Boom boom sauce is one of those condiments that you either love or hate, but there’s no denying its popularity.
The reason why people love the stuff is because it tastes amazing when mixed into their favorite dish — whether that’s chicken wings, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, breakfast foods, or anything else.
But what exactly goes into making this tasty sauce?
And how do we get the most out of our homemade version?
What Makes Boom Boom Sauce So Special?
It all starts with a base made from tomato paste and spices like garlic powder, paprika, turmeric, chili flakes, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
The flavor comes from adding various ingredients to the mix including ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, and even butter.
There are several ways to make your own boom boom sauce at home.
You can use a blender to blend together the different sauces until they become homogenous, or if you have a food processor, just add everything at once and pulse till smooth.
But my favorite method of creating a homemade boom boom sauce is by using a slow cooker.
It lets you control the temperature of each individual ingredient as well as the overall consistency of the entire mixture.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making your own boom boom sauce, then you can always buy some off the shelf.
However, I recommend trying making your own first before buying any pre-made varieties since the taste of homemade boom boom sauce will never disappoint you!
What’s In Boom Boom Sauce That Makes It So Flavorful?
There are two main ingredients that go into creating boom boom sauce: ketchup and hot pepper flakes.
It sounds simple enough right?
But there’s actually more to it than meets the eye!
First off, let’s talk about the ketchup.
Many brands of ketchup contain sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors, preservatives, and other chemicals that aren’t good for your body.
So if you want healthy boom boom sauce, then you need to use tomato-based ketchup instead.
Next up, let’s discuss the hot peppers.
While many sauces start with fresh peppers, some may also add dried red chiles, which have been dehydrated before being ground into powder form.
The problem with using these powders is that they lack flavor as well as moisture content.
So, if you want to create an awesome boom boom sauce without sacrificing flavor, try adding chopped bell peppers to your mix.
This will ensure that you’ll not only taste the spice from the chili peppers, but also the sweetness from the tomatoes.
If you don’t like spicy food, then you can always opt for milder versions of all kinds of spices.
For example, you could replace the jalapeños with green chilis, cayenne, habanero, etc., depending on your preference.
Lastly, let’s address the issue of saltiness.
If you’re looking to make a healthier boom boom sauce, then consider opting for unsalted nuts instead of table salt.
In addition to being extremely nutritious, unsalted nuts provide a much better texture than salty ones.
How Can I Make Boom Boom Sauce At Home?
To make your own boom boom sauce, all you need to do is mix some ingredients together in a bowl.
The secret ingredient is a little bit of Worcestershire sauce, which adds an extra layer of flavor and helps enhance the overall taste of the sauce.
- You will also need hot pepper flakes, Tabasco Sauce, soy sauce, and salt. These four main ingredients add distinct flavors to the sauce and bring out different characteristics depending on the type of food you use them with.
- Lastly, you will want to add vinegar to help balance the strong flavors of the other ingredients.
There are plenty of recipes online that show you how to make boom boom sauce.
However, many of these recipes don’t give any guidance as to the specific measurements needed.
So if you’re looking for a reliable way to create your own boom boom sauce at home, here’s a breakdown of the exact steps you should take…
Step 1: Mixing the Ingredients Together
First things first, make sure you have everything you need ready before starting to measure out the ingredients.
Grab a large mixing bowl and start adding the various sauces and seasonings to the bowl.
Make sure to stir well until all the ingredients have been combined.
Step 2: Choosing Your Dishes
Now that you have everything measured out, it’s time to start using your new boom boom sauce!
There are two ways to go about creating your own boom boom sauce — you could choose just one way and stick with it throughout the entire process, or you could experiment and see what works best for you.
Personally, I would recommend opting for the former approach.
By sticking to just one method, you ensure consistency from batch-to-batch.
Plus, there won’t be much room for error since you only have a limited amount of ingredients available.
So let’s say you decide to stick to one particular method.
In my case, this means that I decided to always serve my boom boom sauce over a bed of rice.
This is because I like the idea of having something crunchy underneath my sauce, and I find myself eating more of the crunchier side while enjoying my meal.
Step 3: Adding the Vinegar
After you finish combining the sauces and seasoning, you will then need to add the vinegar.
