Homemade Buffalo sauce is an easy and quick-to-make spicy sauce that you can use as a dipping sauce or marinate the meat in it. It is basically an improved version of the hot sauce. You can easily store it for a month in the fridge, so consider making a larger quantity.
Sure, you can go to almost every local grocery store and buy a store-bought jar of buffalo sauce, but it will not taste so good as your own homemade version. Also, if you will make it from scratch, you can adjust the spiciness level and additional spices or aromatic herbs that you will add to it.
The Buffalo sauce is very easy to make, you will need only to drop all the ingredients into a saucepan and to mix them from time to time. It is much easier to make this sauce at home than you think.
You can start small, with just butter and hot sauce, and then you can add extra spices to make it more unique.
Usually, I serve the buffalo sauce near some fried chicken but it also will go very well and near some roasted vegetables.
I’m convinced that after you will give it a try to it once, you will make it more often and you will combine it with a lot of dishes.
📖 What is Buffalo Sauce?
In a few short words, the buffalo sauce is an improved version of the basic hot sauce. It is a lot richer in flavor. We will take the hot sauce as a base, and will add over it the melted butter, a little bit of garlic, vinegar, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce.
Because it has butter in the composition, this sauce will offer a creamy texture to the dish that you will serve it.
🎓 What You Will Find in This Post?
- How to modify the consistency of the sauce?
- How to make it exactly to your taste?
- What ingredients to substitute with?
- Expert tips? On what to pay attention to?
👩🍳 How to Make Buffalo Sauce From Scratch?
- Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook them on low heat.
- Mix the sauce continuously. After it started to boil, cook it for another 2-3 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency by boiling more, or by adding a little bit of water.
- Cool down the sauce and serve.
🥰 Why You Will Love This Recipe?
- Being a spicy sauce, and because you’re making it from scratch, it is very easy to adjust the level of spiciness according to your own taste.
- It is perfect both for glazing and for marinating the meat.
- It is prepared from easily found ingredients.
- It keeps well in the fridge, so you can prepare a larger quantity and keep it for longer.
- We will make it with melted butter, the store-bought versions are usually made using oil because it is cheaper.
🥘 Ingredients and Substitutes
- Hot Pepper Sauce. Use a spicy sauce that suits you in terms of taste and level of spiciness. The final result depends on it the most. The original recipe is made with Cayenne pepper hot sauce.
- Butter. If you want a vegan version of this sauce, replace the regular butter with a vegan version of it or refined deodorized coconut oil.
- White Vinegar. I used apple cider vinegar but of course, it would be just as good as any other type of white vinegar, such as wine or vinegar rice.
- Worcestershire Sauce.
- Hot Pepper. I used chipotle pepper, but if don’t want to make it too spicy, consider replacing a part with regular paprika or you can completely replace it with hot peppers. For a smoky taste, use smoked paprika or chipotle (dried, smoked jalapeno peppers).
- Garlic. I used dried garlic powder. If you want you can replace it with a clove of fresh garlic, but keep in mind that in this case, the sauce will keep less time in the fridge.
👩🍳 Step-by-step Directions
Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, on the hob. Their initial temperature does not matter because they will be cooked at a low temperature.
Mix the sauce continuously to make sure that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook it for another 2-3 minutes after it starts to boil.
Pro Tip: If you think it is too liquid, continue to cook and mix continuously until you reach the desired consistency, but don’t forget as it cools down, it will become thicker. If you find it too thick, add a few tablespoons of water and wait for it to boil again, the amount of water depends only on the consistency you want.
If you want to keep the sauce in the fridge, pour the sauce as soon as you have finished boiling it in a well-washed and dry jar, cover it with a lid, and after cooling, put it in the fridge. If you plan to serve it now, wait for it to cool down and you can use it.
🏆 Expert Tips. What to Pay Attention To?
- As a base, use the spicy sauce you like the most. The final taste will depend on it.
- If the final sauce seems too thick, adjust the consistency with a few tablespoons of water.
- Keep in mind that after the sauce will cool down, it will become even thicker.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
This sauce is perfect to serve near with cooked meat or to use in the marinade, as an example to marinade the classic buffalo chicken thighs. Because the buffalo sauce contains butter, this sauce will offer a creamy texture. The hot sauce that we are using as a base, gives you that pleasant spicy sensation, and the other ingredients perfectly balance and complete the final composition.
Here are some recipes where it would be perfect to use this sauce either instead of marinade or as a topping:
- Juicy Air Fryer Cornish Hen
- Chicken Strips Coated in Breadcrumbs
- Crispy Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets
- Homemade Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
♻️ Make-Ahead and Questions:
Can I Prepare the Sauce Ahead? and how long does the buffalo sauce last in the fridge?
This sauce keeps perfectly in the fridge for up to a month. If you need to keep it for so long, divide the buffalo sauce into jars depending on the amount you need each time.
How to Make Buffalo Sauce Less Spicy?
The most common is to add more non-spicy ingredients in report to the spicy sauce. Also, you may consider adding butter or olive oil. We are doing that because by adding fat we will lessen the heat from the romesco sauce.
📋 Recipe Card:
Easy Homemade Buffalo Sauce (From Scratch)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup Hot Pepper Sauce
- ¼ cup Butter
- 1 tablespoon White Vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- ¼ teaspoon Chipotle Pepper or Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in the pan½ cup Hot Pepper Sauce , ¼ cup Butter, 1 tablespoon White Vinegar, ¾ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce, ¼ teaspoon Chipotle Pepper, ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Put the pan on the hob and cook on low heat until the composition starts to boil.
- After it starts to boil, boil sauce for 2 minutes on lowest heat.
- Adjust the desired density if it is necessary.
- Wait for it to cool down and serve.
Quick Note
I highly recommend reading the entire recipe to find more tips and notes about this recipe. Read Full Recipe ⇑
Sherri
I will definitely make this buffalo sauce again! As you suggested, I used it to marinate the chicken! And it was a great addition! Thank you!