Best Homemade Cocktail Sauce
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jun 25, 2025 
Homemade Cocktail Sauce Recipe – This 5-minute recipe for zippy, zesty seafood sauce requires only a handful of ingredients and is easily adjustable to your liking. You’ll never buy jarred cocktail sauce again!
Why We Love This Cocktail Sauce Recipe
I can honestly say it’s been at least 14 years since I purchased a cocktail sauce jar.
After all, why would I spend the extra cash to buy a lesser-quality product when the homemade version is so quick, cheap, and easy to make?
By simply combining a handful of simple ingredients you (most likely) already have in your fridge, you can make the most flavorful, tangy, absolute BEST Cocktail Sauce Recipe you have ever tried. I promise that you will definitely not miss the jarred stuff.
And of course, you can adjust it to taste and preferences! I love adding an extra dash of hot sauce to make a spicy dip for my shrimp cocktail, or including a bit more minced garlic for enjoying on a seafood pizza.
Ingredients You Need For Seafood Sauce
- Ketchup – Essential for the perfect tomato base of a great cocktail sauce, and offers a hint of sweetness.
- Fresh lemon juice – The acidity is needed to brighten all of the ingredients.
- Worcestershire sauce – Adds a smoky, earthy depth of flavor. Use a vegan version to make this entire recipe vegan-friendly.
- Prepared horseradish – This gives the cocktail sauce its signature spicy zippiness.
- Minced garlic – Helps to balance the spice of the horseradish.
- Hot sauce (optional) – If you want to make an even spicier sauce! The best option here is Tabasco sauce!
How to Make Cocktail Sauce
In about 5 minutes, you’ll have this incredibly zesty and versatile condiment ready to enjoy. It is so easy to make, I highly recommend that you always keep a batch on hand in the fridge. You never know when you’ll get a craving for spicy, tangy cocktail sauce!
Here are my simple steps:
- In a small bowl, mix the ketchup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic.
- Mix in prepared horseradish, tasting and adding more if desired. Add a dash or two of hot sauce for an extra spicy kick, if you like.
- Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy.
That is seriously it! Feel free to add a pinch of salt if needed at the end!
Serving Suggestions
This easy cocktail sauce recipe can be paired with so many different things! It is a great condiment to pair with a variety of seafood dishes. However, it also pairs well with vegetables, French fries, or onion rings!
- With steamed, fried, or roasted shrimp (of course)
- Any seafood, including crabs, oysters, and crab cakes
- On burgers or a roast beef sandwich – like these mouthwatering Caribbean Shrimp Burgers
- With cream cheese and tortilla chips
- Mixed into tomato juice for an easy Bloody Mary base
- As a tangy veggie dip
- On a seafood pizza
See More Serving Ideas and Get the Complete (Printable) Homemade Cocktail Sauce Recipe + Video Below. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
- Storage Tips: Store your homemade sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 6 months. If you don’t use it all, you can freeze half for later!
- Be sure to use prepared horseradish, and not fresh horseradish! Prepared horseradish has salt and vinegar added to make it extra tasty!
- You can use wasabi in place of the horseradish if you already have wasabi on hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cocktail sauce is a cool or room-temperature sauce that enhances the flavor of seafood, most particularly shrimp. It is made of a tomato base and seasoned with horseradish and citrus.
Kept it in an airtight container, in a refrigerator, this sauce will stay fresh for up to 6 months. You can also freeze cocktail sauce for at least 6-12 months.
It depends on your definition of healthy. Cocktail sauce is relatively low in calories and fat. Yet depending on how much you eat, it can be high in sodium and carbohydrates. If paired with shrimp or other high-protein seafoods, the carbs are balanced out.
Sometimes the combination of ketchup with horseradish causes the cocktail sauce to become a gel-like texture. It is simply a reaction of the two ingredients together! Stir it up well and it should return to a normal consistency!
I 100% believe that making shrimp cocktail sauce at home creates the most flavorful and fresh-tasting sauce. There is no comparison. Store-bought cocktail sauce also contains more preservatives to keep it on room-temperature shelves for longer. Whereas the homemade version will keep in the fridge and taste fresh for a good amount of time.
Looking for More Delicious Dip Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- The Best Homemade Salsa
- Spicy Mustard Seafood Sauce
- Homemade Yum Yum Sauce (Shrimp Sauce)
- Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
- Southern Comeback Sauce
- Best Greek Salad Dressing
- Queso Recipe
- Miso Hummus Recipe
- How to Make the Best Tzatziki Sauce
- Easy Guacamole Recipe
Cocktail Sauce Recipe (Seafood Sauce)
Video
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3-4 dashes hot sauce optional
Instructions
- Mix the catsup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic in a small bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of horseradish. Taste and add more if desired. Then stir in a few dashes of hot sauce if you like your cocktail sauce with extra kick.
So tasty. quick and easy. I ran out with no time to go to the store. May not ever buy pre-made again. Thank you for sharing!
I couldn’t agree more. I didn’t use hot sauce but I don’t see the need.
This recipe was great. Sometimes pre-made sauces are too spicy for our tastes. This recipe allows you to control the heat. My husband says never buy any again. He loved this .
You said it would last 6 months in sealed container. That is not true. Mine has never lasted over a week. Awesome my friend. Thank you. add some crushed red pepper, you’ll be extra good.
It’s got great taste but is a little loose compared to my store bought go to. Too much liquid.
It’s got great taste but is a little loose compared to my store bought go to. Too much liquid”
I suspect it’s your brand of ketchup. Although some cocktail sauces are thicker and use a gelatin/lecithin binder in the manufacturing process. We use more horseradish/Worcester/hot sauce than the recipie calls for with Heinz Ketchup and I find the consistency fairly close to most brands. I always make at least a day ahead and refrigerate. It does set up the colder it gets.
I figured it out so I’m replying to my own post. When you take the prepared horseradish into the measuring spoon, squeeze out the vinegar with your thumb. I used 2.5 TBS of DRY this time and liked it more. It was stiffer without the starch you get in store bought.
Also had no lemons, duh, but lime juice worked as well or better.
GREST RECIPE….the way I just made it. LOL.
Great Taste..I love it
I came across this recipe on the internet a few years ago and I’ve been using it exclusively ever since. Five stars as-is, no tweaks. Of course we add more garlic and horseradish because we love those but there’s no need for it, this recipe is awesome. Sorry it took so long to comment.