If you haven’t already done so, pour the vinegar into a separate small container (like a mason jar).
Then place the bottle right next to where you are going to put the finished product.
When you’ve added enough vinegar to reach the desired level, stop pouring and wait 20 minutes.
During this time, the mixture will thicken up considerably due to the acidity of the vinegar.
Once the mixture has thickened up sufficiently, it’s now ready to serve.
What Dishes Are Best Served With Boom Boom Sauce?
There are so many different types of food that go well with boom boom sauce.
Here’re just some examples:
- Chicken wings
- Pizza
- Sandwiches
- Breakfast foods like pancakes or waffles
- Fried foods like fish sticks, french fries, or chicken nuggets
- Sauces such as barbecue sauces, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc.
However, if you want to stick to something simple, then chicken wings would probably be your best bet.
Booming up a batch is relatively easy too — all you have to do is add in a few ingredients and let them simmer away until they reach the perfect consistency.
How Can I Make Boom Boom Sauce Healthier?
While many people believe that boom boom sauce is unhealthy due to the high sugar content, there isn’t any scientific proof to back up these claims.
In fact, boom boom sauce contains only 2 grams of sugar per serving!
That means that if you consume two servings in your meal, then there would still be less than 10% of the daily recommended amount of sugar intake.
This doesn’t mean that you should eat lots of boom boom sauce though. Instead, you want to keep your boom boom sauce consumption as close to zero as possible.
If you don’t have much time to prepare your own boom boom sauce, then you might prefer buying premade ones instead, which are usually made from natural ingredients like tomatoes, vinegar, salt, sugar, and spices.
These kinds of sauces are generally considered healthier since they contain fewer preservatives and artificial flavors.
Healthier Boom Boom Sauce Alternatives
- Salsa (made with fresh tomatoes)
- Tomato ketchup (made with fresh tomatoes)
- Pesto sauce (made with basil)
- Ranch dressing (made with mayonnaise)
- Honey mustard (made by mixing honey and prepared mustard)
- Spicy brown mustard (made with brown mustard seeds)
- Mustard greens (cooked with onions)
- Tahini paste (made with sesame seeds)
- Granola bars (made with oats)
- Natural peanut butter (made with peanuts)
- Coconut milk yogurt (made with coconut cream)
What Are Some Boom Boom Sauce Substitutes?
When it comes to making your own boom boom sauce, you have two main options: buying premade sauces or whipping up your own from scratch.
Both methods will work just fine if you want to save money.
However, they both come with trade-offs in terms of taste and quality.
- Buying premade boom boom sauce: While these may not be as good as the original, they usually cost less than $1 per serving. But the downside is that they don’t always contain all of the ingredients listed on the label (which is key), which could lead to an inferior product.
- Making boom boom sauce from scratch: This method requires more time and effort upfront, but the end result is worth every minute spent. You’ll need to buy fresh ingredients like onions, garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, vinegar, salt, and sugar. Then you’ll need to chop everything up and mix them together until you reach your desired consistency. To make sure you’re getting the best flavor possible, you should also use pureed canned tomatoes instead of diced ones, since they tend to retain more nutrients.
To ensure that you have the best results by using homemade boom boom sauce, follow these tips below:
Know your budget
If you plan to spend around $10-$15 per batch, you can expect to get decent results.
If you only have enough funds for about $5 per batch, then you might consider buying premade sauce so you can avoid spending too much money.
Use organic ingredients whenever possible
Organic ingredients provide many health benefits such as improved digestion, better skin, and stronger immune systems.
They also help reduce exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals found in conventional food sources.
Buy high-quality cans of tomatoes
While you can certainly find cheap canned tomatoes at the grocery store, they won’t necessarily give you superior results.
Instead, purchase the highest quality cans available.
Look for brands such as Hunt’s, Muir Glen, Pomi, etc., which include extra ingredients like tomato paste, herbs, spices, and even preservatives.
Don’t skimp on the seasonings
One of the biggest mistakes home cooks often make is cutting corners with the seasoning blend.
The right blend of seasonings will bring out the best flavors in any type of food.
