This Big Mac Sauce copycat recipe is so close to the McDonald’s special sauce, you won’t be able to taste the difference!
A while back I tried being humble for a day, and I totally rocked it. I can proudly say, I was the greatest humble person ever. Now that I got that horrible experience out of the way, I need to brag that I developed, quite possibly, the best Big Mac Sauce recipe on the web. All with one hand tied behind my back just to make it fair.
Ok, truth be told, I cheated a little bit. I actually watched a video of one of McDonald’s executive chefs making the Big Mac Sauce and did my best to replicate the ingredient ratios. It took a bit of trial and error, so I am still taking credit for it!
Is Big Mac Sauce the Same as Thousand Island Dressing?
I spent most of my life believing McDonald’s Special Sauce was simply Thousand Island dressing. Big Mac Sauce is not Thousand Island dressing. Thousand Island dressing requires tomatoes, which isn’t actually an ingredient in authentic Big Mac Sauce. For this same reason, I also make my Big Mac Sauce without French dressing. You will find 95% of the Big Mac Sauce recipes on the web call for French dressing. Don’t be fooled. Though, I will admit the flavor is in the right ballpark, but, *spoiler alert*, it still tastes like French dressing.
What is in Big Mac Sauce?
How do I know there are no tomatoes in McDonald’s Special Sauce? Because, I looked up the ingredient list. This is what is in McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce:
Soybean Oil, Pickle Relish (Diced Pickles, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Spice Extractives, Polysorbate 80), Distilled Vinegar, Water, Egg Yolks, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Onion Powder, Mustard Seed, Salt, Spices, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Mustard Bran, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Vegetable Protein (Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy and Wheat), Caramel Colour, Extractives of Paprika, Soy Lecithin, Turmeric (Colour), Calcium Disodium EDTA (Protect Flavour)
How to Make Big Mac Sauce
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you don’t have a pantry full of preservatives and chemical binders, so let me break this down into ingredients you understand. Based on the above ingredient list, you will need sweet pickle relish, mayo, vinegar, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. That sounds a lot more reasonable, doesn’t it?
How to Make a Big Mac
Once you craft your own Big Mac Sauce, you are well on your way to earning your children’s undying love and affection by making them homemade Big Macs! You will want to brush up on my fast food burger recipe to really hit these out of the park. Though I have been known to slather this sauce on larger homemade burger patties too!
To make a Big Mac, light toast a sesame seed bun, and grab an extra bottom bun to use as the middle piece. Spread the special sauce on the bottom bun, sprinkle with diced onion, shredded lettuce, and top with a slice of American cheese. Place one burger patty on the cheese, then add the middle bun, top with more sauce, lettuce, and add pickles. Finally add the second burger patty, top with the crown of the bun and enjoy!
This Big Mac Sauce copycat recipe is so close to the McDonald's special sauce, you won't be able to taste the difference!
- 1 cup Mayo
- ¼ cup Sweet Pickle Relish
- 1 ½ tablespoon Yellow Mustard
- 1 teaspoon White Wine Vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Onion Powder
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Place all ingredients together in a bowl and whisk to combine.
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Can be enjoyed immediately, but the flavor is best when allowed to sit in the refrigerator overnight. Store in an air-tight container.
IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE you need to check out my McDonald's Egg McMuffin copycat recipe too!
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Tried this. Too “mustardy “ and really yellow in color. Wondering if it’s a typo. Maybe should be a teaspoon and a half? That’s what I’m going to try next time. It’s not too bad tho.
I double checked the recipe and did a side by side comparison with Big Mac Sauce from McDonalds and 1 1/2 tablespoons is correct. Initially I tried just 1 tablespoon of mustard and the real sauce had a noticeably stronger mustard flavor. I encourage you to get some sauce from your local McDonalds and let me know what you think after tasting them side by side.
OMG this tastes EXACTLY like big mac sauce! My kids love you now haha
This recipe was spot on to McDonals!
I really want to try this I have searched for a recipe for sweet pickle relish but there is a lot of different ones. Do I need cinnamon, mustard seeds and special sugar to make the relish? I have some pickled cucumbers so I don’t need to start from scratch. Do you have a simple recipe?
I hope you enjoy it. Unfortunately, I have not created a sweet pickle relish recipe yet, but it sounds like a really good idea though!
You can always go buy a jar of sweet relish out the condiments aisle in the grocery store.
I made this it is amazing didnt have onion powder so i used seasoning salt instead & it still turned out amazing
Is the mustard dry mustard powder or prepared mustard condiment?
The condiment
What brand of sweet pickle relish do you use?? Plus do you use smoked paprika or regular paprika??
I don’t buy any specific brand of sweet pickle relish. Purchase the seasoning simply labeled as “Paprika” in the store, paprika is regular paprika. Recipes will typically specify “smoked paprika” if it is needed.