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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes

    Replica Swiss Chalet Sauce Recipe

    Published: Oct 5, 2021

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    Chalet Sauce is a Canadian institution. This recipe is an accurate replica of Swiss Chalet sauce, suitable for chicken, fries, shots... etc!

    A large bowl of homemade Swiss Chalet Sauce next to a roasted chicken and fries.

    Back when I was writing “More Than Poutine” - as an expat Canadian living in the states at the time - Swiss Chalet Sauce was one of THE most requested recipes.

    The whole starting point of the book was to create homemade versions of a lot of the Canadian foods that aren’t available abroad, after all.

    ... and OH BOY, Canadians do love their “crack sauce”!

    I actually have a Facebook exchange from years ago, where my husband was first exposed to Chalet Sauce:

    Me: Someone tell him that people DO drink the last bit of Crack Sauce, cause he doesn't believe me

    Him: She took it like a shot of booze! I half expected her to slam it on the table after.

    Me: I should have thrown it on the ground and demanded more, Thor style. I need a crack sauce wench.

    Canadian Friend: Oh my god don't waste it

    American friend: What is this crack sauce?

    Me: Magic and love.

    American Friend: This is not a good description I need to know what this is LOL. You can't say something like crack sauce to a hardened Philadelphian and expect me to know that it doesn't contain crack lol

    Me: I'm not 100℅ sure that it doesn't...

    A large bowl of homemade Swiss Chalet Sauce next to a roasted chicken and fries.

    What is Swiss Chalet?

    Swiss Chalet is a very popular restaurant chain in Canada.

    When I was a kid, the one we would go to went heavy on the “Swiss” theme - I remember hanging banners with those stylized dragons, lions, and crosses.

    I remember thinking how much they reminded me of the sails on my model Spanish Galleon, weirdly enough.

    Anyway, the chain has moved away from that kind of ambience over the years, but they’re still known for their rotisserie chicken.

    Moreso than the chicken - IMHO - they’re known for Chalet Sauce, which accompanies each chicken dinner.

    They even had a promotion a few years ago where Lays did a Chalet Sauce potato chip for them. We were never able to find any, though :(.

    A large bowl of homemade Swiss Chalet Sauce next to a roasted chicken and fries.

    What is Chalet Sauce?

    Chalet Sauce is a savoury sauce. Vaguely tomato based, with a ton of herbs and spices in it.

    You're meant to dip pieces of rotisserie chicken in it.. but I know plenty of people from back home who will straight up drink any that remains after dinner - myself included!

    Packets of an instant version are available at grocery stores in Canada - a popular item for expats on vacation to bring home - but it's not quite the same.

    I had always assumed that the sauce was made from ingredients like chicken broth, tomato juice, etc... but as it turns out, the restaurants also make them from a dry mix.

    ... just a bit of a different mix, it seems?

    A 4 cup glass measuring cup filled with homemade Chalet Sauce.

    This makes 3 ½ cups, or "Serves 2 Canadian Expats"!

    What is Chalet Sauce Made Of?

    Depends on what version you’re talking about!

    Small Pouches for Home Use

    Modified corn starch, Salt, Sugar (dextrose) Tomato powder, Spices, Chicken fat, Silicon dioxide, Herbs, Yeast extract, Onion powder, Citric acid, Garlic powder, Caramel colour, Natural flavour.

    The 5 lb Bags the Restaurants Use

    Modified Cornstarch, Dehydrated Vegetables (Tomato, Onion, Garlic), Salt, Chicken Fat, Spice, Dextrose, Corn Maltodextrin

    My Homemade Chalet Sauce

    As no one wants to fuss with shopping for tomato powder and dried chicken fat, this homemade version goes in the direction of my original assumption, rather than sticking to "this is how they do it".

    Butter
    Corn starch
    Chicken broth
    Tomato juice
    White vinegar
    Onion powder
    Paprika
    Dried sage
    Garlic powder
    Salt
    Dried summer savoury
    Ginger powder
    Mustard powder
    Thyme
    Bay leaf

    Quite the laundry list of ingredients, yes... but that’s what it takes to make a VERY accurate replica!

    Tomato juice, chicken stock,and a bunch of spices on a counter.

    Developing This Chalet Sauce Recipe

    This was the most... involved... recipe to create for the book, and I think it has the most interesting back story.

    During the development of More Than Poutine, we made a couple “research” trips up to Canada to buy source material.

