We Tried McDonald’s Cult-Favorite Szechuan Sauce

Rick and Morty has a lot to answer for. While I’ve never watched it myself, I’m all too aware that the popularity of McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce stems largely from its prominent role in the show (and I first myself first heard of it through watching Eighth Grade, which I consider to be one of the best movies of the last decade, which itself highlighted the cartoon-driven hype around it). In another life, Szechuan sauce might have been lost to the sands of time. A McDonald’s dipping option left on the scrap heap. 

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But no: It’s a big deal. Almost a decade after a wild response to McDonald’s one-day-only Szechuan sauce stunt, and after a couple of drops here and there, it’s back as part of McDonald’s World Heist menu. That menu is currently running here in the UK – which means that I, as a British person, finally got to try it. And I wanted to give my two cents and my answer to the following: If it comes back to the US, is it worth ordering? Should you believe the hype? Is it really that good? Without further ado, here’s our review.

McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce: The Review

Pros: McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce has more complexity than I’d immediately given it credit for. It has an overriding sweet and sour vibe, but underneath, there are floral, gingery, garlicy, and Szechuan spice notes. When I say “spice,” by the way, I don’t mean “heat” – there’s absolutely no kick to this thing, and the Szechuan spice flavors are fairly muted, but it has more dynamism than you might think. It definitely errs on the sweet side, but that’s to be expected, and it’s not overpoweringly sugary.

Cons: It was the smell I noticed first. As I sat in the lower level of McDonald’s Charing Cross location yesterday and pulled off the flimsy foil top, I was immediately hit with a strong wave of vinegar. The cup was about a foot away from my face, to be clear. That vinegar was strong, people. Thankfully, when I gave it a full smell, the scent opened up, with a little more complexity: The ginger and Szechuan spices in its flavor started to come through. But we eat with our nose, as well as our eyes, before our mouths, and it was hard to shake that acidic first impression.

The texture was also an issue. After two bites, this syrupy sauce started to coat my tongue in a vaguely worrying way, and continued to do so as I walked off into the night to meet my friend. I could taste it long after I left the McDonald’s in question, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

Ultimately, McDonald’s Szechuan sauce is a good addition to its condiment canon, but it’s not the flavor behemoth you might think. Would I order it again? Probably not. Did I hate it? No. Did I finish the whole cup? Yes, and it wasn’t a struggle to do so. It was perfectly pleasant, and that’s kinda all there is to it.