My favorite part of a Big Mac was the special sauce that topped the burgers. Now I make my own special sauce at home to enjoy on burgers as well as a dip for fries and more. In just a few minutes you can whip up this copycat McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce recipe to enjoy at home.
This easy to make sauce isn’t just for burgers. It’s delicious sweet and tangy flavor goes well with some many things. We even use it on salad! Make a batch and keep it in your refrigerator today!
Copycat McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce Recipe
This sauce is so easy to make. You probably already have most of these simple ingredients right in your refrigerator.
As always I’ve included ingredient swaps that can easily be made with this recipe. These ingredient swaps won’t make big changes in taste or texture to the recipe. It’s a great way to use what you have on hand without having to run out to the grocery store to purchase ingredients you don’t have on hand.
Here’s what you’ll need.
Ingredient List for Copycat Big Mac Sauce:
- Mayonnaise – use your favorite brand. Go with regular mayo, light mayo or even fat free mayo will work with this recipe. Pass on using Miracle Whip as it is sweeter than mayonnaise and is flavored with a variety of spices. Stick with plain mayo for this recipe.
- Relish – I prefer to use sweet pickle relish as it adds just the right amount of sweetness to the recipe. If you don’t have sweet pickle relish on hand, or prefer a sauce that is slightly less sweet, you can swap this out for dill pickle relish.
- Dijon mustard – Dijon mustard adds flavor to this sauce. You can swap it out for yellow mustard if you don’t have this ingredient on hand. Yellow mustard will change the color of the sauce a little as it has a bright yellow color from turmeric. But the it will taste great in this recipe.
- White Vinegar – vinegar adds a bit of acidity to the sauce. Don’t have white vinegar on hand? Swap it out for apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Spices – you’ll need garlic powder, onion powder and paprika for this recipe. As an FYI don’t use garlic or onion salt in place of the powder. This will make the sauce very salty and these versions of the spices have a milder flavor.
How to make Copycat Big Mac Sauce:
In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, Dijon mustard and relish.
Mix the rest of the ingredients into the mayonnaise mixture. Stir well and serve.
Serve the secret sauce over your burgers and other sandwiches. If you are making your own homemade McDonald’s big mac burger you’ll want to add sauce to both the bottom bun as well as the top buns. Use as a salad dressing or as a dipping sauce for french fries, onion rings and tater tots.
How to store this Big Mac Sauce:
This sauce can easily last 7 days or more when stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
The recipe doesn’t make a huge amount so you might not have much leftover sauce after a meal of burgers with a side of fries. The recipe can easily be doubled so you can enjoy extra sauce to serve with other meals.
Can you freeze this sauce?
It’s best not to freeze this sauce and, for the best taste and texture, it should only be stored in the refrigerator.
While it is frozen the sauce will look fine. However, as it thaws, the texture will change and it will separate. This is due to the mayonnaise which is a emulsion created by blending oil, egg yolks and vinegar. This emulsion won’t hold together when frozen. It will separate and become watery. Mixing doesn’t help to improve the texture.
Is Big Mac Sauce the same as Thousand Island Dressing?
While Big Mac Sauce and Thousand Island Dressing (or even French Dressing) have many similar ingredients they are not the same thing. Thousand Island dressing contains ketchup and often lemon juice for added flavor and acidity.
Big Mac sauce does not contain ketchup so it is less sweet than the dressing. It also uses vinegar for acidity without adding additional flavor.
Is Big Mac Sauce just for burgers?
McDonald’s advertised their famous sauce topped Big Mac with the jingle – Two all-beef patties, Special Sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. But you don’t have to limit yourself to just serving this sauce on top of burgers.
Try this sauce as a dip for french fries, onion rings, baked potato skins and tater tots.
Its the perfect sauce for dipping your chicken tenders or chicken nuggets into this sauce.
Big Mac Salad anyone? Toss the buns and load all your burger toppings on your favorite salad greens to create a delicious salad. You can even make it lower in carb by making this keto Big Mac sauce.
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Copycat McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Small bowl
- Mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons Sweet Relish
- 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teapoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, Dijon mustard and relish.1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard, 2 teaspoons white vinegar, 4 tablespoons Sweet Relish
- Add the remaining spices and mix well.1 teapoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 teaspoon paprika
Nutrition
Looking for other homemade sauces and dressings? Then try some of these:
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