This fry sauce is a simple recipe that’s so delicious it could easily become one of your favorite sauces. A combination of ketchup, mayo, and mustard with spices, vinegar, and pickles, it’s easy to make and nearly everyone loves it.
Of course, one of the top ways I use this is as a sauce for my fries but you can use it with tons of different foods. It’s a staple at our house for cookouts and I love spreading it on sandwiches, too.
The next time you’re looking for an easy recipe for a sauce that will take your fries, burgers, and sandwiches to the next level, try this one!
Table of Contents
What is Fry Sauce?
Fry sauce is similar to the pink-ish special sauces you may find at fast food chains throughout the United States. It may also remind you of Thousand Island dressing.
It’s often spread on burgers but it makes a great dipping sauce, too.
The sauce itself is a mixture of ketchup, mayo, mustard and a few other simple ingredients. The tangy sweetness of the sauce is balanced by the creamy mayo while minced dill pickles add a bit of texture, too.
Ingredients
Since you’ll likely have these simple ingredients already, you can stir together this sauce any time you’re in the mood for it!
- Mayonnaise – Use the brand that you prefer or make your own homemade mayonnaise.
- Plain ketchup – You can also make your own ketchup, or just buy a bottle from the grocery store.
- Dill pickles – Either mince the pickles or buy a jarred relish.
- Apple cider vinegar – Apple cider vinegar adds just a touch of sweetness and a bit of acidity.
- Yellow mustard – Mustard gives the sauce some tanginess.
- Ground black pepper – You can freshly grind the pepper or just shake it out from your table shaker.
- Sugar – Just a bit of sugar adds a sweet balance to the tang and acidity.
- Fine sea salt – Using a fine granule will help it mix into the sauce better.
How To Use Fry Sauce
Dipping french fries in this sauce is an obvious choice, given its name but it’s not for just fries. But you can use it in lots of other different ways.
- Potatoes – Spoon this sauce over hashbrowns, dip roasted potato wedges into it, or liven up mashed or baked potatoes with it. And don’t forget to dunk tater tots in it, too.
- Chicken – This is a good sauce for dipping chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, or chicken strips.
- Vegetables – Dip carrot sticks or celery into this sauce.
- Burgers – Spread this on the buns for hamburgers, turkey burgers, and veggie burgers.
- Hot dogs – Don’t let the burgers hog the sauce at a cookout — add it to hot dogs, brats, and other sausages.
- Onion Rings – This is a perfect dipping sauce for crunchy onion rings.
Variations
We think this tangy fry sauce recipe is a pretty good copycat of what you may find in restaurants, but you can change it up for your own taste buds.
- Worcestershire sauce – For a bit of umami flavor, shake in a little of this delicious sauce.
- Heat – To give it a little kick, add your favorite hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or some cayenne pepper.
- Garlic powder – For some garlicky flavor, sprinkle in a little bit of this.
- Pickle juice – If you love pickles, try adding a bit of pickle juice to the sauce.
- Onion powder – For oniony flavor, add a few dashes of onion powder.
- Barbecue sauce – Substitute barbecue sauce for some or all of the ketchup for a unique flavor profile.
Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing
Keep this tasty french fry sauce stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Make Ahead: Leftover fry sauce can be stored for up to a week so it’s perfect to make ahead and use all week long.
Refrigerator: Store fry sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Freezer: We do not recommend freezing mayonnaise-based sauces
Other Delicious Sauces
Fry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons dill pickles . minced or relish
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Dash of fine sea salt
Instructions
- Place the mayo, ketchup, pickles, vinegar, mustard, pepper, sugar and salt to a small food processor or bowl. Blitz or whisk until well combined.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings sections.
Fry sauce is right down my alley being from Utah. This recipe met my expectations (which are very high)! Thank you so much, it was delicious!!
Oh wow! I definitely see this becoming my favorite sauce for fries. The flavor sounds fantastic and so easy too with just 5 minutes.
I love french fries and love to vary my condiments for them. This will be my go to recipe now! It’s so good and flavorful. Thanks for the recipe!
My daughter and I make something similar for fries, only we don’t use vinegar. I can’t wait to try it that way!
I can’t wait to give this a try. I already make a simplified version of this, so I know I’m going to love it.