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    You are Here: Masala Herb » Recipes » Sauces

    Big Mac Sauce Recipe (Copycat)

    Feb 10, 2025 by Helene Dsouza

    24.5K shares
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    • Bluesky
    Helene Dsouza
    The Big Mac sauce is a secret sauce made famous by Mc Donald's signature burger, the Big Mac.
    Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    2 Burgers
    RECIPE
    close up big mac sauce

    Make a quick homemade big mac sauce within minutes with pantry ingredients.

    This special sauce will add the classic big mac flavor to all burgers.

    Big Mac Sauce Recipe (Copycat) cover image

    My Big Mac Sauce recipe was first published on the 6th July 2018 and has been enhanced ever since.

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    Jump to:
    • Ingredient Notes
    • Process Overview
    • 📖 Recipe
    • More Uses
    • Storing
    • What is the Big Mac Sauce?
    • More Sauces like this
    • 💬 Comments

    I am the type, who wished I could use the big mac sauce on all homemade burgers.

    Such as in a double cheeseburger, MC Chicken, my Vegan Burgers. I'd use this sauce as a dip for french fries too!

    That is why I came up with my own big mac sauce copycat recipe.

    homemade big mac sauce in a spoon
    big mac sauce in a burger

    Ingredient Notes

    I have to admit, for a few years I just used a thick version of the thousand island dressing in my burgers to mimic the Big Mac Sauce.

    BUT, in the past years, I came upon a couple of recipes for the big mac sauce, such as the one found in this book.

    I also simply looked up the McDonald's website with the Big Mac Sauce ingredients.

    Here is what you will need to make this 5 minute big mac sauce.

    • White Onion — (optional) White onion is milder and better suited. You can substitute this ingredient with onion powder too.
    • Dill Pickle Relish (optional) — Not in the original recipe, but adds a lot of character to your sauce.
    • Mayonnaise — I used homemade Mayonnaise.
    • Tomato Ketchup
    • Dijon Mustard
    • Vinegar — Less intense, such as white vinegar.
    • Black Pepper
    • Salt

    Process Overview

    Step 1

    Chop onion and dill pickle fine.

    (this step can be skipped if you don't want fresh chopped onion and pickle).

    Step 2

    Add to a bowl the mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, vinegar, salt and black pepper.

    Add chopped onion and dill to this.

    sauce ingredient fro big mac sauce
    adding freshly chopped dill pickle and onion to the big mac sauce

    Step 3

    Combine all the ingredients to a smooth, well blended sauce.

    mixing copycat big mac sauce
    homemade magic sauce

    📖 Recipe

    close up big mac sauce

    Big Mac Sauce Recipe [Copycat]

    The Big Mac sauce is a secret sauce made famous by Mc Donald's signature burger, the Big Mac.
    4.67 from 15 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2 Burgers
    Calories: 103kcal
    Recipe by: Helene Dsouza

    Ingredients

    • 1 Tablespoon Onion chopped optional, *see Notes
    • 1 Tablespoon Dill Pickle chopped optional
    • 2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
    • 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
    • 1 Teaspoon Ketchup
    • 1 Teaspoon Vinegar
    • ⅛ Teaspoon Salt
    • ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
    US - Metric

    Instructions

    • Prepare the onion and pickles first by chopping them small and fine.
      1 Tablespoon Onion chopped, 1 Tablespoon Dill Pickle chopped
    • Stir the sauce ingredients, including the mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, vinegar, salt and black pepper in a mixing bowl.
      2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard, 1 Teaspoon Ketchup, 1 Teaspoon Vinegar, ⅛ Teaspoon Salt, ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
    • Add the chopped onion and pickle to this.
    • Mix the sauce. It should be well blended and smooth in appearance.
    • Keep in the fridge to cool for later (with a lid or cling film over the container), or use it straightaway on your burger.

    Notes

    1. Instead of freshly chopped onion, use onion powder. For every tablespoon of freshly chopped onion, use about ½ teaspoon onion powder at most. Onion powder is more intense in flavor than freshly chopped onion.
    2. Use an original store bought Mayonnaise, Ketchup, and Dijon Mustard.
    3. Make the big mac burger sauce vegan by substituting the Mayonnaise with vegan eggless mayonnaise.
    4. Make a bigger batch and store your favorite Big Mac Sauce in the fridge!
    5. Don't limit yourself. Try the big mac sauce on other burger varieties such as chicken or even wild game meat.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Big Mac Sauce Recipe [Copycat]
    Amount Per Serving (43 g)
    Calories 103 Calories from Fat 99
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 11g17%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Trans Fat 0.03g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 6g
    Monounsaturated Fat 3g
    Cholesterol 6mg2%
    Sodium 340mg14%
    Potassium 24mg1%
    Carbohydrates 1g0%
    Fiber 0.4g2%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 1g2%
    Vitamin A 29IU1%
    Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
    Calcium 8mg1%
    Iron 0.2mg1%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    More Uses

    Besides the obvious, a Big Mac burger Sauce, you get to use this sauce in other delicious ways too:

    • A big mac salad as a dressing
    • Chicken tenders as a dip
    • Chicken nuggets as a dip
    • Fish Sticks as a dip
    • Tacos as a topping

    Storing

    You can double or triple the big mac sauce recipe to prepare a bigger batch if you like.

    Store the freshly made sauce in your fridge in a simple glass jar or a salad dressing bottle for up to 5 days at most.

    That way you will have the sauce on hand whenever you feel like it.

    If you want to store your big Mac sauce for a longer period of time, use onion powder instead of chopped onions in your sauce because onions are perishable.

    You can freeze your sauce in batches.

    Big Mac sauce close up in a burger

    What is the Big Mac Sauce?

