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Home Sauces

Special Burger Sauce

By:Nagi
Published:26 Aug '22Updated:22 May '23
57 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

A great homemade burger sauce is an easy win to shift a big juicy burger from yum territory to holy-crapola-this-is-amazing land! Besides, when a burger sauce recipe is this easy and so much better, nobody has an excuse to resort to those squeezy bottles of overly-sweet sauce sold at grocery stores…..

I have two go-to burger sauce recipes: a tomato chutney-like one (25 minutes on the stove) and this creamy one (a quick 20 second mix job). You probably figured why the latter is especially popular in my circles. 😂

Special burger sauce for hamburgers in a mixing bowl ready for use
Spooning Special burger sauce onto a cheeseburger
Spooning a generous amount of Special Burger Sauce onto a Cheeseburger.

Copycat Heinz Secret Burger Sauce

This burger sauce is a copycat of Heinz Secret Burger Sauce. Except theirs includes acidity regulators (260, 330), stabilisers (412, 415), and preservatives (202, 224), to name a few of the more tantalising ingredients on the label.

This burger sauce recipe does not. 🙂

Even using store-bought mayonnaise, which I have done so here, this sauce still leaves the Heinz stuff in the dust! (I really need to pop a mayo recipe on my website, don’t I??!)

Sauce talk: Different sauces for burgers

Special burger sauce for hamburgers in a mixing bowl ready for use
Special Burger Sauce
Quick tomato chutney burger sauce in a jar ready to be used
Tomato Burger Sauce
Homemade Barbecue sauce for pork ribs
Barbecue sauce

With the rise of gourmet burgers, you see all sorts of condiments, sauces and relishes on hamburgers these days! But here’s a core list of my favourite burger sauces I use:

  • Ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce) – Straight out of the bottle, just as it is!

  • Mayonnaise – Plain, or flavoured like this Special Burger Sauce recipe (see below).

  • Yellow mustard – I’m talking the garish yellow stuff, sometimes labelled “American mustard”. (Caution: Don’t accidentally use the other bright yellow mustard, Hot English Mustard, which is spicy!)

  • Creamy burger sauce (this recipe) – A mayonnaise-based savoury burger sauce, usually with little bits of gherkins in it.

  • Tomato burger sauce (chutney/relish, recipe here) – A slightly chunky style sauce that’s similar to tomato chutney except not as sweet and with less earthy spices like cardamom, ginger etc.

  • Thousand Island sauce – A creamy pink sauce made with a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup that’s popular with seafood (Aussies’ favourite prawn dipping sauce!) Recipe here.

  • Barbecue sauce – See my Barbecue Pork Ribs recipe for a classic homemade Barbecue Sauce recipe.


Ingredients in homemade burger sauce

Here’s what you need to make this burger sauce.

Ingredients in Special burger sauce for hamburgers
  • Sweet gherkins – These are gherkins that are (as the name may give away!) sweet as well as tangy rather than just tangy. Substituting with any gherkin / pickled cucumber will work fine here, but one that leans sweet is best if you want to replicate the store bought burger sauces.

  • Juice from gherkin jar – We to use some of the pickling juices for tang and flavour in our sauce. A neat trick!

  • Mayonnaise – I like using whole egg mayonnaise for a smoother, more rounded flavour. Hellmans and S&W are two popular brands here in Australia. Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise is extra-creamy and also great, albeit more expensive. Substitute with any ordinary mayonnaise, but the flavour may be slightly sharper and sweeter.

  • American yellow mustard – We’re after that artificially bright yellow stuff here which adds flavour and colour warmth to the sauce. Not to be confused with hot English mustard which is a similar colour but very spicy! Substitute with any smooth mustard, like Dijon.

  • White wine vinegar – Brings the main sharpness to the sauce. Substitute with apple cider vinegar. If you’ve only got ordinary white vinegar, reduce by about 1/3.

  • White sugar – We need a little sweetness to balance the sauce. I just use white but brown will work fine too.

  • Spices – Paprika (which makes the sauce a bit pinky), onion powder and garlic granules (substitute with garlic powder). Onion and garlic powder can be substituted with more of the other.


How to make special burger sauce

It’s very technical … dump and mix. 😂 We need more recipes like this!!!

