The Thirsty Feast

Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe

Making homemade buffalo sauce from scratch is easy! Choose your spice level – great for buffalo wings, chicken dips, and any favorite party recipe.

Homemade buffalo sauce in a mason jar


I love making homemade condiments and spice mixes. I started with taco seasoning mix, went on to make a delicious and very easy homemade pizza sauce recipe and even concocted a homemade onion soup mix.

My mom is so in love with buffalo wings that I decided to create a homemade buffalo sauce recipe just for her birthday. Making buffalo sauce is very easy – so easy that I will never buy it at the store again.

After a literal year of ingredient tweaking, I created the perfect easy sauce recipe just for her. And you, since I’m sharing it here.

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What is Buffalo Sauce?

Many people think that hot sauce and buffalo sauce are one and the same. They are not. Hot sauce is just that – hot sauce. Buffalo sauce, however, is hot sauce, butter, and spices.

And if you’re interested in finding out why it is called buffalo sauce, I like Time’s brief history. Boy, am I glad the sauce made its way out of Buffalo, New York!

A lot of people ask me if buffalo sauce is healthy or if it is bad for you. My answer to that is to eat it in moderation because it is high in fat because of the butter.

buffalo sauce in a small bowl with celery sticks

How to Make Buffalo Sauce

To make homemade wing sauce, you need to start with a basic hot pepper sauce. If you want, you can totally make the hot pepper sauce from scratch.

You can make a very basic hot wing sauce by mixing the hot sauce with melted butter in equal parts. That’s actually how the original buffalo sauce was made.

I like to take it to the next level and add some additional spices.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the remaining ingredients. Whisk well to combine. Bring to a simmer while whisking and turn off just before boiling. Allow the hot sauce to cool before serving.

Buffalo Sauce Ingredients

  • hot pepper sauce
  • butter
  • spices
Buffalo sauce in a jar with celery sticks

Buffalo Wing Sauce Recipe Notes

  • Type of ground pepper. I prefer white ground pepper instead of black ground pepper for color reasons – I don’t want to see the specks in the sauce. If you can’t find white pepper or want to use black pepper, just substitute in equal amounts. 
  • Spice level. This homemade buffalo sauce recipe has a kick to it but you can change its spice level by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper. According to a reader comment below, white pepper has a higher level of spice. If you want a less spicy sauce, consider using black pepper instead.
  • Make sure to mix your sauce well. If it starts to separate, mix it again. You can also use an immersion blender to combine the sauce before you use (or store) it. This immersion blender is my favorite – Kitchenaid 3-Speed Hand Blender.

How To Store Homemade Buffalo Sauce

I store any leftover sauce in a mason jar in the fridge and give it a really good shake before using it. That helps with any separation that may happen while it is being stored.

Looking for recipes in which to use this sauce? Check out my list of buffalo flavored recipes.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @thethirstyfeast on IG!

Homemade Buffalo Sauce

Homemade Buffalo Sauce

Yield: 2 cups
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Making homemade buffalo sauce from scratch is easy! Choose your spice level - great for buffalo wings, chicken dips, and any favorite party recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of unsalted butter (2 sticks)
  • 1.5 cups hot pepper sauce
  • 3 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black or ground white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the remaining ingredients. Whisk well to combine.
  2. Bring to a simmer while whisking and turn off just before boiling.
  3. Cool before serving.

Notes

I prefer using white pepper for color reasons. Either type of ground pepper can be used. White pepper is more spicy than black pepper.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 170 Total Fat: 19g Saturated Fat: 11g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 49mg Sodium: 1032mg Carbohydrates: 1g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 0g
© Jenny Bullistron
Cuisine: American / Category: Condiments

Reviews from readers!

Delicious sauce. I added 2 different hot sauces to it and put back in the oven under the broiler. A big hit!!! – Heather

I am obsessed with buffalo sauce and make this every week. I add sliced scallions for color and flavor. – K

This made a great sauce for buffalo cauliflower with a homemade blue cheese dressing to dip!!! – Lauren

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • I have never canned it so don’t know for sure. My first thought is you should substitute the butter for a vegetable based spread if you are going to can it – I believe most buffalo sauce you buy at the store uses butter-substitute to make it shelf-stable. I wish I knew more about canning so I could help you out. I would recommend testing that out as well, taste-wise.

