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.


























My favorite bbq sauce is a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.
Here it is!
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup prepared mustard
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
If I am short on time and have to buy one, I definitely go with Sweet Baby Ray’s!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use a homemade sauce (my mom’s recipe) for BBQ chicken only. For everything else it’s store bought Sweet Baby Ray’s – Original. I will definitely try this Blender BBQ Sauce!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I also love Sweet Baby Ray, and it’s very reasonable. Because I’m a chef by trade, I usually do make my own; it’s on the oriental side, with Hoisin Sauce, soy sauce, ginger and honey.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Homemade sorghum molasses is my favorite ingredient for the best BBQ sauce.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory & Brown Sugar :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite sauce is one with very little or no vinegar.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sweet Baby Rays in all of its HFCS glory!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite was my Daddy’s too, Jillee! His was North Carolina style with plenty of vinegar and some red pepper flakes. We eliminate sugar from our diet, so i can’t wait to try this one
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite BBQ is Head Country. It was the first one I tried and I was hooked from then on.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love whit BBQ sauce!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Our favorite bbq sauce is from a small restaurant in upstate NY-Brooks House of BBQ. We’ve actually never been there, but our daughter-in-law worked there while in high school and turned us on to it. Just enough sweetness, plus a “mustardy” tang. It’s unusual and very good. We order it online.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We like Sweet Baby Rays.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love Cattleboyz BBQ Sauces!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been buying Stubbs because of no high fructose corn syrup, but will try this recipe, thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite bbq can only be found in the 7 bbq restaurants in the county of Monroe, KY. It is a vinegar based sauce and that’s all I know. Every restaurants has a different take on it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Have to give it to Sweet Baby Rays
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A honey based one is my go to :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yours sounds great. But my favorite ismSweet Baby Ray’s.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like a homemade recipe I have but this sounds even better can’t wait to try it. For already made I have a few favorites, famous Dave’s, mix a few flavors, Stubbs, also Sweet Baby Rays
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sweet baby Ray’s doctored up by my son.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite bbq sauce is a house blend from my butcher. really yummy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Most of the time I whip up my own, with anything sweet, hot and sticky I have on hand, usually about 6 to 8 ingredients!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love any BBQ sauce that’s not too seeet, but smokey. I can’t wait to try this. Hopefully, it will be at hit wit my teenage boys who SWEAR by McDonald’s BBQ sauce as the BEST! UGH …
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have wonderful memories of a mustard based sauce that my mom and I used to brush on chicken before grilling. I think it was part of the Newman’s line. I can’t find it anymore. I’ll need to search for a recipe so I can DIY it. It was so good. Smokey and sweet and tangy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love homemade, but Sweet Baby Ray is my store bought go to.
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