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Burger Sauce

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The best burger sauce recipe made with just 7 simple ingredients! It’s sweet and tangy, creamy with a little crunch, and just like your favorite hamburger sauce from restaurants and fast-food chains. Gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, and Whole30.

A jar filled with burger sauce with some on a spoon overtop of it.

Week 2 of burger month and what’s a good burger without some kind of sauce. Enter BURGER SAUCE!

If you have been to In-N-Out, P. Terry’s (our household favorite), or maybe even McDonald’s or Burger King, you should have an idea of what burger sauce is. If not, it’s that red-orange colored sweet and tangy sauce they put on hamburgers that is absolutely amazing!!

A burger topped with hamburger sauce that is dripping down the burger. Behind it is a jar of more special sauce.

I honestly don’t know what goes into your typical hamburger sauce from restaurants. It reminds me of a ketchup and mayo hybrid with some other add-ins depending on where you are. But I do know it’s usually magical and the perfect touch on a burger.

So, of course, I had to recreate a healthy version of it and, as it turns out, it is so easy to make! If you have made my burger salad with the special sauce dressing, this is pretty much it, except tweaked slightly to make a huge batch, because it’s that good! It’s maybe one of my favorite sauces and that is saying a lot coming from me!

Jar filled with homemade mayo, tomato paste, mustard, chopped pickles, and spices to make special sauce.

We’ve been putting it on all kinds of burgers (beef, chicken, veggie…), using it as a dip for air fryer sweet potato fries, and I even mixed it with tuna the other day for a spiced up tuna salad. You really can’t go wrong!

This hamburger sauce is also paleo and Whole30 compliant! Make sure to use a compliant mayo (homemade is best) and complaint pickles (I love the brand Grillo’s Pickles).

Overhead shot of a large jar with burger sauce and a spoon sticking out of the jar.

How to make burger sauce

Just 7 ingredients to whip up the best burger sauce recipe! It’s both sweet and tangy, creamy with a little crunch, and the perfect topping for any kind of burger! And will quickly become your new favorite sauce for just about anything!

Here is what you need:

  • mayo (I prefer homemade – details how to make it below)
  • tomato paste
  • pickle chips + pickle juice
  • dijon mustard
  • lemon juice
  • garlic powder
  • paprika
  • salt and pepper

First, start off by making your mayo if making homemade. Then simply just add the rest of the ingredients to the jar you made your mayo in or a large jar and mix well to combine!

That’s it! It’s as simple as mixing it all up and spreading it on everything! Even though it’s a “burger sauce”, you will want to dip anything and everything into it.

It makes a lot, but if you have a few people in your household, it should be easy to eat. It should last for 2-3 weeks in a tightly sealed glass jar (I usually go by the date on my eggs from making the mayo). The best thing is, the flavor gets better and better as it sits!

White counter with a bowl of mayo, bowl of tomato paste, bowl of mustard, bowl of garlic powder, bowl of chopped pickles, a bowl of paprika, and half a lemon wedge.

How to make homemade mayo

Homemade mayo is so easy to make and you only need a handful of ingredients, most of them being pantry staples. You do need an immersion blender for this recipe, but you can find them pretty reasonably and will definitely get a lot of use of it.

Here are the ingredients for homemade mayo:

  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup avocado oil (or any kind of light tasting oil – light olive oil will work, but extra virgin olive oil will not work)
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • pinch of salt

To make homemade mayo, simply add all your ingredients in the order listed to a wide mouth jar. I like to use a jar that I will be storing the mayo in and love these weck jars. Make sure you add in the ingredients as listed, with the egg on the bottom. That way it will blend first and create the emulsion.

After you add all the ingredients into the jar, place the immersion blender in the jar with the blade being on top of the egg yolk. Then, turn it on. You will see it start to make an emulsion and the egg will start to blend with the oil after 5-10 seconds.

After about 30-45 seconds, slowly raise the immersion blender so you get all the oil and you have homemade mayo! This recipe will make about 1 cup of mayo.

It should be thick and creamy. If needed, throw it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let it thicken.

Homemade mayo vs store-bought mayo

As you can see, making homemade mayo is pretty easy – you only need a few basic pantry staples and it takes less than one minute. That being said, not everyone wants to make it. I have made this special sauce with both homemade and store-bought mayo and I prefer homemade. It is a lot creamier and the flavor is slightly different, giving the burger sauce a better flavor.

That being said, you can use store-bought mayo if you like, it might just alter the flavor a little. Opt for a classic kind without any additional flavorings.

How to use burger sauce

Whether you want to call it burger sauce, fry sauce, or special sauce, you can’t really go wrong with how you want to use it! Here are a few suggestions to use this burger sauce recipe:

  • on burgers – ground beef, turkey, chicken, or even veggies burgers!
  • French fry dipping sauce
  • as a dressing – I love making a burger salad and using this as the dressing, but any kind of salad would work
  • on sandwiches – use it instead of your typical plain mayo
  • as a dip – use it for veggies, roasted potatoes, chips, or even chicken tenders/nuggets

More healthy sauce recipes

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

Red Enchilada Sauce

Whole30 Buffalo Sauce

6 Whole30 Sauces that aren’t Mayo

Homemade Spicy Chipotle Mayo

Hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and pickles topped with burger sauce that is dripping down the burger.