      Reply

  2. This sauce has sounds great and I can’t wait to try. Do you think I can substitute equal parts ghee for the butter?
    Thanks!!

    Reply

    • Hi Melanie – I think that would work but my first thought is you may need to add a thickening agent like cornstarch or it may be a little runny. If I were testing it out, I would wait to add anything until the end; you may be happy with the consistency and I think it will taste almost the same.

      Reply

  3. Hi Jenny I am a 16 year old boy who has gotten really into cooking and your recipe is one I would like to try if you have any others to recommend ,please reply and suggest thanks!

    Reply

  4. made this wing sauce today, i won’t look any further, fabulous recipe! going out for wings is getting way too pricey, so i’ve started makin them at home with broiled bone-in thighs for a more meaty bite. ty so very much for sharing! i think maybe i fell in love with you a little bit:)

    Reply

  5. Another Buffalonian here – I’ll admit you are better than I – I usually just mix Franks and melted butter for tossing my wings, but this sounds DEFINITELY like the way to go. Thanks for sharing this at #HappinessIsHomemade this week – will be sharing on my social media as well! 🙂

    Reply

  8. woohoo for me….can’t wait to try it….and unfortunately, I CANNOT have bleu cheese due to an allergy…therefore, I am stuck with ranck….sorry all you true bleu cheese fans, but allergies prevail!

    Reply

  10. That’s a good sauce recipe but I usually like it considerably hotter so I use at least a full cup of Frank’s in mine as well as a half tsp of paprika, or more to taste, which gives it a richer, darker color. A little note about pepper… white pepper is considerably spicier than black pepper and will give it more of a kick. If you decide to use black instead and still want that kick, I would increase the amount of cayenne to compensate.

    A couple of major changes for the more daring… you could add a good tablespoon of crushed chili pepper seeds to the sauce to really boost the heat and give the wings a definite scary look after they have been tossed in the sauce. This is a true ‘Suicide Sauce’. And if you want to give a nice smokey kick to your wings, add a few drops of your favorite liquid smoke flavor to the sauce before tossing the wings in it. Your guests will never figure out exactly what the difference is but they will love it if they are BBQ fans. Don’t be afraid to experiment and you can always drop the heat back down if you find it too hot by adding a bit more butter to the sauce.

    Reply

  13. This looks great – will be just the thing during the Stanley Cup playoffs 🙂 (Just thinking how different life would have been if I’d had access to things like this back in the university during the 80s… would have made things a lot more fun!)

    Reply

  14. First of all a late congratulations to your mother! Tell her I did not forget her birthday but was hold up by some technical issues to celebrate her day :p.
    Now serious 🙂 I’m glad you honoured her with this recipe since I’m really happy you shared this one! I can’t wait to try it on some chicken wings soon!

    cheers!

    Reply

  15. I love buffalo wing sauce! I, too, love to dip my celery in it along with some blue cheese! My hubs makes the best baked chicken wings, and this sauce will be awesome on them. Can’t wait to try it!

    Reply

  20. buffalo sauce is one of my favorite flavors – love that tang! I think I might try this with a buttery flavored powder in place of the butter? so it doesn’t solidify in the fridge, and adds the thickness like the flour addition…

    thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply

  21. This recipe is great, Jenny! I didn’t even like buffalo sauce till I made this homemade version that I incorporated into my chicken potpie recipe. I linked to it on my blog here: http: //www.beneaththebuckeyetree.com/recipe/smoky-buffalo-chicken-potpie-2/

    Thanks so much 🙂

    Reply

  22. Hi Jenny B, this looks like a great recipe and I cannot wait to try it! Can you send me instructions on how to make the wings using this wing sauce recipe? I’m going to a football tailgate next Sunday and would like to make these!

    Thanks!
    Jenn A
    Jennovermoe@yahoo.com

    Reply

    • Hi Jenn! I usually bake wings when I make them but if you need directions for frying, let me know. Preheat your oven to 400°F and separate and clean up your wings (about 5 pounds worth). Put your wings in a large bowl and toss them with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and spread out on baking sheets in a single layer (you’ll probably need 2 sheets). Bake the wings until cooked through and skin is crispy, about 45–50 minutes. Halfway through, turn the wings so that they cook evenly. Remove the wings from the oven and toss them in buffalo sauce (reserve a little bit of the sauce for dipping). Serve with blue cheese and ranch. I will email you these instructions too!

