We Dipped Every Chick-Fil-A Sauce And Ranked Them Worst To Best

Chick-fil-A is known for its delicious chicken, including everything from sandwiches to nuggets. It has become a powerhouse of a fast food chain, with more than 3,000 locations across America, Puerto Rico, and Canada. But what is chicken without something to dip it in? The brand offers eight different sauces to choose from, which are bound to satisfy your cravings.

But which one is the best? I set out to find the answer and tasted each sauce alongside some of the chain's most popular items, including its chicken sandwich, nuggets, and waffle fries. As a frequent Chick-fil-A patron, I'm pretty familiar with its sauces and have my own personal leanings, but hadn't tried every one until now. To accurately rank each sauce, I judged each one based on how well it paired with the food items and how well-rounded its flavor was. After all, you want your sauce to complement what you're eating, not overpower it. That said — and without spoiling the rankings — it's important to note that none of Chick-fil-A's sauces were bad, but there were a few clear winners based on these factors.

Again, I want to reiterate that none of Chick-fil-A's sauces are bad. But one has to rank last, and that, unfortunately, is the Polynesian sauce. Going into this ranking, I assumed it would rank higher than it did, and I was honestly very surprised by how mild the flavor was compared to the rest of Chick-fil-A's sauces. Every other one had a much more pronounced flavor. The Polynesian sauce lacked that punch you'd want and expect from a sweeter sauce. I also found it had a sticky, almost syrupy consistency that made it more difficult to dip and spread.

In terms of how it tasted on each of the Chick-fil-A items, I found that it was decent on the nuggets and fries, as both offered a better vehicle for the sauce's flavor. However, I was unimpressed by the Polynesian sauce on the sandwich. Not only was the flavor too mild to be noticeable, but it didn't really pair as well with the bread and pickles as a handful of the other sauces did.

As someone who loves spicy Asian sauces (especially sriracha), I am a big fan of Chick-fil-A's sweet and spice sriracha sauce. It had everything you'd want in a sauce — the right kick of spice balanced perfectly with a hint of sweetness, so your mouth wasn't left burning at the end of your meal. But with such high praise, why did it rank second to last?

The thing is, this sauce paired really well with the nuggets — but not much else. Sure, it wasn't bad on the sandwich or the fries, but these aren't items you'd typically pair with this type of sauce. When I did eat them together, my taste buds were a bit confused as to what I was eating.

Sometimes unexpected flavor combinations work, but in this case, not so much. If you're craving an Asian-inspired sauce, but find yourself at Chick-fil-A, it's still a  good choice. But Chick-fil-A has plenty of other sauces that go better with its fries and sandwiches. 

The honey mustard sauce is one sauce that works well with Chick-fil-A's nuggets, fries, and sandwiches. It is just what you'd expect flavor-wise from honey mustard brands you'd find at the store: honey and mustard mixed together for a sweet, zingy sauce. In fact, the flavor of the sauce is so powerful, it's actually part of the reason why it ranks in the bottom three of this list. 

While this sauce is great for a few bites, the flavor can be a bit overbearing halfway through your meal, as it has such a strong mustardy undertone. Now, its placing may be up for debate, seeing as how its flavor could be a pro for those who are obsessed with mustard. But for others who don't love this condiment (like myself), it can get old and necessitate switching to another one of Chick-fil-A's sauces. 

Barbecue sauce can be a solid go-to, depending on what other options are available. While some barbecue sauce brands can be too sweet, vinegary, or spicy, Chick-fil-A's barbecue sauce lands right in the middle — sweet without being saccharine, and complemented by a hint of smokiness. Considering it pairs extremely well with Chick-fil-A's nuggets, fries, and sandwich, you won't be disappointed if you end up with this sauce in your bag. However, it's not anything to rave about. It's a good barbecue sauce — simple as that. If I sampled it blind, for example, I wouldn't be able to tell you this is a Chick-fil-A-specific barbecue sauce.

