Creamy & Tangy Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
Alabama White Barbecue Sauce is a regional specialty that has received national acclaim for good reason! Uniquely sweet yet tangy, this sauce takes just 5 minutes to make and tastes great on everything from juicy grilled chicken and pulled pork to crispy French fries. Let me show you how to make it for yourself at home. One bite and you’ll be serving it with every meal!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
- Ready In: 5 minutes
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: mayonnaise, salt, black pepper, white vinegar, lemon juice, white sugar
- Why You'll Love It: Uniquely sweet yet tangy, serve this homemade recipe for nationally-acclaimed Alabama white barbecue sauce with main meat dishes and sides.
The Sweet & Tangy Sauce You’ll Put on Everything
Today, I’m bringing you a real rarity. In fact, it is pretty much unheard of outside of North Alabama. Even my husband (who is from a town in Georgia only four hours away) had never heard of it. A lot of folks in South Alabama have never heard of it.
I’m talking about Alabama white BBQ sauce. This is truly a regional thing, but also… a regional requirement. You’ll find white BBQ sauce on every menu, table, and piece of meat at every BBQ joint in North Alabama. Locals eat it with everything, from French fries and juicy smash burgers to chicken and tender BBQ ribs. My husband loves to smother his chicken with this stuff, and personally, I like to use so much that my food is always swimming in it!
This homemade white BBQ sauce has a uniquely sweet yet tangy flavor, thanks to the combination of mayonnaise, lemon juice, white vinegar, and sugar. Let me tell you, it truly is the perfect compliment to just about everything.
Reader Rating
“I’m an Alabama girl through and through, and I’ve got news for you. THIS IS FANTASTIC. No need for additional ingredients. It’s as good as any white BBQ sauce I’ve ever had. THANK YOU!!!” – Jenna
Recipe Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Lemon juice
- White vinegar (apple cider vinegar can be used as a substitute, or a mix!)
- Sugar (you can also use brown sugar, or a mix of both)
Mix It Up: Your Sauce, Your Rules!
- Horseradish: For a classic twist, add a couple of teaspoons of prepared horseradish.
- Mustard: Add 2 teaspoons of yellow, dijon, spicy brown, or Creole mustard for a tangy kick.
- Seasoning: For an extra pop of flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon of Cajun or Old Bay seasoning.
- Lighter Version: Replace half the mayo with sour cream or Greek yogurt to make a lighter sauce without changing the taste.
- Make it Spicy: For some heat, use hot horseradish, 1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
How to Make Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
To start, add your mayonnaise to a mason jar or small bowl. Then add the salt and pepper.
Next, add the sugar, vinegar, and lemon juice.
Mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Or if you’re using a mason jar with a lid, you can just give it a really good shake!
That’s all there is to it – you have just made Alabama white barbecue sauce!
Before you go wow your friends, get a French fry or a piece of chicken and give it a good dunking so you can be the first to taste it. YUM!
I could just live on this y’all, honest!
Storage
Pop the sauce in a mason jar or an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. But we all know it’s not gonna last that long! Luckily, it only takes 5 minutes to whip up another batch (or you can always simply double the recipe).
Alabama White Barbecue Sauce FAQs
Alabama white BBQ sauce is creamy and tangy with a good peppery kick. I make mine with a mayonnaise-and-vinegar base, so it starts off rich and cool. Then you get this sharp, zesty punch from the lemon juice and black pepper that just keeps you coming back for more. It’s truly one-of-a-kind!
Alabama white BBQ sauce originated in Decatur, Alabama. We have Robert “Big Bob” Gibson, founder of Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q, to thank for creating this unique sauce way back in 1925!
Alabama white sauce tastes fantastic with any grilled or barbecued meat, like this North Alabama-style pulled chicken, pan-seared pork chops, roasted beef brisket, crockpot beef ribs, and air fryer chicken wings. You can baste it on the meat two or three times towards the end of cooking, or simply pour it over the top when serving.
It also tastes great as a dipping sauce with fries and veggies, like my baked zucchini fries, parmesan oven fries, and roasted sweet potato wedges. Another option is to use it as a salad dressing. It tastes absolutely amazing with potato salad, coleslaw, and roasted vegetables!
From my kitchen to yours, I hope you enjoyed this recipe. Let me know by leaving a comment and a star rating!
Ingredients
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 6 tablespoons white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and stir well.2 cups mayonnaise, 1 ½ tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 6 tablespoons white vinegar, 6 tablespoons lemon juice, 4 tablespoons white sugar
Notes
- If you don’t have white vinegar, apple cider vinegar can be used as a substitute, or a mix of them together.
- You can also swap white sugar for brown sugar, or use a combination of the two!
Nutrition
Went to dinner at a friends who was born and raised in Alabama and she served this with the BBQ chicken. The moment I tasted it I said this is the dressing my momma used on cucumber and onion salad, which is a common salad in Texas. Loved it with the chicken as well.
Oh wow great idea!!! I am going to have to try that!!
My husband and i are from jasper alabama and i love love love this. i am military so we live in hawaii and i have been missing this!!!! so glad i found this! I made it yesterday and my husband was so happy with it. i add a tiny bit more sugar because of the sour lol. We use it as a dipping sauce but its great when you shred up so smoked or rotissiere chicken, put it on a bun and pour the sauce on top of that….it is to die for!!!!! will be eating this with every meal ahah
I live in Australia but I lived in Huntsville for many years. I went to Greenbriar many times when there was only one, and after that to both many times. I love NA BBQ! And I loved white sauce but typically mixed with the red BBQ sauce, on the meat, and for dunking those fantastic hush puppies. Oh how I miss it all! But like everytthing stuff changes – even when I was there the red sauce was hot and vinagery, but then changed to I suppose more mainsteam BBQ – thick tomatoey and smokey. How about a receipe for traditional hot red BBQ sauce? Thanks!
I have a recipe for red sauce, I will try to get it up on Southern Plate over the next few months. We sure do miss you here in Alabama Jeff!!
I’ll look forward to it, thanks!
Was in Birmingham this weekend and stopped for supper at Saws BBQ. Have to say it was excellent. They have a limited menu, but what they do they do awesome. Nice small diner type atmosphere. Loved the white bbq sauce. Had it on chicken. YUMMY! Would definitely go back again. Thanks for the white sauce recipe. My husband and son will be very happy to be able to have it at home 🙂
sounds like creole mayo to me.. bbq sauce please.. bbq sauce isn’t mayonnaise!
I make Glenn’s Gourmet Goodies White BBQ Sauces (original White, mild Wasabi, and spicy Chipotle) and we are the reason these sauces are now called “White BBQ Sauce” and not just White Sauce.Our sauce won the third best BBQ Sauce in a national Food Network contest in 2005. These sauces have no sugar, carbs, gluten, MSG, preservatives, nor egg and are low sodium. They will NOT burn on the grill as there is no sugar nor tomato.I have not had mayo in our house in 8 years. I would be glad to send you samples to review, if you would like. Keep up the good work.
God Bless.
i want to pin it! where is the pin button?