A Delicious Homemade BBQ Sauce That’s Ready In Seconds
When I was a girl, I loved most of the food my mom made, but I was always particularly excited when she made ribs with homemade BBQ sauce. Mom’s BBQ sauce was thick, sweet, and slightly tangy — exactly how I like it!
I didn’t find out that her recipe had a bonafide secret ingredient — prunes baby food — until my siblings and I were teenagers. (Knowing how we would have reacted to that knowing that were eating a fruit puree for babies, I can’t say I blame her for keeping that a secret as long as she did!)
With it being grilling season, I thought I’d share my take on my mom’s easy BBQ sauce recipe here in this post! Grab your blender and a few simple ingredients, and you’ll be seconds away from a delicious sauce that’s sure to steal the show at your next backyard barbecue.
How To Make Blender BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/2-1 cup brown sugar (for a sweeter sauce, use the higher amount)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 (2 1/2 ounce) container prunes baby food (my mom’s secret ingredient!)
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Directions:
Get ready for the world’s easiest instructions…
Put all the ingredients in your blender, then blend until smooth. At that point, you can either warm the sauce on your stove or use it as is. And that’s it!
Additions & Substitutions
The recipe above is great as is, but don’t be afraid to add or swap ingredients to make it your own! You can add a dash of hot sauce or cayenne to give it a bit more heat, use less brown sugar, add more garlic — whatever sounds good to you!
One of the great things about this BBQ sauce recipe is that you can make a big batch of it and freeze whatever you won’t use right away. (I suggest pouring the extra sauce into an ice cube tray and freezing it, then transferring the frozen cubes to a ziplock freezer bag!)
What Can I Put Blender BBQ Sauce On?
Brush this easy BBQ sauce on grilled chicken and serve with a fresh salad for a perfect summertime meal. I also love this sauce on a homemade BBQ chicken salad with black beans, corn, red onion, and ranch dressing. So good!
You can brush blender BBQ sauce on meatloaf and burgers, add it to shredded pork or chicken for sandwiches, and even stir into some mayo to make a tangy dip for french fries and onion rings. It’s also great on delicious BBQ chicken pizza too!
More Hot-Off-The-Grill Goodness
Check out these other posts:
Do you have a favorite recipe or dish with BBQ sauce?
Blender BBQ Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Blender or a bowl and whisk
Ingredients
- ½-1 cup brown sugar to taste
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2½ ounces baby food prunes or prune puree
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth.
- Warm before using, if desired.
Nutrition
More Ideas You'll Love
Anything homemade is better than anything purchased, usually. And lower in sodium, sugar, and HFCS. I will try your recipe…hopefully with my new Blendtec!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite BBQ sauce was homemade by my grandmother in Tennessee. I’ve tried to make it, but it just doesn’t taste the same!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite sauce is a Jack Daniels sauce that I make which I reduce the Jack to a third. This adds a great flavor and smokiness to the sauce.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We like the sauce we buy from a BBQ place a couple of miles away – Full Moon BBQ.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love anything that is sweet and tangy and organic!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite store bought is Sweet Baby Ray’s although our HEB store has a Kansas City sauce that is pretty awesome!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite sauce BY FAR is Joe Morley’s – a local Utah sauce. You can go to their location and buy it by the gallon! It is so tasty. Hard to use anything else. P.S. So impressed by the ‘hot soup’ button. Not having a blendtec I had no idea! Awesome.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for the BBQ Sauce recipe!
My favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s, but I will surely try your recipe!
LOVE the Blendtec blender!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.my fave bbq sauce is my hubbies home made boozy bbq sauce. it never comes out the same way twice, because he doesn’t use a recipe just throws stuff together, but it’s always amazing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite is Sweet Baby Rays. I’m excited to try your homemade recipe…looks amazing and easy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We all love Stubb’s in our house! It has no HFCS!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just buy what’s on sale but this homemade sauce sounds yummy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks so much for sharing the BBQ sauce receipe. I love the sweet and hickory smoke flavors. I try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup ingredients and too much sugar. We will enjoy this summer. How long do you think it will keep in the fridge?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.my favorite is my own, but similar to yours! i add garlic, jalapenos, and ketchup instead of tomato sauce. my family LOVES it!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite BBQ sauce is Chipotle-Raspberry or Peach.
I especially like it on pork chops or a pork loin!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love the vinegar-y sauces but would love to experiment with making some with herbs or fruit added too! I have never won anything, so this would be amazing! :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Favorite sauce is KC Masterpiece Original.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We love Sweet Baby Rays at home, when we go out my hubs likes to find a place for ribs that leaves him sweating!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I currently use Sweet Baby Rays- but I love making pulled pork and BBQ chicken so I def would like to try this recipe! Also would love a new blender ;-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m using up the current stock of store bought BBQ; but I’m hoping to make something close to Sweet Baby Rays Sweet vadalia Onion flavor when we need more!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hands down, Sweet Baby Ray’s!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So don’t hate me everybody- but I don’t have a favorite! I use about 3 different kinds for different recipes depending on the flavor that I want to see- Honey, Mesquite, Spicy, etc. I have tried my hand at home made a few times, but never very successfully. I can’t wait to try this recipe out! Hopefully in my new Blendtec! ;)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite is anything that has a sweet bourbon taste. KC Masterpiece was a favorite when I lived in Missouri but it’s harder to get up here in Iowa.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I also love Sweet Baby Ray’s. However, I am going to try your recipe. It sounds delicious. I love that its not as sweet. I can’t wait to try it on my new barbeque.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Combine 1 C pineapple juice
Please log in or create a free account to comment.1/3 C sugar
4 tsp ginger root
1 Tbl grated lemon peel
1/3 C lemon juice
1 Tbl cornstarch
2 tsp hot sauce
Cook and stir until bubbly, should thicken a bit
Add 1 tsp vanilla