How to thicken barbecue sauce - 7 ways

One of life’s greatest pleasures is firing up the grill in the summer, cooking your favorite food, and dousing it in barbecue sauce. I am a firm believer that all the best foods are nothing more than vehicles for delicious sauces.

Now that summer is upon us, you may want to learn how to make your own delicious homemade barbecue sauce. Having the perfect sauce can make or break your meal, and it’s always one of the most memorable parts of any barbecue.

Although there are many types of sauce to choose from, it is important to learn some of the basic knowledge necessary to achieve a perfect end result. Even some store-bought brands of sauce can be too thin and require a bit of work to make it thick and sticky.

To create a sauce that perfectly coats whatever you’ve cooked, it needs to be just the right thickness so it doesn’t slide off after you put it on.

There’s always going to be a bit of a mess when it comes to barbecue sauce (that’s part of the fun), but you want most of it to stay on your food.

So what is the best way to thicken barbecue sauce? The best methods are to reduce the sauce, add cornstarch or white flour, add fat such as butter, and use gelatin, tomato paste, or xanthan gum to add thickness to the sauce. 

Read on to learn how to use these easy thickening methods, with measurements and recipes to help you become a sauce-making pro.

The 7 Best Ways to Thicken BBQ Sauce

There are lots of great ways you can choose to thicken your barbecue sauce depending on what you have on hand. You will also need to consider how these different methods can affect the final flavor of your sauce.

For most of these methods, I always recommend adding a little more salt at the end of the cooking process to bring all the flavors to life.

Your taste will vary, but I start by adding 1/4 teaspoon, stirring and adding small amounts until I get the flavor I want.

Reduce barbecue sauce

Reducing the barbecue sauce is the only method on the list that doesn’t require you to add anything else to the sauce.

It is also a great option if you find that the flavor is not as strong as you expected. The reduction helps to concentrate the flavors and create a thick, sticky sauce.

Step 1:

Put the barbecue sauce in a saucepan over medium heat.

Step 2:

Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer so that small bubbles begin to form on the surface. Be sure to stir the sauce from time to time so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Step 3:

Once boiling, turn the heat to medium-low and let it simmer.

The steam that evaporates from the sauce is the excess liquid, so the longer you let it simmer, the thicker it will become. It will also thicken slightly as it cools, so you don’t want it to thicken too much.

Check the consistency with a spoon every couple of minutes.

Step 4:

Remove from the heat and allow it to cool. Enjoy with the food you prefer.

As you can see, this method is one of the easiest ways to thicken the sauce. However, it can end up making the flavors too strong. You may want to use a “less is more” approach when sauces on your food.

Thicken the barbecue sauce with cornstarch

Another option to thicken the barbecue sauce is to add a little cornstarch. You will still need to heat the sauce to activate the thickening process, but it won’t take as long to reduce.

The most important step in this process is to combine the cornstarch with the water to make a mush before mixing it into the sauce.

If you try to add the cornstarch directly to the pan, it will end up cakey and unappetizing.

Step 1:

Calculate the amount of barbecue sauce you are going to thicken.

Step 2:

For every 250 ml of barbecue sauce, you will need to measure 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of hot water.

Step 3:

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water until smooth. You don’t want any lumps or they will go into your sauce.

Step 4:

Add the barbecue sauce to a small saucepan and place over medium heat.

Step 5:

Stir in the cornstarch mixture until well combined with the barbecue sauce.

Step 6:

Bring the barbecue sauce to a gentle simmer while stirring occasionally. When it has boiled, turn the heat to low.

Step 7:

Continue stirring for two minutes while the sauce thickens. The longer you leave it on the fire, the thicker it will be.

Step 8:

Remove from the heat and pour the sauce into a bowl or container. Enjoy!

Thicken the barbecue sauce with plain flour

The process for thickening a barbecue sauce with regular flour is the same as for cornstarch. The only small difference is the measurements.

I recommend using white flour instead of whole wheat flour because it has more of the starch needed to thicken the sauce.

Remember that the most important step in this process is to combine the flour with the water to make a porridge before mixing it with the sauce to prevent lumps from forming.

Step 1:

Measure the amount of barbecue sauce you want to thicken.

Step 2:

Measure 2 tablespoons of flour and 1/2 cup of hot water for every 250 ml of barbecue sauce.

Step 3:

Mix the flour and water in a small bowl until smooth. Mix well to make sure there are no lumps.

Step 4:

Bring the barbecue sauce to medium heat in a small saucepan.

Step 5:

Combine the flour with the barbecue sauce.

Step 6:

Stir occasionally while the barbecue sauce simmers. Once it has simmered, lower the heat.

Step 7:

Keep stirring for two minutes. The sauce will continue to thicken the longer you let it cook.

Step 8:

When the sauce is ready, pour it into a bowl and enjoy.

Thicken the barbecue sauce by adding butter

One of my favorite ways to thicken a sauce is by adding butter. It adds a touch of smoothness to the sauce and can help round out the flavors.

I use salted butter because I like the flavor better, but you can use unsalted butter if you have it on hand.

