Create A Chick-Fil-A Dupe At McDonald's With This Sauce Combo

Alongside Raising Cane's mysterious peach-colored sauce and In-N-Out's Thousand Island-style dressing, Chick-fil-A Sauce is one of the most iconic, beloved fast food condiments. However, if you ever get a craving for crispy chicken dipped in this special sauce and Chick-fil-A is too far away (or it's a Sunday), you can go to McDonald's. There, you can recreate Chick-fil-A sauce using McDonald's honey mustard, ranch, and Tangy BBQ sauce.

With a creamy, coating texture and smoky, tangy, slightly sweet flavor with a subtle mustardy kick, Chick-fil-A sauce is the absolute best condiment at the chain, but there's no huge secret behind its deliciousness. According to a 2012 post on X (formerly Twitter) from Chick-fil-A, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing are what's really in Chick-fil-A sauce. This means you can recreate it at any restaurant that offers this trio of condiments, including McDonald's.

To make your Chick-fil-A dupe, you need one packet each of the three McDonald's sauces, plus a vessel for mixing them. An empty condiment cup will do, but if you order McNuggets or another entree, consider popping open the cardboard box and using the lid half as a larger mixing dish. Squeeze the sauces out in roughly equal amounts, mix thoroughly, and watch as it takes on a pale orange, Chick-fil-A-esque hue. 

If your McDonald's dupe doesn't taste close enough to Chick-fil-A sauce, you can play around with the ingredient quantities. Rather than using equal amounts of ranch, honey mustard, and barbecue sauce, some fast food fans use half the amount of mustard while keeping the ranch and barbecue equal. Several customers recommend using this ratio and adding a bit of honey, too. Luckily, McDonald's selection of sauces includes pure honey as an option, so you can grab some and see if it makes your Chick-fil-A copycat more authentic.

As for what to enjoy with your sauce, McNuggets are an obvious choice, but McDonald's McCrispy Strips may be a little closer to Chick-fil-A's chicken. Unlike McNuggets, these strips are made with whole pieces of breast meat and a rougher, more craggy fried coating, better resembling Chick-fil-A's nuggets or Chick-n-Strips. On the other hand, when you're craving Chick-fil-A's classic chicken sandwich with its signature sauce, your best bet is to order a McCrispy. This McDonald's sandwich is super similar to Chick-fil-A's, featuring fried chicken with two pickle chips on a soft toasted roll. 

If you instead prefer Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Sandwich, you're in for a treat, as McDonald's actually makes a better spicy chicken sandwich than Chick-fil-A. The Golden Arches' Spicy McCrispy is crunchy, juicy, peppery, and comes with a creamy, spicy sauce. With the addition of DIY Chick-fil-A sauce, it can come even closer to satisfying your cravings.