A Fan-Favorite McDonald's Dipping Sauce Is Returning For A Limited Time

Fans of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets are not only into their dipping sauces — they're pretty specific about which ones are the cream of the crop. 

While sauces come and go and you can find some only at certain locations and not others, Wide Open Eats surveyed five McDonald's classics, trying out Ranch, Sweet 'N Sour, Tangy BBQ, Spicy Buffalo, and Hot Mustard. The conclusion? While each flavor may be distinct in its own right, each has its own tasty merits, and determining which is the best-of-the-best comes down to the consumer.

A Reddit thread confirmed these suspicions, with McDonald's lovers chiming in to cast their votes for best sauce. "One dip in the barbeque, one dip in the hot mustard, all into my mouth," wrote one user, while another enthusiastic Redditor commented, "Hot mustard. Nothing else even remotely compares ... Its literally the greatest thing ever, and i'm not even a mustard guy apart from that sweet nectar of life known as McDonald's Hot Mustard."

Luckily for dipping sauce aficionados everywhere, a fan-favorite sauce is making its way back into restaurants. But act fast: It's only for a limited time. McDonald's teased the release on Instagram, and several fans guessed correctly: The restaurant chain will start serving its coveted Szechuan sauce again. 

"Bring back the Szechuan sauce," commented one user, while another chimed in, "I want my Szechuan sauce!"

On March 21, 2022, McDonald's issued a press release to announce that it will be reintroducing Szechuan dipping sauce at restaurants across the United States "for just a few days" starting on March 31.

The press release reports that, until now, the sauce — described as having a "savory and slightly sweet taste profile with hints of soy, garlic, ginger, and mild vinegar notes" — has only been available a mere three times in the past 24 years. 

Additionally, People reports that Szechuan sauce, which was first released in 1998 to be served alongside Chicken McNuggets in "Mulan"-themed Happy Meals, has been the subject of social media campaigns to bring it back. It's so popular that people are even making dough on eBay by selling packets of the sauce from years past.

But there's an important part about the Szechuan sauce reboot that you'll have to remember. It will only be available on the McDonald's mobile app. Through the app, you'll be able to select Szechuan sauce to accompany an order of Chicken McNuggets and purchase up to five additional sauce containers — just if you need a little extra, which you know you will.

In a fun collect-them-all marketing technique, McDonald's has packaged the sauces with lettering on the lids that spells out "Szechuan" when all four are placed together (via the press release).