Raising Cane’s Sauce Recipe (Copycat)

Whether you’re a loyal fan of this southern chain or have yet to try it, my copycat Raising Cane’s sauce is the easiest way to make Cane’s sauce in your own home.

For those not in the know, Raising Cane’s is an American fast food restaurant chain that started in New Orleans, Louisiana. They sell chicken tenders, among many other southern staples. They take particular pride in their Raising Canes sauce – signature sauce made in-house.

We might never know the real Raising Cane’s sauce ingredients (like Mcdonald’s, it’s something of a foodie secret). But by making an educated guess, we can create a homemade Cane’s sauce that tastes just as good.

What Is Raising Cane’s Sauce

So, what is Cane’s sauce exactly? To the untrained eye, Raising Cane’s dipping sauce looks similar to Thousand Island dressing. It uses similar base ingredients and emerges the same salmon color.

Even if we don’t know what is in Cane’s sauce in its entirety, by taste profile, the cane sauce recipe is a creamy, tangy sauce. It uses a base of ketchup and mayonnaise which gives it its distinctive color. Usually paired with their Canes chicken recipe, for which they’re famous across the US, I’ve added extra spices and a dash of heat to my take on the Raising Cane’s sauce recipe.

What Does Raising Cane’s Sauce Taste Like

Whether served with spicy fried chicken or garlic-infused Texas Toast, the great thing about a Cane’s sauce recipe is its mild flavor can complement basically anything. The restaurant itself describes it as “tangy with a little bit of spice”, which largely comes from the tomatoes and extra spices.

What Is Raising Cane’s Sauce Made Of

For my copycat version of cane sauce recipe, you’ll need a few simple ingredients:

• Ketchup: You can use store-bought or homemade, they both work fine.
• Mayonnaise: You can use store-bought or homemade. It’s best to use regular, not flavored mayo.
• Worcestershire sauce: You can find this at most grocery stores. In a pinch, use balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, or fish sauce.
• Spices: I use garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. You can also add others like cayenne pepper, onion powder, Cajun spice, or creole seasoning.

How To Make Raising Cane’s Sauce

For a homemade Raising Cane’s sauce, place all the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Once fully mixed, it will have turned a salmon-y color. Place it in an airtight container and leave to refrigerate for a few hours before serving. That way, the flavors will have time to meld together and give the Cane’s sauce a greater depth of flavor. 

Why Does Cane’s Sauce Taste Better The Next Day

Sauces like this Raising Cane’s sauce recipe tend to do better the next day. That’s because more flavor is released as it;s allowed to sit, giving a deeper taste to the overall product. Sometimes, the ingredients sit on top of each other – especially mayonnaise sauces that have fat in them – rather than blending.

Through time in the refrigerator, they can blend slowly and integrate the flavor more complexly. So, if you’re making your own Raising Cane’s sauce, do it the day before you plan to serve it for a better overall flavor.

How Long Does Raising Cane’s Sauce Last In The Fridge

Any extra sauce will keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. However, it’s so delicious it might not even last that long!

Cane’s Sauce Uses

Most famously, the Cane’s sauce recipe is served with chicken. But there are plenty of ways how to make Cane’s sauce a staple of your condiment rotation: 

• As is most popular, you can dip these air fryer Homemade Chicken Tenders (from scratch or from frozen) into Cane’s sauce. This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy chicken fingers or chicken nuggets.
• You can also use it as a dipping or drizzling sauce over your favorite recipes for burgers and dishes with chicken, beef, fish, and more. Just use it in place of the traditional mayo and/or ketchup.
• Cane’s sauce is great for dipping in, especially french fries. Or, if you don’t want ordinary potato fries, this yummy sauce blends nicely with sweet potato fries. Or with zucchini fries, eggplant fries, and even rounds of crispy fried squash.
• Swap it out for ordinary mayo and ketchup, amping up the flavor on some familiar classics. I like this copycat cane’s sauce on sandwiches or drizzled over a taco salad or a Caprese salad.

Traditionally, southern fried food always comes served with some sweet tea. So, whatever you’re serving my Raising Cane’s sauce recipe with, I suggest washing it down with a peach iced tea or perhaps a more unorthodox recipe, like my blackberry earl grey iced tea or even a glass of cold brew tea from your own favorite blend.

More Delicious Sauce Recipes

• Buffalo Wing Sauce
• Alabama White BBQ Sauce
• Hollandaise Sauce

If you try this how to make Cane’s sauce recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!