Official Chick-fil-A Sauce Rankings
So, I have decided to share my highly sought-after undisputed rankings of every delectable Chick-fil-A sauce with the world after being hounded by folks for years. You may be thinking to yourself, “What are my credentials for ranking these sauces?” Well good sir or madam, I once received an expired free chicken sandwich gift card, I have a Chick-fil-A flag and I am a Chick-fil-A One Red Member. Impressive, I know. Onto the main event.
- Chick-fil-A Sauce:
My ride-or-die. I doubt this comes as a surprise to any food connoisseur as this sauce is the flagship sauce of the restaurant and also bares the restaurant’s name. This sauce is the reason the lines are out the door and the drive-thru lanes are backed up to the intersection. This world-class sauce takes pole position due to its versatility with both fries and chicken and because it tastes like God’s sweet nectar. The tangy and sweet sauce compliments the chicken and fries oh so well. Interestingly, there has long been a cloud of mystery around the sauce’s recipe. From a quick glance on the ingredients list, it is visible that BBQ sauce is mixed in. Secondly, it is evident to the palate and the eyes that honey mustard is present. The company confirmed the suspicions of many customers in 2012 by announcing it was a mixture of three of their sauces: honey mustard, barbeque sauce and ranch. Chick-fil-A’s chicken speaks for itself in blind taste tests (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooL0IO469tw), but to get the top notch experience one must add Chick-fil-A sauce. Also, ask for a few extra because, as my good friends at Frank’s RedHot Sauce would say, “I put that sh*t on everything”. It goes well with a wide range of items and you can never be too prepared. I for one wish my house was stocked with this as I write this. My only warning for picking this sauce is you may never want another sauce ever again. Chick-fil-A will be a staple in my final meal.
2. Honey Mustard Sauce:
Disclaimer: I am somewhat biased towards honey mustard as I have always been and will always be a honey mustard guy.
This is your typical honey mustard sauce. Some complain it is more gold or thick than they like. Others say there is no reason to pick the honey mustard over the Chick-fil-A sauce. I tend to agree on the second point, but that only suggests it is below Chick-fil-A sauce, not that it is necessarily worse than any of the other sauces. The way I think about this is that if Chick-fil-A sauce did not exist then the honey mustard would be my go-to.
3. Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sauce:
When I tried this I was expecting a replica of the Wendy’s sriracha sauce. Maybe I had grown tired of the other options when I stumbled upon this mix, but it genuinely blew my expectations out of the water. It tastes like they mixed the sweet and sour sauce from my local Szechuan Garden with some chili sauce. I really think they hit the nail on the head regarding the balance of sweet and spicy. Another thing this sauce has going for it is that it is arguably the only sauce I do not immediately regret eating before 11:00 AM, making it the most suitable breakfast option. If you have not had Chick-fil-A for breakfast yet then you are missing out on paradise.
4. Zesty Buffalo Sauce:
On taste alone this would place top 3. However, it appears as if the container was left in the beating sun in the middle of the desert — the sauce is almost entirely liquid and runny. Reminds me of when queso is too runny and impossible to get to stick on a tortilla chip. This lack of preparation really put a damper on a sauce that ought to be worthy of the bronze or even silver mdeal. At the end of the day, the sauce is a nice addition to the core roster and works well with the Chick-n-Strips, but has noticeable room for improvement.
5. Polynesian Sauce:
Some people swear by this sauce. I get the hype, but I still would not rank it above the aforementioned sauces personally. It is admittedly a fantastic sweet and sour sauce, but it runs into a similar issue as the zesty buffalo sauce as it is also runny. I have been told on good authority (CFA server) that these go well with the nuggets, but have yet to venture down that path.
6. Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce:
The runt of the litter, the honey roasted bbq sauce is often forgotten due to its different packaging. It goes extremely well with the grilled chicken sandwich for those poor souls who are undergoing an identity crisis and are attempting to eat healthy at a Chick-fil-A. This is also the only sauce that any location I have visited has run out of, which leads me to believe I may be missing the bigger picture on this little, elusive fellow. Alas, I stand firm with my first impression of the sauce.
7. Barbeque Sauce:
Chick-fil-A’s barbeque sauce is here to fulfill the bare minimum requirement of offering barbeque sauce at a chicken restaurant. Sure, it gets the job done, but I’m not a huge barbeque sauce fan in general and nothing about this lackluster sauce changes my mind. I would almost prefer ketchup on my sandwich, almost, and I absolutely prefer ketchup for those heavenly waffle fries.
8. Garden Herb Ranch Sauce:
This is not a great ranch sauce. This is coming from the guy who has drowned his pizza in a bottle of ranch on more than one occasion. Definitely more exciting and satisfying than the plain ranch they used to offer, but it needs to be refrigerated to even correctly do its job, which is not an option when dining-in. I am a strong proponent that happily eating warm ranch is a psycho move. Therefore, just go for a different sauce option at the restaurant and if you are taking your meal to go and are craving ranch then I highly recommend stashing some Newman’s Own in a safe location (in your desk at work, in the glove compartment of your car, under your mattress).
Honorable Mentions: Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard, Hot Sauce, Cheese Sauce ($1.19)
These are all basic, but serviceable options. The cheese sauce is extra and I would only deploy it on the fries. Further, these items are not specifically tailored under Chick-fil-A branding and packaging (except the mayo) so including these in the list would enter into a grey area that would make about as much sense as having Chick-fil-A stands that are closed on Sundays in an NFL stadium (https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-mercedes-benz-stadium-closes-fries-up-sundays-super-bowl-2019-1).
I encourage you to try every sauce as one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. With this wide array of sauces available at every location countrywide, it is hard to believe that there was a time in the early Chick-fil-A days when the company operated without any sauces at all. Thankfully, a man wise beyond his years, Hugh Fleming, introduced his own rendition of honey mustard into his location in Virginia and the rest of Chick-fil-A’s meteoric rise is history.