This Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce ended my search for the perfect honey mustard, and it may just do the same for you! It’s got the perfect look and viscosity, a strong mustardy flavor, creaminess, and just the right amount of sweetness! It also takes 2 minutes to whip up!
Serve it with your favorite dippables: french fries, chicken tenders, tofu nuggets, sweet potato fries, roasted potatoes, veggie sticks, soft pretzels, fried fish or fish sticks, onion rings, sandwiches, and wraps!
You can even use this as a sauce for seared salmon, grilled chicken, and pork tenderloin or pork chops! It tastes great with turkey too.
A Perfect New Jersey Diner-Style Honey Mustard
This may seem like a bit of a random recipe for The Woks of Life, but when you see such a recipe, pay attention because we’re posting it here mostly for ourselves!
As a bonafide Jersey girl, it’s not surprising that most of my associations with quality honey mustard come from frequenting New Jersey diners.
(Though in writing this post, I found out that honey mustard actually dates back to ancient Rome.) Perfectly well-balanced honey mustard with a plate of chicken tenders and fries was my go-to order as a child and well into my twenties. (Why change a good thing?)
I think as a kid I had one failed attempt at making it from scratch that scarred me into adulthood. (Just combine honey and mustard surely!) Alas, I was missing the key ingredient: mayonnaise.
The main component of a good honey mustard sauce is not actually mustard or honey at all, it’s mayonnaise! It gives it body and creaminess, and mellows out the sweetness of the honey and pungency of the mustard.
What mustards to use (And the things I’ve learned about mustard)
Now let’s talk about mustard. The key to this recipe is using two kinds—specifically, dijon mustard and a deli-style mustard. (One might think to reach for yellow mustard, but we find that it is best left to the domain of hot dogs.)
Many recipes out there just call for dijon mustard, but I love the extra dimension, spice, and grittiness the deli mustard brings to the table. Some others might call for vinegar too, but I find that I like my tang to come from an extra dollop of mustard instead.
What Brands We Use
If you’d like to see what mayonnaises a large cross section of The Woks of Life readers buy, head on over to my Tomato Sandwich recipe. I may have encouraged a mayo brawl to break out in the comments, and you all rose to the occasion spectacularly.
As for this recipe, we used:
- Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
- Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
- Ba-Tampte Delicatessen-Style Mustard
The other happy discovery of this recipe was the Ba-Tampte deli-style mustard. It has a smoother texture and brighter yellow color than another popular brand, Gulden’s or even Nathan’s, which are both darker brown in color. Both claim “first grade mustard seeds” in their ingredients. But the Ba-Tampte has a brighter, well rounded tanginess I really enjoyed.
So I know you’re thinking, deli mustard = spicy brown mustard, right? Allegedly, delicatessen or deli mustard and spicy brown mustard are “essentially” the same (according to Google), and yet there are some mustard brands at the grocery store that insist on either label rather than both. For example, Gulden’s mustard is labeled “spicy brown” and Ba Tampte mustard is labeled more simply and perhaps demurely, “Delicatessen style mustard”.
After experiencing both when testing this recipe, I’m inclined to think that they are different enough to make the distinction, or at least different enough to buy one over the other at the store. Of course, if you already have a spicy brown mustard on hand, you may use it, but if you have the choice…I’m a newly minted fan of “deli style mustard”.
Mustard experts, please sound off in the comments! For the rest of us, let’s make some honey mustard sauce!
Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe Instructions
To a medium bowl, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, deli style mustard, honey, salt, and white pepper. The white pepper comes from our Chinese pantry—it adds depth without disrupting the color of the sauce or the flavor of the honey mustard. Stir to combine.
I think this recipe is plenty sweet. But if you like your honey mustard sweet, add another ½ to 1½ teaspoons until it’s to your liking.
This sauce keeps in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks. Just make sure you always handle it with a clean utensil.
Convert ThIS Recipe to a Salad Dressing!
To make this sauce into a salad dressing, thin it out with ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil. Add a generous pinch extra of salt and some white wine vinegar to taste!
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Recipe
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2½ tablespoons dijon mustard (such as Grey Poupon or Maille)
- 1 tablespoon deli-style mustard (such as Ba-Tampte)
- 1½ tablespoons honey (may increase to 2 tablespoons if you like your honey mustard sweeter)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch white pepper powder
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, deli style mustard, honey, salt, and white pepper. Stir to combine. If you like your honey mustard sweet, add another ½ to 1½ teaspoons to taste.
Tips & Notes:
- This sauce keeps in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks, as long as you always handle it with a clean utensil.
- To make this sauce into a salad dressing, thin it out with ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil, add a generous pinch extra of salt, and some white wine vinegar to taste!
