After one taste of our Mississippi Comeback Sauce, you’ll understand how it got its name because you’ll be coming back for more of this creamy, delicious sauce.
This easy-to-make dipping sauce is the perfect accompaniment for chicken tenders, french fries, onion rings, and many of your favorite fried finger foods.
Comeback sauce originated at a Greek restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi, where this classic southern sauce was used as their house dressing.
But don’t confuse it with Thousand Island dressing or Louisiana remoulade sauce. This spicy sauce is so much more.
If you’re looking for a special sauce or sandwich spread that you can use as your signature sauce, look no further. Our classic Southern Comeback Sauce recipe is just what you’re looking for.
Our southern-style sauce is the perfect condiment for pulled chicken, burgers, fish tacos, and so much more.
If you like making sauces for sandwiches and dipping, make sure to try my classic Burger Sauce and copycat Chick-fil-A sauce recipe.
Ingredients to make Comeback Sauce
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make our Mississippi Comeback Sauce recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Can I change up the ingredients?
Absolutely. Adapting the sauce to your family’s taste preference is easy. You control the ingredients and can adjust the flavor profile of this savory sauce to suit your needs.
Depending on what you’re serving it with or who you’re serving it to you can kick up the heat or tone it down.
Add fresh chopped yellow onion or fresh chopped garlic to the sauce to add texture and aromatic flavor to this versatile sauce.
For a change of pace, try adding finely diced dill pickles, sweet pickles, or sweet relish to the mixture. Heinz chili sauce is also a good substitute for the sriracha.
How to make Comeback Sauce
- Add the mayonnaise, ketchup, chili sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and honey to a mixing bowl.
- Whisk together to combine and make a creamy sauce thoroughly
- Add the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, dry mustard, black pepper, and table salt to the mixture.
- Whisk together to incorporate all of the seasonings into the mayonnaise mixture
*Cover with plastic wrap (or place in an airtight container) and refrigerate for at least two hours to allow time for the flavors to combine. If you can’t wait that long, a bare minimum of 30 minutes will work, but the flavors won’t be as pronounced.
Just make sure to have enough comeback sauce ready because your friends and family are going to be coming back for more!
Store any leftover sauce refrigerated in an airtight container or jar for up to a week.
Recipe FAQ’s
It makes a delicious dipping sauce for chicken tenders and chicken nuggets. It also goes really well with onion rings, french fries, fried pickles, and chicken wings.
I also like to serve it with fried chicken, shrimp, and catfish. It makes a delicious dressing for pulled chicken and pulled pork and as a spread on many of your favorite sandwiches.
It does have a little kick to it, but nothing that will make your eyes water. Of course, you can control the heat by adding less hot sauce to keep it on the mild side or kick it up to make it extra spicy by increasing the hot sauce or adding a little cayenne pepper.
The short answer is that it’s so addictive that it keeps you coming back for more or that you always come back to it. Others speculate that when added to bland dishes, they come back to life.
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Comeback Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce Sriracha or sweet chili sauce, depending on your heat preference.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper I like to use coarse ground black pepper.
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, ketchup, chili sauce, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and honey to a mixing bowl and whisk together to fully combine and make a creamy sauce.
- Add the dry seasonings to the mixture and whisk together to incorporate all of the ingredients into the sauce.
- Cover with plastic wrap (or place in an airtight container) and refrigerate for at least two hours to allow time for the flavors to combine. If you can't wait that long, a bare minimum of 30 minutes will work, but the flavors won't be as pronounced.
- Serve with your french fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets, or chicken tenders.It also makes a great sandwich spread.
Nancy Connor says
Hello, I prefer to use sambal oelek, known as chili paste I believe, instead of sriracha…will that work?
This recipe is going to win lots of new friends for me!
Nancy
Louisville KY
Chef Dennis Littley says
As long as you like the flavor, it should work fine.
Tiffany says
We live in Mississippi and want to send this to family around the US. Would it be possible to make a mix that they could add to mayo when they get it, so it won’t go bad during shipping? Or can it be made and canned in a home kitchen without breaking?
Chef Dennis Littley says
It would be really difficult to make the sauce and ship and isn’t something I would advise doing. What I would suggest would be getting small bottles of the mayo, ketchup, sriracha, worcestershire sauce, and honey, and prepackaging the seasonings, you could make 4 seasoning packs. You could probably ship at least one lemon in the pack too.
Make it like a gift box and include add a nicely printed recipe with it. I think that would be a pretty awesome gift.
Tiffany Bem says
Thanks so much for the tips!!
Chef Dennis Littley says
You’re very welcome!
Candace says
Chef! I had an amazing dressing at a restaurant called, Crechale’s Cafe, in Jackson, Mississippi 30 +/- years ago that I have never forgotten. I believe that this will be the recipe that I’ve been dreaming of all of these years. Thank you! I’m going to give it a try!
Chef Dennis Littley says
You’re welcome Candace. It was originally a dressing than found its way on to sandwiches. Let me know if its the same.
DAVID S BARSAMIAN says
Would you please suggest a brand of ‘Sweet Chili Sauce’ so I will know what to look for?
Thanks
Chef Dennis Littley says
I like using Franks Sweet Chili Sauce. It should be in the area of the hot sauces in your store.
DAVID S BARSAMIAN says
…wow, thanks Chef Dennis.
LULU says
Looking for a great sauce to make our breakfast sandwiches be set apart from competition….We own a coffee shop. Tried it out at a family gathering and they wiped the jar clean! We are now testing it on everything alongside other sauces. It keeps coming up the winner.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you like our comeback sauce. After tasting it, you kind of understand how it got its name. You keep coming back to it!