Burger Sauce

Published by Fork Around & Find Out Kitchen — presented in the Lila editorial voice. Editorial standards

Quick Answer

Burger Sauce combines mayo, ketchup, minced dill pickles, mustard, and smoked paprika into the tangy, chunky secret sauce your smash burgers deserve.

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Burger sauce is one of those things everybody calls a secret even though the ingredients are standing right there on the counter wearing name tags. Mayonnaise gives it the creamy base, ketchup brings sweetness and tomato tang, yellow mustard sharpens it, and smoked paprika and onion powder fill in the savory middle. The part that actually changes the way it eats is the dill pickle: mince it down to rice-grain size and you get little hits of crunch and brine without a cucumber chunk shooting out the back of the bun like it has somewhere else to be.

A teaspoon of pickle brine loosens the sauce just enough and pushes the tang through the mayo, but the smartest step is the one that requires no cooking at all. Give the finished sauce at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Freshly mixed, you can still pick out the mustard, paprika, and pickle as separate voices; after a short rest, they settle into one proper diner-style burger sauce. Spread it on smash burgers, fries, or anything else that looks like it could use fewer manners and more pickles.

Prep10 minutes

Cookno cooking

Total40 minutes (with resting)

Servesabout 3/4 cup

DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

Servings

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons finely minced dill pickles
1 teaspoon dill pickle brine
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1Mince the pickles fine — pieces about the size of a grain of rice. Big chunks slide out of a burger; fine mince stays put.
2Whisk the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, onion powder, and smoked paprika together until smooth.
3Stir in the minced pickles and pickle brine. Season with black pepper.
4Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The onion powder and paprika need the rest, and the pickle brine needs time to work into the mayo.

Nutrition Information

Estimated per serving: 2 tablespoons (about 6 servings in the batch).

130Calories

0 gProtein

2 gCarbohydrates

14 gTotal Fat

2 gSaturated Fat

0 gFiber

1 gTotal Sugars

190 mgSodium

8 mgCholesterol

Estimated from the ingredients and quantities in this recipe using standard food-composition values. Brand choices, trimming, cooking loss, optional ingredients, and actual portion size can change the numbers. How we calculate nutrition estimates.

Pro Tips

Mince the pickles to rice-grain size. This is the difference between a sauce that layers into a burger and one that falls out of it.
Yellow mustard, not Dijon. This is a diner sauce — Dijon makes it taste like it went to college, and not in a good way.
Rest it 30 minutes before burger night. Fresh-mixed, the ingredients taste separate; rested, they taste like secret sauce.

Substitutions

dill pickles → dill relish, drained well Squeeze it in a paper towel first — relish carries water that will loosen the sauce.

ketchup → chili sauce (the Heinz-style bottled kind) Slightly spicier and less sweet, closer to some drive-in versions.

smoked paprika → a dash of Worcestershire Different route to the same savory depth underneath the tang.

Storage Instructions

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The pickles release a little brine over time, so give it a stir before spreading.

Make Ahead

Make it the morning of burger night, or up to 2 days ahead. The flavor peaks somewhere around the 24-hour mark when the pickle brine has fully worked into the base.

Freezing

Never freeze it — between the mayo and the pickles, thawing turns it into watery soup. It comes together in 10 minutes, so fresh is the only version worth eating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this ahead of time?

Make it the morning of burger night, or up to 2 days ahead. The flavor peaks somewhere around the 24-hour mark when the pickle brine has fully worked into the base.

How do I store the leftovers?

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The pickles release a little brine over time, so give it a stir before spreading.

Can I freeze it?

Never freeze it — between the mayo and the pickles, thawing turns it into watery soup. It comes together in 10 minutes, so fresh is the only version worth eating.

Can I adjust it for what I have on hand?

Yes — this sauce bends easily. More ketchup skews it sweeter and more kid-friendly, more mustard and brine skew it sharper; the pickles are the only fixed citizens. Adjust in teaspoons and taste on bread, not a spoon.

What's the most common mistake to avoid?

Mince the pickles to rice-grain size. This is the difference between a sauce that layers into a burger and one that falls out of it.

How long does it take?

About 40 minutes (with resting) from start to finish, including no cooking of active cooking. There is no cooking — it is 10 minutes of mincing and whisking, then half an hour in the fridge doing its own thing.