This dipping sauce for fried shrimp is creamy, tangy, and perfectly balanced to complement crispy, golden shrimp. Made with simple pantry ingredients, it comes together in minutes and tastes just like the sauces you get at your favorite seafood restaurant. Whether you’re serving fried shrimp as an appetizer, party snack, or main dish, this easy dipping sauce adds bold flavor without overpowering the shrimp.

Close up of shrimp dipped into small bowl of bang bang sauce.

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I’m a huge fan of great dipping sauce recipes, like cocktail sauce, remoulade sauce, and barbecue sauce, but this sauce for breaded shrimp is on an entirely different level. This homemade sauce is a copycat version of the sauce used on the Bonefish Grill restaurant’s Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer.

It’s a creamy, spicy sauce to serve with fried shrimp, but it’s also delicious on bang bang salmon, crispy french fries, burgers, baked potatoes, grilled meat and seafood, chicken tenders, and so much more!

You may want to double the recipe because you’ll be going through this delicious sauce in no time.

Bang bang sauce in small black bowl with serving spoon.

Table of Contents

Why you’ll love this recipe

This easy sauce features sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors. You can easily play with the spice level or amount of sweetness depending on what you’re serving it with. The mayonnaise base does a great job of cooling down the spice from the sriracha while the sweet chili sauce adds an extra layer of sweetness. Finish it a splash of rice wine vinegar to add a bit of tang and depth, and you have a perfectly delicious dipping sauce for breaded shrimp!

Ingredient notes

Ingredients for bang bang sauce labeled on tray.

Besides being a versatile sauce that always makes fried shrimp taste better, this is also the easiest recipe made with simple ingredients. You likely have most, if not all, of these in your kitchen already:

Mayonnaise – You can also substitute plain greek yogurt.
Thai Sweet chili sauce – The speckles of red chili flakes make sweet chili sauce look spicy, but it’s nicely balanced between sweet and savory. Try not to skip it!
Sriracha – Or replace it with another hot sauce or chili garlic sauce that you have on hand.
Rice Wine Vinegar – You can also use red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or lime juice, or lemon juice.
Sesame Seeds – To garnish. These are optional.
Chives – Or green onions, to garnish. These are optional as well.

How to make it

It’s easy! Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl, stir to combine, and you’re done.
You can use the creamy dipping sauce right away or store it in the fridge for later.

Bang bang sauce on tray surrounded by breaded shrimp.

My other favorite ways to use this sauce

Pair it with all kinds of seafood, like air fried shrimp, crab cakes, fish taco bowls, bang bang salmon, or shrimp sushi bowls.
It’s a must-have dipping sauce for french fries, zucchini fries, and green bean fries.
That’s not all! Dip chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, or chicken wings in the sauce as well.
Use it in burritos or on a burrito bowl.
Drizzle a little over a loaded baked potato or a sweet potato buddha bowl.
Use it as a burger sauce on these air fryer hamburgers.

Ingredients for bang bang sauce on counter.

Variations

Don’t love mayo? Just replace the mayonnaise with your favorite plant based mayo, sour cream or greek yogurt.
If you’re not afraid of heat, add an extra tablespoon of spicy sriracha.
If it’s too spicy, reduce the amount of hot sauce by 1 tablespoon.

How to make ahead + store

The leftover sauce will last for about 1 month when it’s stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

More homemade dipping sauces for shrimp

Did you make this dipping sauce for fried shrimp?

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