Brian Nagele
The fast-food restaurant chain Arby’s, well-known for its roast beef sandwiches and curly fries, has a secret stash of delicious sauces that can turn any meal into an adventure filled with flavor. These condiments, which range from tangy and zesty to sweet and smoky, are the unsung heroes of the Arby’s menu, enhancing every bite to a whole new level of flavor. We set out on a culinary journey to discover the best Arby’s sauces in this saucy exploration, which promises to entice your taste buds and infuse your meal with even more excitement. This guide will take you through a variety of condiments that highlight the chain’s dedication to flavor innovation, whether you’re a die-hard fan of Arby’s or are new to its flavors.
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Kicking off this list of delicious sauces is the popular Cheddar Cheese Sauce. This sauce is super indulgent and gooey. It comes on one of our favorite menu items – Arby’s Beef and Cheddar sandwich, but it’s also an excellent topping if you want some cheesy fries with your sandwich. This is a sauce that you’ll want to ask for extra, as it goes well on just about everything. Kids and adults alike love this hot, thick cheese sauce that has the perfect balance of salt and savory. While slices of fresh cheese on a sandwich are yummy, try using this cheese sauce on your next Arby’s sandwich. You’ll be blown away by the decadent flavor and the sheer ease of use that this sauce gives you.
Bronco Berry Sauce
Arby’s Bronco Berry Sauce is one of the most distinct sauces they offer. It has a bright and refreshing flavor that can bring your meat-rich dish to life. The sauce is thick with a distinct combination of sweet and spicy flavors. It consists of jalapenos, cayenne, and paprika to give it a bold flavor that pairs well with the sweetness of the berries. The Bronco Berry Sauce is specifically for the Jalapeno Bites, but it’s a versatile sauce that can enhance many different meals. It can make your chicken nuggets fruitier or give your fries an extra kick. While a berry sauce may seem odd, this one is worth trying!
Spicy Three Pepper Sauce
If you want a sauce with some heat, you’ll love the Spicy Three Pepper Sauce. Despite the name, the sauce unfortunately isn’t as spicy as many people assume. If you love strong spice and tons of heat, you may want to go for the Spicy Buffalo or Horsey Sauce. If you want a little hint of spice to beef up your sandwich’s flavor or dunk your chicken bites into, this is the sauce. The three peppers in the sauce are jalapenos, red bell peppers, and paprika. While the jalapenos bring some heat, the sweet and subtle flavor of red bell peppers dulls the spice a bit. What comes through the most is the paprika and strong peppery flavor that pairs well with chicken and beef.
Dijon Honey Mustard Sandwich Sauce
Why choose between dijon mustard and honey mustard when you can have both? This mustard is rather fancy, featuring dijon, mustard seeds, honey, and paprika that bring the mustard flavor to a new level. While this isn’t the only mustard sauce from Arby’s, it is the most popular option because it has a rich and memorable flavor. It’s technically a dipping sauce for the Arby’s Chicken Tenders, but it’s also delicious on the beef or chicken sandwiches! Despite Arby’s status as a classic fast food chain, this sauce is quite complex in flavor, making it one of the most beloved Arby’s sauces.
Marinara Sauce
Arby’s surprisingly has a marinara sauce, which may not make sense on most of their sandwiches, but it’s ideal for dipping into with their Mozzarella Sticks. While the marinara sauce is yummy, it’s not anything particularly special. It’s slightly on the thinner side, making it good for dipping but not excellent on pasta if you wanted to bring it home. It has a strong tomato flavor with subtle hints of herbs like oregano and parsley. If you want to experiment with the marinara sauce, some people enjoy putting it on the Chicken Sliders to create a chicken parmesan sandwich.
Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch Sauce
Another distinct and tasty sauce from Arby’s is the Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch Sauce. It’s a mouthful to say and has plenty of flavors to match its name. It’s a ranch sauce with a little cheesiness and some bite from the peppercorns. It comes on the Roast Turkey and Bacon sandwich, but it works with practically everything on the Arby’s menu. This sauce is ideal for people who are huge fans of ranch but want to explore some different flavors and try something new. Dip your fries, dunk your chicken tenders, or smother this peppery, creamy ranch sauce on your favorite Arby’s sandwich.
Red Ranch Sauce
Unlike the Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch sauce, the Red Ranch Sauce from Arby’s has nothing to do with ranch dressing. Instead, the Red Ranch sauce is more like fancy ketchup with a ton of flavor. The Red Ranch sauce features garlic, onion, and Worcestershire mixed into a bold ketchup base. The sauce appears on a few Arby’s sandwiches, like the Beef and Cheddar. The Red Ranch sauce is yummy, but only people who love ketchup will be interested in it. It can bring a robust and savory flavor to any menu item, but with so many other distinct sauces, it’s not their most popular.
