Are You Freaky Enough to Try These Sauce Combinations?

Summer menus are dominated by sandwiches and smoky barbecue, and for many Americans, the secret weapon is in the sauce. Whether it’s a classic condiment like ketchup or a homemade blend, sauce makes the meal. But some people are getting a little too creative with their pairings.

A new poll set out to discover which foods Americans think are best enjoyed with sauces, and there’s no surprise at the top: French fries came in first, with 73% of people saying they’re best when dipped.

Chicken nuggets landed in second place, followed by hot dogs, chicken wings, cheeseburgers, tacos, nachos, deli sandwiches, pizza, and vegetables.

But while the top picks are standard fare, the poll also uncovered a strange side of America’s sauce obsession—some truly unusual food-and-sauce combos people swear by. Among the weirder choices:

• French fries with tartar sauce
• Scrambled eggs with barbecue sauce
• Pickles drenched in Buffalo sauce
• Macaroni and Worcestershire sauce
• Honey mustard on pita bread
• Ramen noodles smothered in ranch dressing

Yes, ranch on ramen.

And it turns out Americans are committed to their sauce lifestyle—on average, we keep eight different kinds of sauce in our refrigerators. That means some of us are mixing and matching a lot more than just ketchup and mustard.

Whether your go-to is something conventional like Sriracha or you’re dabbling in crazier concoctions, sauces are clearly more than just condiments—they’re conversation starters, culinary experiments, and, for better or worse, expressions of personal taste.