Crude palm oil (CPO) is an important edible vegetable oil used globally, recently subjected to Sudan dye adulteration. This study explored the feasibility of a novel SERS-based Au@Ag substrate to detect four Sudan dyes (I - IV) in CPO. When mixed with spiked CPO, the SERS substrate produced strong signals that increased with increasing concentrations from 0.001 to 4.0 ppm. The genetic algorithm partial least square (GA-PLS) model outperformed the partial least square (PLS) and the ant colony optimization – PLS (ACO-PLS) models with Rc values of 0.9844, 0.9865, 0.9884, and 0.9888 0.9846. The calculated LOD were 0.00088 ppm, 0.00092 ppm, 0.00095 ppm, and 0.00097 and real sample recovery rates of 88.0–113.0%, 92.0–103.0%, 91.2–98.5% and 97.0–109.5% for Sudan I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The findings affirmed the SERS sensor’s considerable potential for rapid and selective detection of Sudan dyes in CPO when combined with chemometrics.