What Is Utah Fry Sauce?

Fry sauce is no ordinary condiment; it's Utah's culinary love letter to all things fried. It's just a simple mix of ketchup and mayonnaise for dipping your fries, but don't be fooled — this combo is surprisingly delicious. While the base is straightforward, countless restaurants and home chefs put their own spin on it, adding ingredients like garlic, pickle juice, or hot sauce to create unique flavor profiles that keep fry sauce fans coming back for more.

Utah fry sauce officially debuted in the 1950s at the fast food chain Arctic Circle, though its creator, Don Carlos Edwards, had reportedly been championing the recipe long before then. However, the sauce's true origins are a bit murky. Some say it wasn't Edwards but two teenagers working at an Arctic Circle franchise who began mixing ketchup and mayo on the job, a combination that eventually caught on at the corporate level. Despite the debate, one thing is clear: Fry sauce became a statewide staple. What started as a local favorite has become so ingrained in Utah's food culture that even national chains with no Utah roots offer it to meet local demand. While everyone expects fry sauce on the menu, each spot has its own proprietary twist on the recipe, making every version a little different but always with the familiar ketchup and mayo base. Many Utahns even keep a stash at home for their frozen french fries — because around there, fries are naked without it.

It's pretty safe to say that Americans love their sauces. While fry sauce might be most famously tied to Utah, it's nearly as popular in neighboring Idaho, where you'll find it served up with not just fries but local favorites like finger steaks. Oregon and Washington aren't strangers to fry sauce, either. Arctic Circle still operates (and slings fry sauce) in those states as well as Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona.

Across the country, there are plenty of fast food special sauces that share the same DNA as fry sauce — a take on Thousand Island dressing, with its familiar mix of mayo, ketchup, and other add-ins. Others like Mississippi comeback sauce and Japanese-inspired yum yum sauce play with similar ingredients, showing that while fry sauce may be unique to the West, the urge to dip everything into something creamy and tangy is universal.

Fry sauce and its sister sauces are not just limited to restaurants and fast food chains anymore. These days, grocery store shelves are lined with all kinds of options, from bottles labeled fry sauce to the straightforward Mayochup and other inventive hybrids. So, while fry sauce may be a Utah icon, we're all searching for something to dip our fries (and more!) into.