Homemade Worcestershire Sauce can easily be made at home with a few simple ingredients. Whisk to combine and store in your fridge for up to 2 months or longer.
There are hundreds of condiments I prefer to make from scratch. Things like ketchup, peanut butter and all salad dressings. However Worcestershire was one of those condiments that would never have thought to make myself.
Finally the opportunity presented itself in the most typical way. You know, the time when you reach into the fridge for something (i.e. Worcestershire) and realize there’s a tablespoon left and you of course need 1/4 cup. Yeah that.
What’s that saying? Necessity is the mother of invention? This is how it happens sometimes.
To Make This Homemade Worcestershire Sauce You Will Need:
- fresh garlic
- onion powder
- chili powder
- ground clove
- apple cider vinegar
- fish sauce
- honey
- tamarind paste
- molasses
In a mixing bowl with a spout, measure and add in 3/4 teaspoon onion powder, and a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of both chili powder and ground clove.
Using a microplane, finely grate 1 clove of garlic or mince it up very fine.
Add in 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.
Pour in 3 tablespoons of fish sauce.
Then 3 tablespoons honey.
1-1/2 tablespoon un-sulphured molasses and 1/2 to 1 tablespoon tamarind paste (to your preference).
What is Tamarind Paste?
In its original form, tamarind is a dark colored, sour fruit that grows in a pod. Tamarind can be used in drinks or to make desserts and candy, however it’s more common to find it in savory recipes like pad thai. To make tamarind paste, the outer pod is removed along with any seeds. The fruit pulp is boiled down until thick . It’s incredibly convenient to purchase the paste in the Asian aisle at your major grocery store or online.
Whisk well to combine.
Pour it into a jar or container and it’s ready to use in just about any recipe.
How Long Will Homemade Worcestershire Sauce Last?
This homemade Worcestershire sauce should last you well over a month, two months tops if store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
Later in the day family did a little blind taste test. Two spoons and two bottles of Worcestershire – one homemade and one store-bought. All thought both tasted fairly similar but mine had a bit more flavor. I think store bought looks prettier than Homemade Worcestershire Sauce but I don’t think I’ll be buying it ever again.
Enjoy! And if you give this Homemade Worcestershire recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Homemade Worcestershire Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon ground clove
- 1 clove garlic paste
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1½ tablespoon molasses
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon tamarind paste, to taste
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl that has a pour spout add the spices and grated garlic.
- To that, add in vinegar, fish sauce, honey, molasses, tamarind paste, onion powder, chili powder and ground clove.
- Whisk until combined.
- Pour into a jar or container with a snug fitting lid.
- Refrigerate and shake before using.
Notes
Buy the Cookbook: Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy Now available on Amazon »
THANK YOU in advance for your support!
Wow, I would have never thought of making this either! I am going to try and hunt down some tamarind paste and give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Melissa! FYI I usually find it in the ethnic isle at my major grocery store. Let me know how you like it! 🙂
this post got me so excited, you have no idea 😀 omw to buy molasses!
So glad you made this! Ever since doing the Whole30 I’ve been avoiding Worcestershire sauce due to all the nasty ingredients in it. This sounds great! Thank you!
I’m so glad Kelli! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe! We use this often, and I don’t like the long list of ingredients it comes with. I’d love to try making my own now!
How cool is this? I was just thinking about making ketchup and now this – I better get started!
Ummm unless you made your own apple cider vinegar and fish sauce and dried and ground your own onion and chili powders, this is NOT from scratch!! <- KIDDING!!! 😉
Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Those people drive me bonkers! Not everyone can make ALL THE THINGS ALL THE TIME. For me, with the exception of salad dressings and marinades which I always make myself, its a cost/effort analysis. Sometimes, for me, its not worth the time/money/effort to make something myself, vs purchasing a good quality store brand. But thats a totally personal thing and its different for everybody.
This is in no way knocking your awesome recipe for DIY worcestershire sauce, I applaud you, but its a question for the above readers complaining about the "long list" of "nasty ingredients" of the store bought stuff… what brand are they buying?!?!? My bottle of L&P has these ingredients: vinegar, water, sugar, molasses, anchovies, cloves, onions, garlic, tamarind extract, chili pepper extract, natural flavorings. How is that REALLY that much different than this DIY recipe???
Again, not knocking this recipe AT ALL. I am just honestly curious about what is so nasty about store bought brands…not everything in a bottle is OMGSOBADFORYOU…
Ha ha! My husband said “Whatttt you didn’t squeeze your own fish for the fish sauce? SO not from scratch.”- so your comment had me rolling!
I buy L&P too… but I think off brands use lesser quality ingredients and maybe other recipes for Worcestershire sauce are more complicated? I’m not 100% certain but sometimes it’s a cost issue, or just knowing the quality of ingredients being used. Either way I’m so with you… it should be a personal choice if you want make or buy your own ketchup or Worcestershire to make whatever… it’s just means a different level of homemade!
Thanks for your awesome comment Jaime!
Thank you for posting your recipe I would like to give it a try. I do however have a question is there any substitute I could use instead of the fish sauce?
