Flavorful and delish, this famous copycat Arbys sauce recipe makes sandwiches sing! No more waiting for a fast food run! Throw it on a pile of roast beef or a sandwich of any kind!
Original post: March 2016 | Updated: May 2023
Why This Copycat Arby’s Sauce Recipe Works
I’ve lost a taste for fast food in the past decade or so, but prior to that I had a few indulgences. One of them was a sandwich from Arby’s – roast beef sandwiches totally slathered in their famous sandwich sauce.
I would open three sauce packets and just douse that succulent meat until it could no longer breathe. So I decided to make the sauce myself. Here are a few reasons I love it so much:
- It is made using only a few ingredients.
- Copycat Arby sauce tastes just like the real deal.
- It is sooo good atop a heaping pile of roast beef or homemade beef n cheddar sandwiches.
- This easy recipe produces one of the best sauces your lips will ever taste.
Recipe Ingredients – What’s In Arby’s Sauce
Ketchup – Decrease amount of ketchup in the recipe by half for a less tomatoey flavor.
Brown sugar – Use light or dark brown sugar.
Tabasco sauce – Add extra hot sauce for a more spicy flavor.
Worcestershire sauce – If you love this special sauce as much as I do, add a few extra splashes!
How To Make Arbys Sauce
Just a couple of items from the grocery store and you’ll have the perfect condiment to put on sandwiches and meat!
Step 1
Combine ketchup, water, brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a small saucepan.
Place over medium heat until boiling. Reduce to Low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Step 2
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Slather your favorite sandwich with it, alongside a serving of air fryer steak fries or curly fries!
Recipe Notes
- Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Serve as a dipping sauce for a roast beef sandwich or burger.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar to the mixture for an added tang.
- Don’t shy away from adding other spices! A dash of paprika is a delicious addition.
What To Do With Homemade Arby’s Sauce
Unless you have a deli slicer tucked away in your pantry, thinly slicing roast beef like the fast food chains do is tough. But this tasty sauce is great for a lot of recipes!
- You will love it on any meat-packed turkey or deli sandwich or dunk grilled meat into it.
- It is also a great dip for French fries, potato chips or onion rings.
- Kick grilled cheese sandwiches or cheese quesadillas up a notch with it.
- Use it as a dunker for chicken nuggets or chicken tenders.
- Mix it with ranch sauce for another unique dip, a “red ranch sauce!”
- Add it to a Philly Cheesesteak Grilled Cheese.
- Slater it over top your next batch of Instant Pot Chicken Breasts.
FAQ About Arbys Sauce
Arby sauce is unique and isn’t quite like any other variety of barbecue sauce you’ve had before. It is known for being added as part of the chain fast food restaurant’s popular roast beef sandwich recipe to give it a delicious kick. It’s not a super thick sauce, but it is packed with flavor. Once you’ve had it, you will fall in love!
Feel free to enjoy Arby’s sauce on so many foods and you might not need to worry about its shelf life. But if you make enough and have some leftover, I recommend a glass mason jar or another airtight container – plan to enjoy it within 1-2 weeks.
For a limited time Arby’s bottled and sold its famous Arby’s sauce, but as of today you have to either dine in or make it at home if you want to enjoy it.
Arby’s sauce is deep red in color and unique in flavor, with its peppery barbecue-like appeal. We have found a great blend of ingredients that comes very close to this favorite sandwich condiment so you can replicate it at home!
Best Homemade Sauces and Toppings
- Cilantro Lime Sauce
- Avocado Ranch Dressing
- Arby’s horsey sauce
- Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
- Ginger Sauce
- BBQ sauce
- Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Best Copycat Recipes
- How To Make Your Own Flavorful Chili Paste – Make this staple to keep on hand in your kitchen for homemade Asian recipes, especially if you enjoy adding it to your favorite dishes in the restaurant!
- Enjoy Chinese takeout at home with this Easy Orange Chicken! No deep frying required and this meal will be a hit with the whole family. This is a great easy dinner option for busy nights and tastes better than the Panda Express version you love so much!
- Easy Mongolian Beef takes less than 30 minutes to make and tastes even better than your favorite Chinese takeout. Fragrant garlic, soy sauce and crispy flank steak creates a delicious, quick and easy dinner that rivals P.F. Chang’s!
- Easy Pad Thai with Shrimp and Tofu is done in less than 30 minutes cook time, allowing you to skip the cost and calories of take-out. Fresh and crunchy vegetables over noodles with a spicy and flavorful sauce makes dinner comforting and easy!
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Copycat Arbys Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat until boiling. Reduce to Low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.1 cup ketchup, 1 tbsp water, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp Tabasco sauce, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper
- Remove from heat and let cool. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Serve as a dipping sauce with roast beef sandwiches or burgers.
