Home » From Fast Food to Fine Dining: Copycat Restaurant Recipes for Every Taste! » The best homemade copycat Arby’s Sauce
by Stephanie Manley 58 Comments
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Arby’s Sauce is ketchup with a kick. No one does this better than Arby’s. You don’t need to worry about not having enough sauce anymore! Use it on your roast beef sandwiches, homemade beef and cheddar sandwiches, and so much more, this sauce packs so much flavor! Try this one today.
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Table of Contents
Sandwich and Dipping Sauce
Arby’s has been passing this sauce around forever with its roast beef sandwiches. I think this sauce is such a nice change on pastrami or hamburgers, and it’s a great dipping sauce for hot wings. Spread it on a sandwich and your sandwich will zing.
What is Arby’s sauce?
If you have never had Arby’s sauce, has a sweet, tangy, and spicy flavor. It is a marriage made in heaven when it comes to flavor. You can make your own version of their signature sandwich at home with this easy recipe. It’s so much more than a tangy barbecue sauce!
About Arby’s
Arby’s was the inspiration of two brothers, Forrest and Leroy Raffel who opened the first restaurant in Boardman, Ohio in 1964. They had the idea that there was a market opportunity for eateries based on food other than hamburgers.
The brothers first wanted to name their restaurants “Big Tex” but that name was already taken. Instead, they chose the name “Arby’s” – based on “R” and “B”, the initials of the Raffel Brothers. Nice and simple.
Arby’s Menu
In the beginning, Arby’s served up only roast beef sandwiches along with potato chips, and soft drinks. Over time, the menu expanded to include beef ‘n cheddar, chicken sandwiches, curly fries, jamocha shakes, and two sauces that became Arby’s famous signature sauces: horsey sauce and Arby’s sauce.
More items have been experimented with and in 1991 Arby’s became the first fast-food chain to offer a complete “lite” menu with several sandwiches and salads coming in at under 300 calories and 94 percent fat-free. Read a lot more about the history of Arby’s.
Homemade Arby’s Sauce
Having to buy something just to get some sauce is kind of expensive, but you can make Arby’s tangy sauce just like they do at home. Mix this sauce up and make the family smile. Make a batch and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator so it will always be on hand.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for this copycat Arby’s sauce recipe:
- Ketchup
- Brown Sugar
- White Vinegar
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika
- Worcestershire Sauce(Lea and Perrins)
- Salt
- Cayenne Pepper
- Water
- Corn Starch
How to Make Arby’s Sauce
- Place all sauce ingredients in ablenderand blend on high speed for 15 – 20 seconds.
- Pour ingredients into a small saucepan, and heat on medium-low. Simmer gently for twenty minutes, stirring several times.
- After twenty minutes add the cornstarch mixture and stir well.
- When the sauce begins to thicken, let simmer at a very low temperature for ten minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.The sauce will be similar in thickness to the steak sauce.
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
How to Use Arby’s Sauce
Of course, you are going to want to use this on your own shaved roast beef sandwich. This sauce has the perfect balance of flavor, so you can use it on other food like:
- Pour a little on your favorite burgers for a change.
- Dip french fries into this sauce.
- Use as a sauce for chicken tenders.
- Dip mozzarella sticks into this sauce!
- Make sloppy joes using this sauce, this is one of my family’s favorite dinners!
How to Store Arby’s Sauce
Now that you have made the sauce, you may not consume it all in one sitting. You can store this in either an airtight jar, mason jar, or other airtight containers. I love to place this into a squeeze bottle so I can squirt it into a sandwich!
This will last in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Arby’s Sauce
Is Arby’s sauce the same as red ranch?
No, Arby’s serves the red ranch sauce on their beef ‘n’ cheddar. The regular Arby’s sauce is used on their classic sandwich and is available in packets upon request.
Is Arby sauce the same as barbecue sauce?
This classic sauce may be viewed as a barbecue sauce, but it has a larger range of spices in it to give it more flavor. This sauce is also thinner than most traditional barbecue sauce.
What does Arbys Sauce taste like?
Arby’s sauce tastes like a BBQ sauce that has been leveled up. It packs a kick of garlic, onion, paprika, and so much more.
Want more copycat Arby’s recipes? Try these!
- Arby’s Horsey Sauce
- Pecan Chicken Salad
- Chocolate Turnovers
- Cherry Turnovers
- A Guide to Arby’s Sauces
Easy Sandwich and Dipping Sauce Recipes
- McDonalds Dipping Sauces – Hot Mustard
- Chick Fil A Sauces – Honey Mustard
- Big Mac Special Sauce Recipe
- Swiss Chalet Sauce – BBQ
- Outback Tiger Dill Sauce
- BK Sauce
- Red Robin Campfire Sauce
- Smashburger Smashsauce
- Tartar Sauce
Be sure to check out more of my popular fast food copycat recipes and the best dips and sauces.
