Easy Homemade Buffalo Sauce
This easy homemade buffalo sauce recipe is easy to make with a few simple ingredients, and beats the flavor of the store-bought bottles. Use for buffalo wings, dips, salads, and more! Plus, you can store it in the fridge for weeks. Thanks to Buffalo, NY, we have buffalo sauce (hooray)! This buffalo wing sauce recipe is so simple to make at home. I love keeping a batch in the fridge, ready for drizzling over chicken, salads, veggies, rice bowls, and of course, for making my favorite Buffalo Chicken Wings! Our recipe below makes a medium spicy buffalo sauce, but I’ve included tips for giving it even more of a spicy kick! Let’s make it! Key Ingredients Hot sauce: For this recipe, use your favorite cayenne pepper hot sauce (one with a short list of natural ingredients like cayenne pepper, vinegar, and salt). I love Crystal Hot Sauce, but we have also used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (not the wing sauce) and Tabasco. We are also working on a homemade hot sauce recipe to make this sauce 100% from scratch (stay tuned). Butter: Makes this homemade sauce so creamy and silky. It’s also why this homemade sauce tastes so much better than store-bought. Garlic Powder: For a bit of extra flavor, I love adding garlic powder, which dissolves into the sauce. You can use fresh grated garlic if you prefer. I recommend 3 to 5 small garlic cloves, but finely mince or grate them. Honey (optional): After years of making this sauce with the 3 ingredients above, our friend and chef, Richard, convinced us to try a little honey, and we loved it. If you want to try for yourself, add a slight drizzle of honey to the buffalo sauce. It balances and rounds out the flavor of the sauce nicely. Hot sauce: For this recipe, use your favorite cayenne pepper hot sauce (one with a short list of natural ingredients like cayenne pepper, vinegar, and salt). I love Crystal Hot Sauce, but we have also used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (not the wing sauce) and Tabasco. We are also working on a homemade hot sauce recipe to make this sauce 100% from scratch (stay tuned). Butter: Makes this homemade sauce so creamy and silky. It’s also why this homemade sauce tastes so much better than store-bought. Garlic Powder: For a bit of extra flavor, I love adding garlic powder, which dissolves into the sauce. You can use fresh grated garlic if you prefer. I recommend 3 to 5 small garlic cloves, but finely mince or grate them. Honey (optional): After years of making this sauce with the 3 ingredients above, our friend and chef, Richard, convinced us to try a little honey, and we loved it. If you want to try for yourself, add a slight drizzle of honey to the buffalo sauce. It balances and rounds out the flavor of the sauce nicely. Find the full recipe with measurements below. My Tips for Making Buffalo Sauce at Home When I learned how to make buffalo sauce for the first time, I felt duped. I was buying those bottles for years, not knowing how easy the homemade version is, not to mention the flavor is SO much better. Tip 1: Use low heat. The base of this sauce is butter, which we want to melt slowly over low heat so that it stays creamy and emulsified (not that brown butter is bad, it’s delicious, but not what we are looking for with this wing sauce). Tip 2: Whisk the sauce ingredients off the heat. When the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the hot sauce and garlic powder. Whisk until the sauce is smooth, blended, and red. I’m showing Frank’s hot sauce in the photo, but remember, you can use your favorite hot sauce (like a locally made hot sauce, Crystal, or homemade). Tip 3: Reheat leftover sauce gently. One thing I love about this buffalo sauce recipe is that it keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks! The only thing to consider is that thanks to that butter, it will harden as it chills. So, to use it, scoop out what you need and reheat in a small saucepan or skillet gently over low heat. If it separates on you as you reheat, use a whisk to bring it back together. My Favorite Ways to Use Buffalo Sauce The most obvious way to use homemade buffalo wing sauce is for buffalo hot wings, but you can use it in many other ways. I use it when making our buffalo chicken dip and this buffalo chicken pizza (such a great party app). It’s also fantastic for these buffalo cauliflower wings (so good, by the way). Beyond that, you can drizzle it over scrambled eggs, salads (like this taco salad), and shrimp. It’s also great for these buffalo chicken rice bowls and our fun buffalo chicken stuffed shells! And, since I love the combo, I also love having a batch of homemade blue cheese or ranch dressing nearby for anything buffalo! Happy cooking! Easy Homemade Buffalo Sauce PREP 5 mins COOK 5 mins TOTAL 10 mins PREP 5 mins COOK 5 mins TOTAL 10 mins This homemade buffalo wing sauce recipe is easy! Use your favorite hot sauce (not bottled wing sauce) for this recipe. Our recipe makes a medium-hot sauce. Add cayenne pepper (a pinch or more) for a spicier sauce. Reduce the hot sauce by ⅓ cup to ½ cup for a milder sauce. I love this sauce for our Buffalo Hot Wings! Makes 2 cups Watch Us Make the Recipe You Will Need 1 cup unsalted butter, 8 ounces (226g) 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 ⅓ cups hot sauce, like Frank’s or Crystal (315ml) 1 teaspoon honey or more to taste, optional Cayenne pepper, optional for a spicier sauce Directions 1Melt the butter: Gently melt the butter in a medium pan over low heat (using low heat takes a little longer, but we want to avoid the butter separating to keep our sauce creamy). 2Finish the sauce: Remove the pan from the heat to prevent the sauce from breaking. Then, whisk in the garlic powder, hot sauce, and honey until a smooth, cohesive sauce forms, about 1 minute. Taste, then if you want the sauce spicier, add a pinch or more of cayenne pepper. Use immediately or store in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 1Melt the butter: Gently melt the butter in a medium pan over low heat (using low heat takes a little longer, but we want to avoid the butter separating to keep our sauce creamy). 2Finish the sauce: Remove the pan from the heat to prevent the sauce from breaking. Then, whisk in the garlic powder, hot sauce, and honey until a smooth, cohesive sauce forms, about 1 minute. Taste, then if you want the sauce spicier, add a pinch or more of cayenne pepper. Use immediately or store in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Adam and Joanne's Tips Storing: Store homemade buffalo sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks. The sauce will harden in the refrigerator (because of the butter), but you can remove what you need from the jar with a spoon and then gently reheat the sauce over low heat before using it. If, as you reheat, the sauce separates, whisk or shake it back together. I do not recommend freezing this sauce. Fresh garlic: Instead of garlic powder, add 1 to 3 finely grated or minced garlic cloves to the butter and cook over low heat for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the hot sauce. For the smoothest sauce, blend until smooth. Vegan buffalo sauce: Substitute the butter with plant-based butter. Honey: It balances the heat and rounds the flavor of the sauce nicely. I start with 1 teaspoon and add more as needed based on taste. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed Frank’s red hot sauce. Storing: Store homemade buffalo sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks. The sauce will harden in the refrigerator (because of the butter), but you can remove what you need from the jar with a spoon and then gently reheat the sauce over low heat before using it. If, as you reheat, the sauce separates, whisk or shake it back together. I do not recommend freezing this sauce. Fresh garlic: Instead of garlic powder, add 1 to 3 finely grated or minced garlic cloves to the butter and cook over low heat for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the hot sauce. For the smoothest sauce, blend until smooth. Vegan buffalo sauce: Substitute the butter with plant-based butter. Honey: It balances the heat and rounds the flavor of the sauce nicely. I start with 1 teaspoon and add more as needed based on taste. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed Frank’s red hot sauce. Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1 tablespoon / Calories 52 / Protein 0.1g / Carbohydrate 0.1g / Dietary Fiber 0g / Total Sugars 0g / Total Fat 5.8 g / Saturated Fat 3.6g / Cholesterol 15.3mg / Sodium 307.5mg AUTHOR: Joanne Gallagher We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? To inspire you to get in the kitchen and confidently cook fresh and flavorful meals.More About Us