    While I could get a good ballpark off years-old memory, I wanted to be as accurate as possible - which meant having the real thing on hand for comparison.

    So we went up with a cooler for the perishables, and just went on a wild shopping trip. Candy bars, shelf stable sauces, etc.

    Things like cake and dip went into the cooler, eventually being used to perfect recipes like my Homemade Deep N Delicious Cake and Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Dip - a VERY accurate version of the Philadelphia brand favourite.

    Shelf-stable items ended up being used to replicate things like Diana Sauces, Montreal Steak Spice & Marinade, Sweet Mustard Pickles, and Canadian Popcorn Seasonings (links all go to my recipes!).

    We lunched at Boston Pizza, for a reminder of the flavour profiles to be able to replicate their Cactus Cut Potatoes & Dip.

    Swiss Chalet SCORE

    Swiss Chalet Sauce was a different case. It was SUCH a complex flavour, I wanted to have the real thing on hand, not just go off memory from a recent lunch.

    So we went to a Swiss Chalet, said I was an expat visiting from the US, and asked if I could buy like a big takeout soup container of the stuff to bring home with me.

    .... and they insisted on giving me a whole bag of the dry mix. IT WAS A 5 POUND BAG OF MIX!

    They didn’t even charge us for it. I was blown away.

    We tipped enough to make the waitress emotional, after that. LOL

    So anyway, when working up my version, I had a cup of ready made from the restaurant, a packet of the stuff they sell in stores - AND a 5 lb bag of the dry mix the restaurants use - on hand as source material.

    A container of Swiss Chalet Sauce, with a photo of the label from a retail bag of it.

    How Do You Serve Chalet Sauce?

    Chalet sauce is served hot, alongside chicken.

    It’s also great as a dip for fries or bread... drizzled over mashed or baked potatoes, etc.

    Not to sound like a hipster or anything, but I used to order their poutine with the gravy swapped out for Chalet Sauce.

    I felt bad for being annoying, but it was really good... and it’s since been added to their menu as an actual thing 🙂

    ... and yeah, when you’re a Canadian who’s been living away and are on a visit home?

    It can be served as shots. No joke.

    Anyway, keep scrolling for that recipe!

    More Canadian Comfort Food!

    Whether you’re a Canadian in the US or not, we could all use some comfort food these days. Here are some Canadian Favourites!

    Back Bacon / Canadian Bacon
    Beep
    Canadian Popcorn Seasoning Recipes
    Clodhoppers
    Confetti Bars
    Dill Pickle Dip
    French Canadian Pea Soup
    Homemade Deep N Delicious Cake
    Homemade Doughnut Holes - Timbits!
    Homemade Wunderbars
    How to Make Peameal Bacon and Back Bacon
    Maple Butter Tarts
    Montreal Bagels
    Persians Recipe
    Poutine, My Way!
    Puffed Wheat Squares
    Tiger Tail Ice Cream

    Looking for even more Canadian recipes? Check out our full Canadian Recipes list!

    Cover image for the "More Than Poutine" cookbook.

    Love Canadian food? Check out my cookbook, "More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from My Home and Native Land”. "More than Poutine" is a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional home cooking recipes, as well as accurate homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada! Order your copy here on this site, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller!

    A large bowl of replica Swiss Chalet Sauce next to a roasted chicken and fries.

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    Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    A large bowl of homemade Swiss Chalet Sauce next to a roasted chicken and fries.

    A large bowl of homemade Swiss Chalet Sauce next to a roasted chicken and fries.
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    4.79 from 37 votes

    Replica Swiss Chalet Sauce Recipe

    Chalet Sauce is a Canadian institution. This recipe is an accurate replica of Swiss Chalet sauce, suitable for chicken, fries, shots... etc!
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time10 minutes mins
    Total Time15 minutes mins
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: Canadian
    Diet: Gluten Free
    Servings: 1 batch - 3 ½ cups
    Calories: 569kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Ingredients

    • 4 tablespoon Butter
    • 3 tablespoon Corn starch
    • 3 cups Chicken broth
    • ¼ cup Tomato juice
    • 1 teaspoon White vinegar
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Onion powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Paprika
    • ¾ teaspoon Dried sage
    • ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon Salt
    • ½ teaspoon Dried summer savoury
    • ¼ teaspoon Ginger powder
    • ¼ teaspoon Mustard powder
    • ¼ teaspoon Thyme
    • 1 Bay leaf

    Instructions

    • In a medium sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
    • Allow to cook, whisking frequently, until it just starts to brown a little.
    • Add corn starch, whisk until smooth.
    • Add chicken broth a little at a time, whisking to fully incorporate butter mixture.
    • Add remaining ingredients, whisk well.
    • Turn heat up to medium-high, bring just to a boil.
    • Turn heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
    • Remove bay leaf, serve hot.

