Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce Recipe (Easy 5-Minute Copycat)

Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce is the creamy, sweet-and-spicy dipping sauce Sheetz serves with its made-to-order fries, burgers and sandwiches, and this copycat version gets you there with six pantry ingredients and about five minutes. Mayo gives it the body, sweet chili sauce and honey bring the sweetness, hot sauce and garlic bring the heat, and a little mustard sharpens everything up.

I started making this at home because the little dipping cups never survive the drive back. Now a jar lives in the door of my fridge, and it goes on everything from crispy air fryer chicken tenders to leftover pizza crust.

What Is Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce?

Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce is a mayonnaise-based sauce with a sweet chili kick. It’s the signature condiment at Sheetz, the Pennsylvania-born convenience store chain known for its MTO (made-to-order) food, and you’ll find it in the dipping cups, on the burgers and spread inside the wraps. It’s pale orange, thick enough to cling to a fry, and it tastes sweet first, then garlicky, then warm from the hot sauce. Think of it as a spicier, sweeter cousin of classic fry sauce.

If you don’t live in Sheetz country, you may never have tasted it, which is exactly why this copycat exists.

What’s In Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce?

The homemade version uses six ingredients you probably already have.

• Mayonnaise: The base. Use full-fat mayo; light mayo makes a thin, sharp sauce. Duke’s or Hellmann’s both work.
• Sweet chili sauce: the sweet-heat backbone and the little red flecks. Thai Kitchen or Mae Ploy are easy to find.
• Hot sauce: this is your heat dial. I use Frank’s RedHot; its cayenne-and-vinegar flavor is the closest match. Sriracha works in a pinch but makes the sauce thicker and more garlicky.
• Honey: rounds out the sweetness so the chili sauce doesn’t do all the work.
• Yellow mustard: a little tang that keeps the sauce from tasting flat.
• Garlic powder: the savory note that makes it taste like Sheetz and not like spicy mayo.

A pinch of smoked paprika or cayenne is optional; see the variations below.

How To Make Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce

Step 1: Combine. Add the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, hot sauce, honey, mustard and garlic powder to a small bowl.

Step 2: Whisk. Whisk until the sauce is smooth and evenly orange with no streaks of white mayo.

Step 3: Taste and adjust. Want more heat, add hot sauce a teaspoon at a time. Want it sweeter, add a little more honey.

Step 4: Chill. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes if you can wait. It’s good right away, but the garlic and chili mellow into the mayo as it sits.

That’s the whole recipe. Exact amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Boom Boom Sauce vs. Bang Bang Sauce vs. Yum Yum Sauce

They’re all creamy mayo-based sauces, which is why people mix them up, but they don’t taste the same.

Sauce	Made famous by	What’s in it	Tastes like
Boom Boom	Sheetz	mayo, sweet chili sauce, hot sauce, honey, garlic	sweet, garlicky, medium heat
Bang Bang	Bonefish Grill	mayo, sweet chili sauce, sriracha	sweeter, thinner, mild heat
Yum Yum	Japanese hibachi steakhouses	mayo, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, paprika	mild, tangy, barely spicy

Boom Boom is the garlicky, spicy one. My 3-ingredient Bang Bang Sauce is the sweeter one I toss with fried shrimp, and Yum Yum Sauce is the mild hibachi sauce for steak and rice. If you have mayo and sweet chili sauce in the fridge, you’re two minutes from any of the three.

Tips For The Best Copycat Boom Boom Sauce

• Full-fat mayo only. The texture is the whole point.
• Measure the hot sauce, then adjust. Two tablespoons is Sheetz-level medium. Start at one if you’re feeding kids.
• Whisk, don’t stir. A fork leaves mayo streaks; a small whisk gets it smooth in 30 seconds.
• Let it sit. Thirty minutes in the fridge makes a noticeable difference. Overnight is even better.
• Make it in the jar. Measure everything into a mason jar, screw on the lid and shake hard. One less dish to wash.

Ways To Change It Up

• Smoky: add 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika.
• Extra hot: add a pinch of cayenne, or swap half the hot sauce for sriracha.
• Tangy: stir in a teaspoon of pickle juice or lime juice.
• Lighter: replace half the mayo with plain Greek yogurt. It’ll be tangier and a little thinner.
• Vegan: use a plant-based mayo and swap the honey for agave or maple syrup.

What To Serve With Boom Boom Sauce

This is a fry sauce first. It was made for crinkle-cut fries and seasoned air fryer frozen fries, and it’s just as good with air fryer beer-battered onion rings and sweet potato fries.

Beyond the fryer basket, spread it on burgers and chicken sandwiches, drizzle it over fried shrimp or fish tacos, toss it with roasted cauliflower, or set it out as a dip for pretzel bites, fried pickles and mozzarella sticks. It’s also my favorite wrap sauce with grilled chicken, lettuce and bacon.

[Photo: sauce with dippers. Alt text: Boom boom sauce served as a dip with onion rings, chicken tenders and fries]

How To Store Boom Boom Sauce

Keep it in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Give it a stir before serving if it separates a little. Don’t freeze it; mayo breaks when it thaws and the sauce turns watery.

Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce FAQs

Is Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce spicy?

Medium. It has a warm kick from the hot sauce, but the mayo and honey keep it friendly; most people who like buffalo sauce find it mild. Cut the hot sauce in half for kids.

Can you buy Sheetz Boom Boom Sauce in stores?

You can get it in dipping cups at any Sheetz, but you won’t find it at a regular grocery store, which is why I keep this copycat in my fridge.

How long does homemade Boom Boom Sauce last?

About a week in a sealed container in the fridge. It tastes best from day one through day five.

Is Boom Boom Sauce gluten-free?

This recipe is gluten-free as written, but check the labels on your sweet chili sauce and hot sauce; a few brands add wheat-based ingredients.

Is Boom Boom Sauce the same as Bang Bang Sauce?

No. Both start with mayo and sweet chili sauce, but Boom Boom adds hot sauce, garlic and mustard and is noticeably more garlicky and savory. Bang Bang is sweeter and uses sriracha for its heat.

If you’re building a homemade sauce drawer, this one sits next to my Copycat Freddy’s Fry Sauce and Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce as the three I reach for most.