Notes
- Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Serve as a dipping sauce with roast beef sandwiches or burgers.
- Decrease amount of ketchup in the recipe by half for a less tomatoey flavor.
- Add extra hot sauce for a spicier sauce!
It was very close and awesomely delicious.. I double the Worcestershire sauce and this made the recipe nearly perfect… thanks for posting it
Thanks for sharing that tweak – glad you tried it out!
This was amazing! I used it on a homemade roastbeef sandwich. Now, I can enjoy the Arby’s taste without the salt. Thank you!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it – makes me want to prepare some roastbeef for sandwiches now too. Thank you for sharing!
This sauce was FANTASTIC we loved it.It’s nice too make copycat versions of your favorites without actually eating out so much healthier thank you so much.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I think it’s a great condiment to enjoy from time to time too!
This recipe is phenomenal! Robust and bold with a kick. My new favorite homemade sauce. Highly recommend.
Glad you love it too! Thank you for sharing!
Made this for my girlfriend because they forgot to give her Arby’s sauce. I pretty much doubled (or tripled) the amount of seasonings and sauces aside from the ketchup, added a dash or two of liquid smoke, and a little original barbeque sauce, and really liked how it turned out. Great starter recipe to tweak!
That was so thoughtful of you! Glad you found a version you liked. Thank you for sharing!
My husband said making more the next time. I am so happy Megan!
Thank you much for super easy sauce recipe!
I’m glad your husband enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing.
That’s amazing sauce. I have to try it for my family. Thanks for sharing and love your site.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoy the recipes and food!
Was easy to make and very delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I’m glad you gave it a shot and enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing
I made it according to the recipe, and IT WAS DELICIOUS! Just like the Arby’s sauce!!! Thank you, this a keeper!
I am so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!
I just did tonight. Very strange taste. But I like. Thanks you for sharing.
Sometimes that unique flavor is just what is perfect!
delicious and easy to make. I love it. Thanks you!
So glad you liked it! Thank you for sharing.
Just spicy ketchup. And i like spice. But it tastes nothing like arbys sauce whatsoever.
Tastes just like the original!
I’m so glad you tried it and liked it! Thank you for sharing!
This is way too much like ketchup. Not at all like Arby’s sauce. I found other recipes that taste like Arby’s sauce.
Thank you for your feedback. It’s fun to find what you love!
I was trying some side by side comparisons of an actual packet of Arby’s sauce and various copycat recipes. A thought occurred to me while doing a smell test of the Arby’s sauce. I realized that the smell of the Arby’s sauce was familiar and then it hit me: Manwich! It smelled just like Manwich. So off the the store I went and got a can of Manwich Original Sloppy Joe sauce.
A perfect hit! A side by side test with the actual Arby’s packet sauce was near identical. Stands to reason since the ingredient list on a can of Manwich is practically identical to the ingredient list on the Arby’s packet – even in order of appearance.
Try it and see for yourself. So simple and you can have as much sauce as you want now without having to beg for more packets from Arby’s. If you want, you can add a tablespoon of vinegar and a 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves to the (12 oz.) can of Manwich and heat it up in a pot, but I don’t think it’s necessary. If you don’t have an Arby’s nearby, go to the deli and get thinly sliced roast beef, Manwich, and Pepperidge Farms Sesame seed hamburger buns and you’re in business.
Enjoy.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Made this last night. Not even close! Tastes like spicy catsup.
Yeah, it basically just resulted in seasoned ketchup. Needs more vinegar or less ketchup. I think the full cup of ketchup is the issue. It should probably have tomato paste like the recipe on the pack says. Good attempt but it definitely missed the mark by a mile.
if you look at the packet of Arbys sauce you will see vinager as one of the ingredients. So to nbe a copy cat it needs to have some vinager in it
Thanks for the feedback. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Tabasco Sauce has the vinegar. Have not tried this yet, but maybe 1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco and a 1/2 of vinegar to cut the spicy taste mentioned elsewhere a bit.
That’s a good idea – thanks for suggesting it. Make sure to let us know how it turns out.
Thank you,
Megan
Hello I am new to your site I love the recipe for the Arby’s Sauce i will be making it to go with my brisket for sunday’s dinner thank you so much for sharing hugs hugs yummy Tina
Hi Tina! SO glad you’re here! I hope you loved the Arby’s sauce as much as we do!
Megan
OMG, you are my new best "friend in my head"!!!!
Your recipe for "crockpot ravioli" was featured today in a post/e-mail from Pure Wow.I’d never heard of your site before, so I did some perusing, and came upon the "copycat Arbie’s sauce"…..which I will be trying out shortly!!!!!!!
I’m so glad I found you…..:)
hugs
LadyM
Well hello, new best friend! 🙂 I hope you love the Arby’s sauce!! Thanks for reading.
Megan