14 Discontinued Fast Food Sauces We Might Never See Again

Over the years, fast food joints have realized that it's not enough to just offer plain old mayonnaise, ketchup, and barbecue sauces, and they've expanded their selection to include increasingly exciting options. As you might expect though, not every one of these options has stuck around. Fast food businesses are just as quick to get rid of their sauces as they are to introduce them. Over the years, places like McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell have removed some all-time favorite sauces from their menus.

The reasons that fast food places get rid of sauces are often the same as the reasons that they get rid of their menu items with such regularity. A lot of the time, these sauces just aren't that popular with the general public, with fast food franchises finding it difficult to justify keeping them around. Some fast food sauces were also only ever destined to be seasonal or used in combination with certain limited-edition menu items. Plus, even things like sauces can be costly for fast food restaurants to produce, and unless their profit margins were big enough they may not have been able to justify their prices. Whatever the reason, we've taken a deep dive through the tombs of fast food sauces, to see which ones we might never taste again.

McDonald's Szechuan Sauce has a complicated history, which has given it a legendary status amongst discontinued fast food sauces. It all started back in 1998, when the Disney film "Mulan" hit cinemas across the United States. In typical McDonald's fashion, it rolled out a special sauce as a promotional tie-in. Szechuan Sauce came and went, and it seemed as though it had disappeared from public consciousness — until the animated series "Rick and Morty" featured it prominently in an episode in 2017. People were re-awakened to the Szechuan Sauce, and thousands upon thousands of people signed petitions to bring it back to McDonald's.

McDonald's responded — but its response vastly underestimated how much people wanted to try Szechuan Sauce. The restaurant chain made it available for a single day, but when hordes of people turned up to try it, it became clear that McDonald's just hadn't made enough. Discontent erupted amongst crowds; the police were called; and things went downhill. After this fateful day, McDonald's again made the sauce available in 2018, and then once more in 2022. Thankfully, neither time resulted in the unrest that its 2017 drop had caused. It looks as though McDonald's has shut the book on its sauce, though. For now.

Taco Bell's Baja Sauce first appeared at the turn of the 21st century, and was designed to go with its Baja Chalupa. This sprightly pepper jack sauce gave a creamy note to the spicy meat stuffed inside the chalupa, and was an instant hit with customers — so much so that it started appearing on its other menu items, like the Cheesy Gordita Crunch. Interestingly, the Baja Sauce didn't have its original name when first launched, and was instead just referred to as a "pepper jack sauce" in Taco Bell commercials advertising these items. Over time, though, the term "Baja Sauce" stuck.

Until it was discontinued, that is. Taco Bell switched out its Baja Sauce seemingly overnight, and replaced it with a Spicy Ranch Sauce. Taco Bell customers were devastated at the loss of this timeless condiment, and to this day people discuss how much they liked Baja Sauce and how they want Taco Bell to bring it back. The franchise clearly saw an opportunity to drive sales in another area, and took the opportunity to release a bottled Baja Sauce designed to emulate the one that was available in its restaurants. According to reviews, the store-bought sauce doesn't seem to taste much like the restaurant version, but it could do in a pinch.

Wendy's super-spicy Creamy Sriracha Sauce hit its restaurants in 2015, and for a good few years, it was a lot of people's go-to, a fiery accompaniment to their fries and nuggets. Unfortunately, it burned all of that goodwill in 2021, when Wendy's removed its Creamy Sriracha once and for all. It did so using a classic distraction tactic: Instead of loudly telling customers that it was discontinuing the sauce, it stopped serving it while promoting its new Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce and quietly pulling the sriracha dip from its restaurants.

If it did this to try to avoid any controversy, it completely failed. Customers not only noticed that the Creamy Sriracha was no longer available, but they were pretty loud in their disappointment about it, with multiple messages and threads on social media proclaiming how upset they were. This wasn't helped by the fact that a lot of people just didn't think the new Ghost Pepper Ranch sauce was up to scratch. Its Creamy Sriracha has yet to reappear on menus, and its removal is a lesson to fast food franchises everywhere: If you try to get rid of a favorite menu item, your customers will notice.

At Chick-fil-A, buttermilk is everywhere. Its chicken is dipped in a buttermilk solution before it's breaded, it's routinely served on a buttermilk biscuit in breakfast orders — and there was a time when you could dunk your chicken in buttermilk too, with its Buttermilk Ranch sauce. This sauce was beloved by fans of the restaurant, and it had a creamy tanginess that complemented the salty, savory notes of the chicken enormously, and offered some extra moisture to boot.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and in 2016 that's exactly what happened. Chick-fil-A removed its Buttermilk Ranch from stores, with its senior staff explaining that the move was part of a shift towards spicier flavors, which customers had been clamoring for. This ranch dip was replaced by a garlic and herb ranch dip – but as you might expect, this move wasn't exactly welcomed by everybody. Somewhat predictably, a minor social media storm ensued, with customers complaining that their chicken just wouldn't be the same without the Buttermilk Ranch to accompany it. These cries were ignored by Chick-fil-A, which has yet to bring back the dip from the dead.