Arby’s Sauce
You can make Arby’s famous sauce just like they do.
4.89 from 63 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Arby’s Recipes
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
Servings: 10
Calories: 32kcal
Author: Stephanie Manley
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
Place all the ingredients except the cornstarch into a blender with 1 cup of water and blend on high speed for 15 to 20 seconds.
Pour the mixture into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring several times.
Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and mix well.
When sauce begins to thicken, let it simmer on a very low temperature for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. The sauce should be similar in thickness to steak sauce.
Store in a covered container in the refrigerator and serve with hamburgers, pastrami, or hot wings.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 32kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 190mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.3mg
About Stephanie Manley
I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.
Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Peter
I had added a bit of clove to it and that brought this sauce to the next level and much closer to the actual Arby’s sauce. Give it a try. Either a satchel with a couple of whole cloves or just use ground cloves. Thank you for this since it’s one of my favorites!!Reply
Mara
So true Peter – I wasn’t sure if it was clove or nutmeg, but the original sauce has one of those warming spices.
Reply
Lilldavey
Actual Arbys Sauce, to ME, tastes like nothing more than Western salad dressing and something else — perhaps more garlic?
Reply
Aaron
Well it’s not Arby’s sauce, but it’s a good sauce nevertheless, possibly better, even, than Arby’s. It’s darker in color because of the brown sugar and Wocestershire. Next time I might sub white sugar and lemon juice for brown sugar and vinegar. Other than that, make it as is, too! It’s cheap and it’s good!See AlsoIHOP Steak Tips RecipeReply
Bob
I haven’t had Arby’s in years! This would be good to try and make!Reply
Winniebear
Although I’ve never had Arby’s before I’m a huge fan of making homemade sauces and dips. I feel like the store-bought ones have a lot of preservatives and making your own is super simple. This had a wonderful tang to it and just a tiny bit of heat. Such a nice change to have on hand for burgers or fries. Thank you, Stephanie!Reply
Jessica
Never actually had Arby’s sauce haha but somebody made a cheddar sandwich from there on TikTok and it looked good so I made it and they also made the Arby’s sauce so looked this up. Not sure how it compares to actual Arby’s sauce but either way this recipe is soooo good. I put just a tad but more Cayenne and just a sprinkle extra of the sugar. Bomb!
Reply
Coliha
Arby’s beef and cheddar does not actually have Arby’s sauce in it. It has something called red ranch. It looks like Arby’s sauce but is a completely different flavor profile. Arby’s sauce is tangy with a zip and red ranch is sweet and savory.
Reply
Sam
How long does it keep in the fridge?
Reply
Stephanie Manley
This should last for between 7 to 10 days.
Reply
Shannon Morrow
Just a question…..is it possible to use freeze-dried onions? I don’t have any onion powder, and I just wondered if I could use the dried onions instead. I figured that since you buzz the ingredients in the blender they just might get turned to powder.
Reply
Stephanie Manley
Sure, I think that would work just fine. If you could I would definitely blend them up in your blender first. It should work just fine!
Reply
Joyce
Arby’s Sauce is Heinz bbq sauce. I don’t know if Heinz makes that sauce for retail any more..
I haven’t seen it in the grocery stores for years. I used to buy a bottle once in a while to have the “Arby’s Sauce” on hand and not have to deal with those little squeeze packs.Reply
Bob Stockdale
This recipe was great had to look twice I thought I opened an Arby’s packet 👍Reply
Robert
BobReply
J
This is perfect, thank you. I love Arby’s sauce.Reply
aw
So it is basically watery bbq sauce. Huh. The more you know.
I think you can prob just adjust the water for the right consistency and blend until everything is dissolved especially the sugar.
You don’t have to do the cornstarch and cooking step. It will meld in the fridge just fine. This just overcomplicates it.
Reply
T Johnson
The cornstarch helps thicken it a little and the cooking step not only breaks down the sugar but the dry seasoning components as well. Blending can only do so much, but it cannot break down the fine granules of sugar completely which will leave you with a gritty sauce.
Reply
Eric
Or save yourself the work and just combine ketchup and worcestershire sauce to taste.Reply
Stephanie Manley
I think that will get you pretty far, but I think there is a little more going on in there.
Reply
fini
very good recipe – i didn’t have cornstarch, so i just reduced the amount of water a little bit and cooked it down until the texture seemed right. i also went a bit heavy on the garlic, onion, and worschtershire, just because i like them. it’s darn close to the real deal and much cheaper too! i’ll be using this on everything from now on!Reply
Stephanie
So glad you liked this.
Reply
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