Homemade Cocktail Sauce takes just minutes to make, it tastes fresher and more delicious than store-bought, and you can customize it to your own tastes. The best dip, spread, or sauce for your favorite seafood!

Overhead view of cocktail sauce in bowl on platter of shrimp


Cocktail sauce is a zippy condiment generally served with cold seafood like shrimp, lump crabmeat, oysters, or clams. If you’ve had a shrimp cocktail (or you eat a lot of seafood), you’ve probably had it before, but I bet you’ve never had it like this!

Bottled cocktail sauce is just fine, but homemade is where it’s at. This easy cocktail sauce recipe is the best sidekick for your favorite seafood. It’s not only fabulous for the ever popular shrimp cocktail but we put it on our oysters, fried fish, and those frozen fish sticks my kids love so much as an alternative to tartar sauce.

This sauce is a great condiment for all kinds of seafood (Dungeness crab legs, anyone?) and you can make it in advance for parties and holiday gatherings. The best part is that when you DIY it, you can tweak the recipe to give it more kick (hello, horseradish!), make it milder (good-bye, horseradish!) and customize it to your family’s preferences.

Ingredients for cocktail sauce

Ingredients for Cocktail Sauce

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need for this recipe. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.

  • Ketchup – The base of this cocktail sauce recipe.
  • Chili Garlic Sauce – Adds heat and sweetness. You can use regular chili sauce if you’d like, which is the more traditional option.
  • Horseradish – Horseradish adds a unique kind of heat; it’s pungent and sharp and it gives cocktail sauce its signature flavor.
  • Worcestershire Sauce – For depth and lots of umami.
  • Lemon Juice – Lemon is always good with seafood, but it’s especially good in this recipe because the acid adds a counterbalance to the horseradish.
  • Hot Sauce – For a little more heat. You can skip this if you find the horseradish spicy enough.

How to Make Cocktail Sauce

You’re just a few minutes away from the best homemade cocktail sauce ever! Here’s what you’ll need to do.

  1. Combine. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl.
  2. Mix. Whisk until everything is incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
  3. Store or use. If you can let the sauce sit a few minutes before using it, that will allow the flavors to meld a bit.
Bowl of homemade cocktail sauce with shrimp

How to Store Cocktail Sauce (And Make It Ahead)

What I love most about this easy cocktail sauce recipe is that you can double or triple the recipe and keep it in the fridge. I love to snack on shrimp cocktail as a healthy snack during the week and this sauce is totally light on calories.

It’s a great make ahead option for parties, too! Make it up to 5 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to party. It’s a fantastic centerpiece for a seafood tower or alongside this super popular Cheesy Crab dip!

What to Serve With Cocktail Sauce

The Very Best Cocktail Sauce is fantastic with just about any fish or shellfish. My favorite way to serve it is with this Garlic Roasted Shrimp Cocktail but it’s also fabulous served alongside these Classic Crab Cakes. It’s also a staple at many oyster houses, as it adds a great sweet heat to the brininess of the oysters.

We also love dipping into it with this crispy Coconut Shrimp!

Dipping shrimp into bowl of cocktail sauce

More Easy Condiment Recipes

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Overhead view of cocktail sauce in bowl on platter of shrimp

Get the Recipe: The Best Cocktail Sauce Recipe

Quick and easy, the very BEST Cocktail Sauce recipe is fantastic for all your fish and shellfish. A great addition to any party.
4.86 from 7 votes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce
  • 1 tablespoon horseradish
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Add the ketchup, chili garlic sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and hot sauce in a bowl. 
  • Whisk together the ingredients until combined.
  • Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

The Very Best Cocktail Sauce can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Calories: 13kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 0g, Fat: 0g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 315mg, Potassium: 30mg, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 25IU, Vitamin C: 1.4mg, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 0.1mg