I Love Hamburger

🍖 BBQ Burger Sauce

Prep: 5 min Makes: About 3/4 cup (enough for 6 burgers) Heat: Mild 🌶️

Bbq Smoky Sweet Creamy ✓ Vegetarian

This is barbecue flavor in a spreadable, creamy form: your favorite BBQ sauce blended into mayo so it clings to the patty and the bun instead of sliding off. It is smoky and sweet with just enough vinegar tang to keep it from being cloying.

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🧾 BBQ Burger Sauce — Recipe Card

From I Love Hamburger — ilovehamburger.com

Batch: makes enough for 6 burgers

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise (75 g)
  • ¼ cup barbecue sauce (60 ml)
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (5 ml)
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika (1 g)
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder (0.5 g)
  • ¼ tsp black pepper (0.5 g)

Instructions

  1. Whisk the mayonnaise and barbecue sauce together until the color is even.
  2. Stir in the cider vinegar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper.
  3. Taste and adjust — more BBQ sauce for sweetness and smoke, more vinegar for tang.
  4. Chill 15 minutes so it thickens slightly and the flavors marry.

🫙 Storage

Airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week; the mayo is the limiting ingredient. Do not freeze.

🔁 Substitutions

  • Use a spicy or chipotle barbecue sauce to add heat.
  • A teaspoon of molasses or brown sugar deepens the sweetness if your BBQ sauce is on the tangy side.

🍔 What to put it on

Pair it with sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, and onion rings or frizzled onions. It especially shines on these burgers:

Burgers that love this sauce

BBQ BurgerA smoky BBQ burger with smoked cheddar, crispy fried onions, and tangy barbecue sauce. Built for the grill or griddle.Bacon CheeseburgerA juicy beef patty, crispy bacon, and melty cheddar on a toasted bun. How to cook the bacon and burger so both come out perfect.Oklahoma Onion BurgerPaper-thin onions smashed directly into the patty as it sears, caramelizing into the beef itself for a burger that's equal parts onion and meat.

More sauces like this

Creamy Mushroom SauceA savory pan sauce of sautéed mushrooms in a silky cream reduction — spooned warm over a burger, it turns a weeknight patty into a steakhouse plate.Blue Cheese SauceA thick, creamy blue cheese sauce with real crumbles and a tangy buttermilk base. Bold, savory, and made for a big beefy burger with bacon or onions.Bacon JamA slow-cooked spread of bacon, onions, brown sugar, and coffee reduced to a sticky, savory-sweet jam. The ultimate upgrade for a cheeseburger.

Make your own sauce

Burger Sauce BuilderAnswer a few questions, get a custom sauce recipe.All Burger SaucesBrowse every sauce by flavor and diet.Burger BuilderDesign the whole burger around it.

Burger HQ Picks Handy for sauce-making

Squeeze Bottles & Mixing Bowl Set

Mix a sauce in the bowl, decant into a squeeze bottle, and you get an even stripe on every bun instead of a spoon-blob. Also what keeps a topping bar tidy.

$14 Amazon

Check price →

Small Silicone Whisk & Spatula Set

A small whisk emulsifies a mayo-based sauce properly in seconds; the spatula gets every last bit out of the bowl.

$10 Amazon

Check price →

As an affiliate site, I Love Hamburger may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This does not affect our recommendations.

Frequently asked questions

Why mix barbecue sauce with mayo instead of using it straight?

Plain barbecue sauce is thin and slides off the patty; the mayo gives it body so it spreads and stays put, and it softens the sharp sweetness into something creamier and more balanced.

What burgers go best with BBQ sauce?

Anything with bacon and cheddar. It is fantastic on a BBQ burger or a bacon cheeseburger with frizzled onions.