Wake up your tastebuds and transform everyday dishes with this versatile firecracker sauce! It's both sweet and spicy and tastes great on everything from seafood to stir fry. You only need 5 ingredients to make it and it's ready in just 5 minutes!

Try our easy-to-make firecracker meatballs with a creamy firecracker sauce dip!

Firecracker Sauce in a jar

Table of contents

With just a handful of simple ingredients and five minutes, you can make this firecracker sauce, too! It's both sweet and spicy with a hearty kick of garlic and ginger.

If you're familiar with sweet chili sauce, this firecracker sauce is similar but with a richer, more robust flavor. If you like Johnny's firecracker sauce, it's basically a homemade version of that.

We're big fans of making our own sauces because we know exactly what goes into them, which means they're cleaner and healthier than most store-bought options.

It's so easy to make that we bet you could do it with your eyes closed. Just add all the ingredients to a bowl, stir, and store it in a jar until you're ready to use it. It will keep for up to three weeks in your fridge.

This bold sauce is what we use on our firecracker salmon, but we love it on everything from chicken wings to shrimp, steak, and even as a quick sauce for stir-fries. Serve it with rice or noodles to soak up all the extra sauce. We've even been known to drizzle it over lettuce wraps and tacos, too!

What is firecracker sauce?

Firecracker sauce is a sweet and spicy Asian-inspired sauce made from buffalo sauce, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger. It's a balanced and versatile sauce you can use on seafood, chicken, beef, eggs, stir-fry, or as a stand-alone dip.

a spoon stirring Firecracker Sauce in a bowl

Firecracker sauce ingredients

You only need five simple ingredients to make this homemade firecracker sauce recipe. Here's everything you need:

  • Buffalo sauce – buffalo sauce and hot sauce are not the same thing. Buffalo sauce is enriched with butter and other ingredients, so it's richer and and smoother than regular hot sauce. A familiar brand like Frank's is what we use for this recipe.
  • Honey – for its sweetness.
  • Soy sauce – the rich taste of soy sauce adds the salt element, as well as depth and Asian flavor. Use low-sodium or gluten-free if necessary.
  • Rice vinegar – you can also use apple cider vinegar instead.
  • Seasonings – we use a mix of garlic granules and ground ginger. Feel free to use freshly grated garlic and ginger, if you prefer. Ground garlic also works in a pinch!

How to make firecracker sauce

Once you taste this firecracker sauce, you'll want to use it on everything! It's super quick and easy to make in just three steps:

  1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl.
  2. Stir until everything is well combined.
  3. Use it right away, or store it in a jar or container in your fridge.

Full recipe instructions are in the recipe card below.

Firecracker Sauce in a jar

FAQS

Can I use brown sugar instead of honey?

Not for this recipe because the liquid honey is needed for the texture of the sauce. For a vegan version, use agave syrup instead.

How do I adjust the heat level?

If you're a big fan of heat and want to spice up this sauce, you can add a few dashes of sriracha sauce, sambal oelek, red pepper flakes, more buffalo sauce, or your favorite hot sauce. It's a bit tricky to tone down the heat, but a milder buffalo sauce will result in a less spicy sauce.

How do I thicken the sauce?

To thicken the sauce, simply warm it gently on the stove and add one teaspoon (to one tablespoon) of cornstarch or arrowroot starch and stir until it thickens.

How long does firecracker sauce keep in the fridge?

Store your firecracker sauce in a sealed jar or container for up to three weeks!

Ideas for using firecracker sauce

Use this firecracker sauce on everything from seafood to chicken, beef, and eggs. It's also tasty as a quick stir-fry sauce. It's a great sauce to have on hand for barbecue season for brushing onto grilled meat and vegetables. It works well as a stand-alone dip for lettuce wraps, roasted vegetables, chicken nuggets, and anything else you can think of!

making this firecracker sauce recipe
Firecracker Sauce in a jar

Firecracker Sauce

Yield: 1 cup
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 0 mins
Total Time: 5 mins
Wake up your tastebuds and transform everyday dishes with this versatile firecracker sauce! It's both sweet and spicy and tastes great on everything from seafood to stir fry. You only need 5 ingredients to make it and it's ready in just 5 minutes!

If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!

5 stars (32 ratings)
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Ingredients

  • Ā½ cup buffalo sauce, like Frank's
  • Ā½ cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon EACH: garlic granules and ground ginger, see notes

Instructions 

  • Add the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl.
    Ā½ cup buffalo sauce, Ā½ cup honey, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon EACH: garlic granules and ground ginger
    image for recipe instruction
  • Whisk the sauce until well combined.
    image for recipe instruction
  • Store the sauce in a clean, covered jar in your fridge.
    image for recipe instruction

Notes

Using garlic granules and ginger powder allows you to keep this sauce in your fridge for a very long time. But if you're using it right away, freshly grated ginger and minced garlic are wonderful. If you use fresh, this sauce will keep for one week in your fridge.Ā 
Serving: 1 tablespoon, Calories: 34kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 0.2g, Fat: 0.01g, Saturated Fat: 0.001g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.003g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.001g, Sodium: 303mg, Potassium: 15mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 1mg, Iron: 0.1mg
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