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Learn how to make Buffalo Sauce with just three ingredients! Homemade buffalo sauce is spicy, tangy, easy to make, and versatile, too. You’ll want to make your own buffalo sauce every time!
Hot wing sauce is perfect for all kinds of dishes, from homemade buffalo wings to buffalo ranch dip, cauliflower bites, and more! The best part about this recipe is that it uses just three ingredients and is ready in 5 minutes.
Homemade Buffalo Sauce
In general, I consider myself to be a healthy eater and am able to exercise a decent amount of self-control when it comes to food. That is not the case when it comes to all things buffalo sauce!
This includes buffalo wings, grilled buffalo chicken sandwiches, buffalo spice potato chips… the list goes on. If there’s buffalo sauce somewhere in the dish, chances are I’m eating it!
The best buffalo sauce is homemade buffalo sauce. Not only does it taste amazing on so many things, it only takes 5 minutes and 3 ingredients to make. How easy is that?
What is buffalo sauce?
Buffalo sauce is found on the menu of nearly every sports bar and restaurant around. I always thought that it was this complicated concoction that took forever to develop, but I’m happy to tell you that’s totally not the case.
It’s easy to learn how to make buffalo sauce! And trust me, it’s so worth it to make your own instead of buying it. Homemade buffalo hot sauce is incredibly flavorful!
It’s definitely the best hot sauce for wings, but you can use it for so much more!
Why is it called buffalo sauce?
Have you ever wondered why it’s called buffalo sauce? If so, you’re not alone! Buffalo wings originated at a place called the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York.
As with most food origin stories, there are a number of variations regarding how and why the recipe was created, but the fact is that it happened in Buffalo, New York – so that’s what makes it Buffalo sauce!
Is buffalo sauce spicy?
Buffalo sauce is a little spicy, but you can adjust the flavor to make it more or less spicy by using honey. The honey in this recipe cuts down the spice a little bit, but you can add more honey to make it even less spicy.
If you’d like to make it even spicier, though, feel free to add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper!
Buffalo sauce should contain a nice balance of spicy, tangy, and even a little sweet, depending on how much honey or sugar is added to it.
Buffalo Sauce Ingredients
- Butter
- Hot Sauce
- Honey
Our easy buffalo sauce recipe is a combination of three simple ingredients.
Combining these three ingredients provides you with a tangy homemade buffalo sauce you’ll love. Remember, you can adjust the amount of honey for more or less sweetness if you like.
The star of buffalo sauce is the hot sauce itself. My favorite hot sauce to use is Frank’s Red Hot Original variety. Frank’s gives you that quintessential ‘buffalo’ flavor to which we are accustomed. It uses aged cayenne peppers, vinegar, and some garlic.
You can use the hot sauce you like best, but I think Frank’s hot sauce works best. Frank’s buffalo sauce is just delicious. It has the perfect level of spice and tang!
Keep in mind that changing the hot sauce you use will change the flavor of this recipe.
How to Make Buffalo Sauce
The first step when making buffalo sauce is to melt some butter. I like to do this in a skillet on the stovetop.
- Simply heat a skillet to medium-low and add 4 Tbsp. of unsalted butter to the pan. Stir the butter around as it slowly melts in the pan. Heat it just until it melts, and be careful that it doesn’t brown or burn.
- Once the butter has melted add ¾ cup of Frank’s Hot Sauce to the skillet. Stir the hot sauce into the butter until completely combined.
- Continue to cook the sauce on medium-low for a few minutes and allow the ingredients to melt together.
- Add 1 Tbsp. of honey to the buffalo sauce and stir until the honey is combined.
- Remove the skillet from the heat when it is heated through.
Uses for Buffalo Sauce
Once you know how to make the buffalo sauce, you can use it for all of your favorite dishes! The most popular use for it is to add it to Homemade Buffalo Wings. This is a personal favorite of mine, but I also love it with Smoked Chicken Thighs!
You can also use it to make buffalo chicken meatballs, buffalo chicken sandwiches, buffalo chicken pizza, buffalo chicken tacos, buffalo chicken wraps… Basically, chicken and buffalo sauce are made to go together!
You can also keep it vegetarian by adding it to fried tofu, cauliflower bites, or tempeh. I’ve ordered buffalo tofu strips at a local restaurant and they were pretty stellar.
Buffalo cauliflower is a great option if you want a lighten things up a little bit. Any type of snack food like popcorn or chips are also perfect vehicles for this crave-worthy sauce.
Best Football Appetizers
Homemade buffalo sauce is great to have in your kitchen repertoire. Once you know how to make the buffalo sauce, you’ll be set!
Homemade Sauce Recipes
Make more of your favorite sauce recipes at home! Here are our favorites:
- Peri Peri Sauce Recipe: A spicy, flavorful sauce, perfect for Peri Peri Chicken!
- How to Make Teriyaki Sauce: An easy, classic sauce, ideal for Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken.
- How to Make Alfredo Sauce: Make a cheesy, delicious Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken with this homemade alfredo recipe.
- Remoulade Sauce Recipe: Creamy, tangy, and versatile, too! Pair remoulade sauce with seafood.
- Yum Yum Sauce Recipe: A classic Japanese steakhouse sauce that will have you saying “yum, yum”!
- Easy Hollandaise Sauce: A brunch classic you’ll love with Eggs Benedict!
Did you make this recipe? Give it a rating and let us know what you think! We love to hear from you.
How to Make Buffalo Sauce
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsps. unsalted butter
- ¾ cup Frank’s Red Hot Original Hot Sauce
- 1 Tbsp. honey
Instructions
- Heat a skillet to medium-low and add 4 Tbsps. of butter to the pan. Slowly melt the butter in the skillet and stir to prevent burning.
- Once the butter has melted add ¾ cup of Frank's Red Hot Sauce to the pan. Stir to incorporate into the butter.
- Add 1 Tbsp. of honey to the butter and hot sauce. Stir until completely combined. Continue to heat on medium-low for a few minutes until it has heated through. Remove skillet from heat when finished.
- Adjust the spice levels as you like. Add more honey for less spice and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce for more spice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Photography by Christine Rooney
Emmanuel Chibuikem says
My world! Those wings are to die for
Em Beitel says
Thank you, Emmanuel! We love these wings.