So again, while this is a really good sauce that goes well with most items at Chick-fil-A, I can't rank it any higher. The fast food chain just has better and more unique offerings than it. 

Ranch is another sauce that can be commonly found at many fast food and sit-down restaurants, so it may be surprising that Chick-fil-A's version ranks as high as it does. I was even a little surprised at how highly I ranked this sauce, as I've had plenty of watery ranch sauces and store-bought ranch dressings that lacked flavor. 

I was expecting Chick-fil-A's garden herb ranch sauce to fall in line with these other ranch sauces, but instead, I was met with a super creamy sauce loaded with savory garlic and herbs. This depth of flavor kept me coming back to it, and it was a yummy switch-up from the other sweet sauces on this list. It went extremely well with the fries, nuggets, and sandwich, as well as when it was mixed with other sauces — like the zesty Buffalo, barbecue, and honey mustard, making it a really versatile sauce that can be enjoyed alongside another one of your favorites or by itself.

Chick-fil-A's zesty Buffalo sauce is described as "a flavorful hot sauce with a smooth, bold flavor." And after tasting it myself, I can confirm that description is spot-on. Instead of being hot for spiciness' sake, like some store-bought Buffalo sauces, Chick-fil-A was able to make a Buffalo sauce that had a kick to it, but enough restraint to get you through your entire meal without having to sacrifice your tongue in the process. It was delicious on the fries, and because Buffalo sauce is typically used on chicken wings, it obviously paired extremely well with the nuggets and sandwich. Plus, the pickles on the sandwich added a yummy cooling crunch. It earned a spot among the top three sauces based on how well it complemented Chick-fil-A's signature chicken items. 

Not only was it great as a stand-alone sauce, but also when it was mixed with the garden herb ranch sauce for a cooling, creamy combo. The only reason it didn't rank higher is that the top two Chick-fil-A sauces were more creamy and flavorful. 

You'd think that a sauce that has both "honey" and "barbecue" in its name would be too sweet, but Chick-fil-A's honey-roasted barbecue sauce is surprisingly not. It's less sweet, more smoky, and a lot creamier than Chick-fil-A's barbecue sauce, and it really complements all three food items. I also never got tired of the flavor, making it one of the few sauces on the list that I wanted to eat with my meal from start to finish.

One of my only complaints is that it is the only sauce that comes in a packet and not a container. While this is likely due to the fact that Chick-fil-A primarily recommends this as more of a spread for its grilled chicken sandwiches — the description of this sauce states that it "pairs especially well with [Chick-fil-A's] grilled chicken" — it's definitely not ideal for dipping, especially when eaten on the go. But with that said, I still found it to be the one of the few sauces that paired well with everything I ate it with. Only one sauce ranked higher in terms of its flavor and versatility. 

Yes, Chick-fil-A's namesake sauce really does rank as the number one sauce out of its entire lineup. And I'm definitely not biased, as it personally isn't my go-to sauce whenever I visit the fast food chain. But when it came down to flavor and versatility, it won by a landslide. Not only does it complement every single item on the menu, from chicken to fries, but it has a well-balanced flavor that takes inspiration from both mustard and barbecue. It's a smoky, sweet, and tangy sauce that perfectly combines the best aspects of Chick-fil-A's other sauces into one ultimate sauce.

As I've said earlier, you really can't go wrong with any of Chick-fil-A's sauces, but if you can't decide which one to choose, I would highly recommend going for this one, as it's the most well-rounded option out of the eight sauces.

It can be difficult to rank things like sauces because everything can be boiled down to personal preference. To stay as objective as possible, I considered a couple of key factors in ranking these Chick-fil-A sauces. The first was how well each sauce complemented the nuggets, chicken sandwich, and waffle fries. Sauces that could be paired with multiple food items ranked higher than those that were better with one or two.

I also considered the flavor of each sauce and how balanced it was. It couldn't be too sweet, spicy, overpowering, or mild — it had to be just right. Ultimately, I wanted to determine which sauce had the most well-balanced flavor and was the most versatile.