Chick-Fil-A's Beloved Namesake Sauce Is Older Than You Think

While superhero fans may love a good origin story, there are plenty of exciting origin stories for foods too. Abel Gonzales was inspired by Elvis to create deep-fried butter. Multiple places lay a claim to being the birthplace of the hamburger. Orange chicken was invented in 1987 and became a staple of Chinese-American cuisine in the decades that followed. The Manhattan, as its name suggests, was an 1800s invention in New York. Even Chick-fil-A's famous sauce has an origin story.

For customers of the famous fast food chain, getting Chick-fil-A sauce (or one of its other flavor options) to dunk waffle fries in or pour over its famous chicken sandwiches seems automatic. But its famous Chick-fil-A sauce — which is actually a combination of ranch, barbeque, and honey mustard and was introduced in 2006 – is the sauce that continues to endure and keeps customers coming back.

But enthusiasts might be surprised to learn Chick-fil-A's signature sauce is a product of 1980s Virginia, created by accident. That's exactly what happened to Chick-fil-A store owner Hugh Fleming, who first made what became the chain's iconic sauce in 1983. At the time, Chick-fil-A sold plain chicken nuggets with no sauce, so Fleming endeavored to make one. A honey mustard salad dressing was used as the base for the sauce and after barbeque sauce was mixed in accidentally, it became another staple in the secret blend as did Chick-fil-A's since-discontinued coleslaw dressing.

Fleming's accidental invention proved to be an instant hit. Customers of all ages asked for "Mr. Fleming's sauce" or "that special sauce," which, to many customers' annoyance was only found at his store. In addition to filling paper serving-size cups with gusto, customers were said to fill drink cups with the sauce and, buy it by the mason jar during special holiday sales with custom labels that read "Fleming's Own: The Original Fredericksburg Nugget Sauce."

Chick-fil-A higher-ups clamored to get Fleming's special recipe for years and he gladly gave it to them for free when he retired around 2008. The company offered a variation of Fleming's recipe in 2004 — a thicker sauce called Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce. It was rejected for its lack of dip-ability and Chick-fil-A began offering the iconic yellow sauce (which is thinner for easy dipping and pouring) two years later. 

While the chain no longer offers coleslaw, many of the ingredients for coleslaw dressing and mayonnaise are listed on a Chick-fil-A sauce wrapper, notably egg yolks, vinegar, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and vinegar. Additionally, leaked recipes also feature mayonnaise and/or coleslaw dressing as an ingredient. Chick-fil-A Sauce is the eatery's most popular condiment, and packets of it are ordered by the millions for each of its locations each year.