A jar filled with burger sauce with some on a spoon overtop of it.
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5 from 22 votes

Burger Sauce

The best burger sauce recipe made with just 7 simple ingredients! It's sweet and tangy, creamy with a little crunch, and just like your favorite hamburger sauce from restaurants and fast-food chains. Gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, and Whole30.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Burger Sauce, Hamburger Sauce, Special Sauce
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 28 (1 3/4 cup)
Calories 59kcal
Author Kelly

Ingredients

  • 1 cup homemade mayo*
  • 3/4 heaping cup finely diced pickle chips (120 grams)
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons pickle juice (from the jar of pickles)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • If needed, make your mayo (see directions above in blog post).
  • Add the mayo, pickles, tomato paste, mustard, pickle juice, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper to a large glass jar (I add the rest of the ingredients to the jar I make the mayo in) and stir to combine. Adjust according to taste and enjoy! Burger sauce will keep for 2-3 weeks in a tightly sealed glass jar (and the flavor gets better as it sits!).

Notes

*I find that homemade mayo tastes a lot better in this recipe. You can sure store-bought, but I suggest homemade. Directions are in the post for making homemade mayo.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Burger Sauce
Amount Per Serving (1 tablespoon)
Calories 59 Calories from Fat 55
% Daily Value*
Fat 6.1g9%
Saturated Fat 0.7g4%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.2g
Potassium 27.1mg1%
Carbohydrates 0.8g0%
Fiber 0.2g1%
Sugar 0.3g0%
Protein 0.4g1%
Vitamin A 59.1IU1%
Vitamin C 0.2mg0%
Calcium 1.9mg0%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?If you make this recipe or anything from Eat the Gains, leave a comment and rating to let people know how you liked it! Also, make sure to post it and tag me so I can see all of your creations!! @eatthegains and #eatthegains on Instagram!

This post may contain affiliate links and I may make a little bit of money if you click on and purchase the products that are linked. It doesn’t cost you any extra money. The compensation helps with expenses to keep ETG up and running. I truly appreciate your support!

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Comments

  3. 5 stars
    So so good!! Ate it on the salad and a plain cheeseburger and it was the perfect mixture of sweet, Smokey, and pickley! Will make it again 🙂

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    I love this sauce! I use it as dressing but I also mix it in with the ground beef for the salad and I use it as dipping sauce for fries, chips, cuxmbers, carrots chips, its very multi-purpose and easy to make!

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    Love this sauce! I make it frequently for burger salad. It’s just the right mix of salt and brine. Don’t skip or substitute any ingredients, it’s perfect just how the recipe is written.

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Tastes exactly like In n Out sauce! I made it with the homemade mayo. It’s a little runny right now but I imagine it will firm up after some time in the fridge. I was hesitant about making the full recipe because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to eat it all in 2-3 but now I’m sure I will! 100% would recommend.

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    This burger sauce is amazing. Easy to make along with the homemade mayo. I dipped my air fried fries in it and will do so again. This is a must have in my refrigerator from now on.

    Reply

  11. 5 stars
    This sauce is amazing! I made it for a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets and French fries for my kids and they are obsessed with it!

    Reply

  12. 5 stars
    This sauce!! So damn good. I hate to be the commenter with substitutions, but during quarantine times, you have to work with what you got! I only had sweet relish, and no pickles. I used the sweet relish in place of the chopped pickles. In place of the pickle brine, I used an equal amount of white vinegar and it turned out great! I will be eating burger bowls for the next week just to eat this sauce.

    Great recipe, Kelly!!!

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    This recipe was a hit among the whole family! Even my dad, who doesn’t like pickles, enjoyed it! He said it reminded him of the burger joint from his childhood. I enjoyed it so much I used the rest of it (made about a 1/3 batch for 1 dinner) as a dip for homemade fries. Wishing today that I hadn’t used it all up!!! Delicious.

    Reply

  14. 5 stars
    This is the best sauce I’ve ever used on a burger! I usually don’t do burger sauces because they all taste like Thousand island dressing which I don’t like but this sauce was so different. It’s delicious as is but I added a bit of sriracha for a little spice. Yum!

    Reply

  15. 5 stars
    A must try! Made mine with homemade avocado mayo and used smoked paprika (our personal favorite). I ate this on everything from a black bean sweet potato burger to fish to plopping a little on a salad. Soooo good!

    Reply

  16. 5 stars
    This sauce was INCREDIBLE!!! After I made it, we used it on burgers (of course) and as a dip for potatoes, radishes and carrots- so yummy!

    Reply

  17. 5 stars
    This burger sauce is BOMB. I meal prepped burger salads for lunch this week and, as a result, lunch has been the highlight of my day everyday.
    I think this burger sauce will become a staple in our fridge. Delish!

    Reply

  18. Am I missing something here because I can’t see the quantities of any of the ingredients? I can’t cook by eye, I want to follow instructions 😅

    Reply

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