I’m a fan of trying to figure out top secret restaurant recipes, tasting and experimenting until I can determine how to recreate the flavors of a dish. That’s how I came up with this copycat Chilis Honey Mustard Sauce.
It may seem simple to come up with a homemade honey mustard sauce, but to make it taste as good as the one you want to douse your crispy chicken in at Chili’s was a little more challenging. Luckily, I have plenty of willing taste-testers at home!
With only six simple ingredients, this is an easy recipe to make on the fly in only one step. What could be faster?
Whether you’re trying to dress up a basic piece of chicken or you’re trying to encourage the littles to eat their veggies, this recipe delivers. Plus, you save on time and money by eating at home. Win — win.
Table of Contents
What is Chili’s Honey Mustard Sauce?
Chili’s Grill & Bar is known for being a family friendly chain restaurant with a variety of mostly American-style menu items. While they have around a dozen sauce and dressing options, the honey mustard may be among the most challenging to completely recreate.
At the restaurant, you can use the honey mustard on salads, sandwiches, or their popular Chili’s chicken crispers. It’s even good on burgers or as a dip for fries.
You might be able to get honey mustard elsewhere, but the one at Chili’s is particularly tasty. Its incorporation of Dijon mustard gives it an earthiness offset perfectly by the sweet honey and richness of the mayonnaise.
Next time you have a honey mustard craving, or want to make a delicious dip or spread for sandwiches, check out this copycat recipe.
Ingredients
- Mayonnaise – Everyone has their preferences — just use your favorite brand. Or whip up your own mayonnaise at home.
- Honey – I like to buy local honey at the store or farmers market for the added health benefits, but the little bear on the grocery store shelf will work, too.
- Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard – Using this mustard will help impart the specific flavor similar to what you’ll find at Chili’s.
- White vinegar – Don’t sleep on adding this ingredient — it lends depth and zestiness to the sauce.
- Paprika – A pinch of paprika is all you need, but it really complements the other ingredients.
- Sea salt – Make sure to use a fine sea salt so that the granules don’t take away from the smooth texture.
Variations
- Black pepper – Add some black pepper to incorporate just a bit of mild heat.
- Cayenne or crushed red pepper – Use just a bit of one or both of these to amp up the spiciness.
- Mustard – Use any variety of mustard that you like. For a honey mustard that has a ton of zip you can use yellow, or use a stone ground variety for added texture.
- Smoked paprika – Incorporate some smoky flavor by substituting some or all of the paprika with smoked paprika. Flavored honey – Instead of regular honey, substitute a flavored version like a garlic-infused honey or homemade hot honey.
How to use Chilis Honey Mustard Sauce
- Fried food – .Onion rings, zucchini fries, french fries, and mozzarella sticks — pretty much anything that comes out of your deep fryer or air fryer – are all made even better with this sweet and savory sauce.
- Protein salads – Try swapping out mayo for honey mustard sauce for a unique take on chicken salad, tuna, or ham salad.
- Chips and pretzels – Dip hard or soft pretzels as well as potato or tortilla chips. You can even try pork rinds or your favorite chip alternative.
- Sandwiches – Turkey and honey mustard are best buds on a good sandwich but you can try other deli meats like ham, roasted chicken, or braunschweiger (liverwurst).
- Salads – Use this honey mustard as a dressing for your favorite salad. Also, add it to your favorite mayonnaise-based pasta salad for an extra zing.
- Protein – Spread this on burgers, chicken (grilled or fried) or even salmon to liven them up.
- Veggies – Dip veggies into this sauce — it’s a great way to get kiddos to get some nutrients. Cheese and charcuterie – Build a cheese board or charcuterie plate and add this condiment along with your usual jams or mustards.
Storage
Store homemade honey mustard for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Other Homemade Sauces
Chili’s Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 pinch paprika
- 1/8 fine sea salt
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a small food processor. Cover and chill for 30 minutes before serving.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
I love the little kick a pinch of paprika adds to this perfect dipping sauce. My family loves honey mustard sauce, and this recipe is a keeper for us.
This was so good with tater tots! We gobbled them up with this sauce!
Nothing beats a good dipping sauce, and being able to make your own batch is awesome. This was so good! We had it with chicken cutlets and wow. Definitely making it again.
I just love a good copycat restaurant recipe! 🙂 This dipping sauce sounds absolutely delicious.