🌶️ Spicy Burger Sauce
This is the everyday spicy sauce: still creamy and tangy enough to spread thick, but with a steady building heat from hot sauce and cayenne. It is hot enough to notice without wiping out the flavor of the burger underneath.
🧾 Spicy Burger Sauce — Recipe Card
From I Love Hamburger — ilovehamburger.com
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise (115 g)
- 1 tbsp ketchup (15 ml)
- 1 tbsp hot sauce (Louisiana-style or sriracha) (15 ml)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (5 ml)
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (1 g)
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika (0.5 g)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder (0.5 g)
Instructions
- Whisk the mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce, and Dijon together until smooth.
- Stir in the cayenne, smoked paprika, and garlic powder.
- Taste carefully — add cayenne 1/4 tsp at a time if you want it hotter, since the heat keeps building as it sits.
- Chill 15 minutes before using.
🫙 Storage
Airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week. The heat mellows slightly by day two or three.
🔁 Substitutions
- Use sriracha for a sweeter, garlicky heat or a vinegar-forward hot sauce for a sharper burn.
- Dial the heat down by halving the cayenne and adding an extra spoon of mayo.
🍔 What to put it on
Pair it with pepper jack cheese, pickled jalapeños, and crisp lettuce. It especially shines on these burgers:
Burger HQ Picks Handy for sauce-making
Squeeze Bottles & Mixing Bowl Set
Mix a sauce in the bowl, decant into a squeeze bottle, and you get an even stripe on every bun instead of a spoon-blob. Also what keeps a topping bar tidy.
Check price →Small Silicone Whisk & Spatula Set
A small whisk emulsifies a mayo-based sauce properly in seconds; the spatula gets every last bit out of the bowl.
Check price →As an affiliate site, I Love Hamburger may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This does not affect our recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
How spicy is this burger sauce?
As written it is a solid medium-hot — noticeable heat that builds but does not overwhelm the burger. Adjust the cayenne up or down to hit your preferred level.
Why does it taste hotter the next day?
Cayenne and hot sauce continue to infuse the mayo as it rests, so a sauce made a day ahead reads spicier than one used right away. Start conservative if you plan to make it in advance.