Shake Shack Sauce (Copycat)

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

19 Comments

5 from 4 votes
8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
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Shake Shack Sauce (Copycat) is the legendary burger chain’s tangy, creamy sauce that’s perfect on burgers, sandwiches or for dipping!

Whether it’s Chick-Fil-A’s Honey Mustard, In-N-Out’s Burger Spread, or Shake Sauce, the right Sauce can inspire lines out the door and a loyal following. But you can skip the wait and recreate your favorites with my easy copycat recipes right at home.

Sabrina’s Shake Shack Recipe (Copycat)

Shake Shack tapped into the secret to making it big, and developed their own spread when they decided to make the leap from hot dog cart to making a debut on the burger joint scene. Tourists come from all over to their flagship location to get a taste of this unique Shack Sauce and now you can make it in the comfort of your own home! This is sauce will be a great add on to burger night with the family! This sauce is so good, you don’t want to make variations on it. Instead use it in other recipe that call for a special sauce or spread.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Shake Shack Sauce Recipe (Copycat) Recipe

Shake Shack Sauce (Copycat) is the legendary burger chain's tangy, creamy sauce that's perfect on burgers, sandwiches or for dipping!
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Sauce
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Mixed sauce in small white bowl.
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 4 slices kosher dill pickle , finely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir.
  • If you want your sauce to have a more smooth texture, you can blend it in the food processor for 5-10 seconds.
  • Store in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 14mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 52IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.1mg

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Chef’s Note

A tip to make this the most spot on recipe, get picky with ingredients. Use Heinz ketchup and Hellman’s mayonnaise. While using other brands will still make a delicious sauce, you want to use the highest quality ingredients for the best possible sauce.

Table of contents

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About this Recipe

What sets the Shack Sauce apart compared to a lot of other burger spreads is the use of mustard and only a bit of ketchup. They also use some dill pickle in their sauce to give it a tang and cayenne pepper for just a hint of heat. It stands out as a well-rounded creamy blend of sweet, savory, tangy, sour, and spice. A true delight for all your tastebuds!

Serving Ideas

  • Cheeseburger Casserole: My cheeseburger casserole is modeled after the Big Mac, but you can add this sauce to make a dish that Shake Shack wishes they had on their menu!
  • Chicken Strips: Use this as a dipping sauce for crispy chicken strips and serve them up for game day!
  • Meatloaf: Make kid friendly comfort food with my Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf and brush this sauce on top during the last 10 minutes of baking.
  • Burger: Of course you can always grill up the perfect burgers, spread this sauce on the top bun and recreate the Shake Shack classic with American Cheese, green leaf lettuce, and plum tomatoes.
  • Sloppy Joes: Another way I love to use this sauce is to make Shake Shack Sloppy Joes! You get all the flavor of the classic burger but it’s much easier and kids go crazy for the fun messy sammies.
  • Fries: If you want to act like a Shake Shack insider, serve this sauce on a bed of crinkle cut fries, their special cheese sauce (bonus recipe below!) and melted American cheese. Shack Sauce and Fries is one of their most popular secret menu items. Add some bacon for an even more indulgent snack.

Shack Sauce Cheese Sauce

  • Dice ½ a yellow onion and 1 seeded jalapeno and saute.
  • Mix 2 cups heavy cream with 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon white wine.
  • Soak onion and pepper in cream mixture for 30 minutes.
  • Heat on stove until hot.
  • Strain and pour over 2 cups American cheese and 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, stir until melted.
  • Store in a sealed container for up to 1 week.

How to Store

  • Serve: Mayo-based sauces like this should be stored in the refrigerator within 2 hours.
  • Store: Store Shack Sauce in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
  • Freeze: Since it’s made with mayonnaise, freezing this sauce is not recommended.

More Copycat Fast Food Sauces

Collage of sauce in bowl, ingredients before mixing and sauce with beef in pan.

Photos used in previous versions of the post:

Sauce ingredients in bowl before mixing.
Mixed sauce in small white bowl.
Mixed sauce in pan with ground beef.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I just watched the culinary head for shake shack and he stated emphatically he doesn’t use ketchup anywhere in his recipes. Also it’s a smooth creamy sauce…just wondering where you got the dill pickles from?

    Reply

    1. Both husband and I loved. It is now a staple for our hamburgers and fries
      We also put it on sandwiches and it’s delicious.

      Reply

  4. Bless you Sabrina! Tried your SS cheese sauce recipe last night and it came out great! I used half and half instead of heavy cream and it still worked just fine. Thank you!

    Reply

  5. If I were to save a few minutes by using dill relish would this ruin anything? And if so how much would you say to use?

    Reply

    1. I’ve not tested it but it should work. Whatever else is added into the relish might adjust the flavor a bit though.

      Reply

  6. Somehow I’ve never heard of this sauce but looking at the combo of ingredients it looks like a real winner, gotta try it!

    Reply

  8. That shake shack copycat sauce looks pretty awesome! I normally just like ketchup and mustard on my burgers, but I would definitely try this.

    Reply