How to Make Fry Sauce

Have you heard of or tasted fry sauce?? I hadn’t until we moved to Idaho and now I’m obsessed!! If you don’t want to wait until you go out to eat, this is how to make it at home. Now you too can put it on hamburgers, chicken nuggets, and of course your french fries too! It’s one of our favorite recipes for dip that goes on everything.

Of course there are slight variations of how to make fry sauce out there because everyone’s pallet is a bit different. It starts with 2 basic ingredients though and you add on from there.

I mean we do live in the potato state and we did notice when we moved here that EVERYWHERE offered this. We weren’t familiar at first but it was a favorite with our first fast food run for sure! Then we wanted to dip everything in this, yes on Beer Batter Fries too but well beyond just potatoes.

What is fry sauce?

It’s like a creamy ketchup with just a little zing. Better than just the original red sauce you got as a kid for sure. It’s a mixture of ketchup and mayo with a few secret ingredients You can add heat too with a little Sriracha or chili powder too Arctic Circle burger chain is said to have started it. This started in Utah “they” say but is slowly moving to other states. Now you can make it wherever you live though!

Now that’s the beginning and you could stop there. This is how it started in the beginning. Simple right??!! It is quite good like this, a bit like Thousand Island dressing just without the relish.  To add the bit of zing though you’ll need 2 more things, 3 if you want some spice added.

Fry Sauce Ingredients

Ketchup is the base of this which gives it most of it’s orange color. I like Heinz organic myself.

Mayonnaise, do not use low fat, in the jar is better than the squeezable containers if you ask me. I have tried Kewpie before and Miracle Whip but Best Foods is well….the best

Add ins you will want to adjust to your liking; White wine vinegar will give you that zing that you would expect though you could use some use dill pickle juice instead, others prefer worcestershire sauce

Seasoned salt – we use Lawry’s but there are quite a few brands out there or you might make your own but you do want more than just table salt. Onion powder and/or garlic powder added to your liking to add to the seasonings + salt and black pepper to taste.

How to Make it Spicy

You can add some dry or regular Sriracha, hot sauce or chili powder (less or more) will add a bit of heat. I will say that typically at fast food restaurants there is just a very small pinch so it is mild.

Tips

Keep in mind that you can serve this immediately after making it, however it is best if you leave it in the fridge for a while. Allowing it to chill and the mayonnaise to thicken back up is best (I feel in the mixing process the mayo thins out just a bit)

I like a bit more tang than my husband and we’ve experimented with lots of ingredients, and just kept it simple too. It’s a fun sauce to do that with.  You can find it bottled in stores every once and a while but I just keep the packets I get if we don’t use them in our fridge. So if we’re in a rush I pull it out and enjoy! What are you waiting for??

FAQ

Yes, since the mayonnaise is combined with other ingredients it needs to then be refrigerated. You not only want to keep it from spoiling but it will start to separate and become a mushy texture if you don’t keep it chilled.

This homemade version would probably last a few weeks if stored in an air tight container in the fridge. An unopened bottle you bought would last a few years on the shelf.

You will need a bit of white wine vinegar, seasoned salt (like Lawry’s) and some like to add a bit of heat with Sriracha too (optional). These 4 ingredients make the best sauce for French fries ever!

What do you serve with fry sauce?

Anything really….I kid you not there isn’t anything this stuff isn’t good on! We even love it as a chicken wing dipping sauce. But if you want to start somewhere this is what we serve it with and on: If you want something fast, try our air fryer frozen french fries instructions for a quick snack or served drizzled over our ninja foodi french fries is great.

Frozen chicken nuggets in air fryer need some kind of sauce for sure. Frozen onion rings in air fryer are great too. On top of smoked hamburgers is a great topping.

Honestly I have dunked just about everything in it if I had a bowl in front of me. It just adds lots of creamy flavor to whatever you’re eating and you can really customize it to your liking.

Looking for another dip to use for things like air fryer fried shrimp and more? Try our bang bang shrimp sauce too!