Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe
Aug 08, 2016, Updated Jun 26, 2024
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This easy homemade honey mustard sauce recipe is perfectly sweet and tangy, and needs only 6 pantry ingredients. You’re only a few minutes away from making your favorite dipping sauce right at home!
One of my favorite things on my to-do list for today is making this homemade honey mustard sauce! It’s delicious and simple: A smooth, creamy dipping sauce that doubles as a salad dressing and marinade for my honey mustard grilled chicken.
My homemade recipe is inspired by the honey mustard served with the chicken fingers at Baker’s Square restaurant (are those still around?!). Years ago, I asked a waiter for the recipe. He went back to the kitchen and returned with a piece of paper that said, “The recipe is a secret, BUT here’s my own…” And I’ve been making it this way ever since.
What Makes This Honey Mustard Sauce So Good
- Two types of mustard. The best honey mustard recipes use multiple mustards. I use yellow and Dijon mustards for a perfect balance of tangy heat.
- Extras. Little add-ins, like creamy mayonnaise and paprika, boost the flavors and make the sauce extra rich.
- Use it for everything. In my house, this homemade honey mustard sauce doubles as a dip, marinade, basting sauce, and salad dressing. It’s one of my most-used sauces, and we love adding it to my ham and cheese croissant recipe or these delicious sliders.
Recipe Ingredients
To make a homemade version of this irresistible honey mustard sauce, you’ll need just a handful of simple ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry. See the recipe card at the end of this post for exact amounts and instructions.
- Mayonnaise – Acts as the creamy base for the sauce.
- Dijon mustard – Adds a tangy, sharp flavor to the sauce.
- Honey – Brings sweetness to balance the tanginess of the mustards.
- Yellow mustard – Adds a mild, tangy mustard flavor and brightens the yellow color.
- White vinegar – Used for the acidity to cut through the richness of the flavors. You can use wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if needed.
- Sweet paprika – Adds a hint of sweet and smoky flavor in addition to the salt and pepper.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Salad dressing options. I like to change this up sometimes and add yogurt instead of mayonnaise when I want to use it as a salad dressing.
- Make it lighter. For a lighter spin, I have used Hellmann’s Cholesterol-Free and Egg-Free Sandwich Spread in place of the mayonnaise, and it works just as well.
- Spicy honey mustard. Give this sauce some kick with cayenne pepper, chili flakes, or a dash of hot sauce.
Ways to Use Honey Mustard
Now, all I want to do is make one massive bowl of Honey Mustard with a side of chicken fingers and fries. Some chicken nuggets, too. Zucchini crisps, too! Sweet and tangy, this homemade take on a classic appeals to both kids and adults. Here are some favorite ways to serve it.
- As a dip: I especially like to make this when we have company because you can serve it with anything from Cajun fries to pretzel bites to raw veggies.
- As a marinade: Try it on this honey mustard salmon or use it to make Instant Pot Honey Mustard chicken.
- Salad dressing: Drizzle this sauce over a mango chicken salad or add it to a red potato salad. I also like to use it on this chopped salmon salad.
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Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon sweet paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Mix. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, except salt and pepper, and whisk until well combined.
- Adjust. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly; add salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve or store. Store it in an airtight container and keep it refrigerated.
Notes
- Yields: This makes about 3/4 cup of honey mustard, total.
- Mayo Options: I like to change it up sometimes and add yogurt instead of mayonnaise when I want to use it as a salad dressing. Also, I have used cholesterol-free and egg-free spread for a healthier spin instead of the mayonnaise.
- Storage: Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How To Make Honey Mustard Sauce
The chef couldn’t give me the restaurant’s recipe, but gave me his own, which was just as good! I have been making it almost exactly as his recipe, with very few tweaks, for the past 15 years and we totally love it!
- Combine. To make this sauce, simply combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together until well blended.
- Serve or store. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, then transfer the sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it with chicken bites or chicken tenders!
Store It
- Refrigerate. Keep this homemade honey mustard sauce airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week. I like to keep it in a jar next to my homemade BBQ sauce and Zhoug sauce.
My all-time favorite salad dressing. The one I usually buy from store has yellow mustard seeds in as well, so I’m wondering how much I should put in? Please advise. Thank you. Fowzia, Cape Town.
I tried the honey mustard recipe and it came out really good !!
I’ll never buy more bottled sauce !!! Thank you it was pretty helpful
I get Honey Mustard when I sometimes order chicken tenders. It isn’t spicy at all {that’s the way I can eat it, because of all the medicine I take I can’t eat anything spicy at all. It will burn my mouth. I bought some from the grocery store and it is very spicy. I just want to know if your recipe is spicy or not. It really looks good.
Hi!
It isn’t spicy, but there is paprika in it which does have a hint of spicy, but it’s not noticeable.
Amazing! Best honey mustard I’ve ever had. I licked the bowl clean when I was done. I was out of honey mustard and I was making a chicken salad with grapes and apples and the recipe called for honey mustard so I used your recipe. My goodness it is so good thank you for putting this recipe on your website
Hi, my sauce came out much darker than this and I would like to know what I could do to lighten it, I like to follow the instructions along with the pictures so I’m quite unnerved it did not come out the same
Hi!
I don’t know why it would come out darker – did you use red vinegar instead of white vinegar? Maybe it wasn’t dijon mustard and it was brown mustard?
Can this be served hot?
It looks delicious, but there is no such thing as Fat Free Mayonnaise, then it ain’t Mayonnaise! Don’t fear Fat, fear Carbs!
My granddaughter says this is the best ever!! I must agree. thank you!!
ican’t find how much honey to use in your honey mustard sauce.. Did I miss it somewhere? Wanted to make it for a luncheon soon.
Hi Nancy!! That’s a 1/4 of a cup.
Big, medium og small cup ?
Over here we tend to use exact measurements like 25 grams or 50 milliliter.
How much is a cup ?
Thank you from Denmark
Hi! I have no idea what it would be in ml or gr, but 1/4 cup is roughly around 4 tablespoons, and one whole cup of mayonnaise is about 230 grams according to the mayonnaise container that I’m looking at right now. 🙂 And it says that 1 tablespoon of mayo is 14 grams. Does that help? I hope! 😀
Thank you…
I’ll give it a try
Initially it says use cayenne pepper – but then the picture and the printable recipe instructions say paprika. Which is correct?
Hi Jenn! Yes, the cook at the restaurant suggested using cayenne and that is why I said that in the post – I was quoting his recipe – but I like using paprika instead, because of the smokiness that it adds to the overall taste. 🙂