google sent you my way. Welcome. This Almost Bottled BBQ Sauce is the homemade barbecue sauce you’ve been after, the kind that tastes like the bottle, comes together in an hour, and uses pantry ingredients you probably already have. Bookmark this. You’re done looking.
Almost Bottled BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 medium-size yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1/3 cup dark molasses
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons organic sugar
- 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard Dijon is fine, too
Instructions
- Preheat a medium or large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion in the avocado oil with a pinch of the salt until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and stir for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the smoked paprika, onion powder, allspice, and ginger and stir for 30 seconds or so to let them bloom in the oil.
- Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the remaining salt, red pepper flakes, crushed tomatoes, molasses, vinegar, and sugar, and bring to a low slow boil. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes or so, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally. Lower the heat further if the sauce begins to splatter everywhere.
- Whisk in the mustard. Add a few cracks of black pepper if you like, then taste for sweetness/sourness. Adjust the flavors to your preferences and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Puree the mixture with an immersion blender, or if you don’t have one, let it cool until you can puree in a regular blender.
