Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce

Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce is spicy and tangy, made with hot pepper sauce and butter mixed with spices and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, ready in 10 minutes!

Sometimes you don’t have time to run to the store, so knowing how to make sauces from scratch can be a real time saver! This sauce goes great with these Instant Pot Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Drumsticks, or Air Fryer Chicken Tenders!

This wing sauce is very easy to make and one of my favorite recipes for game day, with minimal prep time and only a few simple ingredients! Find your favorite hot sauce, and simmer it with some butter, vinegar, and seasoning. It’s spicy and tangy, with buttery flavor all at once. 

I really like using this recipe to make these Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wings! This will definitely be your new favorite dipping sauce, perfect for a party!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Hot Pepper Sauce. For this recipe, choose your favorite hot sauce brand. I like to make this with whatever I have in my house at the moment, but the most important part is that you like the flavor of the hot sauce. Also, pay attention to the heat level in the hot sauce, some of them can get very spicy!

Melted Butter. I use unsalted butter, so I can adjust the salt level later. This helps balance the heat from the hot sauce and adds a really nice texture. 

White Vinegar. This adds a kick of tangy flavor, that goes perfectly with the creamy texture of the butter. 

Worcestershire Sauce. This adds a deeper flavor, so you aren’t just facing heat. Just make sure the one you’re using is gluten free, as this can vary by brand.

Spices. Nothing too complicated here. We’re adding some garlic powder and paprika for flavor. You can also add cayenne pepper for some added heat, but this is optional. Add salt and black pepper to taste, but you may not even need additional salt. 

Instead of garlic powder, you can add 1-2 garlic cloves, finely minced. Add a little bit of butter to the saucepan and cook the fresh garlic for a few minutes over medium heat before adding the other ingredients.

Cornstarch. This is used to thicken the sauce, so it sticks more easily to whatever you’re adding it to. The most important part is that the cornstarch is added while the sauce is still cold. If the sauce is already hot, it will just clump up and make a mess. 

You can leave the cornstarch out of the recipe, but the result will be thinner. 

How to Make Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch and hot sauce until well combined. 
2. Add all ingredients to a saucepan over medium heat, whisking everything together while the butter melts. 
3. Bring the hot sauce mixture to a simmer, then let it simmer for 3-4 minutes, whisking often. 
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Serve immediately, or store refrigerated. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More Homemade Sauce Recipes

• Peach BBQ Sauce
• Homemade Tartar Sauce
• Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce (Copycat)
• Chimichurri Sauce
• Honey BBQ Sauce

Storage

Refrigerate buffalo wing sauce in an airtight container for about a week. Because it contains butter, you may have to reheat the sauce before using it. 

I don’t recommend freezing leftover sauce, as it may turn out grainy afterwards. 

Recipe Variations

• Make this an extra hot buffalo sauce with cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Taste it first though, you don’t want to go too crazy! This is already starting out as a really spicy sauce.
• Balance some of the heat in this homemade buffalo sauce with some brown sugar if it has too much of a spicy kick. Start with 2 tablespoons and work from there. 
• If you like more mild spicy food, leave out the cayenne pepper and add some brown sugar and honey or maple syrup to the sauce. I also recommend starting out with a more mild hot sauce to bring down the heat level.

Cooking Tips

• This buffalo sauce recipe comes together really quickly! We’re mostly just simmering everything together to melt the butter and combine the flavors. 
• Cutting the butter into pieces can help it melt faster.
• The cornstarch helps thicken the sauce, but if you don’t mind it on the thinner side you can leave the cornstarch out. 
• If I’m making wings or chicken tenders, I’ll usually use this buffalo sauce recipe alongside this Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. 

If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!

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