    The Big Mac Sauce is called the Special Sauce or Secret Sauce by MC Donald's.

    I saw some people calling it the Magic Sauce. Yep, it's like a famed unicorn at this point!

    The Big Mac Sauce Recipe is very similar to a few sauces out there but comes closest to the Thousand Island Dressing.

    Which is a popular salad dressing made of mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, vinegar and finely chopped pickled cucumbers.

    The sauce is creamy and tastes a bit tangy but well seasoned with a hint of tomato and mayo coming through.

    McDonald's big mac sauce is only used on one burger, hence the name, the mighty Big Mac. That's why the sauce is so loved because it's so unique.

    It alleviates the flavors of the burger with the two meat patties and the other ingredients. In fact, the special sauce is McDonald's signature sauce!

    Making the Big Mac the core product of the global chain.

    Unfortunately, MC Donald's doesn't sell the sauce; however, they have placed the recipe under public domain (yay!) and numerous copycat versions exist.

    More Sauces like this

    • Yum Yum Sauce — for steaks or as a shrimp dipping sauce.
    • Louie Dressing — for Shrimp or Crab Louie Salad.
    • Sweet Onion Sandwich Sauce — Subway copycat.
    • Mayocue — Mayonnaise + BBQ
    • Spicy Mayochup — Mayonnaise + Ketchup

    Dear Reader, how are you planning to use your big mac sauce?

    Big Mac Sauce Recipe (Copycat) pin picture
    24.5K shares
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    I am Helene, and I created Masala Herb in 2011. Here you will learn to cook with spices and herbs. I share from scratch, international food recipes and my mission is to teach you to cook flavorful food at home. Read More…

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    Comments

      4.67 from 15 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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    1. john m corcoran says

      July 02, 2024 at 11:00 pm

      4 stars
      i hd to triple, approx, ketsup to make it taste right

      Reply
      • Helene Dsouza says

        July 18, 2024 at 3:50 pm

        Hi John. The Ketchup brand will definitely make a difference too. I usually use Heinz only.

        Reply
    2. Nancy Breese says

      March 09, 2022 at 1:21 am

      Pickled cucumbers can be sweet or dill, etc. What flavor of pickled cucumbers do you use in the Big Mac Secret Sauce recipe?

      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Helene Dsouza says

        March 09, 2022 at 10:46 am

        Hi Nancy, I used Dill flavored pickled cucumber, but you can use whichever you prefer.

        Reply
    3. Léa Schroeder says

      December 24, 2020 at 6:48 pm

      Now I want a Big Mac! Lol, thx for sharing Helene!

      Reply
      • Helene Dsouza says

        December 25, 2020 at 3:50 pm

        You are welcome Léa 🙂

        Reply
    4. PattyBanzhof says

      September 05, 2020 at 6:45 pm

      5 stars
      I swear your copycat version IS THE BEST! It makes me actually look forward to eating my burger; normally their tasteless without this (even with all the condiments out there such as lettuce tomato, bacon, this topping blows them all out of the park! Makes burgers great with just a slice of cheese and your topping. My picky- eater 13 yo even loves it! Thank you for creating such a great burger topping! -Patty

      Reply
      • Helene Dsouza says

        September 05, 2020 at 8:42 pm

        Hi Patty, thanks for your wonderful feedback! I'm so happy to read that you and your family enjoy the homemade big mac sauce as much as we do. 🙂

        Reply
        • Patty Banzhof says

          October 29, 2022 at 10:29 pm

          5 stars
          Making it again as a dip for tonight's cheeseburger quesadillas. Have been making your sauce every couple months.....tonight I doubled the recipe so we have enough sauce for next weekend! Thanks again!

          Reply
          • Helene Dsouza says

            November 01, 2022 at 1:17 pm

            You are welcome Patty. Thanks for sharing your experience here with us. I think it's a great idea to serve it as a dip too with cheeseburger quesadillas.

            Reply
    5. Vicki says

      September 16, 2019 at 3:17 pm

      Is it really a ‘tablespoon’ of Dijon mustard?? Mine turned out very mustardy and peppery!

      Reply
      • Helene Dsouza says

        September 16, 2019 at 4:09 pm

        Yes, 1 Tablespoon Original Dijon Mustard and black pepper. Did you use the original french mustard from Maille, Edmond Fallot or Amora mustard brand? I tried this recipe once with another random brand and it was a fail.
        Mine turned out fine (as seen in the video), but you can reduce the mustard and black pepper by half if you prefer.

        Reply
        • Wanda Richardson says

          May 01, 2020 at 2:57 pm

          What brand of “pickled cucumbers” do you use in this recipe?

          Reply
          • Helene Dsouza says

            May 01, 2020 at 11:30 pm

            Hi Wanda, I used small pickles from Vlasic.

            Reply
            • Gale Soto says

              February 09, 2021 at 3:42 pm

              Sweet or dill?

              Reply
              • Helene Dsouza says

                February 10, 2021 at 2:35 pm

                I like to use the dill ones. You can choose, whichever you prefer.

                Reply
    6. Brandi says

      August 06, 2018 at 8:01 pm

      I never knew there are pickled cucumbers in this sauce , very interesting ! Going to try it on the weekend !

      Reply
    7. Renee Goerger says

      August 06, 2018 at 6:21 pm

      I don't eat many Big Mac's, but I do love them! I'm excited to make this sauce at home and add it to my own homemade burgers! Thanks for the recipe!!

      Reply

    Welcome

    Hi there! I'm Helene and here you will learn how to cook with spices and herbs. Discover global food and learn to season your food like a pro. Read more about my work and mission or head over to my food ingredient space, Unknownbite.com, and our travel space, Paulmarina.com!

    More About Me ->








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