Brian Nagele
Taste the world of delicious flavor combinations with the mouthwatering dipping sauces that make dining at Chick-fil-A even more enjoyable. This post explores the delectable variety of sauces that Chick-fil-A offers to go with its popular menu items, enhancing the flavor of each bite. Famous for its crispy chicken sandwiches and nuggets, Chick-fil-A has mastered a variety of tangy, sweet, and savory dipping sauces to go with their menu items. Every sauce, including the well-known Chick-fil-A Sauce, the tangy Zesty Buffalo Sauce, and the creamy Polynesian Sauce, adds a special touch to food. We explore this delicious sauce spectrum and highlight the top dipping sauces that complement Chick-fil-A’s dining offerings. Come explore the tastes, textures, and blends that make these sauces a must-have for enjoying the unique Chick-fil-A flavor and turning every meal into a tantalizing journey.
Chick-fil-A Sauce
To start, let’s discuss the sauce that is Chick-fil-A’s namesake. This dipping sauce can be difficult to categorize, but everyone can agree it’s delicious. It seems to be a combination of a classic honey mustard and a tangy barbecue sauce. The Chick-fil-A sauce contains smoke flavoring, tomato, hickory flavors, turmeric, mustard seed, paprika, and garlic for a well-rounded flavor that is hard to resist. Unsurprisingly, it pairs beautifully with chicken, and it’s one of the most popular choices among kids and adults. As someone who is not the biggest fan of ketchup, I love that this is their default dipping sauce because it’s unique and savory.
Barbeque Sauce
No fast food restaurant would be complete without a yummy barbecue sauce. Chick-fil-A’s classic barbecue sauce is tangy and silky. While I enjoyed this barbecue sauce, it isn’t particularly inspiring. As far as fast food barbecue sauces go, this one falls in the middle. Barbecue sauce isn’t my favorite sauce for chicken, but I still choose this one from time to time.This sauce is super popular among kids, and people love that it’s not too sweet and spreads well on sandwich buns. While it’s yummy for dipping, I find this sauce ideal on one of Chick-fil-A’s sandwiches because it brings an enjoyable texture and savory taste.
Garden Herb Ranch Sauce
I am a lover of ranch dressing, and I was excited about this one. Chick-fil-A’s garlic herb ranch wasn’t bad, but it could benefit from more seasoning. The best part of this sauce is how thick and creamy it is. I hate a thin, watery ranch, so in that department, this sauce gets a ten out of ten. I feel the name Garden Herb is misleading, as there this ranch doesn’t taste very different from a classic ranch. Still, if you love ranch flavor, it delivers as expected. I like to mix it with the Zesty Buffalo sauce discussed below, creating a bold combination of creaminess and flavor.
Honey Mustard Sauce
While this sauce is technically honey mustard, it leans toward mustard more than honey. If you prefer extra sweet honey mustard that doesn’t have that bite of mustard seed, you probably won’t want to get this sauce. As someone who loves mustard, I thoroughly enjoyed this on my Chick-fil-A sandwich. However, the savory taste surprised me, as I was expecting a stronger honey flavor. Most people agree that mustard would be better if it was a little sweeter, but it still offers a great flavor. It’s not spicy but has so much mustard flavor that it can have a biting taste that spices up your chicken dinner. For me, that’s ideal – but if you want a sweeter honey mustard, it might not be your favorite.
Polynesian Sauce
Chick-fil-A’s Polynesian dipping sauce is their take on sweet and sour. It has a bold and tangy flavor that combines sweet and savory for a stunning sauce. I must say, this one takes the cake for me. It pairs perfectly with Chick-fil-A’s extra crunchy chicken tenders. It has a distinct red color and a thick consistency that coats your chicken or fries in yummy sweetness. The sauce is a blend of sugar, corn syrup, vinegar, and secret seasonings. No matter what you order, this sauce will enhance the flavor, offering a tasty balance of sweet, sour, and savory. While not everyone loves to pair their chicken with a sweeter sauce, this is many people’s number one Chick-fil-A sauce.
Sriracha Sauce
This Sriracha sauce is actually a combination of sweet and spicy. Chick-fil-A’s Sweet and Spicy Sriracha sauce is the best choice for someone who wants to add some heat to their chicken. But like most fast food places, their spicy sauce isn’t that spicy, so don’t expect an explosion of heat. But it does bring some spice to your sandwich along with a sweet flavor. If you love sriracha, you’ll likely love this dulled version that has all the same spices and distinct tastes as the original hot sauce. I adore this sauce with their waffle fries, as the seasoned, crispy fries go perfectly with a little heat and a creamy texture.
Zesty Buffalo Sauce
I adore the Zesty Buffalo sauce from Chick-fil-A! For me, it checks all the boxes a Buffalo sauce should! It has a kick of heat, but it’s not overwhelming, so you can still enjoy all the flavors of your Chick-fil-A chicken. It has plenty of acidity, consisting of vinegar and an assortment of spices. If you don’t like acidic foods, you probably won’t enjoy this sauce. It’s zesty and sharp with a medium level of spice. I love dousing my Chick-fil-A sandwich with this sauce. But be warned, it’s the thinnest sauce on this list – which is not unusual for hot sauce. You can expect it to drip and likely make a mess, but the bold flavor and nasal-clearing effects are well worth it!
Honey Roasted BBQ
Unlike Chick-fil-A’s honey mustard, this barbecue sauce delivers on its promise of a sweet honey flavor. I mentioned their classic barbecue sauce is less than exciting, but the Honey Roasted BBQ sauce is a different story. It has a smoky, sweet flavor that is ideal on one of the Chick-fil-A sandwiches. I love barbecue sauce, but it’s often not my first choice when presented with an array of options. However, this sauce has turned me into a barbecue believer, and I couldn’t resist ordering extra packers to keep in my fridge. But if you don’t enjoy sweet barbecue sauces, you should stick with their other barbecue sauce, which offers a more traditional flavor.
Love their Zesty Buffalo but irritating they do not sell it as they do their other sauces!