What’s a good burger without some kind of sauce? Enter homemade BURGER SAUCE!
If you have been to In-N-Out, P. Terry’s (our household favorite), 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 condiment they put on hamburgers and cheeseburgers that is absolutely amazing!!

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 one of my favorite sauces and that is saying a lot coming from me!
We’ve been putting it on all kinds of burgers (beef, chicken, veggie…), it makes a great dipping sauce for 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).

Why we love this burger sauce
- ready in 5 minutes
- thick and creamy – it gets even thicker the longer it sits in the fridge
- made from wholesome ingredients
- the taste and flavor are unmatched – I find it’s so much better than store-bought or at a restaurant!
Ingredients
- mayonnaise – I prefer homemade (details on how to make it below)
- tomato paste – this will add some natural sweetness and color
- dill pickle chips + pickle juice – for that classic tang
- dijon mustard
- lemon juice
- garlic powder
- paprika
- salt and pepper

How to make burger sauce
- Make homemade mayo (optional). If needed, make your mayo.
- Make burger sauce. 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 whisk to combine. Adjust according to taste.
- Enjoy! Burger sauce will keep for 2-3 weeks in a tightly sealed glass jar in the fridge (and the flavor gets better as it sits!).

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.
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
Instructions to make homemade mayo:
- Add all your ingredients to a small-medium wide-mouth jar. Add egg, oil, dijon, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt in the order listed. I like to use a jar that I will be storing the mayo in and love these weck jars.
- Blend. Place an immersion blender over top of the egg yolk at the bottom of the jar. Turn on the blender. After about 5-10 seconds, you will see the mixture start to make an emulsion and thicken. Continue blending and after about 30-45 seconds, slowly raise the immersion blender so all the oil is incorporated.
- Store in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge.



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, special sauce, secret sauce, or big mac 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 patties with lettuce, tomato, and onion, on either a bun or lettuce wrap.
- as a dipping sauce for french fries – these air fryer fries are the best!
- 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

Storage
- fridge – keep for 2-3 weeks in a tightly sealed glass jar (and the flavor gets better as it sits!). If using homemade mayo, it will last in the fridge for as long as the egg you used will last. Use the expiration date on your egg carton to determine when to use your mayo by.
- freezer – I do not recommend freezing this recipe as I feel like the texture will change.
Substitutions
- mayonnaise – homemade or store-bought will work. I prefer homemade for this recipe.
- tomato paste – if you like a sweeter sauce, you can use ketchup instead.
- pickle chips – I like dill pickles for a classic flavor. You can use bread and butter if you want a sweeter flavor.
- dijon mustard – regular or brown mustard will work, the flavor will just change a little.
More healthy sauce recipes
- tzatziki sauce
- enchilada sauce
- spicy red pepper sauce
- buffalo sauce
- peanut sauce
- greek yogurt blue cheese dressing
If you love quick and easy meals and want to learn how to build a balanced plate, check out our FREE How to Build a Balanced Plate Guide!


Burger Sauce
equipment
ingredients
- 1 cup homemade mayo (see notes)
- 3/4 heaping cup finely diced dill 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
- Make homemade mayo (optional). If needed, make your mayo (see directions above in blog post).
- Make burger sauce. 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.
- Enjoy! Refrigerate leftovers for 2-3 weeks in a tightly sealed glass jar (and the flavor gets better as it sits!).
Kelsey says
I made this sauce to add to some hamburger I was making and it turned out delicious! I also used left over to add to a salad a few days later! I will definitely make this again, and if I am brave I will try it with homemade mayo!
Kelly says
So glad you enjoyed it, Kelsey! And I promise homemade mayo is so easy. Thanks for trying it!
Callie says
A W30 must make!! Easy to make & great on so many different things 🙂
Kelly says
So glad you like it, Callie – thanks for trying it!
JM says
This is SO good! I’ve made it five times this summer and it gets better every time! I always start with the homemade mayo. I’ve varied the type of pickle for fun and also added some hot sauce. I even brought it as a hostess gift to a BBQ. Love it!
Kelly says
So happy to hear that, and love that you made it as a gift! Thanks for trying it and glad you enjoy it so much!
Christina W says
Made this sauce for some Burger bowls. It is amazing! I followed your suggestion and made the homemade mayo and made a small tweak to the burger sauce recipe by doing 2 TB tomato paste and 2 TB sugar feee ketchup. Turned out great! Will definitely make again.
Kelly says
Love that tweak! So happy to hear you enjoyed it and it was a hit! Thanks, Christina!
Cynthia says
I was about to comment that since I had no tomato paste, I did the same thing. Since the ketchup is already sweetened, I omitted the pickle juice and it tasted great. 🙂
Kelly says
So happy to hear it! Glad you enjoyed it, Cynthia!
Patrik says
Hey Kelly, this looks super tasty! Did not try it yet but I will soon for my son’s birthday.
Just a quick question, do you think replacing Mayo with Greek yogurt would do the job?
Thanks!
Kelly says
Hi Patrik! I haven’t tried that, but I would think it would work. The flavor might be a little tangier than with the mayo!
Maeve says
For the homemade mayonnaise, I used canola oil and it ended up tasting too fatty, but once I mixed in the other ingredients to finish up the burger sauce it ended up just fine!
Kelly says
Glad it came out well in the end! Thank you for trying it Maeve!
Jade says
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 😅
Kelly says
Hey Jade! The recipe is in the recipe card at the end of the post before the comments. Hope that helps!
Michelle says
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!
Kelly says
So happy to hear that!! Thank you Michelle!