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Creamy, tangy and subtly sweet, homemade Big Mac Sauce is perfect for burgers, French fries, salads and beyond! This easy recipe will teach you how to make McDonald’s Big Mac sauce at home, in under 5 minutes.
Looking for more homemade sauces? Try my easy keto BBQ sauce or my Greek yogurt pasta sauce!
With this quick and easy recipe, you can recreate the creamy, tangy, and subtly sweet taste of Big Mac sauce right in your kitchen. In just under 5 minutes, you’ll have your favorite McDonald’s sauce ready for burgers, fries, salads, and more.
Table of Contents
The Big Mac and McDonald’s special sauce
Everyone knows McDonald’s. With over 40,000 restaurants around the world, it stands out as one of the most famous fast food chains. Despite seasonal burgers and limited editions, McDonald’s Big Macs remain the most famous product in their menu.
The history of Big Mac dates back to the 60s, when the franchise owner Jim Delligatti wanted to develop a new burger that would stand out. And so this meal was born, a real success that was soon to become McDonald’s most iconic burger. People all over the world love it, probably because of its double patties. Or probably because of its secret sauce.
Big Mac’s sauce is what gives the burger its unique taste. It is creamy and tangy, with a sweet flavor that perfectly complements the taste of meat and American cheese. I personally love it so much that, whenever ordering the patty, I always ask for double sauce. Looking for healthier homemade alternatives, I came up with this copycat Big Mac sauce recipe. It’s quick, easy and so delicious that it will feel like eating the original.
What is Big Mac sauce made of?
The original Big Mac sauce recipe contains about 30 ingredients, most of which are junk. From crazy amounts of sugar to nasty preservatives, you wouldn’t eat that stuff every day – although you wished so.
But things shouldn’t be like that, because my copycat Big Mac sauce recipe is here to rescue you. Made with simple ingredients that you already have in the pantry, my DIY secret sauce is a cleaner, healthier alternative to make at home. Here’s what you need:
- Mayonnaise. Choose a high quality mayo, it will make the sauce rich and creamy. As an alternative you can also use low fat mayonnaise, plant based alternatives, or a mix of mayo and Greek yogurt.
- Sweet pickle relish. This recipe uses sweet pickle relish, it adds a touch of sweetness and perfectly complements the sauce tanginess. You can replace with regular pickle relish, but in this case you’ll need 1 teaspoon sugar (instead of half).
- Grated onion. I recommend yellow onion or white onion, minced very finely. Grated onion is not the same as onion powder, you’ll need both.
- Yellow mustard. The mustard adds a slightly acid, tangy flavor that will make your homemade Big Mac sauce irresistibly delicious.
- White vinegar. For the perfect outcome, I suggest white vine vinegar. But you can also use apple cider vinegar.
- Granulated sugar. Adding half teaspoon sugar gives your McDonald’s sauce a subtly sweet aftertaste. Use regular sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar or calorie-free alternatives such as erythritol and xylitol.
- Seasonings. Sea salt, paprika, ½ teaspoon onion powder and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder pack this copycat recipe with flavors.
Whenever making McDonald’s Big Mac sauce at home, many people add French dressing, ketchup, or barbecue sauce. I wanted to keep my recipe as simple as possible, so I did not include any of these. But you are free to mix in a couple tablespoons of sauce (choose one of them), if desired.
How to make Big Mac sauce at home?
Here’s a quick overview of how to make Big Mac sauce at home. As always, I’ve included the step-by-step directions in the recipe card at the end of this blog post.
Step 1 – Combine. First of all, mince the onion very finely. Once ready, combine all ingredients in a medium-size bowl and give a good stir, until your sauce gets creamy.
Step 2 – Refrigerate. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.
How to use this copycat McDonald’s sauce?
Homemade Big Mac sauce tastes delicious, irresistibly delicious. We like it with burgers, grilled chicken, baked fries and even as a salad dressing. It’s so versatile that the options are endless. Keep on reading if you want some ideas!
- Use for homemade burgers – spread it top bun, middle bun, bottom bun or all over your sesame seed bun for a delicious meal that tastes like fast food. Looking for low carb alternatives? Make a lettuce burger instead.
