Sauce Showdown: Chick-fil-A Sauce Versus Trader Joe's Incredisauce Copycat
Chick-fil-A's sauce is such a hit with fans that its Amazon review page is full of self-proclaimed "addicts," some of whom are even topping their salads with the yellow-orange goop. While not as popular, Trader Joe’s has its own version of Chick-fil-A’s popular dipping sauce, a super hero-themed copycat called Incredisauce. Given Trader Joe’s impressive ability to successfully rip off name brand competitors, we wanted to see if Incredisauce would be just as addictive as its fast food counterpart in an epic sauce showdown.
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Chick-fil-A Sauce
Price:$2.75 for 8 ounces (34 cents/ounce)
Calories:160
Overall Rating:3/5
Squeezing Chick-fil-A’s yellow-orange sauce onto a slab of breaded chicken is a less than appetizing experience. Despite its appearance, it tastes pretty good. The sauce’s defining qualities are its caramel-like sweetness, creamy texture, and smoky aftertaste. This makes sense given its mixture of barbecue sauce, mustard, and mayonnaise, with an added helping of sugar and acid. So like most fast food sauces, it checks all the culinary boxes: fat, salt, sugar, and acid. My biggest gripe was the aftertaste of fake smoke that lingered minutes after finishing my meal. The bottom line? While Chick-fil-A's formula is versatile, it's no more than a middling dipping sauce or spread.
Incredisauce
Price:$3 for 11 ounces (27 cents/ounce)
Calories: 100
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
With such a strikingly similar ingredients list, one would think Incredisauce would taste close to the real thing. Sadly, it does not. Trader Joe’s tawny condiment suffers from the same issues that Chick-fil-A sauce does ... except that it's even smokier, overwhelming the spread with what seems like a lethal dose of liquid smoke. If there's anything to commend Incredisauce for, it's the spread's lower calorie count and price, which might make it more appealing to health- or budget-conscious shoppers. Otherwise, I'd steer clear. For consumers boycotting Chick-fil-A for ethical reasons, homemade sauce is always an option. This copycat Chick-fil-A recipe comes together with just a few ingredients.
The Verdict
Unlike the condiment greats — ketchup, mustard, In-N-Out spread, etc. — Chick-fil-A's signature sauce fails to impress. That said, it's preferable to Trader Joe's lesser copycat, which is marred by an overwhelming amount of artificial smoke flavoring.
