Homemade Chili Sauce (with Ketchup)

What You Will Love About This Recipe

• It is an easy homemade chili sauce recipe using simple ingredients you probably have on hand. 
• If you don’t have the ingredients on hand they are inexpensive to buy. 
• It is versatile because it can be used as a stand alone topping or as a base ingredient for other sauces and marinades.

Ingredient Notes

Tomato Ketchup – we use store bought for the base of this recipe, you can use homemade ketchup if you have it. 

Brown Sugar – we use light brown sugar because we like the flavor it gives our sauce, you can use white sugar if you don’t have brown. 

Apple Cider Vinegar – this results in a sweeter sauce, you can use white vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar if that is what you have. 

Chili Powder – it gives our chili sauce the spicy flavor.

Minced Onion Flakes – I keep these on hand, you can use onion powder instead but you won’t have the little specks in your sauce.

Granulated Garlic – we like it because it has a different flavor than fresh garlic. 

Smoked Paprika – you can use regular paprika if you can’t find smoked, we have to go to the local spice shop downtown to get ours because the grocery store we shop at regularly doesn’t carry it. 

How to Make Your Own Chili Sauce

1. Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan. 
2. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, lower to medium to medium low heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks. 

Variations

Want a spicier sauce? Add some red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or sriracha sauce to add extra flavor and heat. 

Want a milder sauce? Cut the chili powder down a bit. 

Do You Have to Cook Homemade Sauce

I have seen recipes that do not require cooking but because we used dried onion flakes we like to cook it. We also like to make sure the sugar is melted sufficiently. Plus it is  a great way to meld the flavors together. If you substitute onion powder for the dried onion then you can get away with not cooking the sauce. I would recommend making it ahead of time and letting it chill in the fridge for at least a few hours to allow the flavors to develop. 

How to Use Homemade Chili Sauce

This is a versatile condiment that has many uses. 

• Put it in a squeeze bottle and use to top burgers or hot dogs. 
• Mix half and half with ketchup to top meatloaf.
• Mix with Thousand Island salad dressing to make a dipping sauce for french fries, potato wedges or onion rings. 
• Use it as a cocktail sauce for dipping shrimp.
• Mix 2 parts chili sauce with 1 part orange marmalade and use as a topping for baked chicken, just like you would use barbecue sauce. 
•   It is a main ingredient in Grape Jelly Meatballs.