32 Standout Sauce Recipes for Burgers

Ketchup, mustard, and Thousand Island get most of the action when it comes to adding sauce to a burger, but why stop there?

The Serious Eats Team

Updated September 26, 2023

Four toasted burger buns open on a baking sheet, each one with three lines of homemade Shack Sauce on the top half of the bun, and lettuce and tomato on the bottom half of the bun. — Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

Ketchup, mustard, and Thousand Island get most of the action when it comes to adding sauce to a burger, but why stop there? There are countless ways to level up your burger, and switching up your sauces is the best place to start. Below are some of our favorite sauce recipes—from ranch and pesto to a number of variations on mustard and mayo—to make your next burger stand out from the rest.

Spicy 'Nduja Mayonnaise
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
For the best spicy mayonnaise, stir in some funky, salty 'nduja.
Spicy 'Nduja Mayonnaise
Chipotle Mayonnaise
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
With just a few ingredients, you can create a complex mixture of spicy, cool, earthy, and smoky that becomes an excellent spread for burgers.
Chipotle Mayonnaise
Ranch Dressing
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
The creamy, rich buttermilk in this ranch melds with the subtleties of fresh parsley, chives, and dill.
Ranch Dressing
Harissa Ranch Dressing
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Is there anything better than ranch? Yes: harissa ranch.
Harissa Ranch Dressing
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Shack Sauce
Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian
Shake Shack's secretive Shack Sauce is a creamy, tangy condiment for burgers at home.
Shack Sauce
Curry Leaf and Mustard Oil Mayonnaise
Serious Eats / Nik Sharma
The peppery heat of mustard oil and aromatic curry leaves give this luxurious and rich mayo incredible depth of flavor.
Curry Leaf and Mustard Oil Mayonnaise
Two-Minute Mayonnaise
Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga
Using an immersion blender, you end up with a cup full of creamy, perfectly emulsified, real-deal, better-than-anything-you-can-buy mayonnaise.
Two-Minute Mayonnaise
The Best Pesto alla Genovese (Classic Basil Pesto Sauce)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
After many rounds of testing, we found this method and ratio of ingredients produces the best pesto.
The Best Pesto alla Genovese (Classic Basil Pesto Sauce)
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Fennel Frond Pesto With Lemon and Anchovies
Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer
Turn your herb and vegetable leftovers into a delicious and versatile sauce.
Fennel Frond Pesto With Lemon and Anchovies
Whipped Feta Dip
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Versatile whipped feta cheese can be slathered on burgers for a salty, tangy finish.
Whipped Feta Dip
Ssamjang (Korean Barbecue Dipping Sauce)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Korean ssamjang combines the savory funk of doenjang with the sweet heat of gochujang for the perfect grilled meat condiment.
Ssamjang (Korean Barbecue Dipping Sauce)
Romesco Sauce
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Here's how to get closer to the original flavor than many English-language recipes will allow.
Romesco Sauce
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Roasted-Tomato and Caper Spread
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Sweet roasted tomatoes join forces with briny capers and spicy fresh olive oil in this flavorful spread.
Roasted-Tomato and Caper Spread
Guasacaca (Avocado Salsa)
Serious Eats / Julia Estrada
Venezuelan cuisine's answer to guacamole has a brighter, tangier flavor.
Guasacaca (Avocado Salsa)
Fermented Hot Sauce With Fresno Chiles, Garlic, and Tamari
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Charred Fresno chiles add complex flavor and heat, tamari supplies savory backbone, while garlic oil blends in for an emulsified sauce that's creamy and rich.
Fermented Hot Sauce With Fresno Chiles, Garlic, and Tamari
Chipotle Fermented Hot Sauce With Garlic, and Cumin
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Loosely inspired by Mexico's Cholula brand of hot sauces, this spicy homemade condiment is packed with the smoky flavors of chipotle and the bold funk of cumin and garlic.
Chipotle Fermented Hot Sauce With Garlic, and Cumin
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Habanero Fermented Hot Sauce With Berries
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Roughly inspired by a Louisiana-style hot sauce like Tabasco, this fermented condiment gets its intense color and fruity flavor from berries.
Habanero Fermented Hot Sauce With Berries
Cheese Sauce
Serious Eats / Julia Estrada
Homemade nacho cheese sauce is within your reach, and is great layered on a burger.
Cheese Sauce
Nam Prik Pao (Thai Chile Jam)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Add this versatile, savory-sweet roasted chile paste to your condiment repertoire.
Nam Prik Pao (Thai Chile Jam)
Zhug (Yemenite Hot Sauce With Cilantro and Parsley)
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Zhug is a fresh, bright Middle Eastern hot sauce akin to chimichurri, chermoula, and salsa verde.
Zhug (Yemenite Hot Sauce With Cilantro and Parsley)
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Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
A bold, creamy garlic sauce and dip, Lebanese toum is easy to make at home with the help of a food processor and a little good technique.
Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Homemade Ketchup
Serious Eats
While nothing will replace a flavor so ingrained in our psyches as Heinz, this ketchup has its own appeal. It was brighter and fresher than bottled ketchup, with a natural tomato flavor.
Homemade Ketchup
Yellow Mustard
Serious Eats
Ground mustard forms the base of the sauce, with vinegar pumping up the kick, and turmeric providing that bright yellow color that sets American mustard apart.
Yellow Mustard
Spicy Beer Mustard
Serious Eats
While this mustard has quite a bite when tried alone, eaten on a burger, it has just the right amount of spice with a very slight sweetness.
Spicy Beer Mustard
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Chili for Chili Burgers
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
This chili ends up with a homogeneous, saucy texture perfect for topping burgers.
Chili for Chili Burgers
Kansas City-Style Barbecue Sauce
Serious Eats
Thick and sweet, with a tangy tomato mixture—this a the barbecue sauce you'll want to put on everything, especially your burgers.
Kansas City-Style Barbecue Sauce
Two-Minute Aioli
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Classic aioli is made with nothing but garlic and olive oil pounded in a mortar and pestle. Our updated version uses egg yolks to help bind the sauce along with a hand blender to make it 100% foolproof and extremely quick.
Two-Minute Aioli
New Orleans Remoulade Sauce
Serious Eats
Mayonnaise is the base for this remoulade brimming with fresh herbs and spices.
New Orleans Remoulade Sauce
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Pimento Cheese
Serious Eats
A mixture of grated sharp cheddar, mayo, pimentos, cayenne, and hot sauce makes for some of the best pimento cheese around.
Pimento Cheese
Homemade Sriracha
Serious Eats
This version hits the right notes, but with a brighter, fresher flavor.
Homemade Sriracha
Basic Teriyaki Sauce
Serious Eats
A mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, sake, and mirin gives this sauce a sweet and salty flavor.
Basic Teriyaki Sauce
Chimichurri Sauce
Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
Fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, and red wine vinegar come together in a tangy sauce that works wonders on burgers.
Chimichurri Sauce

32 Standout Sauce Recipes for Burgers

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