Earlier this week I made some amazing steak fries and I needed a dipping sauce for them that was equally as epic. Plain old ketchup was just not going to do, so I made some Comeback Sauce. Comeback Sauce is a creamy, tangy, sweet, and savory sauce that’s great for dipping, dunking, drizzling, and smearing onto just about any food. It’s not called “comeback sauce” for nothing. It will keep you coming back for more. And more. And MORE. (I “accidentally” ate an entire bunch of broccoli in one sitting, thanks to this delicious sauce.)
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Pictured with Oven Roasted Broccoli.
What is Comeback Sauce?
This unique sauce is said to have originated in a Greek restaurant in Mississippi, but it quickly spread throughout the entire south. The original sauce had a base of mayonnaise and Heinz Chili Sauce (a tomato-based sauce not to be confused with Sweet Chili Sauce), plus some other seasonings. There are many interpretations of this addictive sauce, with each person putting their own spin on the original as it spread across the region. Because Heinz Chili Sauce is not something I keep in my pantry, I made a few substitutions to create a similar flavor profile using items that I keep on hand, and in the process put the Budget Bytes stamp on the classic comeback sauce. ;)
What Do You Serve it With?
What can you not serve it with is probably a more appropriate question! It’s a fantastic all-purpose dip for things like roasted potatoes or vegetables (shown with roasted broccoli), fried foods like french fries, chicken fingers or nuggets, tuna patties, BBQ Wings, fish sticks, or chips. It’s also great smeared onto burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, or wrap sandwiches. I wouldn’t be opposed to using this as a salad dressing, or using it to make an extra flavorful batch of coleslaw!
Comeback Sauce
Servings 5 2 Tbsp eachIngredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise ($0.80)
- 2 Tbsp ketchup ($0.10)
- 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.01)
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp hot sauce* ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until evenly mixed. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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Check out these other homemade sauces:
How to Make Comeback Sauce – Step by Step Photos
Combine ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp ketchup, 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp Dijon mustard, 1/8 tsp hot sauce, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, ⅛ tsp garlic powder, ⅛ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and ⅛ tsp salt.
Stir the ingredients together until smooth. Serve or refrigerate until ready to eat!
Shown with roasted broccoli – toss broccoli in oil, then roast at 400ºF for about 30 minutes, or until you reach your desired level of brown.
In true Budget Bytes fashion, my BF and I just made a homemade version of hibachi takeout with leftover veggies and shrimp from our fridge/freezer. We made a teriyaki style sauce to stir in with the noodles. But the piece de resistance is that comeback sauce makes an excellent substitute for the pink dipping sauce you get at the restaurant! Thanks for the inspiration, Beth and Budget Bytes team!
Thanks to Beth, I bought and cut up my first whole pineapple. The fresh pineapple was $1.50, the sliced pineapple was $3.99. Not only did I save $2.50, I saved some plastic from the dump. I reinvested my savings in a bag of cooked, peeled shrimp and used this comeback sauce as the dressing for Shrimp Louis. So good! Once again Budget Bytes for the win! Thanks Beth and team!
Isn’t it so shockingly awesome how the fresh pineapple is way, way better tasting than the canned! If you are in to grilling at all, you have got to try the fresh pineapple, seared for just a couple seconds on both sides, grilled. It is out of this world delicious!
Hi, Jeri Ann! Great suggestion about grilling the pineapple! I have a sensitive palate and too much fresh pineapple really hurts me — because it contains a corrosive enzyme called Bromelain, and applying heat actually breaks it down and makes it more palatable.
Best, Marion :)
Can you post ingredient weight measurements instead of or in addition to volume measurements?
I doubled the recipe and used some for dipping homemade fries. Saved the rest for dinner and used it to coat spaghetti noodles, paired with homemade chicken meatballs that I covered in a homemade version of Nashville hot sauce. When I tell you this pairing was so delicious, I mean this flew out of the pot! I reccomend anyone try it if you like spicy meatballs! And the tangy comeback sauce for the noodles was just what the meatballs needed to even out the flavor. I was very proud of this combo, and will be saving this recipe for future dinners!