      Reply

  23. I’m originally from the Buffalo area and the Anchor Bar was the place that invented Buffalo Wings. Your version is very close, using Franks Hot Sauce, but believe it or not, vinegar is a vital ingredient. Here is the copy of the ORIGINAL recipe from The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY-
    Anchor Bar’s Buffalo Wings: The Original Hot Wing Recipe
    Ingredients

    8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter
    4 tsp cider vinegar
    ¼ to 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
    ⅛ tsp garlic powder
    4 to 8 Tbsp hot sauce, or to taste (Frank’s is the brand used in Buffalo)
    Celery sticks
    Blue cheese dressing is served on the side for dipping, with celery

    In a saucepan, combine butter, vinegar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and hot sauce. Bring to simmer over medium. Remove from heat.

    Transfer cooked wings to a large serving bowl and pour hot sauce mixture over them. Toss wings to coat thoroughly with sauce.

    Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing … and plenty of napkins!

    Just a side note-if you can find a bowl with a plastic lid, you can pour the sauce over the wings, cover the bowl and shake it up! Works great! ENJOY!

    Reply

  24. Yum! It says hot sauce. I think of Tabasco. What kind did you use or which ones do you recommend? Thanks!

    Reply

  25. This looks great! It’s very similar to one I make. I make a lot of wings and it’s hard to beat a homemade sauce. Try adding in a bit of grated Parmesan cheese for a flavor kicker. Yum!

    Reply

  27. I have never considered making this on my own. I always buy the store variety. I cannot wait to try this! Thanks for linking it up at This Is How We Roll.

    Reply

  28. I’m obsessed with buffalo sauce on wings but we don’t quite make it right over here in the UK so I’m glad I’ve found a recipe to get it right myself!!

    Reply

  29. I am a Buffalonian. I was raised here in “the city of good neighbors” and another thing we know all about is Buffalo chicken wings or as we call them here,”wings”. You are right on using Frank’s Original Hot Sauce. That is what was used when Buffalo Wings were invented or originated here. Labor Day weekend there is a huge chicken wing festival here. Restaurants and patrons come from all over the country for this “hot” event. If you like wings and some seriously HOT SPICY wings this is the place to be. It happens every year on Labor Day weekend. And for the sake of the tradition of Buffalo Chicken Wings they are served with BLUE CHEESE DRESSING not ranch dressing. Be true to the WINGS people!!! Awesome recipe by the way!!!!

    Reply

    • I think I need to make my way to Buffalo soon so I can try buffalo sauce the way Buffalonians like it. 🙂 Thanks of rate information – I’ll be looking into traveling there over Labor Day weekend for sure!

      Reply

    • Blue cheese is the way to go, no doubt. Ranch kinda ruins them for me, but who am I to impart criticism on someone else’s bad taste 😉

      Reply

  31. Will has been begging to make homemade buffalo sauce – I’ll have to share your recipe! Who knew it was so easy to DIY?!

    Reply

  32. Yum!! How long will this last in the fridge? Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Come back again next week!

    Reply

    • I would probably only let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 days. Also I recommend heating it up in the microwave for 10 seconds or so before using if it has been the fridge. The butter re-solidifies and it is better when its melted again.

      Reply

      • it will last longer in the fridge, but my family loves it on everything fries, chicken fingers, my oldest daughter even dips popcorn in it, , also , re heat on the stove so you can control the temp NEVER let it come to a boil , i always add a touch of maple syrup , something we did back in the day . Im from Western NY where Buffalo wings were born

        Reply

    • By a quick look of the ingredients list, the sauce should last in the refrigerator for several weeks. The ingredient with the shortest shelf life in a recipe like this is how I gauge how long something will keep. Since butter is the ingredient with the shortest shelf life, if kept cold, butter will last for a minimum of several weeks, if not months. Americans tend to go a little overboard when it comes to food safety! This will certainly last more than just a few days!

      Reply

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