Have you ever wondered what makes Raising Cane’s sauce so good? I found the perfect mixture of ingredients to make it at home, and it is seriously the BEST! Perfect as a chicken dipping sauce or to dip your crinkle-cut fries into.
Raising Cane’s Sauce
If you’ve ever had Cane’s chicken fingers, Texas toast, and crinkle-cut fries, you know how good it all is. Those fried chicken tenders are literal perfection and that signature dipping sauce just caps it off perfectly. To say I was obsessed in college would definitely be an understatement.
Since moving to Canada, Raising Canes sauce was one of the things I just really missed (like so much). I decided to set out to make some at home, and was honestly surprised by how small the ingredient list was! It took several tries, but I think I got it pretty close to perfect.
If you’ve been here before (probably to visit our Copycat Taco Bell Quesadilla Sauce recipe), you’ll know we’re all about the sauces, so we take them pretty seriously. I’m super happy with how this one turned out, and I think you’re all going to love it!
How To Make It
It really couldn’t be any simpler to make this copycat sauce at home. Just add all the ingredients to a bowl, mix it all together until it’s smooth, then let is rest in the fridge until the flavors have set. That’s it! So simple.
You could also pulse it in a food processor until it’s totally combined, but I don’t really think it’s worth dirtying an appliance since it’s so easy to mix by hand. I do think the texture might be slightly better and smoother in the food processor though, so it’s totally up to you.
Let It Rest
A quick note on rest time: It really is critical to let this sauce rest in the refrigerator for as long as you can. 24 hours is the perfect amount of rest time to let all the flavors mingle together, but it will still be good after 6 hours.
If you taste it right away, the sauce won’t taste flavorful enough and you’ll be tempted to add in more seasonings. If you taste it after only an hour or so, the flavors just won’t taste right. So, wait. I know it’s hard, but it’s so worth it!
Which Brands Did I Use?
I try not to specify brands too often in recipes, but since I think it can make a big difference in copycat recipes, here are the brands I used:
- Mayonnaise: Kirkland (from Costco, but I’ve also tried and like Hellmann’s)
- Ketchup: Heinz
- Worcestershire: Lea & Perrins
- Hot Sauce: Frank’s Original
- Pepper: Any brand works (just make sure it’s coarse – freshly cracked is best)
- Garlic Powder: Any brand works (but I do recommend garlic powder over garlic granules)
- Celery Salt: Any brand works (I actually use a homemade celery salt recipe)
Adaptations
There are a couple adaptations that are noted in the recipe card, so feel free to try it how it sounds best to you! I prefer it with less ketchup and some hot sauce added in. I also love a pinch (or two, or three) of celery salt added in because it really next levels this sauce, but it will be delicious with or without it.
If you don’t have celery salt, you could try adding a dash of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Full disclosure: I work with them for other recipes because I absolutely love their spices, but this isn’t a sponsored mention. I just genuinely love it and think it tastes great here.
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
Sauce Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out our entire sauce recipe section! We’re all about the sauces here, and they’re probably the thing we make the most, so I’m sure you’ll find something you love. Some reader favorites are:
How To Make Raising Cane's Sauce
Have you ever wondered what makes Raising Cane’s sauce so good? I found the perfect mixture of ingredients to make it at home, and it is seriously SO good!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup real mayonnaise
- 3 Tablespoons ketchup
- 5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce* (1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons)
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce (I use Frank’s)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (it has to be coarse)
- Pinch celery salt (optional, but delicious!)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl. Mix until totally combined and smooth.
- Let it rest for a minimum of 6 hours, but preferably 24 hours.
Notes
*If you need to eat gluten free, you’ll need to make sure that all of your ingredients are certified gluten free (especially the Worcestershire sauce).
To me, Raising Cane’s sauce tastes remarkably similar to Comeback Sauce. I love the addition of hot sauce to comeback sauce, so I included it here. It’s totally up to you if you use it or not, but if you don’t use it, replace it with a Tablespoon of ketchup (1/4 cup ketchup total). As the flavors sit, you will be able to taste a bit of a tang from the vinegar in the hot sauce, so if you don’t like tangy flavors, I wouldn’t include it. It’s one of those additions that I think tastes amazing and so much better when it’s actually being used as a dip, but if I were to taste test it off the spoon, I’d prefer it with ketchup instead.
Celery salt is totally optional, but I highly recommend it! A lot of people think they taste Old Bay or Tony Chachere’s in Raising Cane’s sauce, and I think that one of those flavor elements people are tasting is the celery salt. I only included a pinch in the recipe, but sometimes I use a bit more.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/16 (approx. 1 Tablespoon)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 76Total Fat: 7.7gCarbohydrates: 1.4gNet Carbohydrates: 1.3gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.8gProtein: 0.2g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
The next time you’re looking for an amazing sauce to dip your fried chicken or chicken tenders in, try making homemade Raising Cane’s Sauce!
8 thoughts on “How To Make Raising Cane’s Sauce”
I made Cane’s Sauce with 3 ingredients and all the recipes out there are missing this one ingredient.
Mayonnaise, Ketchup and Madras Curry Powder. I tasted the original sauce and tasted a hint of curry in the back end. So I whipped up my version with Madras curry powder and it wasn’t bad. I haven’t tweaked the proportions, but I think mine has the missing key ingredient.
I made this recipe almost exactly as listed with the exception of the celery salt, which I did not have. I substituted a pinch of Tony’s as suggested and I have to say, this recipe is about as close as it gets to the real thing. It’s tasty right away, but letting it rest in the fridge for 24 hours really allowed the flavors to develop correctly. Very delicious! I used to live in the South where Cane’s are everywhere, but when I moved back home up North where we don’t have Cane’s, this is one of the restaurant items I missed the most. We find ourself making excuses to use this delicious copycat recipe wherever we can and we’ll definitely continue to use the recipe in the future. Thanks so much!
Just made this, and tasted before it went in the fridge. Wow! I added a little sugar to accommodate my guests because I added a little(a lot) more hot sauce for me. I added those at the end, but the sauce was great before the additions.
I made this and instead of the celery salt, I added a pinch of Tony’s as well as a pinch of Old Bay (since it has a hint of a crab boil taste). Previously, I made “moms canes sauce” for my kids using Mayo, ketchup, dash of Dijon mustard and Tony’s and old bay and they have always loved it. It didn’t require the “rest” period so it was a quick dupe to use. However, this recipe plus the Tony’s and Old Bay and let it rest for 24+ hours is even closer! So if u have the time to plan ahead and make this recipe, it’s worth it! I just stored it in an air tight container in the fridge and it lasts a while. Thanks!
Delicious, I’m making my own chicken at home more often now that I can make this sauce!
Just made this. Cleaned the bowl and such so got a good taste. It’s insanely good even though it hasn’t set yet. I’m quite curious to see what happens tomorrow. Thank you for this.
Appreciate this recipe! I think half the time my kids ask for Cane’s it”s just for the bread dipped in this sauce. So good, and very close to the ‘real deal’, even before the resting period.
Made this and it’s very close if not an exact match! my son with his SuperPallet was convinced it was really canes. I did use old bay seasoning in place of the celery salt bc it has celery salt in it. It’s delicious!