Bang Bang Sauce for Shrimp or Chicken

What Is Bang Bang Sauce?

Bang bang sauce is a creamy yet spicy sauce that is the perfect partner for crispy shrimp or chicken. It has an Asian influenced flavor to it from the sweet chili sauce, one of the main ingredients.

We originally discovered it at Bonefish Grill and it quickly became our favorite item on the menu.

Their bang bang shrimp appetizer is made of breaded and fried shrimp tossed in bang bang sauce.

Lucky for us, the homemade bang bang sauce recipe only has a few ingredients and takes just a minute to mix together.

To make this shrimp sauce, all you need to have is:

• Mayonnaise: You could use a light mayo made with olive oil if you want a healthy bang bang sauce with less fat. The texture will be thinner but this could be a great option if you plan to toss it with pasta.
• Sweet Chili Sauce: I love sweet and spicy foods, the sweet chili sauce is what brings the sweetness to this recipe.
• Sriracha Sauce: This ingredient is flavorful but not too spicy. There is some heat, but it wasn't enough to make the bang bang sauce spicy.
• Honey: I forgot to add that to the photo above, but it also helps with texture and sweetness. If you like things spicy, Mike's Hot Honey is an awesome choice here.
• Cayenne Pepper: This was an essential ingredient in my opinion. Cayenne pepper not only adds a bit more heat to the recipe but it also accentuates all the flavors from the other ingredients as well. You can start with just a pinch and work your way up to the spice level you prefer, but try to add at least a dash for the full flavor.

How to Make the Sauce

Add the mayo, sweet chili sauce, honey, and sriracha to a mixing bowl and whisk them together.

I add the cayenne pepper last because I wanted to reach the perfect amount of heat.

Start with ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne and whisk it in. Taste the sauce and then add ⅛ teaspoon more if you want more heat.

If you like things spicy, feel free to keep adding a dash of cayenne till you reach the level of heat you prefer. Just remember, you can always add more but you can't take it out.

Serving Suggestions

The final sauce will be thick and creamy with a pale orange color that looks like this:

2. Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos

It would be so easy to make bang bang shrimp tacos at home. Start by cooking frozen shrimp in an air fryer. You could also bake your favorite frozen breaded shrimp or use my roasted shrimp recipe here.

Toss the shrimp in the bang bang sauce and pile them up in a tortilla with shredded lettuce and chopped green onions.

This would also work great with fish sticks or chicken!

3. Bang Bang Shrimp Dip

Want an easy appetizer? Just add the bang bang sauce to a serving bowl and pile up your favorite shrimp on the platter around it.

This is just one of the delicious shrimp dipping sauce ideas I have.

4. Bang Bang Shrimp and Pasta

To make bang bang shrimp and pasta, simply boil your favorite long noodle: either spaghetti, linguine, or fettucine.

Add the bang bang sauce to a large skillet and heat over medium to warm through. Add the drained pasta and shrimp or even chicken and toss to coat.

5. Bang Bang Shrimp Salad

You could use bang bang sauce as a salad dressing for hot or cold shrimp on a bed of your favorite salad greens.

Mix and match these easy and healthy salad toppings to go with it:

• Shredded Carrots
• Chopped Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas
• Chopped Bell Peppers
• Purple Cabbage Shreds
• Chopped Celery
• Diced Cucumbers
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Frozen Corn
• Crispy Won Ton Strips: You can find them in the crouton section of your grocery store

6. Bang Bang Chicken

Even though bang bang sauce was originally intended for shrimp, our family absolutely loves it with chicken, too!

You could bake a bag of frozen chicken nuggets or make my healthy air fryer chicken tenderloins and use this as a dipping sauce for dinner.