Honey Dill Sauce

Try my special Canadian Honey Dill Sauce recipe to go with your chicken tenders and French fries. So easy and delicious!

Video: How To Make Honey Dill Sauce

What Is Honey Dill Sauce?

This dipping sauce is really only found in Manitoba, Canada. But the thing about this dip is that it’s not just found there, it’s very, very much found there. As in, like every single restaurant in the province serves it with chicken fingers. If you order chicken fingers in Manitoba, you will get this sauce.

It started when the owner of Mitzi’s, a restaurant in downtown Winnipeg known for chicken fingers, tried to recreate a sauce he had had elsewhere. He didn’t figure that sauce out, but in the process he created the now-famous Honey Dill Sauce.

The sauce is now served with deep fried chicken tenders pretty much anywhere that deep fried chicken tenders are sold.

I first experienced this Manitoba sauce at a Greek place at the Forks Market, but after that, I had it everywhere. To the point where it never occurred to me that chicken fingers would ever be served with anything else. It was actually surprising the first time that I ordered them out of province. I was asked what kind of sauce I’d like and the options included plum sauce and BBQ sauce, but NOT honey dill sauce. Say what?

Interestingly, this same experience has been shared by other Manitobans. When I posted a video about honey dill sauce on TikTok, it went viral, and many commenters reported being surprised when they moved away and discovered that they couldn’t get honey dill sauce in their new home.

Canadian Specific Foods

This is a bit like when I first learned that jam busters don’t exist anywhere but in Manitoba. Or, well, they exist, but they’re called jelly donuts everywhere else. This is also the case for Matrimonial Slice (which others seem to call Date Slice).

Or, when I learned that Nanaimo Bars and Butter Tarts are only enjoyed by Canadians. Don’t even get me started on how my favorite summer cocktail is considered weird to people south of the border (the Caesar should reign supreme everywhere!).

We Canadians do seem to have our own food and food culture. And it’s all definitely tasty stuff. You need to try the honey dill sauce to see just how good. But don’t just try any honey dill sauce. Try my recipe, because it’s actually my mom’s recipe and it’s the best one out there.

Homemade Vs. Store-Bought Honey Dill Sauce

When my parents started serving chicken fingers at their restaurant in the Whiteshell Provincial Park, my mom decided to make a homemade version of this special sauce for herself instead of buying it. People went crazy for it! I’m not entirely sure why, maybe it was because all other restaurants were using pre-made sauce from a jar at that point and my mom’s was the only homemade one people were getting? Or, it’s just plain better than the others that are out there.

The ready made sauce is available for purchase in stores and wholesale for restaurants, but ONLY in Manitoba. For a little while, a bigger Canadian brand known as President’s Choice was making it, but they discontinued the product when it couldn’t sell anywhere but in Manitoba.

Now, to be clear, I don’t think that the reason that the sauce didn’t catch on in the rest of Canada had anything to do with how it tastes. I think people just didn’t know what it was. I can tell you for certain that every person I’m ever made it for has loved it. It’s sweet and creamy with nice light herb flavor.

Making Manitoba Honey Dill Sauce

The ingredient list for this condiment sauce is short and simple. You need mayo, honey, and dried dill. 

I’ve put in the recipe below that lemon juice is optional, and I will tell you that I prefer to leave it out. I do sometimes add a pinch of salt though. I taste it and if it’s not quite right, a bit of salt goes in. And if that doesn’t do it, then a bit of lemon. Almost always, I don’t add either one though.

A note about the dill, I LOVE fresh dill and I almost always have fresh dill on hand. My choice of using dried dill here instead of fresh is intentional and not for convenience. I have done the side-by-side taste test of the sauce with fresh dill and dried, and I prefer it with dried. 

I think the dill flavor is stronger with fresh, however the chopped fresh dill tends to clump together a bit in the sauce and it adds a slight pulpy texture. The dried dill does not do this. And so, my preference is to use the dried dill here and then let the mixture sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so that the dill hydrates and lends its more subtle flavor to the sauce.

Definitely use this delicious honey dill sauce for your chicken fingers or nuggets, but you can also dip in your French fries, fish sticks, or use as a veggie dip. Enjoy!