Mixing Special burger sauce for hamburgers

Special burger sauce for hamburgers

Using the burger sauce – double up!

I was born with the instinct to double up – sauce on the bottom lid and smeared on the top lid or drizzled over the burger patty stack piled up in the bun. I can’t imagine just smearing it on the lid or base of the bun – am I wrong??

Smearing Special burger sauce for hamburgers onto bun
Cheeseburger with special burger sauce ready to be eaten

I know you know how to mix together a bunch of ingredients but I made a quick little how-to video for you anyway. Mainly as an excuse to show off how good hamburgers are with homemade sauce.

I hope you give this a go one day! Let me know in the comments below if you do. – Nagi x

PS. And if you want a Cheeseburger to slather this on, just head right here.


Watch how to make it

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Special Burger Sauce for hamburgers

Special Burger Sauce

Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 mins
Sauce
Western
5 from 19 votes
Servings4 – 5 burgers
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. A great homemade burger sauce is an easy win to elevate a big juicy hamburger from yum to holy crapola, this is so good!!! Dead easy and so much better than store bought. Slather on your favourite burger (here are all my Burger recipes) or try the Cheeseburger recipe pictured in post!
Want a tomato one? Try this Tomato Chutney for Burgers.
Makes just over 3/4 cup, enough for 4 – 5 burgers.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup whole egg mayonnaise (Note 1)
  • 1 tbsp American yellow mustard (Note 2)
  • 2 tbsp sweet gherkins finely chopped (Note 3)
  • 2 tsp gherkin juice (from the pickle jar) (Note 4)
  • 2 tsp white sugar
  • 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar (Note 5)
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic granules (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or jug and stir until smooth.
  • Use for burgers – browse my Burger collection or try the latest and greatest Cheeseburger! I generously slather on the base bun as well as the lid (or drizzle the stack).

Recipe Notes:

1. Mayo – whole egg has a smoother, more rounded flavour than non-whole-egg mayo. I like Hellmans and S&W. Ordinary mayo works fine too, kewpie is also great!
2. Mustard – not to be confused with hot English mustard which is the same colour but very, very spicy! Sub with any other smooth mustard.
3. Sweet gherkins are gherkins with a touch more sugar. Ordinary gherkins will work fine too.
4. Pickle juice – This is the juices from the pickle jar.
5. Vinegar – apple cider vinegar is the best substitute, otherwise any other clear vinegar. If using ordinary distilled white vinegar reduce by a touch (it’s a bit sharper).
6. Storage – Should keep for the shelf life of the mayonnaise. 
7. Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 220cal (11%)Carbohydrates: 4g (1%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 23g (35%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mg (4%)Sodium: 251mg (11%)Potassium: 27mg (1%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin A: 165IU (3%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 9mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: burger sauce, hamburger sauce
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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57 Comments

  1. Rachel says

    May 31, 2023 at 9:35 pm

    5 stars
    Perfect burger sauce!! We usually buy the Heinz one, but it was sold out – so I decided to give Nagi’s version a go (since her recipes have never failed me!!) and it was a winner – even my husband said it was better than the store-bought one!

    Reply
  2. Jacki henry says

    May 25, 2023 at 2:30 pm

    5 stars
    This is now my preferred mayo. Goes with anything. I make my base mayo with a stick blender and add the extras

    Reply
  3. Anne-Marie Dooner says

    May 24, 2023 at 12:44 am

    5 stars
    Really really good sauce. Definitely a keeper.

    Reply
  4. Amanda says

    February 19, 2023 at 3:47 pm

    5 stars
    Love it! Make it all the time 😉

    Reply
  5. Suzy says

    February 17, 2023 at 10:20 am

    5 stars
    Oh my goodness this recipe is amazing. I always chose the burger in a restaurant as I’ve not been able to make one as well. However this sauce just takes an ordinary burger into an extraordinary level. We used what was left to dip our chicken tenders in. Again it was incredible. Hubby has requested I make a jar to keep in the fridge.