This sauce is fantastic! It really makes oven roasted broccoli sing, in addition to anything fried. Thanks for sharing!
Made this and your roasted cauliflower recipe. So so so good.
Was that restaurant Glorybound Gyro Company in Hattiesburg? It is so good! I had no idea that this sauce is widely known.
believed to be The Rotisserie in Jackson sometime in the late 1920’s
I made this with oven roasted broccoli tonight and it was GOOD! Moreish. Comeback is a good name for it because I’m going to be coming back! It was nice to have a tasty side dish recipe. So often I just steam carrots.
I honestly have no idea why people are saying this is bland and tasteless. I use vegan Worcestershire and my family loves it.
There are very few BB recipes that leave me disappointed. This was one. Went back to see if I forgot an ingredient…nope. Just kind of blah; not very flavorful.
What a great and easy to pull together addition to a meal. We used it for fries, but I could see many other uses. My only question is about the inflection of the name. Is it comeback like that was a great comeback to that comment, or come back like please come back because I miss you? Thanks for a great recipe.
I’m going to try making this soon. Do you think fish sauce would be a good substitute for the Worcestershire?
Hi Colin, I don’t think fish sauce is a good sub for the Worcestershire sauce. They taste very different, IMHO. If you don’t have Worcestershire, I’d just make the sauce without. There are a lot of other flavors in this sauce so I think it will still be delicious.
Didn’t mean to reply to your comment. ☠️ Sorry!
Yum! I served these with sweet potato fries and pickle-brined chicken tenders and it was delicious with both!
Most people describe comeback as “Thousand Island with a kick.” It is great with onion rings!
I was so skeptical about this recipe! But I made a meatloaf last night and when it came out of the oven I realized I was all out of not only Heinz 57, but A-1 as well. I decided in desperation to give it a shot.
No need to buy either of those items again! Wow this was so good! Today I mixed it with canned tuna and made a scrumptious tuna melt with it.
Very tasty sauce! I used it as the sauce for a cheeseburger pizza but I can definitely see some other delicious options.
What would you sub for Worcestershire if you were making for a vegetarian? A little soy? With some citrus?
That’s a tough one, since Worcestershire is so unique. In some recipes I do a little soy sauce and brown sugar to mimic its sweetness, but since it’s such a small amount in this recipe I’m not sure if that would work quite the same. I’d need to do some testing to see what works before offering a recommendation.
Annie’s makes a vegan Worcestershire sauce that you can find at Whole Foods!
I didn’t have vegan Worcestershire, so I subbed a scant half tablespoon of tamari with a pinch of cloves and two pinches of Brown sugar. I don’t know if it was exactly the same, but I thought it worked well!
My vegetarian sub for any recipe that calls for worcestershire sauce is Maggi Seasoning. It comes in liquid for in a bottle and works just the same, measure for measure. Here in Ontario, it is usually found in the aisle where Asian foods are found.
Tasty as written! Thank you!
Made this last night to accompany my air fried “blooming onion.” It was the perfect accompaniment! To cut the calories next time I might try subbing half the mayo for Greek yogurt but only because I have this weird need to try to make things a smidge healthier if I can – not because there was thinking lacking in flavor. :)
Hey Sam…how about starting your own recipe blog if you don’t particularly like what this lady has? Pi*#@*$ me off when someone says ….it was good but I added my own little special touches to it. It’s either good or bad. People aren’t interested in your special touches. Just saying what Beth is too nice to say!
I actually appreciate it when people share how they modified a recipe (whether good or bad). :) It helps other people learn how they can change things up to meet their personal needs. Cooking is all about making it work for you.
This is SOOOO good. Had them with veggie burgers and I just wanted more.
Hello Beth
How long would the sauce last in fridge, please.
