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Classic Barbecue Sauce

9

  • Prep Time10 min
  • Total Time10 min
  • Makes2 Cups
By Chatelaine
Classic Barbecue Sauce

(Photo: Michael Alberstat)

Chatelaine Triple Tested

Do you need a BBQ sauce recipe if you can just pick it up at the store? Short answer: yes. Try this sweet, spicy recipe and you’ll never go store-bought again.

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp vegetable oil

  • 1/4 cup puréed onion, about 1/2 small onion

  • 1 cup ketchup

  • 1 cup tomato sauce

  • 3 tbsp brown sugar

  • 1 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

  • 1/4 tsp hot-red-chili-flakes

Instructions

  • Heat a large saucepan over medium. Add oil, then onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 min. Add ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, hoisin, garlic powder, Worcestershire, paprika and pepper flakes. Continue stirring frequently, to keep sauce from splattering, until flavours develop, 5 to 8 min.

  • Ladle into 2 clean 250-mL Mason jars. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 min. Wipe rims clean, then twist lids on tightly. Keep refrigerated.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories 16, Carbohydrates 4g, Sodium 128mg.

Fan the flames! Take your grilling up a notch with a mouth-watering BBQ sauce recipe made from scratch.

Prep Tip:

To purée onion, whirl in a food processor, scraping down sides as necessary.

Switch It Up:

Keep the grill going all summer long with these market-fresh flavours.

Spiked Sauce
Omit vegetable oil. Gently boil onion with 1/4 cup beer over medium for 2 min, then continue with recipe.

Smoky Peach
Purée 2 peeled peaches with onion. Reduce ketchup and tomato sauce to 1/2 cup each. Increase smoked paprika to 1/2 tsp.

Filipino-Style Banana
Purée 1 medium banana with onion. Reduce ketchup and tomato sauce to 3/4 cup each. Continue with recipe.

3 Ways To Use This BBQ Sauce Recipe:

Stock up on napkins—it’s going to be a sticky summer!

BBQ-Chicken Pizza
Preheat oven to 425F. Divide a 700-g pkg of refrigerated pizza dough into 2 portions. Roll out into rounds on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Stir 1 1/2 cups beer BBQ sauce (left) with 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken. Divide between the two pizza bases, spreading right to the edges. Top each with 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, then sliced red-onion rings. Bake in centre of oven until crusts are golden, 15 to 18 min. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

A BBQ chicken pizza topped with chicken, red onion and parsley on a sheet pan(Photo: Michael Alberstat)

Glazed Chicken Breasts
Preheat barbecue to medium-high. Oil grill and barbecue 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts with lid closed. Brush chicken often with classic sweet & spicy BBQ sauce (previous page) until chicken feels springy and is richly glazed, about 15 min.

Smokin’ Salad
Stir 1/2 cup smoky-peach BBQ sauce with 2 tbsp lemon juice. Toss with coleslaw mix or shredded iceberg lettuce. Scatter toasted sliced almonds overtop.

Get more long weekend barbecue recipes.

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The cover of Chatelaine's Spring 2026 issue.

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A Bright Spot: Our Spring 2026 issue features 12 colourful DIY decor hacks from guest editor Alexandra Gater. Plus, recipes for protein-packed breakfasts, cheese soufflé and a dreamy rhubarb cake.