Dipping saucesare the beloved side characters in the fast-food universe.
And thelegendarySzechuan Saucecaused a major uproar when McDonald’s brought it back last year for a limited time.
But whose dipping sauces are the absolute best?
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
I tried every single option at these three fast-food giants to finally answer that question.
I rated each sauce on flavor and consistency.
Finally, I picked an overall winning chain, with the best collection of sauces.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
I also determined the single best dipping sauce from the many options at these three chains.
Ranch: This sauce left a little to be desired on a couple of fronts.
The ranch was kind of creamy, but just a bit looser than I would have wanted.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
The flavor isn’t necessarily bad, but I wish it was thicker, creamier, and sharper.
Hot Mustard: Honestly, this was much closer to what I was looking for in the honey mustard.
Sweet ‘N Sour: McDonald’s seems to have a sugar problem on its hands.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
It wasn’t sour enough and it was way too sweet.
Spicy Buffalo: I was really pleasantly surprised by the heat level in this sauce.
My biggest complaint is that McDonald’s seemed to sacrifice actual flavor in favor of spice.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
There wasn’t much to write home about apart from the heat.
The only sauce I did not include in this test was the Marinara.
BBQ: This barbecue sauce wasn’t bad, but it was kind of meh.
It was too sweet and needed more smoke and tang so that balance the sugar.
Ranch: This ranch was creamy and not too thin.
I would have liked it to be more tangy and herby, though.
It’s not perfect by any means.
However, there was still something about this sauce that made me want to keep dipping.
Do I really want to dip my fries and chicken nuggets in this glorified corn syrup?
It still better than McDonald’s disappointing version.
And, if you fall into the latter group, I’d bet you’ll love this option.
The sweetness of Wendy’s barbecue works because the sauce is smoky enough to balance it out.
This was my personal favorite barbecue out of the three options.
Buttermilk Ranch: Hallelujah!
This was the fast-food ranch I’d been searching for this entire experiment.
Honey Mustard: This was probably the most disappointing out of all the sauces in Wendy’s lineup.
Plus, the unique Ghost Pepper Ranch was sneakily spicy in a way that left me really pleasantly surprised.
Though Wendy’s claimed the #1 spot, McDonald’s and Burger King have some really solid options.
I’ve always enjoyed McDonald’s barbecue sauce, and the hot mustard was a surprising standout for me.
There’s just something so satisfying about a ranch dipping sauce that’s executed really well.
The flavor was stellar, and the thick texture was just right.
