Homemade Buffalo Sauce

Homemade Buffalo sauce recipes are all too often more complicated than they need to be. There are only a couple of ingredients needed for a classic wing hot sauce. We love spicy food at our house, so there is always a batch in the fridge.

straight on shot of jar of buffalo sauce


 

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Buffalo Sauce

A perfectly spicy sauce that tastes good on anything from wings to sandwiches– what’s not to love!

  • Tastes great on anything – Whether using for buffalo chicken wings, mixing with blue cheese dressing for buffalo dip or using in place of traditional hot sauce, this recipe is the best.
  • Simple ingredients – You only need four basic ingredients to make this sauce, most of which you might already have on hand.
  • Easy to change up – If you like your sauce less spicy, more spicy or even a little sweet, this buffalo sauce is easy to customize.
egg roll dipping into jar of buffalo sauce

Ingredients

So now onto the buffalo sauce recipe… hot wing sauce ingredients are typically a base of white vinegar or butter. Generally speaking, the two are on a continuum; the more butter the more mild, the more vinegar, the spicer. Different types of chile powder are used, but generally it is a basic cayenne pepper.

Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce is only two ingredients: Frank’s Hot Sauce and unsalted butter. The best, and some might say the only, sauce for chicken wings. 

But I promise you, when you whip those two ingredients together, magic happens, but when you elevate the spicy pepper and vinegar aspects, it is pure bliss.

  • Frank’s Hot Sauce – Sometimes referred to as Frank’s redhot, this original cayenne pepper hot sauce is elevated with just a few simple ingredients.
  • Unsalted butter – You can always add more salt later if you need to, but I always prefer to start with unsalted butter.
  • Cayenne pepper – Adding just a little extra cayenne pepper to Frank’s Red Hot is a great way to step up the spice.
  • Apple cider vinegar – This is my secret ingredient for adding just a little extra tang to this homemade buffalo sauce.
overhead shot of spoon in jar of buffalo sauce

How to Make Homemade Buffalo Sauce

You are going to love how easy it is to make this sauce mixture with a kick!

  1. Add ingredients to pan. Grab the ingredients and a small saucepan.
  2. Stir and simmer. Whisk together over medium heat until fully combined.
  3. Store or use immediately. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.
buffalo wing on jar of sauce

Hot Wing Sauce Variations

Add a little pizazz to your homemade buffalo sauce recipe using these secret ingredients.

  • Garlic Buffalo Sauce- add 1 teaspoon granulated garlic and/or 1 fresh garlic clove while whisking. 
  • Jalapeno Buffalo Sauce– add 1 minced fresh jalapeno while whisking. 
  • Super Spicy Buffalo Sauce- add 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper and/or 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne or ground ghost pepper or chili pepper while whisking to up the spice level. You can also add more Frank’s Hot Sauce, changing the ratio.
  • BBQ Buffalo– Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce while whisking. This is my favorite sauce for wings!
  • Buffalo Blue or Buffalo Ranch– add 2-3 tablespoons of blue cheese or ranch dressing to the mix. Pr even real blue cheese crumbles.
  • Robust- If you want a super heady sauce, try adding a few dabs of Worcestershire sauce to the mix.
  • Old Bay– Add 1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning seasoning for a taste of Maryland. This is great on top of Maryland Crab Cakes.
  • Sweet– Try adding a little bit of honey to this sauce for the perfect sweet and spicy combo.
wing dipping into buffalo sauce

Recipes that Use Buffalo Sauce

This versatile sauce can be used as a dipping sauce, in recipes and for drizzling.

And of course consider chicken tenders, shrimp, cauliflower bites, French fries, avocado toast, chicken tacos or anything else that needs a level of heat.

close up of wing dipping into buffalo sauce

Commonly Asked Questions

Are buffalo sauce and hot sauce the same?

Buffalo sauce has hot sauce in it, so kinda yes but kinda no. 

