Shake Shack Sauce (Copycat) is the legendary burger chain’s tangy, creamy sauce that’s perfect on burgers and 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.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Shake Shack Copycat Recipe
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.
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. Other iconic sauces like Fry Sauce and Big Mac Special Sauce are more a mayo-ketchup blend that ends up being on the sweet side. 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!
How to Make
Time needed: 5 minutes.
- Combine
Add all the sauce ingredients to a small mixing bowl. Stir until everything is combined. For a smoother sauce, you can mix it in a food processor.
- Serve
You can serve this sauce right away or chill it for a few hours to really let the flavors come together. Don’t leave it out for more than 2 hours before storing in the fridge.
Recipe Card
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
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Chef’s Note: Ingredients Matter
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.
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.
Ideas to Use Shake Sauce
This sauce is so good, you don’t want to make variations on it. Instead use it in other recipes that call for a special sauce or spread.
- Cheeseburger Casserole: My cheeseburger casserole is modeled after the Big Mac but instead swap out the Shack Sauce to make a dish that Shake Shack wishes they had on their menu!
- Chicken Strips: Use this as a dipping sauce for my 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. Check out the picture below for a sneak peak!
Shake Shack Secret Menu 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.
Shake Shack 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.
Related Posts
More Copycat Fast Food Sauces
The following pictures were used in previous versions of this post:
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?
This looks great! But shack sauce def does not have pickle chunks in it, it is a smooth sauce.
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.
Yay!! Thanks for coming back to let me know, Nancy.
This recipe is for McDonald’s special sauce, not shack sauce. Shack sauce does not have pickle chunks.
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!
You’re welcome, Nicole!
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?
I’ve not tested it but it should work. Whatever else is added into the relish might adjust the flavor a bit though.
Somehow I’ve never heard of this sauce but looking at the combo of ingredients it looks like a real winner, gotta try it!
Enjoy!
What?! This looks SO delicious, I know I’m going to love it!
I hope you enjoy it!
That shake shack copycat sauce looks pretty awesome! I normally just like ketchup and mustard on my burgers, but I would definitely try this.
It’s a fun change.
YAY! All of my kids loved this, thank you so much! This was even better than Shake Shack’s!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I am one best follower. I will try it.
Enjoy!