Thank you
I don’t have an exact answer for that because it can depend a lot on the freshness of each individual ingredient and the conditions inside your fridge, so a “better safe than sorry” answer is five days, but your mileage may vary. :)
This is wonderful sauce made with basic pantry staples. A great addition to so many foods
beth, this sauce is brilliant! i’ve made it twice and have used it on burgers once and with fish tacos last night. i’m going to make it again today to have with left over broccoli. it’s easy to throw together with basic pantry ingredients and tastes delicious. thank you!
Ingenious! Such a simple recipe. I will definitely try to do it.
I was excited to try this sauce based on Beth’s excitement and the reviews, but I was disappointed. I’ve heard that the American palate is a little band and partial to fats (like mayo or mild cheese), but I’ve never had that experience with a budget bytes recipe before. I found the end result too creamy and flat. I didn’t want it to go to waste so, to add a bit more depth to the flavour, I added some BBQ sauce (I would sub this for the ketchup if I were making it again), some plain Greek yogurt (I would do half yogurt/half mayo when making it again), and tripled the hot sauce. It was great on bbq’d broccoli and sweet potato.
Heinz Chili Sauce would add more depth of flavor to the recipe but your add ons sound good also.
Fry sauce! It’s been in Utah forever and everyone claims to have the perfect recipe. I might have to try this one, especially since I swear chili sauce is really just ketchup in a more expensive bottle.
I left out the hot sauce and my kids thought it tasted like a less spicy Zaxbys sauce. Loved it! Thanks for posting
This is basically fry sauce on steroids. Fry sauce is, at its simplest, mayonnaise and ketchup mixed together. Utah likes to claim it invented it, but it’s also a popular condiment in Puerto Rican cuisine, so who knows if Utah’s claim is accurate — regardless, it is ubiquitous in restaurants throughout the Mountain West and a pantry staple and I haaaate that I can’t find it in Ohio grocery stores, so thank you I’m going to bookmark this for future reference.
I made this last night – got a good price on broccoli so away I went – we LOVED it and I can see many more uses for the sauce. Thanks for posting it!!!
And really good on slices of avocado!
I’m not a fan of either mayo or ketchup by itself, but this sauce was SO. DANG. GOOD. I just enjoyed some as a dip for some air-fried potatoes and grilled chicken. This is definitely going to be a staple in my kitchen! Next time I’m going to give it a try with half the amount of mayo and use greek yogurt for the other half.
So good! Reminds me of Thousand Island dressing, but not as sweet. I’ve been using it to dip my pizza/pizza crusts in…
If I wanted to make this with Heinz chili sauce, is it just chili sauce and mayo and if so what is the ratio? I don’t keep ketchup or hot sauce in the house. However, I like the taste of Heinz chili sauce, so I would find something to use the leftovers on.
amazing sauce mouth watering
I never wanted roasted broccoli more than I do now. The sauce looks so good :)
This looks like exactly the kind of sauce that I need with my air fryer fries! Great idea serving it with broccoli, then it makes it seem healthier?
would this be a great sauce to top a homemade fish cake?
Oh yes I think so!
Question: if we don’t have hot sauce on hand, should some sort of vinegar be added (since you said any vinegar based hot sauce) or can it be omitted altogether? Your recipes are so delicious and loved in this house!
It’s such a small amount that I think you could get away with just omitting it all together. :)
That looks good enough to eat by the spoonful!
Is there a good alternative to Dijon? I usually have it on hand but we recently moved so I have to restock. Somehow I have everything else though :)
You can just use regular mustard in a pinch.
These sorts of recipes are my favorites. I also don’t keep Chili Sauce in the cabinet, but hey – Beth solved it, here!
Would love your take on hibachi w that pink “shrimp sauce” and ginger sauces to make at home!
Agreed! I would love a good recipe for the shrimp sauce. I can never get it right at home.
How long will this last in the fridge after making it?
Just to err on the safe side, I don’t recommend keeping homemade sauces longer than 5 days. The actual life span, the world may never know! Haha!
I’ve never used actual dimensions to measure, but we’ve been keeping a container of this in the fridge consistently for years now-works with everything. Sometimes up to a few weeks before we need to make more, but I would recommend you might want to replace it a little sooner. Nice to see an actual recipe for it, Beth! Thanks!