Homemade Sweet and Spicy BBQ sauce is the perfect balance of sweet heat and is ready in 10 minutes!
This tomato-based barbecue sauce is easy to make, uses basic ingredients, and tastes amazing... so much better than store-bought sauce!
It is perfect with all kinds of smoked or grilled meats, including pork, chicken, and beef.
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Making your own barbecue sauces allows you to customize the ingredients and control the sweetness and spiciness!
When I owned my BBQ restaurant, this was our basic red bbq sauce and everyone loved it. We offered two versions Sweet and Classy and Sweet and Sassy. This recipe is for the Sweet and Classy version which is not as spicy as the Sweet and Sassy. However, you can increase the spice level and be as sassy as you like!
Uses for Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce
This Homemade BBQ sauce is so versatile it can be used in so many ways. I know once you taste it, you will keep it on hand at all times!
Apart from the obvious uses for BBQ sauce, such as Ribs, Chicken, Pulled Pork, and Brisket, this delicious sauce has tons of other uses!
Here are just a few ways I use it.
- Pulled Pork, Chicken, or Beef Nachos
- Dipping Sauce for Air Fryer Chicken Strips
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Glaze for Smoked Meatloaf
Ingredients & Substitutions
When making adjustments in ingredients, it is important to maintain a balance of flavors.
Each ingredient is chosen for a reason, and while they can often be substituted or omitted, the outcome will be different.
Sauce Ingredients
Tomato Sauce: this recipe uses canned tomato sauce, but you can use fresh tomatoes or a homemade plain tomato sauce.
You will need a total of 15 ounces of smooth tomato sauce for one batch of sauce.
If you want to use tomato paste instead of tomato sauce, here is my suggestion:
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 9 ounces (1 ⅛ cups) water
Onions & Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic and onions in this recipe, however you can use onion powder and garlic powder instead.
Here are my substitution suggestions:
- Start with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder or granulated garlic and after the sauce simmers for at least 5 minutes, taste and add more if needed.
- Start with 2 teaspoons of onion powder or granulated onion and after the sauce simmers for at least 5 minutes, taste and add more if needed.
Sugar: This recipe uses a combination of brown and white sugar to achieve the best balance of flavors. However, you can use all white sugar or all brown sugar if desired. This will affect the overall flavor.
I have used dark brown sugar and light brown sugar in this recipe and both work great.
You can also decrease or increase the amount of sugar based on your personal preferences.
Sugar substitutes can also be used in place of the traditional sugars. Make sure to follow the instructions for swapping regular sugar for the sugar substitute you choose.
Quick Tip
The sugars in the BBQ sauce not only sweeten it, they also thicken it. So, when removing the sugars and replacing them with a substitute, use one that is designed to be a 1:1 equal replacement for sugar. If your sauce is still not thick enough, you can add tomato paste or xanthan gum to thicken. When using tomato paste, make sure to increase the spices or you will end up with an unbalanced tasting homemade BBQ sauce.
Other Liquid Seasonings
Worcestershire Sauce: This brings a depth of flavor to the sauce and I definitely recommend using it when possible.
There really isn't a great substitution for Worcestershire sauce, but you can add a little more soy sauce. Be careful that the sauce doesn't become too salty.
Soy Sauce: This also brings a depth of flavor and salt to the bbq sauce. If you want to omit it, you will most likely need to add more salt to the sauce.
You can use coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce.
Lemon Juice: You can use either freshly squeezed or bottled lemon juice in this recipe. The lemon juice adds a brightness to the sauce, but you can omit it and add more vinegar instead.
Vinegar: I use apple cider vinegar (with or without the mother) in this recipe, but you can use white vinegar or white wine vinegar in its place.
Feel free to experiment with other vinegars as well, but be careful if using balsamic vinegar and start off with just a small amount because it will definitely change the flavor quite a bit.
Spice Blend
When it comes to seasoning the bbq sauce, you will need to use some salt. I recommend using either kosher salt or fine grind sea salt. Table salt can be used, but decrease the amount by half and then adjust as needed.
All the spices in this sauce were chosen for a reason, and making changes to any of them will affect the outcome.
Ground mustard: This helps balance the sweetness, adds a depth of flavor, and provides a slight tanginess to the sauce.
If you don't have ground mustard, you can skip it or use 1-2 Tablespoons of a prepared Dijon or spicy brown mustard instead.
Chili Powder: This deepens the color of the sauce as well as adds that chili pepper flavor without being too spicy. In my experience, unless you have a spicy chili powder, the level of heat in most store-bought chili powders is very mild.
I have used both dark and regular chili powder in this bbq sauce and both work fine.
You can substitute the chili powder by adding more paprika or smoked paprika and a touch of cumin.
Celery salt: This brings a herbal note to the bbq sauce and helps to round out all of the other flavors while also bringing a little salt to the sauce. If you skip it or use homemade ground celery powder, you may want to increase the salt just a tad.
Cayenne pepper & Chipotle powder: These two spices are responsible for the level of spice in the bbq sauce. By combining the two the sauce increases in complexity and has heat with a smoky background note.
