Cocktail Sauce

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

27 Comments

5 from 12 votes
12 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Refrigerate 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
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Cocktail Sauce is made in just 2 minutes, tastes amazing, and better than the bottled variety. The perfect dipping sauce to wow your guests!

This delicious Cocktail Sauce is an easy Sauce recipe to keep in your back pocket for your favorite seafood, and just like my Classic Tartar Sauce and Spicy Mayo, the homemade versions always taste better than the bottled variety!

sauce in white bowl next to plate of shrimp
close up of sauce in white bowl
Recipe Snapshot

Why You’ll Love This Sauce?

  • It comes together in just minutes for an easy homemade upgrade!
  • Fresh, zesty flavor with the perfect kick from horseradish!

Sabrina’s Cocktail Sauce Recipe

This recipe seems almost too easy to post. But as we’re heading into the holidays I promise you’re going to want this for your shrimp cocktail platter. This homemade cocktail sauce comes together in minutes but tastes so much fresher and more flavorful than anything you’ll find in a bottle. It’s the perfect easy condiment to keep on hand for shrimp cocktail, seafood platters, or any time you want a bright, zesty sauce for dipping.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Cocktail Sauce Recipe

Cocktail Sauce is made in just 2 minutes, tastes amazing, and better than the bottled variety. The perfect dipping sauce to wow your guests!
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Sauce
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
sauce in white bowl next to plate of shrimp
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup horseradish
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 lemon , juiced
  • 1 dash Tabasco sauce

Instructions

  • Mix all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.
  • Refrigerate at least 60 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 26kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 103IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

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Sabrina Tips Title

One of the best parts of this sauce is how customizable it is. Adjust the horseradish to taste if you prefer a milder or spicier cocktail sauce.

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About this Recipe

The difference in flavor from a bottled cocktail sauce and the fresh variety cannot be stressed enough. The bottled sauce is like slightly spicy ketchup with chunks. This fresh version with horseradish and lemon just POPS. I’ve been serving this recipe with shrimp cocktail at client events for almost 10 years and I can tell you that when you see people taste it for the first time they will either immediately ask you for the recipe or they just walk over to get more. Plus, it’s so incredibly easy to make. The magic is just in the freshness of the ingredients and the mixture. Yes, you’re using a pre-made ketchup but the Worcestershire sauce and the lemon add depth of flavor and a bright acidic punch.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes, it is best to make this ahead of time before you serve. The horseradish brings out all the classic flavors of cocktail sauce. Just make sure you’re letting the mixture sit before serving. If you serve it right away the flavors will not have had time to come together and taste like cocktail sauce. It will taste like spicy ketchup.

Pairing Suggestions

Along with the classic shrimp cocktail, cocktail sauce is often served with other shellfish and seafood including crab, oyster and even salmon. If you want to temper the flavors of it to make a glaze or a dipping sauce add some mayonnaise and serve it with Fried Mushrooms, Crispy Fried Calamari, or Easy Grilled Shrimp. You can also use the glaze as a topping for meatloaf or add it with some tomato juice as a Bloody Mary starter.

How to Store

  • Serve: Sauce can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it needs to be stored.
  • Store: You should discard any leftover sauce that has been used for dipping, but any sauce that hasn’t touched other food can be kept for up to 2 weeks. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
  • Freeze: You can freeze the sauce for up to 3 months. Store in a freezer safe container. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

More Yummy Homemade Sauces

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Photos used in previous version of this post

collage in of sauce

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I’ve been trying to find a Cocktail Sauce that I really like for years. And I’ve finally found it! I never would have thought to add Worcestershire sauce! Genius!

    And thanks!

    Reply

  2. Can’t wait to make this! My local grocery store sells great crab cakes and I often think cocktail sauce takes them up a notch. This recipe sounds so much fresher and better than the bottled kind. I know I’m going to love those crab cakes even more. Yum!

    Reply

    1. Looking forward to your feedback Cathy! Let us know how you liked it and thanks for the 5 star confidence rating!

      Reply

  3. Perfect recipe! My guests loved it and could tell it wasn’t from a jar. I’ve also tried using no sugar-added ketchup and it was still good!

    Reply

  6. Great recipe! You can adjust the ingredients to make it as spicy or mild as you like. Most of my family likes it with a kick so I add a little more horseradish and for mild a little less. Thank you so much.

    Reply

  8. I have made mine like this for year and love.I have a tip sometimes I like it a little,more hot add lemon.When you buy horseradish it is not that hot.

    Reply

  9. I love how simple and delicious this cocktail sauce is! Shrimp cocktail is always the first thing gone – and this cocktail sauce is so delicious!

    Reply

  12. You have all the best sauces! I’ve never seen such a pretty cocktail sauce or thought of making my own, but you make it so easy!

    Reply

  15. I like the ingredients you used. In mine, I don’t use the Tabasco sauce or Worcestershire sauce. I add chilli sauce. When I made mine and it was for a major hotel in the city where I live.

    I will give your recipe try at the next family gathering. Love your recipes. Even though I don’t comment very I love your recipes. Except for pasta ones as I am not a great fan of it. Have a great day and keep on cooking.

    Reply