14 Chain Restaurant Condiments You Can Find At The Grocery Store
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Chain restaurants are usually known for their star dishes. Take for example the hand-cut steaks at Texas Roadhouse, the roast beef sandwiches at Arby's, and the bread bowls and salads at Panera. But ask a regular what really makes the food hit, and they'll probably bring up the sauces and seasonings. In fact, some chain restaurant condiments are so beloved that people hoard the packets, try to copy the recipes at home, or shamelessly ask for extras at the counter. That kind of obsession hasn't gone unnoticed.
Many chain restaurants now sell their sauces and spice mixes in grocery stores so that you don't have to rely on takeout to get your fix. Some are exact replicas of what you'd get in the restaurant, others are a little more "retail-friendly," but they're all good enough to deserve a spot in your fridge or pantry. From steak sauces to salad dressings, coffee creamers, and dipping sauces, these are 14 chain restaurant condiments you can buy at the store to recreate your favorite restaurant dishes at home.
Arby's Horsey Sauce
From the early days, Arby's made it clear it wasn't trying to be just another burger joint. The first restaurant opened in Boardman, Ohio, in 1964 with a menu that featured just roast beef sandwiches and drinks like sodas and milkshakes. As the company expanded, so too did the menu. During the 1970s, several new menu items were added including the Beef 'N Cheddar sandwich, fries, and a zesty sauce that would go on to earn a cult-like following. That's right, we're talking about Arby's legendary Horsey Sauce.
When Metro Monthly asked Arby's co-founder Leroy Raffel how Horsey Sauce came to be, he said, "Well, it wasn't unusual for restaurants to serve horseradish on the side as a condiment for roast beef. So Horsey Sauce is horseradish." In actuality, the sauce also includes mayonnaise and vinegar, which tones down the spice a bit and gives it a creamy tang. Over the decades, the sauce has earned legions of fans, which prompted Arby's to start selling it by the bottle in 2013. Now, you can grab Horsey Sauce and the signature red Arby's Sauce at several grocery chains.
Olive Garden Signature Italian Dressing
Order an entrée at Olive Garden and you'll also get your choice of bottomless soup or salad to go with your meal along with the chain's famous breadsticks. For many people, the house salad is the only way to go. There are a few reasons why the Olive Garden house salad is so tasty. For one, it's served on a chilled plate to keep the lettuce and veggies ultra-crisp. It's also tossed with Olive Garden's Signature Italian Dressing, which is slightly creamy and tangy with notes of Italian herbs and Romano cheese.
Olive Garden started selling its bottled salad dressing in 2012. At first, it was exclusive to Sam's Club, but now you can buy it at a wide variety of grocery stores. You can opt for the signature or light version and choose from bottles that start at 16 fluid ounces and go up to 36 fluid ounces. That may sound like a lot of salad dressing to get through, but the sauce is pretty versatile. You can use it as a dip for veggies, a flavor enhancer for roast potatoes, a marinade for chicken, or a spread for garlic bread.
Famous Dave's Rib Rub
If you love barbecue joints, chances are you've been to a Famous Dave's. The chain got its start in 1994 when Dave Anderson began selling his award-winning ribs and Southern-style barbecue meats from a fire pit covered with a tarp in Hayward, Wisconsin. Now there are more than 115 locations across the United States where you can try the legendary ribs along with brisket, barbecue chicken, and chopped pork. And if you want to make some of those dishes at home yourself, Famous Dave's sells its signature rib rub in grocery stores.
Famous Dave's Rib Rub is sweet, smoky, and just a touch spicy. It includes flavorful ingredients like paprika, sugar, mustard powder, onion powder, garlic powder, natural smoke flavor, and dehydrated carrots, red peppers, and tomatoes. Just shake it over your ribs, throw them on the grill, and you're good to go. Although the rub was created with ribs in mind, you can also use it on pork chops, roast pork, or any other meat you want to jazz up. Famous Dave's also sells other seasonings like a chicken rub, Cajun rub, and steak and burger seasoning.
Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Coffee Creamer
When Starbucks debuted the Caramel Macchiato in the fall of 1996, it was only supposed to be on the menu for a limited time to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary. However, people loved the sweet and creamy combination of espresso, milk, vanilla syrup, and caramel so much that it became a permanent menu item. The chain later came out with an iced version, as well as other macchiato flavors. In 2019, Starbucks also released a caramel flavored coffee creamer inspired by the drink for fans to make their own versions at home.
Just a splash of the Starbucks Caramel Creamer will give your coffee and an instant flavor boost. It features real cream and milk, as well as buttermilk and natural flavors that give it notes of vanilla and caramel. Fans say it's rich and creamy without being overly sweet. Some say it's not exactly like the Caramel Macchiatos you can buy at your local Starbucks, but that it's close enough. There is also a non-dairy version made with almond milk and oat milk. If you want to branch out, you can also try other creamer flavors like white chocolate and pumpkin spice.
