Does McDonald’s Have Szechuan Sauce In 2024?

McDonald’s is known for having some of the best dipping sauces served with their delicious chicken nuggets. One of those sauces that many people loved (including Rick Sanchez!) is the Szechuan sauce. So, does McDonald’s have Szechuan sauce currently? 

No, McDonald’s does not currently have Szechuan sauce on their menu. Although the sauce was loved by many, it was available at McDonald’s just for a limited time. 

Many believe that the best sauce at McDonald’s has always been the Szechuan sauce. So, when McDonald’s discontinued the same, many people did not like it at all. But why did McDonald’s quit something that people loved a lot? We’ll find that out, along with more information about the sauce, all in this fantastic article! 

What Is So Special About McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce? 

McDonald’s Szechuan sauce has a perfectly balanced tangy, hot, and sweet flavor that makes it unique. Moreover, the sauce was also pretty cheap, which made the whole thing even better. 

McDonald’s has offered plenty of sauces as an accompaniment since they first started selling chicken nuggets. However, the Szechuan sauce has indeed remained special for many. What about this sauce, other than its flavor, makes it so unique? 

For that, let us take a look at a little bit about this sauce and what indeed makes it as unique as it is. McDonald’s Szechuan sauce first debuted at this fast food chain in 1998. This was also around when Mulan first premiered, so the sauce was a perfect accompaniment to chicken nuggets and Mulan toys. The sauce was soon replaced.  

But, in 2017, the Adult Swim TV show ‘Rick and Morty’ referred to this fantastic sauce. In the show, Rick Sanchez, the main character, mentions that the Szechuan sauce was the best dipping sauce offered by McDonald’s. He also went into a dream sequence to try the sauce again!  

Soon, this added a lot to the hype of the sauce and brought back too many memories; hence, there were plenty of petitions from customers to get the sauce around. This led to McDonald’s returning the sauce for just one day on October 1st, 2017. 

Can You Still Get Szechuan Sauce At McDonald’s? 

Unfortunately, you cannot get Szechuan Sauce at McDonald’s anymore. The sauce was relaunched on the McDonald’s menu for a limited time and is not available anymore. 

Right after the Rick and Morty episode went viral, quite a few show fans and the sauce demanded that the dressing be back on the McDonald’s menu. Keeping that in mind, McDonald’s did bring the sauce back on the menu for a single day. 

However, there was massive outrage on the day since McDonald’s gave some outlets just a few packets of the sauce. The chain of restaurants was not expecting such an enormous crowd coming up just for this one sauce. 

Most McDonald’s employees mentioned that the sauce ran out within no time on the same day it was relaunched, as per Thrillist. Although McDonald’s could not keep up with the demand for the sauce on the same day, they did promise their loyal customers that the sauce would be back. 

Soon, McDonald’s relaunched the sauce on their menu multiple times, but it was always just for a limited time. The first time McDonald’s released the sauce in 1998, there was a lot of outrage that the sauce and its promotions were racist towards Asians. 

So, possibly in an attempt to not offend Asians any further, McDonald’s never brought back the Szechuan sauce for a long time. Moreover, there was no outrage about the sauce until it was mentioned in Rick and Morty. 

Hence, McDonald’s realized that most people wanted to try the sauce as it was mentioned in the show. Therefore, the company made a tiny batch and has done the same every time they returned the sauce. Since the sauce was supposed to be a limited-time offering and has also caused issues often, McDonald’s has still not made it a permanent addition to the menu yet. 

Will McDonald’s Bring Back The Szechuan Sauce? 

McDonald’s has not announced about returning the Szechuan sauce on their menu anytime soon. 

Due to demand for the sauce, McDonald’s has brought it back on the menu many times. The sauce was also available at McDonald’s as recently as March 2022! However, it was again soon taken off the menu.

Although McDonald’s has no official reason for this, the idea behind this sauce is to keep it a limited-time offering. Hence, as of now, McDonald’s has not made any announcements or promotions about bringing the famous Szechuan sauce back. 

McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce Nutritional Content

Since it’s a dipping sauce we are talking about, we can all guess that it does not have as much nutritional value. A single serving of the sauce, just as it is, will barely add anything to your daily dietary requirements. For reference, however, let us look at this sauce’s nutritional content. 

Is McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce Good? 

Yes, the McDonald’s Szechuan sauce is indeed pretty good, which is one of the reasons why many people have been demanding constantly to bring it back. 

Just like McDonald’s makes everything their own, they did the same with this dipping sauce. Although it has the word Szechuan in it, the sauce is far from what you would expect the flavors of Sichuan cuisine to be like. 

This sauce is more of a Westernized version of Asian dipping sauce, which makes people love it. People have often described the flavor as a combination of sweet and tangy, which is not something you would get out of any other McDonald’s dipping sauce. 

Some people have also mentioned that the sauce tastes like Teriyaki sauce mixed with Sichuan chili oil, which gives it a great flavor. While some people on Quora still don’t get the hype about this sauce, many love it and cannot wait to be a permanent addition to the McDonald’s menu! 

Can You Make McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce At Home? 

Yes, you can easily make McDonald’s Szechuan sauce at home with just a few simple ingredients. 

McDonald’s dipping sauces, including this delicious Szechuan sauce, are not as complicated as they may seem! Firstly, the flavors are not authentic Asian, meaning the ingredient list will be straightforward. 

This Szechuan sauce from McDonald’s is made by mixing some staple kitchen ingredients, like ginger, Apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, corn syrup, lime juice, and rice vinegar for that extra kick. 

The sauce can be brought together just by mixing these ingredients, and you can enjoy it with a lovely portion of chicken nuggets. For more detailed information on making this sauce at home, refer to McDonald’s Szechuan sauce recipe! 

Conclusion

Despite all the outrage caused by Rick and Morty, McDonald’s does not have Szechuan sauce as a permanent option on their menu. The sauce was released back in 1998 when Mulan made its debut. The sauce was taken off the menu after the movie promotions were done. 

However, since the sauce was mentioned on the Adult Swim show Rick and Morty, it has repeatedly returned to the menu. As of now, the sauce is still a limited item and is not available at McDonald’s at the moment. 

However, we hope that with enough demand, McDonald’s will bring the sauce back permanently! Similarly, if limited-time menu items from McDonald’s seem intriguing, also look at whether McDonald’s has Chicken Tenders and if they have Boba. I would also recommend looking at whether McDonald’s has lemonade and pup cups for puppies. 

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