    Notes

    Nutritional information is for the entire recipe.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 569kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 4155mg | Potassium: 821mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2079IU | Vitamin C: 73mg | Calcium: 135mg | Iron: 3mg

    A large bowl of copycat Swiss Chalet Sauce next to a roasted chicken and fries.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sabrina

      October 05, 2021 at 1:54 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! I never tried the original to compare but I love the complex flavour and acidity. Great recipe.

      Reply
      • Emily

        November 17, 2024 at 4:58 pm

        Can't wait to try this, thank you!
        I'll have to leave out ginger as I'm unfortunately allergic. Hopefully it won't change the flavor too much!

        Reply
        • Marie Porter

          November 18, 2024 at 4:56 pm

          It'll reduce the "warm" taste. If you can handle nightshades, you could add a bit of cayenne to get some of that heat back - if you'd like!

          Reply
    2. Colleen

      October 06, 2021 at 11:03 am

      5 stars
      Although (even as a Canadian) I have never tried the restaurant or the sauce, I still love this recipe. It definitely is perfect for chicken.

      Reply
      • David Hampton

        March 01, 2024 at 7:14 pm

        5 stars
        I love Swiss chalet sauce, people either love it or hate it, no middle ground in that issue up here. I am going to rub the package sauce mix in my small chicken for dinner tonight, sadly I will not have there amazing French fries to dip in the sauce, it goes so well together,

        Reply
    3. Bernice

      October 06, 2021 at 1:59 pm

      5 stars
      Would you believe I live about 1 km from a Swiss Chalet and I have never been there! I didn't even realize they were a Canadian chain.
      Tried the sauce though and it tastes great to me!

      Reply
    4. nancy

      October 07, 2021 at 6:57 pm

      5 stars
      i love a good savoury sauce to go with my protein and noodles especially when its tomato based, with a ton of herbs and spices in it.!

      Reply
    5. Sadia Malik

      October 08, 2021 at 1:00 am

      5 stars
      This looks good and easy to make

      Reply
    6. Terri

      October 11, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      5 stars
      This is awesome - I was missing it, as I'm trying not to eat out very often!

      Reply
    7. Andy Boyle

      March 09, 2022 at 2:54 pm

      My family love swiss chalet,this will be my next recipe I try to get my fix. I could eat chalet sauce on a dirty flip-flop or a clean one.

      Reply
    8. Katherine

      March 10, 2022 at 12:47 am

      I always preferred St Hubert's sauce to Swiss Chalet. But it's been ages since I've been to either.

      Reply
    9. Tracey

      June 10, 2022 at 7:50 pm

      5 stars
      I made this sauce tonight! I am Canadian and regularly buy the dried packets to mix. My mom has a recently diagnosed garlic allergy though, so I went looking for a recipe I could modify just slightly to make it work for her. I omitted the garlic and used horseradish in it's place (a common garlic substitute for allergies). It turned out AMAZING! My husband who is a drinker of sauce tried it and said it was spot on for him too.
      Thank you for the work in developing this recipe and thank you for sharing it! I truly appreciate it!

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        June 11, 2022 at 2:48 pm

        That's awesome, thank you for commenting!

        I had no idea that horseradish was used as a garlic substitute - good to know!

        Reply
    10. Merna Brown

      August 01, 2022 at 4:07 pm

      5 stars
      This was very very good! Unfortunately I didn’t have any tomato juice ( I didn’t want to use the last of my Caesar mix lol) so I used Italian paste. A too much tomato flavour but still really good. Thank you.

      Reply
    11. Ronnie

      August 28, 2022 at 2:08 pm

      Would this be considered their Traditional Sauce or what we call mild sauce. We have the option of either sauces here. I prefer the mild over the traditional.

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        August 29, 2022 at 5:34 am

        I've never heard of Swiss Chalet mild sauce - or "traditional", and Google wasn't a ton of help. Are you talking about wing sauces?