Can I make buffalo sauce with Sriracha sauce or Tabasco sauce?

You can certainly make a tasty sauce for wings, but neither will make a true buffalo sauce. Both are a cayenne pepper sauce made with hot peppers, but Frank’s Red Hot Sauce is the most traditional. Diamond Crystal can also be used.

Can you freeze buffalo sauce?

You can! The best way is to put it in an airtight plastic bag, releasing as much air as possible. It should be good for up to 6 months. Check out my tips on freezing food HERE. 

Can I make this with margarine?

Yes, in fact many folks do because it is more stable than real butter. Margarine is made with vegetable oil and doesn’t actually need to be refrigerated. You’ll find people use this in place of butter for many sauces, even movie theater popcorn.

angled shot of jar of buffalo sauce with text overlay for pinterest

More Homemade Sauce Recipes

We like to keep it saucy! Check out even more homemade sauce recipes.

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Garlic Sauce for Pizza

If you've ever wondered how to make garlic butter sauce for pizza, wonder no more. This recipe is just like the Papa John's dipping sauce for pizza or breadsticks!
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Best Cocktail Sauce

Classic Cocktail Sauce is more than just ketchup and horseradish. Come see how to make a spectacular, restaurant quality sauce in just 5 minutes!
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straight on shot of jar of buffalo sauce

Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe

4.77 from 30 votes
Homemade Buffalo Sauce is an easy blend of just two ingredients! Use other buffalo sauce ingredients to make fun twists for all your buffalo recipes!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, whisk together the hot sauce and butter over medium heat until fully incorporated.
  • Add the cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar. Remove from the heat, cool and use in any recipe that requires buffalo sauce.
  • If you've tried this recipe, make sure to come back, rate it and leave us a comments.

Video

Notes

Garlic Buffalo Sauce- add 1 teaspoon granulated garlic and/or 1 fresh garlic clove while whisking. 
Jalapeno Buffalo Sauce- add 1 minced fresh jalapeno while whisking. 
Super Spicy Buffalo Sauce- add 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper and/or 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne or ground ghost pepper while whisking. 
BBQ Buffalo- Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce while whisking. 

Nutrition

Calories: 206 kcal, Fat: 23 g, Saturated Fat: 14 g, Cholesterol: 61 mg, Sodium: 796 mg, Potassium: 43 mg, Vitamin A: 760 IU, Vitamin C: 22.4 mg, Calcium: 7 mg, Iron: 0.1 mg
Author: Chef Jessica Anne
Calories: 206
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: American
Keyword: anchor bar sauce, buffalo chicken sauce, homemade buffalo sauce
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see your recipes – snap a picture and mention @savoryexperiments or tag #savoryexperiments!
collage of buffalo sauce for pinterest
Jessica Formicola in her ktichen

About the Author

Chef Jessica Anne Formicola

Jessica the mom, wife and chef behind Savory Experiments. You might see her on the Emmy- nominated TV show Plate It! or on bookshelves as a cookbook author. Jessica is a Le Cordon Bleu certified recipe developer and regularly contributed to Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, The Daily Meal, Mashed and more!

Read More About Jessica

4.77 from 30 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Questions and Reviews

  1. 5 stars
    I love buffalo sauce, and the spicier the better. I am going to give this a go for the super bowl party we are hosting.

  2. 5 stars
    Once you start making your own Buffalo sauce, you never want to go back. It’s so easy, right? Makes a big difference in recipes. I love this!

  3. It’s so funny that I always think of homemade buffalo sauce as something that involves several ingredients. But hot sauce and butter are like every day staples in our house. Definitely need to make this recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    My 10 year old daughter has been “binge watching” the newer Fuller House over holiday break. So your Uncle Jessie story really made me laugh because I’ve been seeing a lot of him recently on my TV! Buffalo is always a favorite. My favorite way to make wings at home is to grill them 🙂