Step 1:

Pre-measure barbecue sauce.

Step 2:

For every 250 ml of barbecue sauce, prepare at least 1 tablespoon of butter. I always use a heaping tablespoon for good measure.

Step 3:

After adding the barbecue sauce to a small saucepan, slowly bring it to a medium heat.

Step 4:

Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until it is all melted into the barbecue sauce.

Step 5:

Continue stirring the barbecue sauce until it starts to simmer gently. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low.

Step 6:

Continue stirring for two minutes while the sauce slowly reduces. Remember that the longer you cook the barbecue sauce, the thicker it will be. Another way to ensure the thickness you want is to add a little more butter.

Step 7:

Remove the sauce from the heat and pour it into a bowl or container to cool. Enjoy!

Thicken the barbecue sauce with gelatin

Another option that I like to use to thicken sauces of all kinds is gelatin. It’s flavorless, so it shouldn’t change the flavor of your sauce too much. Also, it creates a really lovely texture once thickened.

Just like thickening the sauce with cornstarch or flour, you’ll need to dissolve the gelatin in water before adding it to the sauce or you’ll end up with unappetizing lumps.

Step 1:

Start by calculating the amount of barbecue sauce you want to thicken.

Step 2:

Measure 1 tablespoon of gelatin and 1/4 cup of cold water for every 250 ml of barbecue sauce.

Step 3:

In a separate bowl, mix the gelatin and water until smooth.

Let it sit for a couple of minutes to bloom; this activates the gelatin. If you skip this step, you wo n’t get a smooth texture in your final sauce.

Step 4:

In a small saucepan, place the barbecue sauce over medium heat.

Step 5:

Add the gelatin mixture to the heated barbecue sauce.

Step 6:

Bring the barbecue sauce to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Once it has reached a steady boil, lower the heat.

Step 7:

Continue stirring for two more minutes while the sauce thickens.

Step 8:

When finished cooking, pour the sauce into a bowl or container and enjoy!

Thicken barbecue sauce with tomato paste

This thickening method works especially well if you have a tomato-based barbecue sauce. Be sure to use tomato paste and not tomato sauce, as the latter will further dilute your barbecue sauce.

Step 1:

Start by putting the barbecue sauce over medium heat in a saucepan.

Step 2:

Add about 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for every cup of barbecue sauce. The measurements from this method are slightly less precise, and there is more leeway in the process.

Step 3:

Gently begin to cook the barbecue sauce while stirring. When it starts to boil, turn the heat to low.

Step 4:

Continue stirring for two minutes while the sauce reduces.

Step 5:

Remove from heat and allow to cool before enjoying.

Thicken the barbecue sauce with xanthan gum

Thickening with xanthan gum is a great option because a little goes a long way. Also, you don’t have to make a porridge before adding it to the sauce, so it reduces the work you have to do.

It also dissolves easily in hot or cold liquids and will give your sauce a creamy mouthfeel.

Step 1:

Start reducing the barbecue sauce by placing it over medium heat in a small saucepan.

Step 2:

Add 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum for each cup of barbecue sauce.

Step 3:

While stirring, bring the barbecue sauce to a gentle simmer. Once it has boiled, turn the heat to low.

Step 4:

For two minutes, keep stirring the sauce. The longer it continues to cook, the thicker it will become.

Step 5:

Pour the sauce into a small bowl and enjoy.

Related questions

Now that you’re a pro at thickening your own barbecue sauce, you may have a few other questions to make sure you’re grilling and basting like a pro.

How do I make the sauce stick to the food?

The process of making sure your BBQ sauce sticks to what you’re grilling is two-pronged. First of all, you want to make sure that you season the food generously.

Adding these seasonings not only enhances the flavor, but also adds texture and gives the sauce something to stick to.

You should also wait to add the sauce to the meat or vegetables until they are almost done, which will take about 2-4 minutes.

As food cooks, it sweats out moisture, which can cause sauce to drip onto the grill.

Which thickener is better for a keto or low carb diet?

If you want to thicken your sauce without adding excess carbohydrates, you may want to use the following methods:

• reduce your sauce
• Thicken with gelatin or butter
• Thicken with tomato paste
• Thicken with xanthan gum

Using cornstarch, flour, or any other starch to thicken your sauce will add more carbohydrates to the final product. So if you are looking for the low carb option, the above methods are your best bet.

How do you thicken barbecue sauce in the slow cooker?

You can use any of the above additions to thicken the sauce in the slow cooker. You will want to make sure that you properly blend the thickener into the sauce.

From there, you can turn the slow cooker to full and let it reduce with the lid off until it reaches your desired consistency.

If you want to leave the lid on, it may take a bit longer, but it should reach the sticky consistency you’re looking for.

As you can see, there are many great options for thickening up your barbecue sauce. Don’t be afraid to get into your kitchen and try a couple of different methods until you find your favorite.

And remember, unless you’re reducing, add a pinch of salt at the end.

Do you have any proven methods to thicken your barbecue sauce? If so, please let me know in the comments. Happy cooking!