5 McDonald’s Sauces We Wish Would Make a Comeback

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Half the time, McDonald’s is just about the sauce. Case in point, Big Mac Sauce started such a legacy that McDonald’s even bottled it in 2017. The old standbys like Creamy Ranch, Spicy Buffalo, and Sweet ‘N Sour haven’t left our side (thankfully), but we have lost many of our favorites over the years. McDonald’s hears its fans loud and clear when they rally to bring back discontinued sauces. The chain has even listened a few times, with limited run re-releases occurring years later. 

We know how the internet takes something and runs with it, so as soon as one person resurrects an old advertisement, a TV show mentions it, or someone simply reminds the fast food fans of a once beloved McDonald’s sauce, it’s all anyone can talk about. Some notorious items like the Shamrock Shake and the McRib (which was re-released in 2024 alongside a half gallon of its sauce) only grace the McDonald’s menu once per year, but many leave and never come back. These five sauces are some of the all time favorites McDonald’s fans miss the most.

McDonald’s is always ready to jump on a Disney campaign, and when “Mulan” came out in 1998, the chain was quick to it with a Szechuan dipping sauce. It was advertised as a chicken nugget pairing, but it tasted good with practically anything, deep-fried or otherwise. The sweet and tangy flavor profile was a big change from McDonald’s American standards like ketchup and honey mustard, with notes of garlic, chili, and soy sauce. 

While not exactly Szechuan in style — it was missing the signature mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns — the sauce was zesty and delicious with a subtle yet exciting hint of spice. The Szechuan Sauce seemed to only last as long as the “Mulan” hype and quietly disappeared soon after. It was seemingly enjoyed at the time of release, but it wasn’t until a pop culture reference years later that folks started begging for its return.

The McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce fandom had a resurgence in 2017 when Rick Sanchez of Adult Swim’s “Rick and Morty” was willing to travel through space and time to recover just a taste of the coveted sauce. Rick’s Szechuan Sauce obsession helped it reach a new level of cult following, and McDonald’s figured, hey, why not take this free marketing opportunity and run with it? After aggressive campaigning from followers, McDonald’s finally brought the fan-favorite Szechuan Sauce back in 2017 – and again, briefly, in 2018 and 2022.

With any new product comes a meticulous marketing campaign, and McDonald’s Sweet Chili Sauce coincided with the 2010 Winter Olympics. Despite being held in Vancouver that year, McDonald’s celebrated the Canadian-held competition with this Asian-inspired Sweet Chili Sauce. As its name suggests, it was on the sweeter side, with a little heat from the large red pepper flakes found throughout. Its syrupy thickness made it another ideal chicken McNugget dunking option. Sweet Chili Sauce is widely available these days, with brands like Mae Ploy and A Taste of Thai (both available on Amazon) helping to popularize it in North America, but it was a nice change of pace on McDonald’s menu at the time.

The sauce lasted around four years before it gradually disappeared throughout North America, proving you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. It came back in 2021, only to leave us heartbroken once again after less than a month on the menu. This time around, McDonald’s released the Sweet Chili Sauce in collaboration with K-pop stars rather than Olympians. It’s been erased from McDonald’s menu, but thankfully, Sweet Chili Sauce is rather simple to make on your own, typically consisting of garlic, ginger, chili paste, soy sauce, sugar, and some rice vinegar.

Hot Mustard used to be on every McDonald’s menu regardless of zip code, but now its availability is up to the franchise owners. It was officially removed from the national menu sometime in 2015, seemingly due to a lack of demand, but a few select locations still stock the creamy, spicy spread. It’s like mayonnaise meets mustard, with enough heat to sting your nose in the best way. Like Chinese hot mustard, it gets its spicy kick from mustard seeds. Unlike most of McDonald’s limited-time specials, the Hot Mustard sort of flew under the radar. It never received significant marketing campaigns of its own and instead quietly snuck into the McNugget sauce lineup. 

The sauce was good enough that it didn’t need its own goofy commercial or mascot, as the cult following began regardless. As usual, the realization of its demise stirred panic in the longstanding fans who never thought they’d have to say goodbye to the zesty sauce. Petitions and campaigns started flooding the internet, with fans demanding we work together to save Hot Mustard. The fact that it’s still being produced is probably what intrigues fans the most. It’s like a treasure hunt for the elusive sauce. You won’t see it listed on McDonald’s menus everywhere, but it’s worth a shot to ask if any are hiding behind the counter.

McDonald’s tried to level up with Taco Bell in 2014 with its creamy Habanero Ranch Sauce, and level up it did. While it didn’t come close to the heat Taco Bell brings with its version of the sauce, McDonald’s take was ultra thick and creamy with a decent kick. The sauce has been the key ingredient to a few beloved McDonald’s items, like the Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder, but it wasn’t packaged and offered as a dipping sauce until 2014. This was around the time when snack wraps were all the rage, advertised as McWraps, and the Southwest Chicken McWrap was one of the most popular options, doused in none other than Habanero Ranch Sauce. 

The mini to-go containers also made it easy to dip nuggets and fries, and the spicy sauce quickly cemented itself as a new crowd favorite. It seemed to be universally adored, but apparently that wasn’t enough, as it was discontinued some time in 2017. As always, petitions to bring back the spicy ranch swept the internet, but this time, McDonald’s stayed silent. The sauce has sadly never returned to the menu, but perhaps we could get lucky with the teased return of McDonald’s fan-favorite Snack Wraps in 2025. In the meantime, at least there’s still the Creamy Ranch and Spicy Buffalo sauces to swirl together.

This is the oldest forgotten McDonald’s sauce on the list, as it was first released back in the 1980s. The rich, garlic-heavy sauce was a nice addition to McDonald’s sauce roster, advertised as the ultimate chicken nugget dip. Garlic parmesan is a beloved chicken wing sauce, but it’s just as delicious on non-breaded items, like burgers or salads, so the fact that folks could take a few mini containers home meant they could incorporate a little McDonald’s into their other meals, too.

Younger generations got a chance to taste some of McDonald’s signature sauces from the past when Canadian locations briefly offered “Throwback Sauces” in 2024, one being the ’80s-era Garlic Parmesan Sauce. When tasting the reintroduced sauce, the general consensus was “wow,” as McDonald’s was heavy-handed with both the garlic and parmesan. This campaign was all about the nostalgia, with McDonald’s pulling on Gen X’s heartstrings by including tasting notes of “cassette mixtapes and not having a cell phone.” Unfortunately, Americans weren’t as lucky, and the sauce never hit national menus again.