The BEST Burger Sauce Recipe
This Burger Sauce recipe is the BEST…homemade, creamy, decadent, and bursting with flavor for the perfect accompaniment to your favorite burgers and sandwiches!
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Grilling season is upon us! And with Memorial Day right around the corner, it's rather likely that burgers are on some of our upcoming menus. And if there's any way to improve upon an already mouthwatering burger, it's by topping it with a generous dollop of Burger Sauce!
I tested this Burger Sauce recipe multiple times before I landed on this scrumptious rendition. I found a certain combo of ingredients in these particular ratios yields a perfectly balanced sauce that's simultaneously creamy and smooth, salty and sweet, and tangy and zippy. It'll elevate any burger from good to great! And it makes a delectable dipping sauce for fries and other goodies as well.
Ingredients
Odds are, you already have all of the simple ingredients necessary for this Burger Sauce recipe in your fridge and pantry!
- Mayonnaise. For the base. Use your favorite brand. To be honest, I don't like tasting the mayo in my Burger Sauce, so I always make sure I stir this recipe together hours before I need it so that the flavors can meld in the refrigerator until the individual ingredients are no longer detectable.
- Ketchup. For flavor and an undertone of sweetness.
- Dijon mustard. I like using Dijon rather than regular yellow mustard because it's sharper and more complex. But you can use yellow mustard instead if that's all you've got!
- Worcestershire sauce. Just a bit adds savory depth of flavor.
- Garlic powder + freshly ground black pepper. For seasoning and spice.
- Dill relish + sweet relish. Why add one when you can use both? Much of the time, when I want to add pickle relish to a recipe (from Thousand Island Dressing to Tuna Pasta Salad), I like to use half dill relish and half sweet relish to get both sweet and sour notes in the final dish.
How to Make Burger Sauce
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
This Burger Sauce recipe is ready in mere minutes and is as easy as combining the ingredients in a bowl. That's it!
- Measure all of the ingredients into a bowl.
- Whisk until smooth and combined!
Then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. As previously mentioned, I like to chill this Burger Sauce recipe for several hours, which allows the flavors to blend.
Tips + Tricks
For a smooth sauce: One note for this Burger Sauce recipe is that if you use a mayonnaise that tends to be thick or lumpy (such as "natural" brands of mayo or mayo made with alternative oils, like avocado oil), I recommend whisking the first six ingredients until completely smooth before adding the pickle relishes. If you add the pickle relishes at the beginning, it can be difficult to get an overly thick or lumpy mayonnaise completely smooth.
Not too salty: Also, due to several of the ingredients already being salty, this Burger Sauce recipe typically turns out salty enough without additional salt. However, if you use low-sodium ketchup and/or feel like the sauce is bland once it's mixed up, feel free to stir in a bit of salt, to taste.
Some like it hot: Finally, for Burger Sauce with a kick of heat, feel free to substitute 1 tablespoon of the ketchup for hot sauce, such as Cholula!
Yield + Storage
If you plan on 1 tablespoon of sauce per burger, this Burger Sauce recipe yields about 8 servings.
Of course, if you prefer to smear a generous 2 tablespoons of sauce on your burger, the total number of servings will be cut in half. 😉
Any leftovers will keep (tightly covered and refrigerated) for up to 5 days.
From fast food joints to fancy restaurants, Burger Sauce is the secret that makes any ol' humble hamburger immeasurably better. And this Burger Sauce recipe will set you up for the same phenomenon at home!
I hope you have a chance to try it soon. And I hope that you love it so much it becomes a must-make at your house every time burgers are on the menu!
After all, it's so quick and easy that there's no excuse not to make it. 🙂
More Homemade Sauces
- The BEST Pizza Sauce
- Healthy Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
- Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce (5 Ingredients + 5 Minutes)
- Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
The BEST Burger Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons dill relish
- 2 teaspoons sweet relish
Instructions
- Measure the mayonnaise, ketchup, Dijon, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and black pepper into a bowl. Whisk until completely smooth and well-combined. Stir in the dill relish and sweet relish. Taste and adjust any seasonings as desired.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Leftovers will keep for up to 5 days.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Due to several of the ingredients being salty, this Burger Sauce recipe is typically salty enough. However, if you use low-sodium ketchup and/or feel like the sauce is bland, feel free to stir in a bit of salt, to taste.
- For Burger Sauce with a kick of heat, feel free to substitute 1 tablespoon of the ketchup for hot sauce, such as Cholula.
- Allowing the sauce to chill for several hours before serving will allow the flavors to meld and prevent it from tasting “mayonnaise-y”.
- The instructions recommend whisking the first six ingredients until smooth before adding the pickle relishes in case your mayonnaise is natural/thick/lumpy. It's harder to get mayo lumps out of your Burger Sauce once the pickle relishes are added. 😉 That being said, if you are using regular mayo that blends easily, you can just combine all of the ingredients at once.
