McDonald's Introduced Its Iconic McNuggets With Only 4 Sauces

While they're a mainstay menu item at one of America's biggest fast-food chains these days, McDonald's chicken McNuggets are a relatively recent invention. The Golden Arches has been serving customers since 1955, but McNuggets weren't available at the restaurant until 1983. Upon their debut, customers could enjoy nuggets in various sizes, including a whopping 20-piece order. As for accompanying sauces, which some would argue is a defining factor in the McNugget experience, customers had just four options.

If you ordered its chicken nuggets in 1983, you could choose from barbecue, honey, hot mustard, and sweet and sour sauces. While most of these options remain on the menu, hot mustard is sadly no more. It appears to have been pulled from the national menu in 2015 but select locations may offer it as an option. While these classic sauces were a big reason why customers fell in love with McNuggets, they pale in comparison to the wide selection currently available.

Since the 1980's the chain has introduced more than 25 different sauce flavors to the U.S. market alone, which have included everything from green chili salsa to cranberry orange. Some of these options have since been discontinued or just were offered for a limited-time run. Today, McDonald's current menu typically offers eight sauces to adorn McNuggets — keep in mind that options are likely to vary from location to location. These include creamy ranch, honey mustard, hot picante, ketchup, mild picante, spicy buffalo, sweet and sour, and tangy barbecue. 

McDonald's beloved Big Mac sauce is conspicuously absent, as it's reserved for use on the chain's famous burgers of the same name. The restaurant once offered Big Mac sauce cups, but only for a limited period. However, you may be able to snag some extra sauce for dipping depending on the policies at your local McDonald's. It doesn't hurt to ask but remember that your mileage may vary when it comes to scoring extra sauce for dipping.

Along with the tried-and-true dipping sauces, McDonald's also has some new sauces in the works to tantalize the taste buds of its customers. The chain recently debuted new sauces, much to the delight of chicken McNugget fans. Mambo sauce features a vinegary tomato base with a bit of heat, while the new sweet and spicy iteration includes cayenne and Szechuan peppercorn. These sauces aren't intended to be a permanent part of the menu, so their availability is likely to vary.

McDonald's also recently released a brand-new sauce complete with a compelling backstory. The WcDonald's savory chili sauce features ginger, soy sauce, garlic, and chili flakes. The sauce is inspired by isekai anime, which entails transporting a character to a sort of parallel universe. Reviews of the new savory chili WcDonald's sauce are pretty positive thus far, which means fans of the chain's McNuggets have a tasty new option to consider on their next fast-food excursion.