        This is their general chicken dipping sauce.

        Reply
        • LT

          May 18, 2025 at 8:16 pm

          I just learned of the existence of the different versions of the crack sauce. Just bought a 32-oz soup container or this sauce straight from the restaurant, and once that was done, compared it to the store-bought canned version from Walmart - and boy oh boy, was there EVER a huge difference! The restaurant version definitely had more kick to it, was DELICIOUS. The store version was… way milder (although my husband who can't handle any "heat" in his food said it really pushed his spice tolerance limits) and tasted like MOLD. I don't know if this was a bad batch or if they used rosemary which in some combinations (say, if served side-by-side, or mixed with, basil) can taste remarkably "moldy", but I could not stomach it.
          I haven't tried the powdered mix from the little baggies you can buy at Walmart, but I already have a feeling it won't be the same as the restaurant version. I'm guessing it won't make sense for SC to put themselves out of business by making their "crack" sauce available without buying all the rest of the foods they make.
          So I have high hopes for this recipe. Will write once I've gotten all the ingredients and made it at home.
          Thank you Marie!

          Reply
    12. Brooke Arnold

      September 07, 2022 at 10:16 am

      Hi, can you send a link to your preferred brand of summer savoury? I've never heard of it, or used it, and there were multiple brands on Amazon. I know that spice blends can vary, so I want to get it right! Looking forward to trying this in Michigan!

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        September 07, 2022 at 2:13 pm

        I like Mount Scio, but I think it's only available in Canada? I did buy some at Penzey's at one point, that was decent!

        Reply
    13. Janet Musgrave

      May 18, 2023 at 5:53 pm

      5 stars
      I love this. I had run out of the packets, and found your recipe. It’s delicious. It also makes enough to put a couple of packets to put in the freezer, for next time. Thanks 👍🏻

      Reply
    14. Lynne Nathalie Normandeau

      January 08, 2024 at 7:30 pm

      I'm snowbirding in the US and was craving Swiss Chalet. Came across this recipe and gave it a go. It is so delicious and tastes almost identical to Swiss Chalet dipping sauce. Thank you so much for posting, I have enough to freeze for next time!

      Reply
    15. Marsha Simmons

      May 20, 2024 at 6:45 pm

      Can't wait to try this. Love Swiss Chalet sauce, From all the positive comments, I'm sure it's going to be amazing. Makes a large batch, so I hope it freezes well. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    16. George Norwood

      July 21, 2024 at 2:51 pm

      Can anyone, please tell me what summer savoury is. Thank you in advance.

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 22, 2024 at 2:05 pm

        It's an herb.

        Reply
    17. Sal LaGreca

      January 26, 2025 at 4:10 pm

      The dipping sauce is great, but does anyone remember the red spicy sauce they made as well. Not sure if they
      called it "bbq" sauce or not.

      Reply
    18. LT

      May 20, 2025 at 5:53 pm

      5 stars
      Made it today, May 20, 2025. Since I wanted to use up an entire 946 ml tetrapack of chicken broth, I adjusted all ingredients to ×5/3. Used about a third of the mini-can of tomato paste instead of tomato juice because I did not want to open a huge can of juice for less than half a cup, otherwise followed the recipe to a tee.

      The outcome: was a bit blander than I remember the restaurant sauce to be, very tomatoey (which I don't mind in the least); definitely needs way more salt, so I salted it to my taste. Had ZERO bite to it, so I added a bit of ground mild chili (still not enough bite), then less than 1/8 tsp mitmita (mainly cayenne pepper) from the top of the jar where it discoloured, since my husband can't handle much heat in his food. This brought the taste closer to that last batch of the spicier sauce I've bought directly from the restaurant in a 32-oz soup container.
      Tried it side-by-side with the store-bought powdered little package I prepared into a sauce yesterday - and this one tastes "cleaner" as it is not made for commercial use.
      Verdict: delicious, and unlike the canned version, no weird moldy tastes! Would DEFINITELY make this again (with salt and spice adjustments), thank you Marie! So glad I can have the taste of the SC crack sauce any time at home - and cleaner, without all the commercial chemicals they add like dextrose, maltodextrin, silica, or "yeast extract" (which I suspect is just good old MSG) - AND that I can adjust the spice level for those who can't handle the heat.

      Reply
    4.79 from 37 votes (26 ratings without comment)

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