For example, adding more cayenne pepper will improve the overall taste of your meal while adding paprika adds a smoky kick to meat dishes.
How Long Does Boom Boom Sauce Last?
There are several different factors to take into account when determining how long your boom booms will last before they start tasting stale or even go bad.
The main thing here is keeping them in an airtight container so that any bacteria doesn’t have access to them.
The other important factor is temperature.
If you keep your boom booms at room temperature, then yes, they should still taste good after a few days.
However, if you store them in the fridge, then yes, they could potentially become moldy or spoiled after a couple of weeks or months depending on just how much time you put them through.
For example, if you make a batch of boom booms with fresh ingredients like tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, etc., then they won’t last as long as if you use canned vegetables instead.
If you want to maximize the shelf life of your boom booms, then you need to buy only the highest quality jarred sauces since these are usually made from scratch using fresh ingredients and stored properly to maintain their flavor, texture, and aroma.
Tips for maximizing the shelf life of boom boom sauce
- Buy high-quality jars.
- Store in a cool, dark place.
- Keep containers tightly sealed.
- Do not refrigerate.
- Use within two years.
Can I Freeze Boom Boom Sauce?
You certainly can! If you want to freeze your own boom boom sauce, all you need to do is make sure you follow these basic steps:
- Wash any produce thoroughly before cutting.
- Use fresh ingredients whenever possible.
- Always use high-quality oils, especially olive oil.
- Make sure everything is properly sanitized.
- Add extra salt and pepper if needed.
- For best results, let anything sit in refrigerator overnight.
- Place everything back in the blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Freezing Tips
When freezing boom boom sauce, it’s important to keep in mind that you may not achieve perfect consistency by blending everything together first.
That being said, it doesn’t mean you should throw away the effort you put into creating an awesome sauce. Instead, simply place everything back in the blender (or food processor), add additional salt and pepper as necessary, and blend again until smooth.
This way, you ensure that your sauce has ample amounts of seasoning throughout which will prevent freezer burn from occurring.
If you don’t have enough time to complete the above process, you can still successfully save yourself some money by purchasing frozen sauces at your local grocery store instead of trying to create them yourself.
What Are Some Common Boom Boom Sauce Mistakes?
If you’re new to the world of boom boom sauce, then you might not know about all of the different things that can go wrong with it.
So let me walk you through some of the more common mistakes so that you never have to worry again.
- Not using enough ingredients in your boom boom sauce
- Using too much sugar
- Overcooking / burning your sauce
- Not letting your sauce cool completely before adding it to food (or refrigerating)
- Adding other sauces after your boom boom sauce has already been cooked
- Making your sauce too thick
- Adding milk instead of regular water
- Reusing an old bottle of boom boom sauce
How Can I Make Boom Boom Sauce Even Better?
First things first, let’s talk about how to actually make your own boom boom sauce!
- Add 1/4 cup (60 mL) salt to a bowl
- Next, add 2 cups (500 mL) sugar to another bowl
- Finally, pour in 3 cups (750 mL) water, then stir until the mixture turns clear, like molasses
Once all three ingredients have been added together, transfer them to an old coffee pot or stockpot with a lid, then heat over medium-high heat until boiling.
Once boil, reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 30 minutes or more, stirring occasionally.
After simmering has finished, strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer and discard any remaining solids.
Next, add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) paprika powder, along with 1 teaspoon each (5 mL) onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne, and coriander seeds. Stir until combined well.
Now, add 2 tablespoons (30 mL) soy sauce, followed by 2 teaspoons (10 mL) apple cider vinegar, and 1 tablespoon (15 mL) ketchup to the mixture, stirring constantly until everything is evenly distributed throughout the sauce.
Lastly, add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil, and mix thoroughly before transferring the entire concoction back into the same cooking pot, which should now be heated up again to medium-low heat.
Let the sauce simmer for at least 10 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure the whole thing doesn’t burn.
After simmering time has elapsed, remove from heat and serve immediately!
Boom boom sauce will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¾ tsp Sriracha
Instructions
- In a bowl, add all the ingredients and stir to blend.
- Keep chilled until you’re ready to use.
Video
Nutrition
My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.