Burger King's never been a massive competitor in the fried chicken market, but it's managed to hold its own with a few products. Alongside its chicken nuggets, it's also made waves with its Chicken Fries, elongated pieces of chicken covered in a crunchy coating and served with an accompanying sauce. In 2015, it started selling its Chicken Fry Sauce with them, with which customers promptly fell in love. One customer via Reddit stated simply that it "was one of the best ones I've tried," with the sauce giving each fry a mustardy, smoky, slightly sweet coating that created maximum flavor.

All good things must come to an end, though. Pretty soon, the Chicken Fry Sauce was removed from the menu. People were pretty upset with no longer having the opportunity to dip their fries into the creamy mixture. Luckily, this is where the booming popularity of copycat recipes really came into its own. Folks online started sharing how they could make their own versions of the Chicken Fry Sauce, by combining mayonnaise, mustard, barbecue sauce, and honey.

McDonald's Breakfast Sauce is one of those menu items that you had to be in the know about. This sauce wasn't widely available, but was a key condiment on one of its most beloved items: The bagel sandwich. A creamy sauce that was similar to Hollandaise (and, indeed, had many of the same ingredients, with some cheesy elements for extra depth), it offered a sprightly counterpoint to the eggs and bacon crammed into these bagels.

The problem was that the sauce, and the breakfast bagels themselves, just didn't seem to be popular enough to keep around. So in 2018, McDonald's Canada announced once and for all that the Breakfast Sauce had been discontinued on X, formerly known as Twitter. People weren't too happy about this, with multiple people asking for the Breakfast Sauce to be brought back. It seemed that McDonald's listened — well, sort of. Its breakfast bagels have periodically been brought back in certain stores, and in typical style for McDonald's, it's kinda anyone's guess as to where they'll be available and when you can get them. Where the bagels go, the breakfast sauce will follow. However, don't expect to find it in pots at your local restaurant any time soon.

Fast food franchises are never shy about including Asian-inspired flavors on their menus, with McDonald's famous Szechuan Sauce being clear evidence of that. Well, Burger King wasn't going to be outdone in that area — and in 2012, it unleashed its new Kung Pao sauce on the masses. This was one of a pair of sauces (the other being the Jalapeño Barbecue sauce) that were released alongside its new chicken strips, and proudly advertised its ingredients on the lid it came in, with a picture of a bottle of soy sauce sitting next to sliced chilies and garlic.

These chicken strips, however, didn't quite hit the spot, and it's fair to say that the Kung Pao Sauce didn't either. The sauce was found to be pretty salty and vinegary, with a strong hit of garlic that overpowered anything else. While it gave moisture to the dry chicken strips, it didn't exactly stand out. It's no massive surprise that the Kung Pao Sauce didn't stick around too long, and this is a rare example of a discontinued sauce that we'd say was right to cut from the menu.

If you haven't tried Taco Bell's Lava Sauce, you haven't lived — and unfortunately, you may not be able to try it again any time soon. This sauce was first introduced back in 2008, accompanying its Volcano Taco. This ultra-cheesy, ultra-spicy sauce was the perfect way to add buckets of flavor to these run-of-the-mill tacos, turning them into a serious event (that left people gasping for water afterward).

This sauce stuck around for a good few years, but it was eventually removed from the menu to likely make room for Taco Bell's other offerings. Then, the dance of the discontinued menu item began in full, with the Lava Sauce showing up and being discontinued in various forms. It first returned to Taco Bell's main menu in 2015 in the Volcano Quesarito, before promptly being shunted from the shelves. Following this, it made a grand comeback in 2023, when Taco Bell brought back its Volcano Menu. The limited-edition menu led customers to question whether the franchise would ever bring back the sauce for good, and as yet it's pretty unclear. Luckily, if you want to try it, you can recreate Taco Bell's Lava Sauce at home.

When McDonald's brought out its Sweet Chili Sauce back in 2010, people rejoiced. The restaurant chain debuted its Sweet Chili Sauce in tandem with the Vancouver Winter Olympics, and, while it did its best to justify that link, it was clear that it was just hopping on the sweet chili craze sweeping the world at the time. Hey, we're not complaining — this spicy, syrupy sauce was the perfect accompaniment to nuggets and fries.

McDonald's Sweet Chili Sauce was a big enough hit to keep around for four whole years. However, like so many sauces before it, it soon disappeared. In 2014, McDonald's removed its Sweet Chili Sauce from the menu, leaving customers having to scrabble through their old sachets to get their fix. As this sauce didn't deviate too much from the standard formulation for sweet chili sauce, it wasn't a huge loss, but it was still sad not to be able to order it with your food. McDonald's brought the sauce back for a brief period in 2021 to coincide with the BTS Meal, but since then it hasn't been anywhere to be seen.

