Swiss Chalet Secret Sauce Copycat Recipe

Swiss Chalet is more than just a restaurant, it is a Canadian institution. Every Canadian has been to Swiss Chalet, and these restaurants are packed, many times of the week all over the country, especially for Sunday lunch. One popular tradition is to go to Swiss Chalet after church, for what is coined ‘Christian Chicken’.

There are many great things to order at Swiss Chalet, but the most popular is their quarter chicken dinner. Delicious rotisserie chicken, crispy fries, a bun and their famous dipping sauce. The Swiss Chalet dipping sauce is easily the most popular item at Swiss Chalet. A great mix of spices with a nice tang, this dipping sauce is great for the chicken, fries and even the bun. You can purchase packets of the mix to make the sauce at home, but I wanted to try and make my own version of the sauce.

Swiss Chalet Sauce Copycat Recipe Pinterest

This copycat recipe is quite simple to make and it is pretty darn close to the original Swiss Chalet sauce. It has the perfect colour, the spices are similar to the restaurant version, and the vinegar matches the tang. Everyone in the family loved the sauce and said it was surprisingly close to the Swiss Chalet original.

Swiss Chalet Sauce Copycat Recipe-2

Swiss Chalet Secret Sauce Copycat Recipe

4.50 out of 5
24 reviews
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Simple to make copycat recipe for Swiss Chalet dipping sauce. Perfect for rotisserie chicken, french fries and more. Make it right at home.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp basil
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp corn starch
  • 2 tbsp water

Instructions

  • Whisk together all the ingredients in a saucepan, except the corn starch and 2 tbsp water.
  • Bring the sauce to a low boil. Lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  • Make a slurry by mixing together the corn starch and 2 tbsp water. Whisk the slurry into the sauce to thicken.
  • Serve warm.

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Recipe Rating




43 comments

  • 5 stars
    It was excellent! Like you said, it’s close the real thing–incredibly close. We don’t have a Swiss Chalet close to us, so we decided to try our own version. Yours was the first recipe I landed on–it looked fantastic and it was. I didn’t even bother looking at any other recipes. Kudos to you!

    • Reply
    • Thanks Michelle! So glad this recipe was what you were looking for!

  • Loved the recipe, thanks. I really didn’t want to go out in the cold to buy a packet and I’ll likely never buy one again. I had to use a few substitutions due to what I had on hand (water + bouillon for stock and just reduced the salt, cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves for allspice). Next time I’ll go a bit lighter on the vinegar, maybe 1-1.5 Tbsp, and then add a bit more if needed. My taste buds never recovered from Covid so right before the cornstarch I added a small lump of brown sugar. It took it from good to great. Thanks for the new addition to my rotation! I’ll likely get some allspice and make up a few spice packets to make it even faster next time.

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Almost exactly like the original. Tasted so good?

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    I love it. We cannot go to Canada for the sauce packets because of Covid.
    So I made your recipe. I used Rice Vinegar, and fresh chopped basil, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. I purchased a rotisserie chicken and made french fries & salad, it was as good as the restaurants.

    • Reply
  • 4 stars
    I haven’t been to Suisse Chalet in a decade so whenever I’d visit Canada I’d stop in the market and buy envelopes of the dipping sauce and gravy. Today, upon learning I’d run out, I Googled, found your recipe and made it. For a lot of guess work, you really found some very close ingredients and I was still very satisfied with the flavors and my family members commented that they could tell what sauce the recipe was trying to duplicate. Thank you for your effort!

    • Reply
  • I think this sauce is better than Swiss Chalet! Great recipe Steve!
    I did add a smidge of cinnamon. We smoked spatchcotched chickens & it was perfect with it!!

    • Reply
  • 4 stars
    While the sauce was good, in my opinion it does not taste at all like Swiss Chalet’s dipping sauce.

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Pretty much the same… except ..I lay off the vinegar and worshsire. Then place the vinegar, tomato, sugar and salt with ketchup. A little cilantro doesn’t hurt.

    • Reply
  • 4 stars
    I know what the missing ingredient is! It’s cinnamon, just a dash.

    • Reply
  • Rumour is Swiss chalet puts mint in their sauce. That might be what’s missing.

    • Reply
    • chalet sauce is made from a powder they just add water

      • Reply
  • I used ketchup instead of tomoto paste and still added sugar but it’s too sweet, how can I fix this?

    • Reply
  • Swiss chalet, for some reason i was just thinking of swiss chalet! and whats strang is i have not had it for over 20 yrs since i moved to florida from Scarborough Ontario. It was nice to see the article about the sauce, i am going to make the sauce and hopfully it will bring back some good memories.

    • Reply
  • 4 stars
    I just made the Swiss Chalet sauce, and it is ALMOST exactly like the restaurant’s. I will definitely use this recipe again, but I will cut back a little on the vinegar. Maybe use 1.5 TBL. It seemed a little too tangy, but still very good.

    • Reply

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