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.


























I will have to say my favorite store bought sauce is sweet baby rays.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite bbq sauce is the stovetop we make for our dad. It is a little time intensive so we tend to only make it on Father’s day or his birthday!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My son-in-law makes the best BBQ sauce.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We like Sweet Baby Ray’s … and I sure would love to have a Blendtec!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite BBQ sauce is my Daddy’s. It’s a sweet flavor with a little kick :) He never measures anything and just puts a little of this and a little of that in the sauce, but it is soooo good!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sweet Baby Ray’s or Famous Daves…depends on wants in the in pantry…..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband makes a killer homemade BBQ sauce with a commercial hickory type sauce as a starter… it’s great!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sweet Baby Rays is my favorite, but I do feel bad for not making a more healthy, homemade version. Maybe some day!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Made this already this morning for our supper tonight. This is my new favorite BBQ sauce. Thank you for the recipe!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My fav is a Jack Daniels Sesame BBQ sauce that I make. I prefer to make my own – looking forward to this recipe. My son puts BBQ on EVERYTHING!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sweet Baby Ray’s is hands down my favorite BBQ sauce…just the perfect balance of sweetness and spice. Love!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We had an abundance of tomatoes in the garden last year, so I experimented and made homemade BBQ sauce. It turned out great, only problem is, I didn’t have a recipe. I just a did a bit of this, a dash of that, etc. Wish I had written it down for future use, but I think I can somewhat repeat the recipe this year. A new blender sure would help out.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I will definitely try yours! My favorite BBQ sauce was one my mother-in-law made with grape jam, vinegar and brown sugar; but sadly, I don’t have the recipe and she isn’t around any more. I have been looking for something like it for a few years.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love a sauce I first made from a BBQ rib recipe of Martha’s, and it seems to be my go to. It also makes a lot so I can freeze some for later. I never thought of using stevia or other sweetener, which would be great for my diabetic Mother-in-law!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.i have never had homemade bbq sauce before..definitely something i am gonna have to try..i am not too picky on bbq sauce..i love bbq sauce..to me it goes with everything..but i do love thick sauce..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite BBQ sauce is anything home made. I’ll have to try this bc I’m looking to reduce our sugar consumption.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve always been picky about my BBQ and never able to find one that was just perfect until I came across Sweet Baby Ray’s (original of course). Once you go to SBR you never go back. I just bought a bottle on Friday and even commented to hubby as I picked it off the shelf “this is the best stuff ever.” He likes it too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite BBQ Sauce is by Scott’s BBQ. It’s a tangy vinegar base sauce with just a bit of heat to it. It’s great for marinating or basting too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve always been a Sweet Baby Ray’s fan but only because it’s easy. I need to try your recipe because the ingredients look delicious!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite BBQ sauce was at a restaurant in a neighboring town that shut it’s doors several years ago. It was not-too-sweet and oh, so smokey. :) Yum.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.GOTTA BE SWEET BABY RAYS
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite is homemade sauce made with blackstrap molasses,honey and other secret ingredients!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We use bullseye hickory most of the time. Another old favorite is A-1. This homemade recipe looks delicious!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We love using a crock pot to
Please log in or create a free account to comment.cook ribs with a mix of Sweet Baby Rays and Garland Jacks Hickory Spice. Thanks for a delicious sounding home made recipe. Can’t wait to try this one out. xoxox
Favorite BBQ sauce is sweet baby rays
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