My Best Buffalo Sauce recipe is made by warming hot sauce, butter, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder in a saucepan and reducing it a little. Ready to pour over your favorite chicken wings recipe, or for something a little different, how about trying it with some cauliflower wings.
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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.
Original buffalo sauce combines hot sauce with butter and cayenne pepper. I’ve added some extra flavors, like Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder, to make it my own.
I love to make my own homemade sauces, that way I have total control over what I put into them, and you can adapt them to suit your own and your family’s tastes.
What I love most is that I can prepare this sauce in 5 minutes, which means I can make it fresh every time my family wants to enjoy wings.
If you love making your own sauces, try some of these great tasting recipes, my Jerk BBQ Sauce, Homemade BBQ Sauce, Cocktail Sauce, Vinegar BBQ Sauce, and my Homemade Remoulade Sauce.
Why is it called Buffalo Sauce?
Buffalo sauce does not take its name from the animal, it takes its name from the place where it was created, in a small family-run restaurant in Buffalo, New York.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this sauce:
- Hot sauce – I like to use the Frank’s cayenne hot sauce for this recipe. Just know the spicier the hot sauce, the spicier your sauce will be.
- Unsalted butter – I like to use unsalted butter in this recipe. I find the hot sauce has enough salt in it.
- White vinegar – adds an extra pop of flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce – For a savory hint of flavor.
- Garlic powder – I love garlic, so adding a tiny bit of garlic powder is a must.
How to make homemade buffalo sauce
Combine the hot sauce, unsalted butter, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and use in your favorite recipes that call for buffalo sauce.
Expert Tips
These tips will help you make the best sauce you’ve ever tasted:
- I use Frank’s Original hot sauce in this recipe. Not to be confused with Frank’s buffalo sauce, that sauce is already made.
- Don’t walk away from the stove when you are reducing the sauce, you don’t want the sauce to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- I recommend using a non-stick saucepan if you have one.
Variations
The ingredients in this sauce are staples in my kitchen; however, feel free to adapt the recipe to suit your tastes. I recommend tasting the sauce and adapting it to suit your palette.
- If you want to make this sauce spicier, add some cayenne pepper or chili powder.
- Like it slightly sourer, then add a little more vinegar.
- If you prefer a little sweeter sauces, add a touch of runny honey or maple syrup.
What do you serve it with?
This is a versatile sauce, and you can serve it with alongside many dishes. But the classics always work for me and I serve it with my chicken wings, Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks, Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, Jerk Chicken Wings, or my Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings.
Don’t just think chicken either, as this sauce works a treat with veggies too. Try it with my Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings or my Oven Baked Cauliflower Wings.
How to store
To refrigerate: This delicious sauce can be made and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Reheat over low heat so that the sauce doesn’t separate.
To freeze: This sauce freezes well. Place it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months. When ready to serve, defrost in the refrigerator before warming up in a saucepan.
FAQs:
It’s really easy to make gluten-free buffalo sauce. Just ensure that the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauces that you use are gluten-free varieties.
If your sauce is too thin, continue simmering it until it reduces a little more.
If your sauce is too thick, whisk in a little water to loosen it a little. Then remember to taste and check the balance of flavors and adjust if necessary.
Hot sauce is an ingredient in buffalo sauce, however, buffalo sauce also has the addition of butter. Buffalo sauce has a richer depth of flavor than hot sauce.
This is a spicy sauce, but not as intense as hot sauce. Adding butter to a buffalo sauce tones down the heat, giving it more balance rather than fiery heat.
The butter balances out the chili heat and adds a silky smooth texture to the sauce.
If you have tried making my Buffalo Sauce recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
The Easiest Buffalo Sauce (5 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups hot sauce
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Combine hot sauce, unsalted butter, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and use in your favorite recipes that call for buffalo sauce.
Notes
- I use Frank’s Original hot sauce in this recipe.
- This recipe yields about 1.5 cups of sauce.