A sauce can boost the flavor of any dish. We’ve rounded up 15 homemade sauce recipes to transform about anything you put them on. Check them out!
What is a Sauce?
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid that varies in thickness from a liquid, cream, and semi-solid that is used to enhance the flavor of food and to add moisture, texture, and visual appeal to any dish it is put on. Some are savory; some are sweet; others are sour or spicy, or a combination of them all.
About this Collection
Sometimes all you need is a little sauce to make food taste even better. Whether you drizzle, pour, dip, or spread them, sauces have a way of transforming just about anything you put them on. What’s great about each homemade sauce recipe is that you can customize it to suit your taste.
For sandwiches, salads, chicken wings, to prime rib, we’ve rounded up our best easy homemade sauces that you can put on just about anything. Each recipe has easy-to-follow directions with common pantry ingredients. You do not need any special equipment or experience to make any of the recipes.
Many of these recipes begin with pantry basics such as ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, flour, and butter. Customize each recipe to suit your taste by adding more or less of each ingredient. Who knows, maybe you’ll decide to completely reinvent it, and we encourage you to do so!
This collection of homemade sauce recipes is completely from scratch. This collection contains condiments, dressings, toppings, and dips that can make any dish special. Each recipe will give you ways to use the sauce.
Let our collection of homemade sauce recipes be your guide to reinventing and boosting the flavors of your favorite foods!
HOMEMADE SAUCE RECIPES
Classic Barbecue Sauce
This is a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce made of tomato, herbs, and spices that you can put on anything. It’s not just for slathering on ribs, chicken, or beef. Serve it as a dip, put it on anything from sandwiches to burgers, and even mix some into ranch dressing!
Horseradish White Barbecue Sauce
As in traditional Alabama, white barbecue sauces, mayonnaise, and vinegar are the base for both these sauces, but my contribution to the Alabama white barbecue sauce is the addition of heat.
The sweet, zesty tang of white barbecue sauce is offset with a warm, spicy finish of extra horseradish. I kicked the sauce up even more with a good splashing of hot sauce to make it spicier. This barbecue sauce has a delicious balance of sweet, tangy heat.
You can drizzle, slather, or mop this sauce on anything you want to put it on. And it is amazing for dipping. The versatility of this horseradish white barbecue makes it perfect for potlucks, parties, and gatherings.
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
This homemade enchilada sauce is made of real chilies with a vegetable broth base thickened with a simple roux of flour and oil.
This Mexican-style sauce isn’t just for enchiladas. It’s great on anything you put it on especially pulled pork, nachos, and even huevos rancheros!
Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce
This honey mustard bbq sauce is the perfect homemade barbecue sauce to have on hand for all of your smoked meats. This barbecue sauce is a well-balanced sauce that gets its sweetness from honey, a nice spicy heat from an assortment of spices, a richness from soy sauce, and a zesty tang from mustard and vinegar.
Great on beef, pork, and chicken and a condiment for fries and sandwiches!
Spicy Chipotle Peach Barbecue Sauce
Sweetened naturally, with fresh peaches and honey, this chipotle peach barbecue sauce gets smokiness from smoked paprika, heat from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and a nice tang from apple cider vinegar. Combined with Worcestershire and tomato sauce that marry all the flavors together.
The classic combination of good barbecue sauce flavors, this chipotle peach barbecue sauce has them all: sweet, tangy, and spicy, making it a very versatile and lip-smacking addition to pork, poultry, or seafood.
Creamy Basil Vinaigrette
You will love the fresh, zesty taste of this creamy basil vinaigrette. I have been putting it on everything! If you have extra basil in your garden now, you will want to try this recipe out.
This quick and easy vinaigrette is not only a salad dressing but also a sauce for fish, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, or BLTs!
Cranberry BBQ Sauce
This Cranberry BBQ Sauce is a savory and versatile vinegar-based barbecue sauce with layers of contrasting flavor. From slightly sweet undertones of sugar and honey to tartness from cranberries and the zest of an orange, while cinnamon gives the sauce dimension by adding a touch of warmth that rounds it out.
You can pretty much slather this BBQ sauce on everything from turkey, chicken, beef, or even meatballs. The possibilities are endless!
Beer Horseradish Cheese Sauce
You can use this cheese sauce for so many things! It’s made with a light lager beer, extra-sharp white cheddar cheese, and horseradish mixed to create a spicy sauce made to use as a topping for burgers or any favorite sandwich.
This sauce is thick enough to dip for pretzels, chips, fries, or veggies, making it perfect for serving at parties.
Thousand Island (Special Sauce)
Thousand Island dressing is a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, and a few other ingredients. In just a few minutes, you will be shocked to learn just how much better Thousand Island dressing is when it is homemade!
Whether you use it as a spread, dressing, or dipping sauce, this homemade recipe will always outperform the store-bought version.
Use this for the “special sauce” on your next cheeseburger, put it on a salad, and definitely put this on a Reuben sandwich with smoked pastrami!
Beer Horseradish Cheese Sauce
You can use this cheese sauce for so many things! It’s made with a light lager beer, extra-sharp white cheddar cheese, and horseradish mixed to create a spicy sauce made to use as a topping for burgers or any favorite sandwich.
This sauce is thick enough to dip for pretzels, chips, fries, or veggies, making it perfect for serving at parties.
Pass the corn chips, please!
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Discover the freshness of making your own salad dressing at home. This creamy homemade ranch dressing uses fresh ingredients without preservatives.
Use the homemade ranch to dip chicken wings into, drizzle it on tossed salads, use as a dip for chicken nuggets or potatoes, or put it in sandwiches, burgers, and wraps. Just think of all the dishes you could use this dressing for!
