Meet your new favorite sauce! This easy homemade buffalo sauce recipe adds a delicious kick to crispy chicken wings, wraps, chicken tenders, quesadillas, and more! (Plus, it’s made in just 5 minutes!)
You know how food trends come and go? I feel like the last few years have really been big for buffalo sauce–this tasty sauce has been everywhere and on everything!
While it’s arguably the best buffalo wing sauce for game day, buffalo sauce can also add a delicious, spicy kick to all kinds of favorites, and that’s why we’ve taken to making our own buffalo sauce at home.
Need some for chicken tenders? Done. Want some extra delicious chicken quesadillas? Count me in. With this easy 5 ingredient recipe, you can have buffalo sauce in 5 minutes or less!
Simple Ingredients To Start
Our easy buffalo sauce recipe calls for just 5 main ingredients! (And they’re staples, so you can keep them on hand for whenever the mood strikes!) Let’s take a look:
- Frank’s RedHot Original Hot Sauce. We start with Frank’s hot sauce (original cayenne pepper sauce)–the essential ingredient! Their original sauce is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free & paleo-friendly, made with just cayenne peppers, white vinegar, water, salt, and garlic powder.
- Butter or Ghee. Next, we add some melted butter. I prefer real butter for flavor, but you can also use melted vegan butter or clarified butter/ghee, depending on your dietary needs. It adds body to the sauce, tempers the spice a bit, and helps it coat whatever you choose to dip or drizzle it on later!
- Salt. Just a pinch of salt, since the hot sauce already has some.
- Garlic Powder. A little garlic powder adds another layer of savory flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce (Maybe). My secret ingredient. When I can, I love to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to my buffalo sauce recipe. It adds a bit of umami, which creates the perfect balance of flavors. Vegan or vegetarian? Use vegan Worcestershire sauce or skip it. (Some people add a dash of gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos instead, but I don’t think you need to.)
Try Some Extras!
When you want to play with the flavor, feel free to add extras like onion powder, some black pepper, a little bit of honey or agave, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
How To Make Buffalo Sauce, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.
- Melt Butter. To start, melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl (or in a small saucepan on the stove over low heat).
- Combine. Add Frank’s hot sauce, salt, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce (if using). Whisk to combine until the butter is fully blended in.
- Taste & Adjust. Then, taste the sauce. Add more butter, if desired, for less spice, or add more hot sauce for a spicier option.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy right away with chicken wings, burgers, meatballs, sandwiches, wraps, and more. Or, store in a jar or airtight container in the fridge up to 1 week. Reheat in the microwave, as needed.
Yummy Ways To Use Buffalo Sauce
Now that you know how to make buffalo sauce, let’s talk about how to USE it! You can put this tangy, spicy sauce on all kinds of things (seriously–almost anything!), but here are a few of our favorite ways to use buffalo sauce:
- Buffalo Chicken Wings. Dip, drizzle, or drench your favorite chicken wings with this yummy buffalo sauce. Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings… You can’t go wrong…especially if you serve them with a side of celery sticks and carrot sticks! (I won’t judge if you use ranch instead of blue cheese dressing!)
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers. These easy chicken burgers are one of my all time favorite dinners out of over 1000+ recipes I’ve created for One Lovely Life. They’re INCREDIBLE!
- Buffalo Chicken Wraps. Add chicken, lettuce & fresh veggies to a tortilla then drizzle with homemade buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. Delish!
- Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas. I’m just saying. Toss some shredded chicken in buffalo sauce, tuck it in a tortilla, top with cheese and cook till crispy. Add some ranch to go with it, and it’s heaven!
- Chicken Tenders! Use this buffalo sauce as a dipping sauce for Almond Flour Chicken Tenders, Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders, or your favorite store-bought ones! (We love the Applegate gluten-free option!)
- Deviled Eggs. Yes, really! Buffalo deviled eggs are always one of our most popular deviled egg variations every year!
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Yep, we’re doing it! Grab your favorite pizza crust and try this Buffalo Chicken Pizza next time you’ve got a craving!
- Mac & Cheese. Add a little buffalo sauce to your favorite store-bought or homemade mac & cheese for a little kick!
FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Homemade Buffalo Sauce
Make It Spicy or Make It Mild! Controlling the heat level to make spicy buffalo sauce or mild buffalo sauce is all about the ratios of ingredients. While you can absolutely play with the amounts to suit your taste buds, here’s a good place to start:
- Mild Buffalo Sauce: To make your buffalo sauce less spicy, you can add 1 Tablespoon more butter and reduce the hot sauce by 1 Tablespoon.
- Spicy Buffalo Sauce: To make your buffalo sauce spicier, reduce the butter by 1 Tablespoon & add 1 Tablespoon more hot sauce. (Or, use Frank’s Xtra Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce!)
Add A Touch of Sweetness. If you like sweet heat, feel free to add a bit of honey or agave syrup. This can be a great way to temper the heat if you accidentally made it too spicy, or you’re serving it to little ones.
Is Buffalo Sauce Gluten-Free? Many are! (This one is!) The basic ingredients can easily be gluten-free, though if you’re buying a store-bought sauce, be sure to check the ingredient label!
Recipe Card
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Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 cup sauce 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Meet your new favorite sauce! This easy buffalo sauce adds a delicious kick to chicken wings, wraps, chicken tenders, quesadillas, and more! (Plus, it’s made in just 5 minutes!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Frank’s red hot sauce
- 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) butter*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce*
Instructions
- Melt Butter. To start, melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl (or in a small saucepan on the stove over low heat).
- Combine. Add Frank’s red hot sauce, salt, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce (if using). Whisk to combine until the butter is fully blended in.
- Taste & Adjust. Then, taste the buffalo sauce. Add more butter, if desired, for less spice, or add more hot sauce for a spicier option.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy right away with chicken wings, burgers, meatballs, sandwiches, wraps, and more. Or, store leftover sauce in a jar or airtight container in the fridge up to 1 week. Reheat in the microwave, as needed.
Notes
- Butter. If you have it, you can use unsalted butter. If you’re using salted butter, you may not need the salt!
- Paleo & Dairy-Free Options. For a paleo option, use clarified butter (ghee) in place of butter. For a vegan option, use vegan butter and omit Worcestershire sauce (or use a vegan version).
- Worcestershire Sauce. Be sure to use a gluten-free brand, such as Lea & Perrins (in the U.S.) You can omit this for vegan/vegetarian!
- Mild To Spicy. For a more mild buffalo sauce, use more butter and less hot sauce. For a spicier version, use less butter and more hot sauce!
- Sweet Heat. If you like your buffalo sauce to have a sweet-spicy flavor, feel free to mix in 1/2-1 Tablespoon honey or agave syrup.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Microwave
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon
- Calories: 34
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 334.2 mg
- Fat: 3.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.1 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.1 g
- Cholesterol: 10.2 mg
I’ve been super into buffalo things lately and this sauce is the main reason why. It comes together easily and I love that I can customize the punch. I tend to like mine on the more mild side, which this recipe can support. But I like that I can ramp up the heat if I felt more daring.