Texas Roadhouse Classic Steak Sauce
Texas Roadhouse isn't worried about steakhouse snobbery. If you want to drown your ribeye in their signature sauce, no one is going to stop you. In fact, the chain made it even easier by bottling the stuff and rolling it out to grocery stores in 2024. The Roadhouse Gold is the same sauce served at all the restaurants, while the Classic Steak Sauce is a new creation that is only available at stores. You can find the sauces sold in 12-ounce bottles at several well-known grocery stores.
There are a few secret ingredients in Texas Roadhouse's steak sauces that make them stand out from run-of-the-mill sauces. Both feature the usual ingredients like tomato paste, vinegar, garlic, and onion. But it's the fruit additions that make them unique. The Roadhouse Gold includes apple butter and raisin paste for a touch of sweetness, lime juice for tang, and prune juice. It's smooth and smoky with a bit of pucker to it. The Classic Steak Sauce also includes raisin paste, as well as tamarind paste for extra tartness and depth. It goes big on flavor and is a bit richer than the Roadhouse Gold.
Chick-fil-A Sauce
There's a strong case to be made that chicken nuggets are just a delivery system for sauce. Chick-fil-A has embraced that idea better than just about any other chain. The fried chicken spot offers several tasty sauces that you can dunk your nuggets or fries into or slather on your sandwich, but the one that consistently ranks highest among Chick-fil-A sauces is its classic signature. It was created in the 1980s by a man named Hugh Fleming. Rumor has it he was going for a honey mustard sauce and accidentally added barbecue sauce to the mix. It was an instant hit.
The classic Chick-fil-A sauce is creamy like mayonnaise but gets hits of smoke and tang from ingredients like tomato paste, mustard, onion, garlic, vinegar, and natural hickory smoke flavor. Bottles of the sauce come in three sizes: 8 ounces, 16 ounces, and 24 ounces. You can buy the 8-ounce bottles at Chick-fil-A locations or order it on Amazon, while the larger sizes are available at grocery stores. You can also grab other Chick-fil-A sauces at stores like the Barbecue Sauce, Polynesian Sauce, and Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sauce.
Red Lobster Signature Seafood Seasoning
Once the largest seafood chain in the world, Red Lobster has fallen on hard times over the last few years. In 2024, the chain filed for bankruptcy and closed multiple locations. Despite that, there are still plenty of Red Lobster fans who have nothing but good things to say about its reasonably priced shrimp, lobster, and fish. If the Red Lobster in your town has shuttered its doors, not to worry because you can create your own restaurant-worthy seafood dishes at home with the Red Lobster Signature Seafood Seasoning.
Red Lobster is somewhat secretive about its signature spice mix. The label on the bottle states that it contains ingredients like paprika, dehydrated onion, dehydrated garlic, and "spices." While we don't know exactly what those spices are, we do know that the seasoning is light enough to add pizazz without overpowering the delicate flavors of seafood. The seasoning comes in 5-ounce bottles and it's available at select stores like Walmart and Target. You can also purchase bottles of Red Lobster's Signature Seafood Seasoning on Amazon.
Whataburger Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Sauce
Whataburger has always taken a "go big or go home" attitude. When it opened in 1950, the goal was to make a burger so hefty and satisfying that customers couldn't help but say, "What a burger!" That same go-big approach shows up in their sauces too, especially the Spicy Jalapeño Ranch. If you ever had the chain's iconic Monterey Melt burger, then you may recall the zesty tang of this creamy, picante sauce. It works beautifully on burgers and in sandwiches, but can also be used as a spicy dip for french fries, vegetables, onion rings, and fried pickles.
Since 2013, Whataburger has been selling its signature sauces in grocery stores. It started with its signature ketchups and mustard in H-E-B stores and later expanded to a wide lineup of products in over 21 grocery stores nationwide. You can pick up 14.5-ounce bottles of the Whataburger Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Sauce, as well as other sauces like the Fancy Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup, Honey Mustard, Creamy Pepper Sauce, and Buffalo Sauce. Depending on the store, you may also be able to scoop up Whataburger salsa, pancake mix, and pork sausage.
Momofuku Chili Crunch
Chili crunch (aka chili crisp) is having a major moment right now. This spicy, crunchy condiment was born in China and it typically features a mix of chilis, peppercorns, fried garlic, and fried shallots in oil. It made its way to North America in the 1990s, where it exploded in popularity. Since then people have been adding it to everything from noodles to tofu, and even finding unexpected ways to use chili crisp like drizzling it on ice cream and swirling it into dips. There are several brands on the market, but one of the most popular is the Momofuku Chili Crunch.
Founded in 2004 by celebrity chef David Chang, Momofuku is a chain of restaurants that serves up modern Asian-American cuisine and sells a range of food products. The Chili Crunch was apparently a decade in the making, as Chang and his team wanted to achieve the perfect blend of heat, crunch, and flavor. It features a base of grapeseed oil, three types of chiles, garlic, onions, shallots, sesame seeds, mushroom powder, and coconut sugar. You can grab 5.3-ounce jars at grocery stores or really stock up with a giant 16-ounce jar from Costco.
