Kansas City BBQ Sauce
On July 30, 2019 (Updated May 10, 2024)
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Kansas City BBQ sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. It’s rich from the molasses, bright from the acidic tomatoes and vinegar, and has just the right amount of heat from the chili powder. It’s a classic, ketchup-based BBQ sauce that is a must-have for chicken, ribs, and more!
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Making your own homemade BBQ sauce is something I recommend trying at least once. Though, once you make some from scratch, you’ll likely find yourself making your own sauce over and over again. I personally love making food that has all natural ingredients without anything added (especially all those ingredients I can’t pronounce!), and this BBQ sauce is full of only the good stuff.
This sauce is made from a tomato and molasses base. I add in some brown sugar and apple cider vinegar for a sweet and tangy zip, and then infuse it with 8 spices to give it a well-rounded flavor with a tiny kick of heat at the end. It’s my go-to BBQ sauce when I need that perfect, quintessential sauce. It’s so good, I usually have a jar of it in my fridge at all times.
This sauce is great to make and eat the same day, but if you’ve got the time to let it sit, it is even better after letting it rest for 24 hours. That extra day in the refrigerator gives all of the ingredients time to hang out and get comfortable with each other, resulting in a smoother and more delicious sauce. If you end up with any leftovers, it lasts great in the refrigerator. Make sure you keep it in an airtight container (I usually store my sauces in a simple wide mouth mason jar), and it should last you at least two weeks.
What is Kansas City BBQ Sauce?
I was fortunate enough to visit Kansas City in 2017 for my second Guinness World Record and eat at the best restaurants around. It was pretty darn amazing. While there, I packed my days with BBQ for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Kansas is famous for their burnt ends, and the best complement for tender, smoked beef is a great sauce.
Kansas city BBQ sauce has got it’s own flare and flavor. Most Kansas City style sauces are tomato based, almost all have molasses, and from the ones that I tasted, they all give you a little kick of heat at the end from chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or a combination of all three. This homemade version hits all of those major flavor components with my own Hey Grill Hey twist.
How to Make BBQ Sauce
Making your own BBQ sauce at home is inexpensive, easy, and takes less than 30 minutes. Follow along with these 3 simple steps, and you will soon see how it’s totally worth it to make your own sauce at home.
- Boil the ingredients. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Use a whisk to combine and mix the ingredients while it comes to a boil.
- Simmer the sauce. Once your sauce is boiling, reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. The sauce should thicken nicely, and your house will be filled with the sweet aroma of delicious BBQ sauce.
- Cool and refrigerate. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool completely. You can use it immediately, but I recommend transferring it to a container with a lid and refrigerating it for 24 hours for the best flavor.
This sauce keeps well, and you can store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks (assuming it lasts that long!). I highly recommend trying this on my Smoked Chicken recipe. The smoked chicken is moist, juicy, and it is packed with flavor when cooked with this tasty sauce. This sauce is also great to have on hand for dipping. We love to slather it on grilled and smoked meats, and use it as a dip for grilled veggies.
Best BBQ Sauce Recipes
I’m a firm believe that homemade BBQ sauce is the perfect way to finish your hard-earned, long-smoked meat. Check out these recipes below for more amazing BBQ sauce recipes:
Honey BBQ Sauce
Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce
Coffee BBQ Sauce
BBQ Sauce Recipe
Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low to simmer.
- Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool completely before transferring to an air tight container.
- This sauce can be used immediately, but I recommend refrigerating overnight for the best flavor. This sauce will last 2 weeks in the refrigerator if sealed tightly in an air tight container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published January 2018. It has since been updated with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Kansas City is in Missouri. There is a Kansas City Kansas, but it is smaller and younger than KCMO. KCMO has barbecue because once upon a time it was the country’s second largest meet packing center. Burnt ends specifically are from the Missouri side, having originated at an establishment called Arthur Bryant’s. (It’s a shadow of its former self. I can understand if you didn’t visit it.)
I’m just curious. How much of your visit was spent in a Johnson Co., Kansas exurb? The best BBQ joints are are holes in the wall in places that many exurbans are scared to visit.
Susie, I tried your Kansas City bar b que sauce and we thought it was delicious. We put it on the brisket I smoked the other day. What sauce we have left will go into the freezer in an ice cube tray. Thanks for your recipes!!
This is delicious. Making my second batch today, I had to scrape the bottom of the bottle from the last batch. This keeps wonderfully in the fridge, but you are right, the flavor deepens after sitting in the fridge. My big oops today was doubling the apple cider vinegar, so I added a bit extra of the spices and I’ll let it cook down a bit more. But I’m telling you, it still tastes great! (We do love the tang of vinegar in a lot of foods, so for us, this will just hit our buttons.) Going on the Dr. Pepper ribs (thank you) that are on the smoker right now.
I made the rub and it’s excellent.
I was born and raised in KC and your rub is as good as any I’ve had.
One correction is Kansas City, where burnt ends originated, is in MO not KS. MY seem trivial but to a Missourian it’s very important.
There is indeed a Kansas City, KS but not BBQ heaven we know and love.
Is this sauce the same as the “Everything” sauce that you refer to in your 3-2-1 rib video?
It isn’t. I don’t have the recipe for the Everything Sauce up on my site!
Made this a few times. I always double or triple the qtys.
Everyone love it on my ribs.
Going to make it tomorrow and try it on chix wings.
Just a big THANK YOU for an awesome recipe !!!
Aaron
could I have your Alabama white sauce recipe ?
https://heygrillhey.com/alabama-white-sauce/
Hi Suzie,
I tried this and it was fantastic. Next time I am thinking to add some liquid smoke. You thoughts?
If so how much?
I’m not a fan of liquid smoke. I would start with tiny amounts and add to taste.
Merry Christmas! Staying up late tonight smoking 3 racks of Saint Louis style pork ribs. This sauce is incredible and has become my go to for many of my smoked meats. I don’t have any milk or cookies so I hope Santa’s ok with a few ribs and a side of this awesome sauce!
I have tried your bbq sauces and love them. How would you suggest canning them either by water canning or pressure canning? Any thoughts are appreciated!