- Serve as a dipping sauce for homemade French fries – make sure you try air fryer sweet potato fries and my low calorie French fries for a healthier alternative. Or indulge guilt-free in some zucchini fries!
- Enjoy with homemade fast foods – I recommend homemade chicken nuggets, air fryer chicken tenders, smash burger tacos, sliders, sandwiches and onions rings.
- Use as a salad dressing – Toss your salads with bigmac sauce for a meal that is both nourishing and satisfying. Try it with my Big Mac Salad or my Mexican street corn salad!
Storage information
After mixing all ingredients together, place the McDonald’s sauce in an airtight food container or sealable jar and refrigerate. Make sure that the container or jar is sealed tightly, this preserves freshness and taste for more time. In the refrigerator, this secret sauce will last for about 2 weeks. Before serving, remove from the fridge and give it a good stir to restore the creaminess.
No, they are not the same. Although they are very similar, they are two different things. Big Mac’s sauce has more of a sweet and tangy taste, and it does not usually contain ketchup.
No, unfortunately you can only get the original McDonald’s sauce inside the burger. As far as I know, it is not sold in containers at the grocery store. But you can still ask for some more when ordering the burger. Or even better, try my healthier homemade recipe.
If you are looking for a healthier and lower calorie sauce, you can prepare this recipe with a combination of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt. A good starting point is half mayo and half yogurt – lower in fats, higher in protein but still creamy and delicious!
Healthy fast food recipes
- Big Mac Salad
- Air fryer zucchini fries
- Salmon patties
- Low calorie French fries
- Healthy zucchini fritters
- Simple potato fritters
- Air fryer salmon bites
- Fish cakes
- Easy protein pizza
Big Mac Salad
Juicy, meaty and so tasty, this easy Big Mac salad tastes like McDonald’s burger in a bowl. But healthy, low carb and keto!
Big Mac Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup (110 grams) mayonnaise, see notes for Greek yogurt option*
- 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
- 1 tbsp minced onion, I recommend yellow onion
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- ½ tsp white vine vinegar
- ½ tsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Optional Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Fresh dressing, replace with ketchup or barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Mince the onion very finely.
- Combine all ingredients in a medium-size bowl and give a good stir, until you get a creamy sauce.
- Refrigerate homemade Big Mac sauce for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.
I’ve tried many different “Big Mac Sauce” recipes, and this one is by far the best and my favorite version I’ve tried so far. The others I’ve tried did well in terms of getting the flavor right, but the problem was that all the others turned out a little too thin — even after leaving them in the fridge overnight before using them.
One thing I did differently with this recipe is that I pressed the sweet relish to remove excess liquid, so the two tblsp of relish was mostly relish and very little of the brine solution. I know the brine solution helps add flavor to the sauce, but I still found this sauce to taste identical to actual Big Mac sauce from McDonald’s. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, Mateo.
Hello my dear Matt,
thanks a LOT for your feedback! I am SO pleased to hear that you liked our Big Mac Sauce Recipe. Wow, so happy that it tastes good, similar or as you said “identical” to the authentic Big Mac Sauce from McDonald’s.
I’ll have to try your variation, that is to say pressing the sweet relish a bit. Once again, I thank you so much for sharing with us your feedback.
Have a fantastic day,
Matteo
Just trying it tonite.
Hey Larry,
I truly hope that you liked! Let me know then☺️
this Big Mac sounds good where there are Big Mac hamburger lovers out there these days and those Big Mac sandwiches from Mc Donalds restaurants are still popular these days I think since the 80’s
Its so good! Yummy ?
Hey Liza, oh yes! This easy Big Mac sauce tastes like the original from McDonald’s But homemade!
Loved making it I made 3small batches with all with different as in barbecue sauces.family Loved it
Hey Scott,
thank you very much for your feedback! I’m incredibly happy to hear that you all loved it. That’s definitely a home favorite, here as well!
Have a great day,
Matteo
Well I hate to say this but you really don’t know what the sauce is for a big Mac is really but I’ll tell you what it it is really Thousandline dressing !