McDonald’s BBQ Sauce Recipe

The barbecue sauce packs you get at McDonald’s are perfect to bring your chicken nugget or french fry to the next level.

But there never seems to be quite enough of it, and you’re always left scraping around the bottom of those little plastic cups to use every last morsel.

Well, because of how much people love this barbecue sauce for its perfect balance of smokey, sweet, and savory taste, the recipe has been accurately replicated.

Now, lovers of this magnificent brown sauce can make their own.

Today, we’re going to share with you how to make McDonald’s BBQ sauce at home.

You will never need to worry about running out of delicious BBQ sauce for your Chicken McNuggets again!

How to make McDonald’s BBQ Sauce

McDonald’s has spent a long time refining this recipe to perfection before adding it to its menu among other food items.

It’s also a super easy dish to prepare that takes just over 10 minutes in total, meaning if you suddenly find you’ve run out you can whip up more in no time at all!

It also makes it easy to produce a few different batches so you experiment with those ratios a bit.

Ingredients:

(4 servings)

• 1/2 cup of Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce
• 1/3 cup of Kraft original flavor barbecue sauce
• 1 teaspoon of corn syrup or white sugar

Instructions:

This can be made with minimal equipment.

All you need is a measuring cup, a bowl, a microwave, and a pan to warm everything up.

Try to measure accurately here as those proportions are vital for the final flavor.

This is also easy to scale up, so if you love the recipe you can easily double or triple it to make a literal jar of BBQ sauce so you’ll never be left without it!

Step 1:

Using a large mixing bowl, combine the 1/2 cup of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce along with the 1/3 Kraft original flavor BBQ sauce.

Stir everything together thoroughly until they have both completely combined.

Step 2:

We add 1 teaspoon of corn syrup to this mixture.

If you don’t have corn syrup at hand, a teaspoon of plain white sugar also works well! Continue stirring to incorporate this into the mixture.

Step 3:

Next, we are going to microwave them.

If you’re using a plastic bowl, transfer it to one that’s microwave-safe and heat it for 40 seconds.

If you don’t have access to a microwave it’s also possible to heat it on the stove: simply transfer the ingredients to a pan and heat it on medium temperature while continuously stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Heat until it just starts to bubble.

Step 4:

Remove the sauce from the bowl or pan and give it a stir.

Place it aside for about 15 minutes to cool.

It’s now ready to serve!

Ingredient substitutions

Although there are only 3 ingredients used in the recipe, there’s a chance you might not be able to source that specific brand.

So here are some good alternatives to use in their stead.

While they may make the flavor deviate from the exact McDonald’s one, they will still taste deliciously smokey and make great BBQ sauces.

1. DIY BBQ sauce

If you find yourself unable to source both of the required sauces for this recipe, don’t worry! An easy solution to fill the gap of that missing one is to simply DIY yourself a delicious BBQ sauce to use in its stead.

Whisk together some ketchup, light brown sugar, white wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and paprika.

Not only this is a delicious sauce by itself, but it will also work great when combined with other ingredients!

Brown Rice Syrup

If you’re not keen on using corn syrup or white sugar, brown rice syrup works as a great 1:1 substitute.

It’s made by breaking down rice starches into sugars which are then boiled into a syrup.

This is actually a healthier option than regular corn starch and won’t make your blood sugar spike so much.

It’s a favorite amongst athletes and bodybuilders for this reason.

Brown rice syrup does have its own, slightly nutty, flavor.

But this is not a bad thing, your BBQ sauce will still taste great, just not exactly like McDonald’s.

Honey

Another great substitute for sugar.

You can specifically buy a mild-flavored variety such as acacia or clover. BBQ sauce is well known for its sweet overtones so that little hint of honey will work exceptionally well.

Teriyaki sauce

If you’re not worried about substitutions that still retain the authenticity of that signature McDonald’s flavor, replacing 1 of the BBQ sauce ingredients with an equal part of teriyaki sauce will make a fantastic end result.

Teriyaki is very commonly served with meats so the flavor pairs exceptionally well with things like chicken nuggets and even fries.

Other replacements to consider are hot mustard sauce, honey mustard sauce, cajun sauce, and even Szechuan sauce: they work great and will all offer their own unique spin on the flavor.

What to serve with McDonald’s BBQ Sauce

Where to begin, McDonald’s BBQ sauce can go with almost anything. Seriously.

Not only is it great for dipping, but you can also enhance a plethora of other dishes with a big dollop of this delicious sauce.

Here are a few of our top ideas for great uses for this sauce.

Chicken McNuggets

This is the original intended use of McDonald’s BBQ sauce, they will give you small packs of sauce to dip your chicken nuggets in and it never quite felt like enough.

You’ve no doubt also enjoyed McDonald’s sweet and source sauce with nuggets too!

Now with this recipe, you are free to drown your nuggets in sauce and enjoy them guilt-free!

Sweet potato fries

Sweet potato fries (or wedges work great too, the thicker the better) are perfect for dipping into this sauce.

The sweet potato with the slight tartness of the BBQ sauce makes for a perfect pairing. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

Pizza

BBQ sauce is very commonly found on pizza, so if you ever find yourself in a situation where you have either run out of tomato sauce and need an alternative, or perhaps you have a tomato sauce pizza already and need to give it some extra kick, go ahead with BBQ sauce.

Liberal use of McDonald’s BBQ sauce will serve you well here in both scenarios.

Sandwiches and hamburgers

No matter what kind of sandwich you have, whether it’s a sub or just regular sliced bread, spreading a healthy amount of BBQ sauce on both sides of the bun or bread will enhance basically anything you wish to put inside it.

Especially with meats such as beef patties or rib sandwiches (which is why McDonald’s specifically serves it with the McRib).

How to store McDonald’s BBQ Sauce

After it’s cooled off the first time, you will want to keep it refrigerated so that it lasts as long as possible.

If you prefer your sauces served at room temperature it’s a good idea to keep a smaller bowl or bottle to the side and decant some from your main bowl so you can take it in and out of the refrigerator without needing to worry about wasting time to let it warm up.

Store in the fridge

If you have any empty ketchup or BBQ sauce bottles at hand, giving them a good wash and decanting the McDonald’s sauce into them is the perfect way to store it in the fridge.

Otherwise, simply put it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.

It will last up to 4 months once refrigerated.

Store in the freezer

Place the sauce in an adequate, air-tight storage container and freeze.

To defrost it simply take it out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature.

It will last for a long time but aim to use it within 6 months as the quality of the sauce will start to decline.