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If you want a delicious honey barbecue sauce that you can make in 5 minutes (no cooking required), this recipe is for you.
This sauce is a perfectly balanced combination of tangy and sweet and it's so easy to make! This sauce is made without ketchup and is a crowd-pleaser. If you're tired of buying BBQ sauce and want to try your hand at making your own, let's get started!
Now I know there are a few different view points on barbecue sauce. Should it be a tomato based sauce? Should it be a mustard based sauce? Maybe somewhere in between? This sauce is a tomato based sauce that's perfectly tangy and sweet.
No Ketchup in This BBQ Sauce
Make this barbecue sauce without ketchup. A lot of BBQ sauce recipes use ketchup as a base (like a whole cup of ketchup). But not this one.
This recipe uses tomato paste for the tomato base. Tomato paste is a simpler ingredient (meaning, only one ingredient) and this way you don't have to waste your ketchup in a sauce that doesn't need it.
Related: How To Make Pizza Sauce With Tomato Paste
Your fries need ketchup. Your burger needs ketchup. But your BBQ sauce does.not.need.ketchup.
I really like ketchup and I don't like wasting a whole bottle in a sauce.
Side note...if you're a big ketchup fan like me, have you ever thought about making your own? Here's a homemade ketchup recipe to try. But DON'T waste it in a BBQ sauce recipe.
you'll never believe how good your dinner can taste...
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Tools Needed to make this bbq sauce
- Mixing bowl - We have some exactly like these and they work for everything, including this sauce.
- Spoon - any spoon will do. Use your regular soup spoons, or a wooden mixing spoon.
- Measuring spoons (I recommend some like these so that the labels don't rub off)
- Immersion blender - if you're looking for a super smooth sauce, you can use an immersion blender to get rid of the clumps and smooth it out.
Ingredients Needed to make this bbq sauce
- Tomato paste - any kind will do. Just make sure there's only one ingredient (like this kind).
- White vinegar
- Honey - grab the raw and unfiltered honey, like this kind.
- Molasses
- Mustard - use your favorite kind. Yellow mustard, or dijon work great.
- Spices (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cayenne (optional))
It's really simple to make this BBQ sauce. Just mix all the ingredients together and stir until smooth. If the sauce is a little clumpy, you can use an immersion blender to smooth it out.
By the way, an immersion blender is an amazing kitchen tool to have in your cupboard. It's on my essential kitchen tools list.
Here's a link to the one we have (it's WAY more powerful than the first two that smoked the first day I used them).
This sauce has a tiny bit of spice from the black pepper. But if you're looking to ramp up the spice a little more, just add a little cayenne, to taste.
How to Use Your Honey Barbecue Sauce?
So now you have a delicious homemade barbecue sauce. It's free of preservatives, made with wholesome ingredients, and tastes amazing. But now what? How should you use it? Well, you have some options. All are great options, by the way.
- Pulled pork sandwiches
- Pulled pork tacos
- Ribs
- BBQ chicken (on the grill? Yum...)
- Pizza sauce for a BBQ chicken pizza
Storage & How Long Will it Keep?
This recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce, which fits perfectly in this wide mouth mason jar. We use mason jars a LOT in our kitchen. But this size is my favorite of all. I use it for mayonnaise, pizza sauce (also made with tomato paste), curry sauce, and so much more.
It will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. Alternatively, you can freeze it for much longer (3-6 months).
Looking for more delicious homemade sauce recipes?
- Easy Pizza Sauce With Tomato Paste
- Best Homemade Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Creamy Cilantro Lime Mayo
- 5 Minute Basil Walnut Pesto
- Coconut Curry Sauce
5 Minute (No Cook) Honey Barbecue Sauce
A perfectly balanced barbecue sauce you can make in minutes. No cooking required.
Ingredients
- 6 oz tomato paste
- ¾ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup honey
- 3 Tbsp molasses
- 2 tsp mustard
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- cayenne powder, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl
- Stir until smooth
Notes
- If you have clumps after stirring, you can use an immersion blender to smooth it out.
- If you want more spice, add cayenne, to taste
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: ¼ CAmount Per Serving: Calories: 113Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 322mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 1g
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Jill says
I made this tonight for a BBQ. I did not have any molasses, so I just tried the recipe without it. I had my husband (the sauce critic) taste it and he said it was delicious!! Then I realized I had some date syrup in the pantry and added a little of that to potentially replace for the thickness of the molasses. My husband tried it and said, "That's barbeque sauce!" It's nice to have such a good base for a sauce that we can tweak it a little based on what we have on hand. In the future if we don't have molasses or the date syrup, we will still use this as our BBQ sauce. Thanks for the recipe!
Megan says
Jill, I'm so glad it worked okay with that substitution. Thanks for your comment!
Andrew Eoff says
This is probably the best BBQ sauce I have ever had. Not an exaggeration. I have used it on my burgers, chicken drumsticks, and pulled pork sliders. Actually, most commonly I just eat it by the spoonfull.
Megan says
Andrew, thanks for your comment! I'm happy to hear you love this sauce as much as we do :).
Robinakagoatmom says
Tired of all of the high fructose corn syrup in commercial barbecue sauces decided I had to try homemade. Wanted to start with something simple and I liked the ingredients list and had everything on hand including needing to use up the rest of the jar of tomato paste.The only change I made was I added a splash of real maple syrup and a little more mustard just to suit our taste preferences. thanks for ending my search for a homemade barbecue sauce right here. Love that it's no cook no fuss going to the kitchen make it and you're done. It will be finishing our pulled pork for New year's dinner. Thanks for sharing