If you use all chipotle powder the sauce will have a smokier flavor and if you use all cayenne pepper you will lose that smoky flavor and complexity of flavors.
Both of these spices are going to add heat to the sauce and can be increased or decreased, or omitted if preferred.
How to Make Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce ~ Stove Top Directions
Mise En Place (prep)
The prep for this BBQ Sauce is easy, but important. Having all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go will make the cooking process faster and more efficient.
- Dice the onion into ¼" dice. *If you are blending the sauce for a smooth bbq sauce, you can make the onion dice bigger.
- Mince the garlic cloves.
- Measure out all of your spices and liquids.
Sautéing
Add 2 teaspoon of olive oil to a medium size saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, add the diced onions and garlic. Sauté onion and garlic 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
Simmering
Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Bring the sauce to a boil and then immediately reduce it to a simmer.
Simmer the sauce for about 8-10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
Adjusting the Spice Level
Hot, Hot, Hot: Use 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and ½-1 teaspoon of chipotle.
Sweet & Sassy: Use ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper and ½ teaspoon of chipotle powder.
Mild, please: For a mild BBQ sauce, omit the cayenne pepper and use ¼ teaspoon of chipotle powder.
Zero Spice: Omit both the cayenne pepper and chipotle powder. Decrease the white sugar to 2 Tablespoons to reduce the sweetness and better balance the sauce.
The sauce will be on the thin side, but thickens as it cools.
I recommend letting it cool in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before using.
Blending
This step is completely optional. I never used to blend the sauce when serving it at my bbq restaurant, but if you are going to put it into a squeeze bottle or want a completely smooth sauce then you will want to blend it.
Quick Tip
It's important to let the sauce cool before blender when using a blender. You can also use an immersion blender and do that while the sauce is hot.
Once the sauce has cooled, place it in a blender and blend on high speed for 60 seconds.
Pour into airtight containers or jars and place in the refrigerator for storage.
How to Make Sweet and Spicy Homemade BBQ Sauce in the Ninja Foodi Hot & Cold Blender
Originally this recipe was designed for the Ninja Foodi Hot and Cold Blender because it makes everything so easy!
You simply throw all the ingredients in the blender and it does the cooking and the blending for you! Unfortunately, this specific blender has become increasingly difficult to find, so I rewrote the recipe for stovetop cooking.
However, if you have the Hot & Cold blender or another blender that cooks and blends, feel free to use it!
Here are the instructions:
- Cut the onion into quarters. Peel garlic cloves.
- Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the Ninja Foodi Hot Cold Blender. Add the quartered onion and 2 garlic cloves. Pulse 3 times. Turn the heating mode on high and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Pulse 3-5 times. Cook on high for 4 minutes. Pulse 3-5 times. Cook and additional 2 minutes. Give one more pulse for a few seconds.
- All done!
Storage & Reheating Instructions
How to Store Leftover BBQ Sauce
Refrigeration
You can store this homemade bbq sauce in the fridge for about 2 weeks. I like to store mine in a glass canning jar.
Freezer
Before freezing it is very important that the sauce is cold, so I recommend refrigerating overnight before freezing.
You can freeze BBQ sauce for 6 months when packaged properly.
More BBQ Sauce Recipes
The sweet and spicy barbecue sauce is definitely a great base sauce that goes with everything, but there are so many different kinds of bbq sauces that you can make easily at home!
Fruit-based BBQ sauces are definitely some of my favorites, but when you want a delicious pulled chicken sandwich or a sauce for a roast beef sandwich, the Alabama White Sauce is the BEST!
Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ onion sweet
- 2 cloves garlic
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- ¼ cup sugar white
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
Spices
- 2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle pepper
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Instructions
- Chop the onion into a small dice around ¼". If you plan on blending the sauce after it cools, then the size of the dice isn't as important.Mince the garlic.¼ onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a medium-size saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.1 teaspoon olive oil
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Adjust the heat to bring the sauce to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste.15 ounces tomato sauce, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice, ¼ cup sugar, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoon ground mustard, 2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon celery salt, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon chipotle pepper
- You can serve the BBQ sauce immediately or chill and blend for a smooth bbq sauce. The sauce will thicken as it cools and BBQ sauce is best served at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Recipe Author, Louise Long
Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.
She published her first cookbook in the Fall of 2018 and is very interested in writing several more.
Louise is also the creator of an online Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooking Course with over 100 instructional step-by-step videos. People absolutely rave about the course and all the value they have received from it.
Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and learning more about the appliances they love.
Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper 101
Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker
Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.
She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can. Get more Information about Louise & contact information
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Amber Meyer says
This recipe is so fast and perfect! I will never use store bought BBQ sauce again! This is delicious!
Louise says
Thank you so much!
Steve says
Hi love ur videos ive just bought the foodi blender I'm look to buy the craft drink strainer and can't fine it any place do u have a link to were I can buy it thanks steve
Louise says
I'm not familiar with the craft drink strainer. Sorry!
Sandra Pantall says
You sure have been busy. MOM