Honey Mustard substitute

Best substitute

Mustard + Honey (Make It Yourself)

2 parts mustard to 1 part honey; for a sweeter sauce go 1:1

Best for chicken tenders and nuggets

Close match

You can make it in the bowl in front of you: stir 2 tablespoons Dijon or yellow mustard with 1 tablespoon honey. For the creamy dipping-sauce version add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Maple syrup or brown sugar stand in for the honey, and any mustard you own will work.

Other honey mustard substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Creamy Honey Mustard (Mustard + Honey + Mayonnaise)
Taste and texture differ
2 tablespoons Dijon + 2 tablespoons honey + 3 tablespoons mayonnaise + 1 teaspoon vinegar
The version most American restaurants mean by honey mustard sauce, and what you want for dipping rather than spreading.
What changes
Best for
chicken tenders and wings, salad dressing, fries and onion rings, burger sauce
Much thicker, paler and milder than plain honey mustard, so it coats a chicken tender instead of running off and tastes far less sharp. The vinegar keeps it from being cloying - leave it out and the sauce tastes flat and heavy. Greek yogurt can replace the mayonnaise for something tangier and lighter, though it thins when warm.
3Mustard + Maple Syrup
Taste and texture differ
2 parts mustard to 1 part maple syrup
The best swap when there is no honey in the house, and better than honey in some dishes.
What changes
Best for
pork and ham glazes, salmon, roasted vegetables, vinaigrettes
Thinner and less sticky than honey, with a woody caramel flavor instead of a floral one, so a glazed pork loin made with it tastes darker and less perfumed. It also spreads and drizzles more easily. Use real maple syrup if you can - pancake syrup is mostly corn syrup and tastes noticeably artificial against mustard.
4Mustard + Brown Sugar
Taste and texture differ
2 tablespoons mustard + 1 tablespoon brown sugar, warmed briefly to dissolve
A pantry version using nothing but the two things almost everyone has.
What changes
Best for
ham and pork glazes, baked chicken, barbecue sauces, marinades
Brown sugar brings molasses depth rather than honey's floral top note, so the result tastes more like a barbecue glaze and less like a sandwich spread. It stays grainy unless you warm it or let it stand fifteen minutes, and it browns and burns faster than honey in a hot oven - watch a glaze closely in the last ten minutes.
5Bavarian Sweet Mustard
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
A German mustard already sweetened with sugar and often honey, so it needs nothing done to it.
What changes
Best for
pretzels and sausages, sandwiches, ham, cheese boards
Sweeter, coarser and spiced with things like clove and juniper, so a chicken tender dipped in it tastes distinctly German rather than American. It is thicker and darker than a typical honey mustard and will not read the same on a plate, but it is the only ready-made jar that substitutes with zero effort.
6Hot Honey + Any Mustard
Close match
2 parts mustard to 1 part hot honey
A deliberate upgrade rather than a fallback, worth knowing because it is better than most bottled honey mustard.
What changes
Best for
fried chicken and tenders, sandwiches, pizza, roasted carrots and sprouts
You get the same sweet-sharp balance plus a slow chilli warmth at the back, so it tastes livelier and less childish than standard honey mustard. Not the right call if you are making it for children or feeding it to anyone who dislikes heat, since the burn builds after a few bites.

What is Honey Mustard?

Honey Mustard is mustard sweetened with honey and nothing more complicated than that, sold either as a thin sandwich condiment or, as honey mustard sauce and honey mustard dressing, blended with mayonnaise into a creamy dip, and its job is to bring sharp and sweet at the same time so it can stand up to salty fried food.

Cooking tips

Honey mustard is doing three jobs at once: mustard for acidity and bite, honey for sweetness, and often mayonnaise for the fat that carries both and makes it cling. Work out which of the three the recipe actually needs before you substitute - a glaze needs the sweet and the acid, a dip needs the fat as well.
Two parts mustard to one part honey is the ratio to remember. It is sharp and grown-up. Going to equal parts makes it distinctly sweet and is what most people mean by restaurant honey mustard, and three parts honey to one part mustard is essentially a dessert glaze.
For glazing chicken, salmon or ham, brush it on in the last ten to fifteen minutes only. Honey burns well before meat finishes cooking, so a glaze applied at the start turns black and bitter while the inside is still raw.
Taste the mustard first, because the brand changes everything. A tablespoon of honey balances Dijon beautifully, tames yellow mustard into something very mild, and barely dents English mustard, which will still be hot. Add the honey in stages rather than all at once.
Homemade honey mustard thickens in the fridge and keeps about two weeks - the creamy version keeps only as long as the mayonnaise date allows. If it separates, a quick whisk brings it straight back.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make honey mustard right now with what I have?

Stir two tablespoons of any mustard with one tablespoon of honey. That is genuinely it. If you want the creamy dipping-sauce kind, add two to three tablespoons of mayonnaise and a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice, which keeps it from tasting heavy. Let it sit five minutes so the mustard heat rounds out, then taste and adjust the honey.

Can I just leave it out?

As a dip, no - it is the whole point of the plate, and you would be serving plain chicken tenders. As a sandwich spread, mustard alone works fine and simply tastes sharper. In a marinade or glaze you can skip it, but add something sweet and something acidic in its place or the meat will not brown properly and will taste flat.

What is the difference between honey mustard and honey dijon?

Honey dijon specifies the mustard used - Dijon, so smooth, wine-based and sharp - while honey mustard is a general term that might start from yellow, brown or Dijon mustard and often includes mayonnaise. If a recipe says honey dijon, use Dijon and honey with no mayonnaise. If it says honey mustard sauce or dressing, it almost certainly wants the creamy mayonnaise version.

Can I use maple syrup instead of honey?

Yes, one for one, and it is excellent with pork and salmon in particular. Maple is thinner so the sauce will be looser, and it tastes woody and caramel-like rather than floral, which reads as slightly less sweet even at the same amount. Agave nectar also works and is the most neutral of the three.

Why does my honey mustard taste too sharp?

Either the mustard was stronger than you expected or you tasted it too soon. Freshly mixed mustard is at its most aggressive and mellows within five or ten minutes. If it is still too sharp after that, add honey a teaspoon at a time, and if it then tastes flat rather than sharp, a spoonful of mayonnaise will round it off better than more honey will.

Related substitutes

More sauces & condiments substitutes

Honey Mustard substitute

Other honey mustard substitutes

2Creamy Honey Mustard (Mustard + Honey + Mayonnaise)

3Mustard + Maple Syrup

4Mustard + Brown Sugar

5Bavarian Sweet Mustard

6Hot Honey + Any Mustard