Alabama White BBQ Sauce

If you haven't tried Alabama white sauce, you are in for a treat! It's a mayonnaise-based sauce that has just the right blend of spices. It's perfect on pulled chicken sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches, or as a dipping sauce for wings and even french fries!

This is the same recipe that I used when I owned my BBQ restaurant, and our smoked chicken sandwich with this white bbq sauce was the #1 seller. It's that good! If you haven't never tried a white bbq sauce recipe before, definitely give it a try, it will take your chicken or roast beef sandwiches to the next level!

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did Alabama White Sauce Originate?

I bet you can guess that it was in Alabama, but you might not know that it dates back to 1925. As the story goes, a guy named, Robert Gibson from Decatur, Alabama used to slather his chicken in it while cooking for friends and family in his backyard as a way to keep the chicken moist. It is said that he loved vinegar based sauces, but added the mayo as a barrier that protected the chicken from drying out. He ended up owning Big Bob Gibson Bar-b-q and the white sauce became famous.

Now, I've never been to northern Alabama and I've never had Big Bob Gibson's BBQ, but I've been told my many people that this version of white sauce is amazing.

What is Alabama White Sauce?

It's a combination of vinegar, mayonnaise, with spices that is one of the best things I've ever had on pulled chicken and roast beef sandwiches. Seriously, it's so delicious. I would describe the sauce as a tangy, slightly spicy, and sweet sauce. It's a versatile condiment for sure! I've used it as a salad dressing, a dipping sauce, and it's especially good with smoked or air fried chicken wings! Alabama BBQ sauce is the perfect complement to smoked chicken, that is for sure. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a try!

When do you add White BBQ Sauce?

I always add it at the end of cooking. It's not like a traditional tomato based sauce that you might baste on your meat as it's cooking. It's definitely a finishing sauce, so add it at the very end of your grilling, if that is how you are preparing the chicken. I love the sauce so much that I often bake a chicken breast, pull it and slather it with the sauce and either put it on a sandwich bun or on top of a salad.

What do you put Alabama White BBQ Sauce on?

I think it's best on chicken and roast beef, but some people use it on pulled pork or even pork chops. Personally, I'm not a fan of it on any pork and I don't even use it on beef brisket .

My favorite way is to make this recipe for Perfect Roast Beef, slice it really thin against the grain and pile it high on a sandwich bun, add some red onion and pour the white sauce over the top of the roast beef. It's so good!

If you like smoked chicken, I strongly suggest smoking a chicken breast (bone and skin intact, of course), then removing the skin and bones and pull the chicken. Pile the chicken on a toasted bun and pour the white sauce over the meat. That's how we served it at my restaurant and it's one of the best sandwiches ever.

If you don't like smoked chicken, roast a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast in the oven or on the grill. Let it cool until you can comfortably remove the skin and bones, pull the chicken and pile it high on a toasted bun and top with sauce. Your taste buds will thank me for sure!

You can use grilled chicken, cut into strips or boil a few chicken breasts and shred them. This sauce isn't picky, it's great on any preparation of chicken. In fact, try it on these air fryer wings instead of the garlic parmesan sauce!

More Great Sauces!

At my restaurant we had the traditional red bbq sauces and they are fantastic, but we also had a line of fruit based sauces that everyone loved. Here they are, so take your pick!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Mayonnaise

This is the main ingredient in Alabama White Sauce and you should use a good quality mayo, like Hellmann's or Duke's. While I really don't suggest replacing it with anything, you could try making it with Greek yogurt if you don't like or can't have mayo.

Apple Cider Vinegar & Lemon Juice

If you don't have apple cider vinegar, you can try using white vinegar or even a white wine vinegar instead. I do not recommend using a balsamic or red wine vinegar, it will change the flavor too much.

As far as the lemon juice goes, you can use freshly squeezed or the kind in the bottle, it doesn't matter in this recipe. The lemon juice really brightens the bbq sauce, so I wouldn't skip it.

Horseradish, Spices, & Sugar

This blend of horseradish and spices is the key to making a fantastic white sauce. The only one you can skip without affecting the flavor is the parsley.

The horseradish is prepared horseradish that is always kept in the refrigerator section and usually near the seafood department if your grocery store has one. There is also a horseradish sauce that is kept on the shelf and not refrigerated, this is NOT the same thing and shouldn't be used in this recipe. The brand doesn't really matter as much as the consistency. Prepared horseradish is the grated root with vinegar, water, & salt. Creamy horseradish sauce is prepared horseradish mixed with other ingredients, like sour cream or mayo to make it milder and creamy. Creamy horseradish will throw off the balance of spices in this recipe, so, if you must use it, adjust seasonings to taste.

You can use cayenne pepper instead of the chipotle, but the chipotle gives it a slightly smoky flavor and I really recommend using it. Of course, you can adjust the amount of chipotle to your liking; this recipe only uses a very small amount, so feel free to increase it if you like a little more spice.

Sugar is used to balance all the flavors and I think it helps to thicken the sauce. Even though sugar isn't a thickening agent, I do think it changes the viscosity of the sauce a little bit. Mostly it's for flavor, so feel free to skip it or replace it with your favorite sugar substitute.

How to make Alabama White Sauce

Grab a bowl, a whisk, and a few ingredients. This takes about 5 minutes, tops!

You'll need at least a 4-cup mixing bowl, in order to be able to whisk everything easily. Measure out 1 cup of mayonnaise and add to the bowl (I LOVE this measuring cup for measuring mayonnaise!). Add in the vinegar, lemon juice, horseradish, and spice blend. Whisk until combined. Serve Immediately or refrigerate until use. The sauce will thicken a little in the refrigerator.

If you want a little more of a flavor kick, add some more horseradish or chipotle or both. Serve the sauce on top of piled-high pulled chicken or thinly sliced roast beef. Or as a salad dressing for a pulled chicken salad!