The possibilities are endless, and it’ll all be delicious no matter what!
Creamy Caesar Dressing
Garlic, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and anchovies… Just four of the classic bold flavor ingredients make this thick, creamy Caesar dressing.
Just imagine how good this creamy Caesar dressing would be poured over fresh, crisp romaine lettuce, crunchy croutons, and shaved parmesan cheese.
Put this dressing on anything you really want to kick up. We like it best on salad but have also used it as a sandwich spread. You can also use this dressing as a base for chicken, potato salads, and even deviled eggs.
BBQ Ranch Dressing
This incredibly good BBQ Ranch Dressing begins with creamy ranch dressing perfectly blended with tangy barbecue sauce, giving it a smoky, flavor-filled taste.
Never in a million years would I have believed that adding BBQ Sauce to Ranch Dressing would have ever been good, BUT IT TOTALLY IS!!!!!
Slather on everything from salads to burgers. It’s good for everything!
Creamy Horseradish Sauce with Roasted Garlic
Discover the freshness of making your own salad dressing at home. This creamy homemade ranch dressing uses fresh ingredients without preservatives.
This sauce is versatile, and the sauce can be put on just about anything you want to put it on. From smokey beef like steak, chicken, pork, and seafood to dips for vegetables or as a spread on sandwiches.
This sauce is good on it all!
Champagne Viniagrette
Sparkling… Crisp… Clear… These are all words that best describe this champagne vinaigrette.
Champagne vinegar combine with Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, and sweetened with honey to make a delightful vinaigrette.
Champagne vinegar may sound exotic, but it’s actually a mild-tasting, slightly dry white wine vinegar that happens to be made from the same grapes as Champagne, such as Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. And it is really awesome when used as the base of a vinaigrette.
Drizzle this delicious vinaigrette over poultry, fish, or roasted vegetables toward the end of cooking. It’s amazing!
Blue Cheese Dressing
If you love blue cheese, this rich and creamy homemade blue cheese salad dressing will become your go-to recipe. Ready in just 5 minutes!
If you love blue cheese, this rich and creamy homemade blue cheese salad dressing will become your go-to recipe from now on.
Drizzle on pizzas and salads, use as a dip for your chicken wings, and add it to mac and cheese. Anything you do with this is going to be amazing!
Caramel Sauce
Did you know it only takes 3 ingredients to make caramel sauce?
Yes, that’s right. Sugar, Butter, and Heavy Cream are the only ingredients to make a buttery rich, velvety smooth caramel sauce with decadent robust flavor, a slight smokiness, and a hint of salt.
Put this caramel sauce on almost any dessert. From cheesecake to ice cream and cookies. Even on popcorn as a snack!
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
Thai sweet chili sauce is spicy, sweet, salty, and tangy. It’s a great dipping sauce for chicken, pork, and beef. Learn how to make it with this easy recipe!
The sauce is made of garlic, red chilies, honey, sugar, vinegar, and spices, and it only takes a few minutes to make. All the ingredients can be found in your pantry or local grocery store. Best of all, you can control the ingredients, from the sugar to the spicy kick. And it tastes so much better because it’s free of artificial colors and preservatives.
Lemon Butter Sauce For Fish
David makes this special sauce to baste fish fillets with when grilling them. Only four ingredients, butter, lemon, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic, make a grilled fish taste like a million dollars! But that’s not all; this basting sauce is universal and can be used on any seafood you want to mop it on. You could use it on rice, pasta, vegetables, chicken, or pork.
Learn how to make a simple lemon butter sauce that goes great with fresh fish and more. It’s a quick and delicious sauce in 5 minutes or less!
Greek Salad Dressing
Besides its amazing flavor, what I love most about this Greek salad dressing recipe is its versatility. You can drizzle over everything from Greek salad to potatoes and even use it as a marinade for chicken.
Learn how to make a delicious and easy homemade Greek salad dressing at home with simple ingredients. Perfect for topping your favorite salads or using as a marinade.
Lemon Aioli
Thank goodness this lemon aioli is easy to make because David begs me to make it every time we have fish. I first made this sauce to accompany some fresh grilled swordfish filets. It’s creamy, garlicky, and tangy and not only pairs nicely with seafood but can be used as a dipping sauce for vegetables (especially French fries) or as a spread for sandwiches.
Looking for a simple and delicious aioli recipe? This easy lemon aioli is a delicious accompaniment to any dish. Add flavor to any dish in just minutes!
Tzatziki Sauce
Let’s dip into one of my all-time favorite Greek recipes: tzatziki sauce. If you’ve ever enjoyed this creamy, tangy delight at your favorite Greek restaurant, you know exactly what I’m talking about. But if you haven’t, prepare your taste buds for something really yummy!
Discover secrets to the perfect tzatziki recipe! Creamy Greek yogurt, crisp cucumber, and zesty garlic combine in this flavor-packed delight.
Chipotle BBQ Cheese Sauce
Have you ever thought to yourself, “I love a good cheese sauce, but what if it had a little kick and a whole lot of smoky-sweet BBQ flavor?” then we have the cheese sauce you’ve been dreaming about. This Chipotle BBQ Cheese Sauce is creamy, tangy, and smoky, with just the right amount of heat. It’s the kind of sauce that makes you want to dip, drizzle, and dunk everything in sight: fries, nachos, burgers, heck, even a spoon (we won’t judge).
Which of these homemade sauce recipes will become your favorite? Tell us in the comments below. We love hearing from you. It’s what keeps us going!
p.s check back as we will be adding new homemade sauce recipes periodically.
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