Have you ever tried White Barbecue Sauce? This Alabama classic is zesty, creamy and fantastic!
Ever since we shared this recipe, Jack and I have been obsessed with White Barbecue Sauce! It’s a zesty, tangy mayonnaise-based sauce that gets a great kick of flavor from the addition of vinegar, horseradish and mustard, plus minced fresh garlic and coarsely ground black pepper.
Recipes for White Barbecue Sauce are all over the internet, and our recipe below is an adaptation of a recipe found in Southern Living. Their article here traces the recipe back to Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama where the popular barbecue joint created their white barbecue sauce back in 1925.
The original recipe calls for Creole mustard – but we weren’t able to find it locally so we swapped in a zesty whole grain mustard instead. (The sauce was still wonderful!) You can find Creole mustard online here.
Although we stayed fairly true to the original recipe below, I would imagine you could have some fun with this White Barbecue Sauce recipe – varying the type of vinegar used, swapping in different mustards, and even adding in different seasonings if you’d like! (The original recipe also added in a quarter-cup of water to their White Barbecue Sauce, but we liked a thicker consistency so we left it out.)
P.S. Click here for our White Barbecue Chicken recipe! It is fantastic and a must-make recipe!
You may also like these other recipes made with this White Barbecue Sauce:
- White Barbecue Chicken
- Grilled Kielbasa Rolls with White Barbecue Sauce
- White Barbecue Pizza with Prosciutto and Caramelized Onions
- White Barbecue Sauce Pork Ribs
White Barbecue Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: salad dressing
- Method: stirred
- Cuisine: Southern American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (or Creole mustard)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Use in place of any red barbecue sauce.
Since finding this sauce, I keep it on hand because we haven’t found anything it doesn’t taste good with. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome Nancy! Glad you enjoy the sauce
Added 1/4 top. of cayenne pepper and rosemary, specifically for the chicken. All in all a great recipe, even my very particular wife and teenage son absolutely loved it.
Thanks for the suggestion Nick! Glad to hear that you all enjoyed the sauce.
Can something be used in place of the Mayo?
Hi Katie – I don’t think this sauce will taste the same without it.
This was fabulous. I made it as directed then after tasting it amped it up with a bit more horseradish and mustard. I then added 2 or so tbsp of brown sugar, again just because of personal and household taste preferences. Easy and delicious.
We are always looking for non-tomato based BBQ due to digestive sensitivity and this solves for it as well as delivers just a plain great BBQ sauce.
Glad you liked the recipe Stuart!
What can you use if you don’t have white wine vinegar?
Hi Kim – You could use red wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar. If all you have is apple cider or white vinegars, I’d cut the amount used in half.
This may be a ridiculous question but what does “prepared” horseradish mean? Is it cooked?
Hi Susan – Not a ridiculous question at all! Prepared horseradish is typically sold in the refrigerated section of the supermarket in small jars and it is ‘prepared’ meaning it’s shredded and I’m sure it’s pasteurized before going in the jar. You can also find horseradish root in the produce section or horseradish sauce in condiments – which is a creamy, mayonnaise-like sauce – but you want the ‘prepared’ version for this recipe. We usually buy Boar’s Head (sold in the deli section) or Gold’s brand – and it says prepared right on the label. Hope that helps!
Is the horseradish a must for this sauce? Unfortunately not too big on it. Thanks!
Hi Emily – It adds a nice zesty flavor to the sauce – but you wouldn’t necessarily know that it is horseradish. (I suppose you could try adding a zesty mustard in it’s place.)
My husband, an extremely picky eater, loved your White Barbecue Chicken! He especially loved the sauce since he rarely likes chicken recipes and suggested we use it on other foods as well. I cannot thank you enough for a recipe I know we will enjoy frequently.
So glad you (and your husband!) enjoyed the recipe! We did use it on a ribs recipe here: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/white-barbecue-sauce-pork-ribs/ – and we’ve also used it as sort of a mayo on sandwiches. Hope that give you some ideas!
Do you have the nutritional value for this recipe please?
Hi Beth – I’ve just added the information to the bottom of the recipe card.
Love this recipe! It’s so full of flavour. I was wondering how long it will stay in the fridge??
Hi Margaret – This should stay fresh for about a week (maybe a little longer).
Wow I never thought about how many different types of BBQ sauce there are. White sauce sounds pretty amazing though I am partial to traditional BBQ sauce. That hot dog looked amazing. I never thought about putting BBQ on a hot dog. This has been some great food for thought. Thanks!
Thanks Kody!