That’s a great question Lyn! I know in traditional Worcestershire sauce they use anchovies… but I’m unsure of the whole process. But if you’re looking to avoid the fish and need a vegetarian alternative I found some via Google just now! Here’s one: http://alimentageuse.com/home/2014/02/22/vegan-worcestershire-sauce/
I use fermented bean curd (chinese staple) when making dishes requiring fish sauce for vegetarian/vegan diners.
Great to know!
Thanks for the recipe Laurie. For those who don’t understand why make your own (Jamie). My husb has an allergy to celery. Unfortunately, many food makers don’t want to give out their ‘secret recipe’, and so put ‘natural flavor’. This could be anything, including celery, celery seed, celeriac, so on and so forth – you name it, it could be anything! I’ve looked at all the brands/labels for this sauce, and have never been able to buy off the shelf for this reason. For someone who has an allergy, it is nice to be able to make something ‘safe’ for someone you love.
This is an amazing recipe! Thankyou so much! Yum of!
Yum oh I meant. Lol I substituted garlic steak seasoning for onion powder and dark treacle for molasses as I didn’t have those two ingredients. Great result!
Great substitutes! Thanks for leaving a comment, Kathryn! 🙂
Great tasting sauce! I substituted tamarind with 2 tablespoons of lime juice.
I love that you found a way to substitute the tamarind! Thanks for leaving your review, Bill!
Thank you for this! I need to make my own due to onion/garlic allergy. I was glad to find one that I don’t need 3 weeks of fermenting time for. I’ll be substituting in asafoetida (hing) for the onion powder.
Great tips! Enjoy!
Great recipe! Have made this several times. It doesn’t take much time and I get to control the ingredients. Win, win! Thank you
I’m glad you like the recipe, Mel!
Nailed it! I’ll never buy it again either. I’m bringing home a ribeye tomorrow night!
Nice! I’m glad you like it, Neil!
Hi Laurie, I’ve moved to Cambodia and thought that I would never get Worcester sauce again. Thanks for the recipe. Do you know of a good substitute for molasses? Just not available here. We do have sugar cane, I’m just not up to boiling it down for homemade molasses.
Hi Todd! I’m so glad! My only idea for a substitute for molasses is dark corn syrup? I hope that helps!
One of the ingredients in Store bought sauce is the Anchovies. Usually the anchovie used in some BBQ sauces takes the place of salt but does give the sauce a Top Shelf taste. Does the fish sauce here take the place of the Anchovie? I want to make some Worcester Sauce……I’ll see how this recipe tastes!
Semper Fi !966-
Hi Ed! Exactly! Enjoy 🙂
Made this today and taste tested side by side with L&P…was extremely close! I did not use chili powder because my SIL is on a nightshade-free diet. Used 1/4 t. + 1/8 t. black pepper and 1/8 t. white pepper powder. Instead of the fish sauce I made a gf vegan version (tamari, kombu, dried shiitakes, coconut sugar, lime juice) from the “Asian Farm to Table Cookbook”. I just used tamari instead of soy to make GF.
Forgot to say how much I LOVE this sauce! Thanks for the great recipe!! I can’t wait to use it in recipes that call for it.
Thank you for the recipe! I’m making a shredded BBQ chicken recipe and felt like making Worcestershire sauce to use up some fish sauce.
I also avoid worcestershire sauce because of the “natural flavors”. There is no regulation on how the word natural is used. I don’t eat soy either and many commercial sauces also include soy for flavoring. This recipe sounds like it is exactly what I have been looking for and as soon as I buy the tamarind I will be making it.
I’m 100% with you on that! Natural flavors = ?? I hope you enjoy this recipe, Sandra! And feel free to let me know what you think of it!
Finally got the tamarind. I live in a small town (village really) and had to order it online. I mixed the sauce up this morning and it tastes really good. I added a little more fish sauce for some extra umami. I will try it as a marinade on steaks soon, which is where I’ve really been missing worchestershire. Thank you so much for the recipe.
I made this sauce and effect is impressing. Thanks a lot and regards from Poland!
I’m going to try this, but with a twist: my wife, before becoming a vegetarian, loved Worcestershire sauce, and so she misses it. I tried a couple of vegan recipes that I found online, but they’re not even close to the real thing. SO: since the main flavor in fish sauce is “umami,” I’m going to try substituting nutritional yeast in a bit of water. I’ll have to play with the ratios, but I am afraid that I won’t remember to come back and post the idea. Fingers crossed!
Follow-up: it worked. Side by side with Lea and Perrins, they’re virtually identical. (I tasted about 2 teaspoons of each, in two shot glasses.)
This is what I did:
Ingredients;
3/4 teaspoon onion powder,
1/4 heaping teaspoon chili powder,
1/4 heaping teaspoon ground cloves,
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder,
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar,
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast,
2 tablespoons water,
3 tablespoons honey,
1.5 tablespoon molasses,
1 tablespoon tamarind paste.
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a heat-safe jar and bring to near-boil for about 15 minutes, to extract flavors from the powdered ingredients.
Allow to cool and settle, then decant into a bottle with a tight-fitting lid.
Thank you for sharing!
There is no reason why this wouldn’t last longer in the fridge..Most of the ingredients are preserved.