Eating chicken by itself should be a crime. The flavor of a succulent chicken and its crispy skin must be coated in the most delicious and flavor-oozing sauce you can get your hands on. But which to pick? Well, KFC’s sauces aren’t the only things you can slather chicken with. Maybe it’s a creamy sriracha mayo or a delicious garlic lemon butter sauce that takes your fancy. Whatever it is, I’ve got just the sauces for chicken to make.
Some sauces for chicken are a BBQ sauce, pesto sauce, curry sauce, sriracha sauce, and classic buffalo sauce. But these aren’t the only finger-licking sauces you can use, so let’s cover the best chicken sauces out there!
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📌 Most Popular Chicken Dishes
Chicken Parmesan: These are tasty breaded and fried chicken cutlets topped with a dash of marinara sauce and melted cheese.
Chicken Alfredo: This delicious Italian meal is made from grilled/sautéed chicken served over fettuccine pasta with a creamy Alfredo sauce.
Chicken Teriyaki: A popular chicken dish that consists of grilled or pan-seared chicken glazed with a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce.
Chicken Marsala: This Italian-American dish uses sautéed chicken breasts with a rich Marsala wine sauce and mushrooms to create a delicious dish.
Chicken Stir-Fry: A classic chicken dish all around. It uses sliced chicken and vegetables that are stir-fried in a savory sauce with noodles or rice.
💡 Best Sauces for Chicken
White Wine Sauce
Why not have a delicious sauce and feel extra elegant about it at the same time. White wine sauce is exactly like that special champagne bottle you whip out for just the right occasions. The sautéed garlic base with butter and white wine is infused with delicious fresh herbs to create a subtle acidity but rich deliciousness. A spoonful of this on any plump chicken breast will coat it in a velvety sheen of flavor.
Honey Garlic Sauce
Sweet goodness dashed with a pungent flavor. It’s not a combo you see all the time, but the combination of honey and garlic is truly something. Honey garlic sauce has that nice middle ground between sweet and savory flavors with a splash of soy sauce giving a tasty rich umami flavor. You can even use maple syrup substitutes for varying sweetness and flavor swaps for honey.
Creamy Mushroom Sauce
This is one of the tastiest and creamiest sauces for chicken. The classic sauce king itself, a creamy mushroom sauce. You can’t go wrong with this pick! It has the best of all words, with creamy goodness from heavy cream and earthy richness from the mushrooms. The mushroom, butter, and heavy cream combo creates a rich and smooth sauce texture. This oozes into the skin of the chicken, giving a succulent and creamy flavor in every bite.
Peri-Peri Sauce
The best offense is a delicious, spicy African sauce classic. The Peri-peri sauce is just the sauce your spicy taste buds need. The spicy and tangy flavors come from bird’s eye chili peppers, lemon, and herbs. These chilies give the sauce its iconic kick with just a dollop of it adding a fiery layer to the crispy crust of roasted chicken. Nando’s sauces feature several versions you can outright use, or you can try at home with different bird’s eye chili pepper substitutes if you don’t have the exact pepper.
Mojo Verde
The Spanish sure know how to create a delicious sauce that ticks nearly every box. Flavor? Check. Versatility and texture? Chech. Mojo Verde has it all! This vibrant and garlicky Spanish sauce uses cilantro, green chilies, and cumin for the perfect zesty and herbaceous flavor combo. Add a dollop of this to any chicken dish, and you’re in for a refreshing, mild kick with a zesty finish.
Romesco Sauce
Another great Spanish sauce choice is a classic Romesco sauce. It’s the perfect smoky blend of everything! The sauce binds spice and nutty goodness together with every bite. It has a fusion of roasted red peppers, almonds, and tomatoes that give it that rich, smoky, and tomatoey power combo. The great thing about this sauce is that it can be used as a dip by itself or just as a side dish sauce.
