Honey BBQ Sauce Recipe
On July 22, 2019 (Updated May 10, 2024)
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This Honey BBQ Sauce Recipe is the perfect sweet sauce for burgers, wings, chicken, and more. It’s wonderfully sticky and very kid-friendly, making it a great sauce to have on hand for weekday dinners or big group barbecues with family and friends.
Honey Barbecue Sauce
Honey barbecue sauce is a delightfully sweet sauce that is great on chicken, burgers, and so much more. It isn’t spicy or sour, so it’s the perfect sauce for your most discerning young person. Not only is this sauce a favorite of every member of the family, it’s easy to make and can be made in advance making dinner prep easy.
I especially love having this sauce on hand as a dipping sauce when I have extra picky eaters over for dinner. Meat and veggies are quickly consumed with a little dip from this barbecue sauce.
How to Make Honey BBQ Sauce
Making BBQ sauce at home is a relatively easy and straightforward process. The most important step is to simply allow the sauce to simmer. Giving this sauce a good simmer allows the flavors to combine and it thickens it up into a wonderfully sticky sauce.
Follow these 3 easy steps and you’ll see just how easy it is to make your own homemade BBQ sauce in your kitchen.
- Combine the ingredients. To begin, grab out a medium saucepan and stir to mix all the ingredients.
- Boil and simmer. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Cool and serve. Once the sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
This sauce is ready to go right away and can be served immediately. If you’re making it ahead of time, store the sauce in the refrigerator in a airtight glass jar (a good ol’ Mason Jar works well for this sauce, but I also love these hinged glass jars) for up to 2 weeks.
Ingredients for Honey BBQ Sauce
This sauce uses a ketchup base – perfect for pleasing any and all palates. The remaining 8 ingredients are ones you likely have in your pantry, making this a quick and easy recipe. One quick note: most of my sauce and rub recipes will use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika. I recommend grabbing a big bottle the next time you’re at the store. This smoked seasoning makes all the difference!
Here’s what you’ll need on hand to make this honey BBQ sauce:
- ketchup
- brown sugar
- apple cider vinegar
- honey
- salt
- smoked paprika
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- black pepper
Honey BBQ Wing Sauce Recipe
This honey BBQ sauce makes for a great wing sauce. It’s sweet and just a bit tangy, making it a delicious sweet sauce for chicken wings. In fact, I’m thinking this sauce would take incredible on my Smoked then Fried Chicken Wings. I personally like to have a variety of sauce options available to my friends when I make wings, and this honey BBQ sauce is the perfect sweet option for these smoked then fried wings.
You could also substitute this honey BBQ wing sauce on my Honey Heat Smoked Chicken Wings to cool the heat, or slather it all over my Extra Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings. Honestly, the options are endless with this sauce. Whether you like your wings crispy, fried, or smoked, this sauce is a great sweet way to finish your wings.
More BBQ Sauce Recipes
I love making my own BBQ sauce when cooking up mouth-watering meat. Whether I’m looking for something sweet and tangy, or rich and smooth, these sauces have something everyone can enjoy:
Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
Coffee BBQ Sauce
Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce
Easy Honey BBQ Sauce Recipe
Follow the recipe, and let’s make some really good food! Hey Grill Hey is here to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. Head on over to YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook for more behind the scenes action!
Honey BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for Honey BBQ Sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove sauce from heat and allow to cool.
- Store in an airtight glass container for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very good sauce! Next time I may add a few chili pepper flakes for a little kick, but very good per recipe.
It was pretty good, it did taste a lot like ketchup.
i would recommend tomato sauce to replace the ketchup.