- I tasted every dipping sauce from McDonald's and Wendy's and compared them against each other.
- I found that Wendy's sauces were universally much better than McDonald's and that McDonald's best sauce isn't even officially on its national menu.
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I tried every dipping sauce from McDonald's and Wendy's and found that Wendy's was better in every way
Sauce is one of the most important elements of a fast-food meal.
Wendy's Sauces 50
Sauce is love, sauce is life.
Sauce is what bestows flavor upon a chicken nugget . It's what makes an onion ring blossom. It adds an extra layer of personality to a burger, sandwich, or french fry.
Its importance is why I visited McDonald's and Wendy's to retrieve every single kind of dipping sauce the chains carry, as well as some nuggets to go with.
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Here's how they compared:
From McDonalds: tangy BBQ, hot mustard, ranch, spicy Buffalo, honey, honey mustard, and sweet & sour sauces.
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Irene Jiang / Business Insider
From Wendys, BBQ, sweet & tangy, honey mustard, sawesome sauce, ranch, and creamy sriracha sauces.
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One of the most ubiquitous sauces on the American table was first on my sauce roster: BBQ sauce.
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McDonalds BBQ sauce was true to its name in that it was quite tangy.
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But it was also cloyingly sweet and not that smoky a low bar for barbecue.
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Its important to acknowledge that just as there isnt only one kind of BBQ, there also isnt only one kind of BBQ sauce.
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Wendys BBQ sauce was much thicker than McDonalds and actually had a decent kick to it.
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It was also very sweet, but very flavorful, and I could taste it on a restaurant rack of ribs.
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Ranch is the popular cousin of BBQ who wears cowboy boots. It was a lot cooler back in the 90s but people still love it.
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McDonalds ranch, however, is a disappointing rendition of the California classic.
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Its yogurty and sweet and tastes more like yogurt than actual ranch dressing.
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Its the spice mixture that makes ranch special, not the creaminess.
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And Wendys gets that. Its sour, tangy, creamy, and thick, but most importantly, its got that spice.
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This is no watered-down excuse for a dressing. This is good ol herby ranch.
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Buffalo sauce goes with one thing: chicken wings. But if you dont have wings, nuggets are the next best thing.
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McDonalds Buffalo sauce tastes remarkably like the real thing. It brings substantial heat to the table.
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Unlike the chains other sauces, its not sweet. Its pure salty, acid, and spice delicious.
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Wendys doesnt have Buffalo sauce, for some reason. Instead, it has creamy sriracha.
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This sauce is basically sriracha and mayo, and its actually pretty spicy.
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Its just a little less spicy than McDonalds Buffalo sauce, but spice lovers wont be disappointed, especially when its paired with Wendys spicy nugs.
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Honey mustard is a fickle sauce: its not just for nuggets, its also great on salads, fries, and trust me pizza.
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McDonalds honey mustard has an iconic taste. Its sweet with a hint of mustard seed.
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Its a little more watery than the other sauces, but its definitely one of the better balanced.
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Im a lifelong lover of McDonalds honey mustard, and my heart is hard-won.
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But Wendys spectacular honey mustard wooed me instantly.
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Its thicker and creamier than McDonalds and has a much stronger mustard flavor with a kick. Its also slightly less sweet, which is a boon.
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Sweet & sour sauce is kind of a clich, and also not very descriptive. Most of McDonalds sauces already are sweet and sour.
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Except for this sauce. Yeah, its sweet. Its not sour.
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It also has a strange, off-putting flavor that tastes like stale ginger. Im not a fan.
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Wendys sweet and sour sauce had a pretty low score to beat.
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But it transcends that score by leaps and bounds. It tastes exactly like the sweet and sour sauce that comes with crab rangoons and egg rolls.
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It has a lovely honey-like texture, and the flavors of sweet, sour, and pepper are perfectly balanced.
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It pairs especially well with spicy nuggets. The combo hits every flavor note.
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Hot mustard isnt available at all McDonalds locations. Its a regional sauce, and I happen to live in the right region.
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Stronger and more mustardy than honey mustard, this is by far McDonalds most satisfying and interesting sauce.
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Even though it isnt spicy at all, its basically an improved version of honey mustard, which is already one of McDonalds best sauces.
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Unlike McDonalds, Wendys puts its signature sauce in a dipping cup. Sawesome sauce can be found on burgers or on the side.
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Its absolutely incredible. Smoky paprika, creamy mayo, black pepper and a hint of tang, Sawesome sauce is perfect.
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Its by and far the best sauce of every sauce Ive tested.
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And of course, its even better on a spicy nugget.
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McDonalds does have one sauce that Wendys doesnt: plain honey.
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But ever since the chain halved the size of its honey cups, its been hard to get enough honey for a satisfying dip.
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McDonalds has a pretty basic set of sauces. I think the chain errs on the side of caution when it comes to flavor.
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As a kid, I loved McDonalds honey mustard. But as an adult, I find it much less exciting.
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The only sauce at McDonalds that I loved was the hot mustard, but its sadly not on the chains national menu.
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On the other hand, Wendys sauces consistently blew me away. There wasnt a single bad sauce in the bunch.
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And even more impressive is Wendys special house sauce, which is every bit as awesome as it promises to be.
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