Subway Roasted Garlic Aioli Sauce
Part of the whole appeal of Subway is making your sandwich exactly the way you like it, and the sauces are a big part of that equation. In 2024, the chain finally brought a few of those fan-favorite drizzles to grocery stores, including the ultra-savory Roasted Garlic Aioli. This creamy sauce is slightly thinner than your typical aioli, so it's great for drizzling on sandwiches and salads. It also works well as a dipping sauce. It gets its rich flavor from ingredients like garlic, vinegar, egg yolk, and extra virgin olive oil.
The brand behind Subway's sauces is the T. Marzetti Company, which also makes sauces for chains like Arby's. Chick-fil-A, and Texas Roadhouse. The Subway sauces come in 16-ounce bottles with flip caps for easy pouring. Besides the Roasted Garlic Aioli Sauce, you can also pick up bottles of Subway's Sweet Onion Teriyaki and Baja Chipotle sauces. In addition, there's a new sauce called the Creamy Italian MVP, which is a fresh take on the chain's MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette. You can also feel good knowing that part of the proceeds from sauce sales go towards Subway's Fresh Start Scholarships, a program that provides tuition money for Subway employees.
Taco Bell Creamy Chipotle Sauce
In the 2010s, several fast food chains started realizing their sauces could stand on their own. Taco Bell joined the party in 2014, rolling out bottled versions of its Salsa Verde, Hot Sauce, Mild Sauce, and Fire Sauce. Fans of the chain were excited, although quick to point out that the bottles didn't include cheeky one liners like the Taco Bell sauce packet sayings. Regardless, the sauces were a hit and more flavors would follow. The Creamy Chipotle Sauce is one that gets particularly good reviews.
Smooth, smoky, and with just a hint of spice, the Creamy Chipotle Sauce comes in a 12-ounce squeeze bottle with a resealable lid. Some of the heavy hitting flavors in the sauce include buttermilk, chipotle chili pepper purée, garlic juice, onion, and natural smoke flavor. You can do like Taco Bell does and use it in spicy potato tacos. Fans say it also works well on everything from sandwiches to burritos, quesadillas, baked potatoes, and burgers. The sauce is available at several national grocery store chains, and you can also order it on Amazon.
P.F. Chang's Kung Pao Sauce
P.F. Chang's is all about wok-fried dishes that take inspiration from Asian cuisines. Think kung pao chicken, beef with broccoli, and the chain's famous chicken lettuce wraps. While it may seem easy enough to make those dishes at home, they rarely hit right unless you have the right sauce. That's part of what made P.F. Chang's Home Menu so appealing when it rolled out in 2010. What started with frozen entrées grew into a full grocery store line, and bottled sauces followed in 2017. The spicy, punchy Kung Pao Sauce is one of the stars of the sauce collection.
It would be pretty hard to recreate P.F. Chang's Kung Pao Sauce at home, given that there are multiple elements that give the sauce its sweet, spicy, and umami character. It combines bold ingredients like fermented chili bean paste, apple juice concentrate, ginger, sesame seed oil, chicken glace, chili paste, and oyster sauce. The sauce comes in 14-ounce bottles and can be used in a variety of ways. You can marinate meat with it, use it as a stir-fry sauce, or serve it as a tangy dipping sauce.
Panera Fuji Apple Vinaigrette
Where do you go when you want a fast meal that's more fresh than fried? For many people, the answer is Panera Bread. The chain is renowned for its freshly prepared dishes made with wholesome ingredients. While the soups often get top billing, Panera's salads are also a major draw for the abundance of fresh ingredients and interesting salad dressings. The Fuji Apple Vinaigrette has become one of the chain's most recognizable flavors, so it's no surprise that the chain eventually bottled the dressing for grocery store shelves.
All of the Panera at Home products sold at grocery stores are made with clean ingredients and the Fuji Apple Vinaigrette is no exception. It's free of artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, and colors. What you get in each 12-ounce bottle is good stuff like apple cider vinegar, soybean oil, white balsamic vinegar, apple juice concentrate, lemon juice, and rosemary extract. It's slightly creamy, sweet, and zingy, which makes it perfect for drizzling on salads. You can also use it as a veggie dip or as a flavor enhancer for meats.
Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic Sauce
When Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery opened their first restaurant in 1982, they probably never imagined that it would go on to become a Buffalo sauce empire. All they wanted was to create a place where they could offer delicious chicken wings in the style of their hometown of Buffalo, New York, to the good people of Ohio. Now there are over 1,300 Buffalo Wild Wings locations across the United States and the chain sells a wide variety of Buffalo-style sauces in several national grocery stores. Many say the Spicy Garlic Sauce is one of the best Buffalo sauces on the market.
Sold in 12-ounce bottles, the Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic Sauce has a kick of heat from cayenne red pepper, tang from tamarind and distilled vinegar, and garlicky goodness. It's hot enough that you can feel a mouth tingle, but not so hot that it will have you running for a glass of milk. It's creamy and smooth, with enough texture to fully coat your chicken wings and leave you licking your fingers. It's not just for wings either. You can use it as a dipping sauce, drizzle it on pizza, or marinate meats in it.