Alfredo Sauce
Always loved the sauce in a classic chicken alfredo? Well, Alfredo sauce is surprisingly easy to make as it only uses butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. Using the best thickening methods for alfredo sauce will land you the richest and creamiest sauce possible. With its reputation as a sauce that’s already layered over chicken in the first place, it’s safe to say it’s one of the tastier and more comfortable sauces for the chicken to use.
Buffalo Sauce
Buffalo sauce is the true king of chicken sauces, with a flavor that’s just plain delicious. You won’t find a pair of chicken wings without this sauce doused on top of them. The iconic sauce has a fiery and tangy flavor that comes from its hot sauce, vinegar, and butter blend. You can even use some ways to thicken buffalo sauce to make an even tastier chicken sauce for yourself. Buffalo Wild Wings sauces also feature some variations that you can use outright.
Barbecue Sauce
I don’t think I can name a better, smokier, and tangier sauce than a good old BBQ sauce. You literally can’t go wrong with this, as it’s one of the most popular sauces for chicken. The simple blend of molasses, ketchup or tomato sauce, tangy vinegar, and other ingredients gives the ultimate flavor combo for chicken. You can use store versions for a quicker solution. Consistency can vary, but using different methods to thicken BBQ sauce can help make a perfect tastier, smokier, and richer consistency.
Curry Sauce
Dipping, spreading, cooking. There is nothing this sauce can’t be used for. A classic curry sauce is one of the tastiest and easiest chicken sauces you can make. The spicy and warm earth flavors this sauce brings are why tons of food stalls feature it as an add-on sauce. You can’t go wrong with a curry powder, chili pepper, and coconut milk flavor fusion. It’s the perfect convenient splash of flavor for your chicken dish. You can even repurpose your leftover curry into a sauce just for this.
Satay Sauce (Peanut Sauce)
Southeast Asian sauces are pure flavor packers, and this satay sauce embodies that. This delicious peanut sauce blends peanuts, coconut milk, and spices into one rich and nutty sauce. The blend of spices, the fusion of nutty peanuts, and the creamy goodness of coconut milk are the makings for a tasty chicken sauce. The rich, thick texture places it more as a dip than a spread, but don’t let that stop you from adding a dollop to your chicken dish!
Sriracha
What’s better than spiciness and tanginess in one sauce. The answer is nothing. The fiery blend of chili peppers, garlic, and vinegar has put sriracha on the spicy sauce map. It’s a simple but delicious kick of flavor for any chicken meal. If you can’t find any, you can use different substitutes for sriracha sauce instead or create your own sweet version like a honey sriracha sauce.
Pesto sauce
Everyone loves a simple but tasty sauce. Pesto sauce is all of that and more. It’s a flavorful and aromatic sauce that’s easy to make and packed full of flavor. The blend of basil, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese really gives the sauce its merits. This sauce’s simplicity to make, versatility, and fantastic flavor combination make it one of the top sauces for chicken to use as a delicious dip or spread.
Chimichurri Sauce
The fresh herbs and zesty flavors really hit you with this Argentinian sauce. Chimichurri sauce is that bold and fresh sauce you never knew paired so well with chicken. It’s a simple sauce that comprises of fresh parsley, garlic, and vinegar. This burst of tangy and fresh goodness coats chicken perfectly in a cloak of flavor and zest. It also doubles as a marinade, so you can cook and fuse your chicken with a delicious, fragrant sauce.
🧐 FAQs
Some healthy sauces for chicken include salsa verde, Greek yogurt sauce, lemon herb vinaigrette, pesto sauce, and hummus, offering flavorful and nutritious options for enhancing chicken dishes.
The best dipping sauces for chicken wings include classic choices like blue cheese dressing and ranch dressing. A tangy barbecue sauce and zesty buffalo sauce are also some popular options.
Popular dipping sauces for chicken fingers include classic choices such as honey mustard, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing. Other sauces like buffalo sauce and sweet and sour sauce are also great picks for chicken fingers.