This One Arby's Sauce Easily Ranked Worst In Our Taste Test

Foodie fans of "The Simpsons" won't soon forget the iconic episode in which the children of Springfield find themselves lost in the woods, and one character remarks, "I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's" ("Gosh" and "wow" remark the other kids). Even self-professed Arby's fans will likely admit that, yeah, the chain isn't exactly known for being top-quality, or for producing sandwiches that remotely resemble the advertised photos. It's known for having the meats ... and it's got 'em. But, to get the most out of your Arby's visit (however infrequent), we advise steering clear of the cheddar cheese sauce. In Tasting Table's ranking of every sauce from Arby's, the cheddar cheese sauce fell to last place by a long shot. Every other condiment was leagues ahead.

For starters, calling Arby's cheddar cheese a "sauce" at all is a pretty far reach. As we mentioned in our review, the sauce tastes "highly processed" and "gelatinous," likely because "the first ingredient in Arby's cheddar cheese sauce is water, followed by canola oil [...] Cheddar cheese is listed fourth (after modified corn starch)." On the chain's permanent menu, it comes as one of two sauces on an Arby's Beef 'N Cheddar sandwich, but it can also be ordered separately (for an upcharge, unlike nearly all other Arby's sauces, which come for free) for dunking fries or mozzarella sticks. All in all, this hot, gooey "cheese" is decadent in a low-quality way. But, do we recommend ordering it? No.

It's worth noting that in a previous ranking, we named Arby's Beef 'N Cheddar as our all-time favorite Arby's sandwich – and, per the namesake, that bleak cheddar cheese sauce is one of the sando's key ingredients. As we admitted then, "It's really nothing more than a glorified nacho cheese," but in tandem with Arby's red ranch sauce, the combo somehow yields better than the sum of its parts. It's arguably the only exception to the "Arby's-cheddar-cheese-sauce-isn't-good" rule. Even then, we're willingly suspending our disbelief in order to make eating this sando pleasurable (i.e. don't think about it too hard, just enjoy it).

Customers seem to echo our take. A Reddit thread with over 4,700 upvotes dedicated to the Beef 'N Cheddar quips, "Using the term 'cheese,' very loosely here, I see." Elsewhere online, a YouTube video by viral foodie Sam the Cooking Guy with 3.85 million subscribers reviews Arby's cheddar cheese sauce, and after taking a bite, notes, "The sauce, wow, there ain't nothin' special there," calling the sauce "a little weird-tasting." A comment on the video from an apparent Arby's employee chimes in: "Having been a shift manager, they use [...] heated canned cheese sauce served through a pump on the top." Ultimately, this cheddar cheese abomination rivals only Arby's discontinued elk and venison burger in the Hall of Shame. Instead, stick to Arby's hickory-smoked BBQ – the sauce that placed highest in our ranking.