Zesty Alabama White Sauce
On September 21, 2020 (Updated April 16, 2022)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Alabama White Sauce is a creamy, tangy, and rich BBQ sauce with just a kiss of heat. This sauce is a classic white BBQ sauce that is perfect on smoked chicken and so much more! Ready in less than 5 minutes, it’s a quick and easy sauce ready when you are!
Alabama White Sauce
This mayo-based white barbecue sauce is made to dunk, drizzle, and slather it all over some smoked chicken for a classic Alabama BBQ experience. You can also serve it as a side sauce for any kind of smoked meats, like ribs or smoked turkey. In my house, we also keep it on hand as a tangy vegetable dip or use it as a dressing for coleslaw!
Alabama white BBQ sauce is a mayonnaise-based dressing that also includes horseradish and cayenne pepper for a good amount of heat. Two packed tablespoons of brown sugar add some sweetness to the mix, while apple cider vinegar and lemon juice provide some flavorful acidity. This is one recipe I recommend trying at least once. Though, chances are you’ll want to print and save this recipe for later use. It’s hard not to fall in love with this beautiful, creamy BBQ sauce.
Where did Alabama White BBQ Sauce Originate?
Alabama BBQ sauce was made famous by Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. They have massive hickory-fed pits that house their famous smoked split chickens. These chickens are slow smoked to a glorious golden brown at 350 degree F Their flavor is out of this world, but the real showstopper is the Alabama white BBQ sauce. These chickens are then dunked whole into massive vats of their homemade white BBQ sauce for a taste like you wouldn’t believe.
Smoked chicken may be the most famous vessel for transporting this tangy and smooth sauce into your mouth, but it’s just the beginning! Alabama white BBQ sauce is incredibly versatile and has become a BBQ staple for good reason. It offers the ideal balance of flavors to enhance smoked or grilled meats and vegetables.
What is Alabama White Sauce?
The head pitmaster of Big Bob Gibson’s restaurant, Chris Lilly, first shared their restaurant original recipe which was measured in gallons and is a fairly simple mixture of mayonnaise, corn syrup, vinegar, and salt/pepper. My zesty version has the same sweet and tangy notes that make all BBQ sauces the perfect complement to smoked meats, but an Alabama white sauce is mayonnaise based, instead of tomato based, which gives it a great creamy flavor profile.
I first met Chris at a Guinness World Record event for the Largest Grilling Lesson in 2017 (you can read more about that event HERE), and I was so incredibly impressed with his knowledge of all things BBQ. I consider my recipe an homage to the restaurant-style original with a little Hey Grill Hey kick.
How to Make Alabama White Sauce
Unlike some of my other BBQ sauce recipes that require cooking the sauce on the stovetop, this BBQ sauce is quite possibly the easiest BBQ sauce you’ll ever make. To begin, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand (full printable recipe card including ingredients and steps is available at the bottom of this post):
- Mayonnaise
- Apple cider vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Brown mustard
- Lemon juice
- Prepared horseradish
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
Once you have all your ingredients assembled, pour them all into a bowl, grab a whisk, and whisk until everything is well combined and the sauce is nice and smooth. That’s it! No baking, boiling, or reducing here. This sauce is ready in less than 5 minutes, making it a great choice when you need something with a tangy zip but you don’t have a lot of time.
You are welcome to use this sauce immediately, or place it in the fridge for a couple days to let the flavors meld. Any unused sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Make sure to keep the sauce in an airtight container, and you’ll be all set!
More BBQ Sauce Recipes
I often say the sauce can make the meal, and some good homemade sauces can really take your BBQ to the next level. Now that you’ve mastered Alabama BBQ sauce, try your hand at Kansas City and Carolina sauces as well!
Alabama White Sauce Recipe
Alabama White BBQ Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and well combined.
- Refrigerate and store. Transfer to a lidded jar. Use immediately or let set in the refrigerator for 24 hours to let the flavors meld together. Will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in November 2018. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Not trying to biasely hype them up but five stars. Used this recipe as a template for my barbecue business’ white sauce after trying a couple other things and it’s been great. 10/10 would recommend
My family (and friends) LOVE this recipe, that is to say, the LOVE when I make it One of my kiddos just moved out 2 weeks ago and when I came home from work yesterday I noticed the bottle I had in the fridge was missing! You guessed it! My kiddo stopped by and “borrowed it”… so, looks like making a double batch was added to my todo list for today! I’ve made it with regular (yellow) mustard and spicy brown, prefer it with spicy brown and will add that IF you use regular mustard use just a tad less than the recipe calls for (my opinion). I also add a little extra sugar – I think my Midwest is showing there lol. It’s great on pulled pork, fried chicken, beef roast, seasoned fries – it’s just a great recipe from a great group! Have an amazing day all!
Would this work with Dijon mustard, or yellow mustard? I don’t have any brown but wanting to make a batch. I have made a different version of this sauce that had garlic in it so can’t wait to try this one. Just recently watched BBQ Brawl on Food Network and was like “hey, I have some of her recipes saved on Pinterest!” pretty cool! You did amazing on it.
It will work, but it will have a slightly different flavor. I say go for it!
Great BBQ sauce! Had some on smoked chicken and it was wonderful!
I made your whole chicken with Alabama white sauce and wasn’t expecting much (I love most of your recipes I try so that is not a slam on you, i just wasn’t sure I was going to love the sauce). It came out great and I had extra left over, so I tried it on burgers, and other stuff, and am now going to work it into my sauce rotation.
Hands down the best rendition of Alabama White Sauce that I’ve found online. Amazing on chicken. I prefer to baste it during the last 20 mins or so on an indirect cook but great as a dipping sauce too. It’s so good you’ll consider pouring some into a short glass and sipping it in your rocking chair
Professional cook here….Absolutely wonderful! Never had the opportunity to make it before but last week we had a request at work for a “variety of BBQ sauces” for pulled pork sliders on a buffet and this was one of the ones I made. The guests went wild over it! (so did the employees btw!) I’m thinking this would be amazing on a piled high thin sliced roast beef sandwich on a crusty bun too. Thank you for the recipe this is a keeper.
We basted our smoked chicken with this sauce about 30 min before it was done and it came out PERFECT! As dipping sauce on the side, it was amazing too. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yummm, first time ,and I love it…
How would this white sauce be on hambugers?
I made some recently from a very similar recipe (it didn’t have horseradish and used dijon mustard instead of brown) and it was bangin’ on burgers. It’s a pretty versatile sauce. I ended up using it on a lot of things. I think it was best with grilled wings but I’m totally making some again for a party I’m throwing on Saturday. Also, it got better after it sat in the fridge for a day and the flavors blended together.