Spicy Buffalo Sauce
If you love a flavorful and spicy Buffalo sauce that has your mouth watering before you even take a bite, Arby’s Spicy Buffalo sauce is for you! The sauce you’ll find most popular for the Buffalo Chicken Sliders is one that covers a small piece of crispy chicken in this mouthwatering delight. You’re among the many who love to temper the heat of the Spicy Buffalo sauce with the Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch sauce, creating the ideal balance of spicy and creamy. Your taste buds can expect a burst of flavor from the sauce’s generous quantities of cayenne pepper and butter, which give the classic Buffalo sauce taste. Arby’s knows how to surprise your palate by incorporating a hint of brown sugar to add a touch of sweetness, crafting an unparalleled flavor profile.
Arby’s Sauce
Arby’s also has a classic sauce just called Arby’s Sauce. This sauce is similar to the Red Ranch sauce, as it uses a ketchup base and flavors of onion, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. In addition to those flavors, it also has a hint of cayenne, making it slightly spicier than the Red Ranch sauce. According to Arby’s, this is the best type of sauce to enhance the flavor and juiciness of their red meat. They recommend pouring it over your Roast Beef Sandwich or using it as a Reuban-like dip for a beautiful flavor every time. Like the Red Ranch sauce, the Arby’s Sauce is another fancy ketchup, as it has a sweet, tomato flavor most people will recognize.
Gyro Sauce
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The Gyro sauce from Arby’s is like tzatziki! It uses traditional Greek yogurt with chopped cucumber, dill, garlic, and lemon juice. It has a creamy and silky texture with a tasty but subtle flavor. While many of Arby’s sauces are robust and full of spice, the gyro sauce is lighter and has a softer flavor. Some other sauces can overpower your sandwich or meal, but the gyro sauce compliments the meat without overwhelming your palate. It comes with the Arby’s gyro sandwiches, like the Turkey Gyro, but it tastes fantastic on most sandwiches. Some people use it as a substitute for mayo because it has a similar texture and subtle flavor with a more refreshing taste. It’s also tasty on your fries or nuggets!
Horsey Sauce
While horseradish isn’t everyone’s favorite, it’s one of the best sauces for a roast beef sandwich. This Horsey sauce is probably the spiciest sauce on this list, but it’s a quick spicy that dissipates fast, unlike the lingering spice of the Buffalo sauce. However, for people who love a nasal-clearing kick of horseradish, this may not satisfy the hankering. Arby’s dulls the heat of the horseradish by mixing it with mayonnaise and sugar. This is one of the more tame horseradish sauces you’ll encounter. Nevertheless, it’s a tasty sauce to dump on your massive roast beef sandwich or make your Buffalo Sliders even spicier!
Ranch Dipping Sauce
If the Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch sauce sounded too complex for your tastebuds, you can always get a classic ranch dipping sauce at Arby’s. Arby’s Ranch Dipping Sauce is one of their best sauces, as it’s extra creamy and flavorful. While some ranch dressings can be subtle in flavor, Arbys kicks theirs up a notch. They add plenty of garlic and spices to make a more intense ranch dip. It’s hard to find an Arby’s menu item that this ranch doesn’t go wonderfully with. It’s perfect for dipping your curly fries, chicken tenders, or favorite meaty sandwich.
Smoky Q Sauce
The Smoky Q sauce is for sandwiches only. It comes on the Smokehouse Brisket sandwich, providing an authentic smokehouse feel you may not expect from a fast food spot. The sauce consists of vinegar, tomato, garlic, onion, molasses, and smoke flavoring. As the name suggests, the sauce packs a lovely smoky flavor that enhances the meat and gives the brisket a classic smokehouse taste. While the smoky flavor comes through the most, the Smoky Q sauce is slightly sweeter than one might expect. The sweetness only adds to the richness of the flavor profile, creating a robust balance.
Spicy Brown Honey Mustard Sauce
The Spicy Brown Honey Mustard sauce is another sandwich-only sauce. Arby’s has many sauces specifically for menu items, meaning they typically are not available as a side for dipping. This mustard sauce is for the Roast Turkey and Swiss Sandwich as well as the wrap. It features vinegar, eggs, mustard, and a bit of horseradish to make it spicy! However, like most of the “spicy” sauces on this list, it’s a very subtle hint of spice. If you love a lot of heat, you’ll likely be disappointed with the spice level of the mustard. To me, however, the well-balanced flavors are enough to make it a beloved sauce for chicken and turkey.
Tangy Barbecue Sauce
Last but not least is the Tangy Barbecue sauce from Arby’s. This sauce is undoubtedly one of the most popular sauces from Arby’s, as it has a mouth-watering flavor and distinct taste. It combines vinegar, tomato, molasses, onion, spices, and smoke flavoring. It’s perfect for everything on Arby’s menu. From fries to chicken nuggets to sandwiches, this sauce enhances everything. It has a little kick, but it’s very subtle, and the most prominent flavor is the sweet smokiness.
