Easy Homemade Buffalo Sauce

This tangy, smoky Buffalo Sauce is what foodie dreams are made of. I’ve been sharing recipes made with it for years. But today, I’m finally showing you how to make homemade buffalo sauce, along with a few of my absolute favorite ways to use it.

If there’s anything on the table that involves Buffalo sauce – you can count me in! I love using it for tacos, In quesadillas, or for slow cooker chicken to build low-carb meals like salads, power bowls, and lettuce cups.

What Is Buffalo Sauce

We all know it as the vibrant, orange sauce that coats chicken wings or all of these epic buffalo chicken recipes, but what exactly is Buffalo Sauce?

Its origin can be debated, but one thing remains true, and that’s the recipe. A mixture of hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, butter, and seasonings creates this tangy sauce with a little kick of spice.

Is Buffalo Sauce the Same as Hot Sauce?

A lot of people tend to mistake hot sauce for Buffalo sauce, but they’re completely different sauces. Buffalo sauce includes hot sauce as one of its key ingredients, but it brings so much more to the table.

Buffalo sauce has a much smoother taste, thanks to the butter but it still has that tangy kick from the vinegar. It’s a much more user-friendly sauce for dipping, there’s a reason you don’t dip your wings in straight hot sauce!

How to Make Buffalo Sauce

If you can bring water to a simmer, then you can make this recipe. Yep, it’s that easy! They say that the best way to learn to make something is to see how it’s done, so make sure to check out this video:

This homemade version takes less than 10 minutes and yields about 3 cups. Here’s how its done for those of us that like lists:

1. Combine
In a medium saucepan, combine hot sauce, butter, white vinegar, Worcestershire, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and salt.

2. Simmer
While whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer. Make sure all the ingredients are combined, and the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat.

3. Dunk, Dip, Pour
Now that the sauce is ready, it’s time to pour, drizzle, and dip! Whatever you don’t use right away can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

What Goes In It?

As easy as the recipe is to make, the ingredients are even more simple, and I bet you have them all on hand. So before you run to the kitchen to make this, let’s go over the ingredients:

• Hot sauce – I like this one
• Butter
• White vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Cayenne pepper
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Salt

Thickening the Sauce

If you remove the sauce from heat and notice it appears runny, don’t worry. As the sauce cools, it will thicken, thanks to the butter, so no need for a thickening agent. Just let it do its thing, and you’ll have perfect sauce.

How to Make Spicy Buffalo Sauce

The hot sauce you use for the recipe will determine how spicy the buffalo sauce will become. Using a milder “hot” sauce will yield a mild Buffalo sauce.

Picked up a flaming-hot, 911 sauce from that Mexican trip and are thinking about using it to make this recipe? Then you’ll have flaming-hot, 911 Buffalo sauce. I think you get the idea.

How Long Does Homemade Buffalo Sauce Last?

Like all homemade dressings and condiments, the refrigerated shelf-life of this Buffalo sauce is about 2 weeks. That said, it will keep much longer if needed since technically there aren’t any ingredients that will go bad per se.

You can also freeze this Buffalo sauce for up to 6 months.

Best Buffalo Sauce Recipes

I saved the best for last- all the amazing meals you can use with this homemade sauce! I am the QUEEN of Buffalo Sauce Meals, and here are a few recipes to prove it! 

• Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
• Buffalo Chicken Tacos
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza
• Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas
• Buffalo Chicken Power Bowls
• Buffalo Chicken Hummus Dip
• Buffalo Chickpea Lettuce Cups

I recommend starting with the slow cooker buffalo chicken, it yields enough to make at least 2 or 3 of the other recipes, and that’s one less thing you have to think about for dinner!