Homemade Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce

Homemade Kansas City style bbq sauce recipe makes a thick, sweet and tangy, tomato-based barbecue sauce that’s perfect with ribs, beef, chicken, burgers, and more!

I grew up in Kansas City, and, I didn’t realize that there were different types of barbecue until I was an adult. For me, “barbecue” always meant Kansas City-style barbecue.

I’ve come to appreciate other kinds of barbecue, but Kansas City-style is still my favorite. I love a good thick, tangy, sweet, tomato sauce – like this Homemade Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce.

Since we go through so much barbecue sauce, I’ve started making my own when I have the time. It’s really simple to throw together, and it’s make with ingredients that I always have on hand.

Also, one of the great things about making your own sauce is that you can adjust it to suit your tastes. I’ve included some suggestions to customize the sauce below.

Give it a try, and I hope you’ll love it, too!

What makes Kansas City bbq sauce different?

KC barbecue sauce is a balanced blend of sweet, smoky, and tangy. It is a thick tomato-based sauce that’s sweetened with molasses and often with a bit of brown sugar.

The sauce is often used both for basting as the meat is cooking and for serving after the meat has cooked.

Ingredient tips and substitutions

• Ketchup: Any type of plain tomato ketchup should work. 
• Molasses: I don’t recommend using blackstrap molasses in this recipe because it’s bitter. Feel free to use mild or robust molasses. 
• Dark brown sugar: Using dark brown sugar gives the sauce a richer flavor. You can use light brown + a touch more molasses if you don’t have dark brown sugar. 
• Ancho chile powder: I like ancho chile powder because it’s milder and smokier than regular chili powder. 

How to make homemade Kansas City-style bbq sauce

In a medium saucepan, stir together all of the ingredients except liquid smoke.

Bring to boil over medium-low heat, whisking regularly.

Once at a boil, reduce heat to low, and let simmer 30 minutes, stirring regularly.

Stir in liquid smoke to taste.

Let cool to room temperature.

Customize this sauce

• Sweet: To make the sauce sweeter, increase the amount of brown sugar and molasses. You can also substitute honey for part of the molasses for a sweeter sauce.
• Spicy: To make the sauce spicier, increase the amount of chile powder or use an increased amount of chili powder. Also, increase the amount of Tabasco in the sauce.

Storage

I like to store this sauce in a covered glass jar in the fridge. When properly stored in the fridge, the sauce will keep for up to one month.

More sauce and marinade recipes!

• Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce
• Chicken Marinade Recipes
• Steak Marinade

If you’ve tried this homemade Kansas City style bbq sauce recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

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