    Reply
  6. Kerrie says

    January 22, 2023 at 2:00 pm

    Hey Nagi, how many days can I have the Special Burger Sauce in the fridge for? I am hoping to make your burgers camping and want to also make the sauce to accompany 😊🤞 thank you for all you do! Kerrie

    Reply
  7. Victoria says

    December 28, 2022 at 5:02 am

    Hello! I love your recipes! I am allergic to pickles (darn). Is there anything that could be substituted, or would it still be good without them?

    Reply
    • Marin says

      June 1, 2023 at 9:02 pm

      Pickled cocktail onions (in a jar) work as a good substitute!

      Reply
  8. Jo says

    December 27, 2022 at 11:36 pm

    Oh Nagi, this is an other winner at home !! Thank you so much for sharing all your beautiful recipes

    Reply
  9. Alexa says

    November 13, 2022 at 12:22 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious!!! Best burger sauce I’ve ever had, no contest. You’ve done it again, Nagi!

    Reply
  10. Sandy says

    November 11, 2022 at 7:57 pm

    5 stars
    I made this tonight – an absolute winner!!

    Reply
  11. Kim says

    October 26, 2022 at 7:53 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing! Tasted exactly like Bug Mac sauce 😍

    Reply
  12. Jessica says

    October 11, 2022 at 8:49 am

    5 stars
    Are used pickle relish instead of sweet relish. This recipe is amazing!

    Reply
  13. Rebecca says

    October 4, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    5 stars
    This sauce is burger defining! Freezes well also!

    Reply
  14. Injy says

    October 2, 2022 at 3:13 am

    5 stars
    This is phenomenal.. its better than take out.
    I couldn’t believe that I just made this. Its delicious
    Thanks for this recipe

    Reply
  15. Terri says

    September 30, 2022 at 7:18 am

    Perfect burger sauce!!! Reminds me of a Big Mac. I only had relish so I used that instead of the gherkins. I did add the pickle juice from a jar of sliced pickles.

    Reply
  16. Sarah says

    September 18, 2022 at 7:53 pm

    The best burger sauce hands down! Delicious 😋

    Reply
  17. Raymond Wakefield says

    September 4, 2022 at 2:56 pm

    This is by far the best burger sauce I’ve ever had absolute winner at the dinner table

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 6, 2022 at 9:00 pm

      I LOVE HEARING THAT! N xx

      Reply
  18. Jade says

    September 3, 2022 at 11:36 am

    5 stars
    Wow! Made this in advance for burgers tomorrow and I swear I can already taste the burger just by trying the sauce, haha. Another winner!

    Reply
  19. ss says

    September 2, 2022 at 2:00 pm

    5 stars
    The whole family loved this sauce, which I served with the cheeseburger recipe, absolute winner dinner. For my tastes, I used half the sugar in the recipe and added a squirt of tomato sauce. Perfecto.

    Reply
  20. Ryan says

    September 1, 2022 at 2:51 am

    Burgers have a sauce traditionally: yellow mustard.
    Burgers are from Texas and the mustard is a bit of a defining characteristic. Burgers don’t have mayo, sandwiches do. Burgers don’t have ketchup, meatloaf does. Burgers have yellow mustard as sauce. This is one way you can tell a real burger.

    Reply
    • Marin says

      June 1, 2023 at 9:04 pm

      We do our own thing here in Australia, anything goes 😉

      Reply
    • Connie says

      November 9, 2022 at 12:34 pm

      🙄🙄🙄
      🤣🤣🤣
      Ryan PLEASE get over yourself

      Reply
    • Tim Smith says

      November 8, 2022 at 12:28 pm

      Ryan, you get top vote for drip of the year for that pretentious and ridiculous comment.

      Nice burger sauce Nagi, and really similar to what I’ve been using for awhile now, although for my version I add a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a few drops of hot sauce.

      Burger sauce is like alchemy, a great burger sauce can transform any old burger into something truly incredible 😉

      Reply
    • Rohan says

      September 20, 2022 at 2:58 pm

      Tell that to burger historian George Motz! Your definition of what makes a burger is far too narrow.

      Reply
    • Also from Texas says

      September 14, 2022 at 5:43 am

      5 stars
      What are you, the Burger King?

      Reply
      • Nagi says

        September 21, 2022 at 8:33 pm

        BA HA HA!!!! Good one 🙂 N x

        Reply
    • Felicity says

      September 10, 2022 at 7:50 am

      Yawn

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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