CopycatSpices
Copycat Red Robin Campfire Sauce
Whip up Red Robin's smoky, tangy Campfire Sauce at home — the addictive dipping sauce that makes their burgers and fries irresistible.
copycat · red-robin · casual-dining · sauce
🕑Prep5 min
🍳Cook0 min
⏱Total5 min
🍽Serves8
⭐DifficultyEasy
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (hickory or mesquite)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- 1.Combine the base. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and barbecue sauce until the color is uniform.
- 2.Add the smoky heat. Stir in the minced chipotle peppers in adobo and the Dijon mustard. These two ingredients create the signature smoky-tangy kick.
- 3.Season. Add the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Stir everything together until smooth and well combined.
- 4.Chill and meld. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors marry. The sauce improves significantly with time.
- 5.Taste and serve. Give the sauce a final taste and adjust — more chipotle for heat, more barbecue sauce for sweetness, or more mustard for tang. Serve as a dipping sauce for fries, onion rings, burgers, or chicken tenders.
Red Robin’s Campfire Sauce is the smoky, slightly spicy mayonnaise-based sauce that has developed a cult following. It comes with their signature bottomless fries and is used on several of their burgers. Once you try it, you will want to put it on everything. This quick copycat recipe captures that addictive smoky-sweet-tangy flavor perfectly.
The Secret
The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are the key ingredient that most people do not expect. They provide the deep smokiness and gentle heat that regular hot sauce or cayenne cannot replicate. Combined with the barbecue sauce’s sweetness and the Dijon mustard’s sharp tang, you get a complex sauce that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Pro Tips
- Use a hickory or mesquite-flavored barbecue sauce for the most authentic smoky flavor.
- Mince the chipotle peppers very finely — you want the flavor distributed evenly, not chunky bites of pepper.
- This sauce stores well in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
- Try it as a spread on grilled chicken sandwiches, a dip for sweet potato fries, or mixed into ground beef before forming burger patties.