Hot honey hits the spot with many foods, but it really comes into its own with fried chicken. The combination of sweet honey and fiery spice brightens up the salty crunch of the chicken enormously, and ever since it's taken the world by storm, fast food joints have been trying to figure out how to incorporate it. In 2022, Wendy's nailed its use of hot honey with its Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich, released alongside its Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit. Both of these items came drenched in a Hot Honey Sauce that had the perfect balance of habanero spice to mellow sweetness. It was the stuff of dreams, folks.

Well, as with all dreams, you've gotta wake up sooner or later — and in September of 2022, Wendy's shook us from our slumber by removing the Hot Honey Sauce from the menu. Wendy's didn't go into any great detail about exactly why it was taking this sauce away from its customers, but maybe the hot honey trend had just run its course. Customers were still able to get it while stocks lasted, but soon enough, Hot Honey Sauce was gone, and it hasn't been seen since.

"Finger lickin' good." KFC's immortal catchphrase was first coined in the 1950s, when a restaurant manager for a Phoenix-based restaurant allegedly uttered the famous words spontaneously about the chicken. Since then, KFC has used the "finger lickin'" phrase to market its products endlessly, and it even became the name of its Finger Lickin' Good Sauce. The sauce was a favorite of customers, and was a creamy, slightly tangy affair that paired well with its salty chicken. It seemed to be a real winner, and there was no sign of it disappearing.

Then, unfortunately, 2020 happened. Once COVID-19 hit and changed the way we all lived forever, certain questions about hygiene came to the forefront of everyone's minds. It became clear that the "Finger Lickin' Good" slogan would no longer work for KFC, thanks to the connotations it had at a time of increased public consciousness about health and safety. When the catchphrase was retired, the Finger Lickin' Good Sauce went with it. This wasn't just a rebrand: KFC decided to debut a completely new sauce, the aptly named KFC Sauce, which had a slightly different flavor profile that embraced an undertone of smokiness.

While ranch isn't typically too fiery, incorporating heat from chilies like habaneros is a great way to make it more interesting. This is something that McDonald's was unafraid to embrace when it brought its Habanero Ranch to the market. Appearing in its stores in the mid-2010s, this sauce was a hit amongst the people who liked its smoky flavors and gentle heat, combined with the creamy tanginess of ranch.

The problem, though, was that just not enough people liked it. "Habanero ranch, by an extremely wide margin, was the poorest performing sauce, and one store I worked at actually had to waste quite a bit of it due to primary shelf life," explained someone who appears to have been a McDonald's employee at the time via Reddit. It's clear that McDonald's just couldn't justify having such a poorly-selling sauce taking up valuable space in its kitchens, and it decided to discontinue it. As is usually the case when it comes to discontinued sauces, an online petition soon sprang up to try and get McDonald's to bring back the Habanero Ranch. However, its numbers appeared to reflect the sauce's popularity, with the petition achieving less than 500 supporters before it closed.

Orange chicken is a classic in Chinese restaurants across the world, and features the same breaded, deep-fried chicken pieces that you'd find in places like KFC. However, given that KFC uses southern-fried flavors and orange chicken is based around soy, ginger, garlic, and citrus notes, the two couldn't be more different. So it was slightly surprising when KFC introduced its Orange Ginger Sauce as a dip choice. It was even more surprising that it didn't totally clash with its chicken, with its sweet and sour notes combined with a touch of heat pairing well with the breaded protein and helping to lift things slightly.

However, while this dipping sauce was far from a failure, it also wasn't destined for greatness. Perhaps its flavors were just too big of a deviation from the secret blend of herbs and spices that coat the chicken. Perhaps its other sauces, like its Honey Mustard option, were just better. Either way, the Orange Ginger Sauce was soon discontinued.

Domino's sauces have the power to take its pizza from great to utterly delicious — you just have to ask anyone who's tried its garlic and herb dip for proof of that fact. That dip's not the only one people have fallen in love with though, and for a time, its Kicker Hot Sauce was at the top of the pack. This sauce was both available as a dip in itself and as an accompaniment to its wings, and it was a thick, mildly spicy affair with a strong taste of cayenne running through it. Its gentle fieriness served a vital function in bringing some spice to your pizza.

Sadly, the Kicker Hot Sauce was not destined to stick around for long. Just a few years after it was introduced, Domino's quietly discontinued the sauce. The pizza chain replaced it with another hot sauce which it hoped would hit the spot just as well, but customers reported that it just wasn't up to scratch, and had an insistent, overbearing sweetness that the Kicker Hot Sauce didn't provide. The obligatory online petition to bring back Domino's Kicker Hot Sauce followed, but it only got a couple hundred signatures.