ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
People are shocked after realising what is actually in Big Mac sauce
Home>Lifestyle>Food & Drink
Updated 21:13 10 Nov 2025 GMTPublished 20:53 10 Nov 2025 GMT

People are shocked after realising what is actually in Big Mac sauce

Lots of people have tried copying the recipe

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

People have been left surprised after learning what exactly goes into the Big Mac sauce at McDonald's.

The Big Mac is almost certainly the chain's most famous burger and if you get one it'll come drizzled in its own kind of special sauce which has become a source, if you'll pardon the pun, of fascination among some of the customers.

Unlike certain other fast food outlets, McDonald's has hardly kept the ingredients to the Big Mac sauce a secret as it's got them on its website for everyone to see.

So for those in the US that's: soybean oil, sweet relish (diced pickles, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, distilled vinegar, salt, corn syrup, xanthan gum, calcium chloride, spice extractives), water, egg yolks, distilled vinegar, spices, onion powder, salt, propylene glycol alginate, garlic powder, vegetable protein (hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat), sugar, caramel color, turmeric, extractives of paprika, and soy lecithin.

Advert

It's got a not-so-secret sauce (Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It's got a not-so-secret sauce (Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

And for us Brits, it's made from: water, rapeseed oil, gherkin, spirit vinegar, sugar, modified maize starch, free range egg yolk, spices, salt, glucose-fructose syrup, thickener (xanthan gum), natural flavourings, and firming agent (calcium chloride).

Got all that? The bad news is that some of these ingredients are things you can't easily buy yourself.

Further to them not keeping the ingredients a secret, McDonald's executive chef from 2004 to 2018, Dan Coudreaut, made a video in which he directly showed people how to make it.

He showed people how to make a McDonald's style Big Mac at home and the sauce is all a part of that.

Of course, a lot of people have tried making it themselves and plenty get it wrong, especially if they end up putting ketchup in it, while they'd also like to know the measurements.

Former McDonald's chef Mike Haracz yelled that fact at people in a video and told people if they did add ketchup to the sauce that made it 'some other delicious sauce you made yourself'.

He explained that if you wanted to make it yourself, you start with one cup of mayo, a quarter cup of sweet pickle relish, two tablespoons of Dusseldorf mustard, a teaspoon of white wine vinegar, one and one quarter teaspoon of paprika, a teaspoon of onion powder and a teaspoon of garlic powder, with neither of the powders being granulated.

Lots of people have tried to make it at home and they keep getting it wrong by adding a particular ingredient, ketchup (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Lots of people have tried to make it at home and they keep getting it wrong by adding a particular ingredient, ketchup (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Next, you get one eighth of a teaspoon of white pepper, the same measure of sugar and then a pinch of turmeric, followed by vegetable protein.

Given that the chef reckoned you couldn't get what McDonald's uses for its vegetable protein, he suggested that your best bet would be a couple of granules of MSG.

Haracz said you should just mix all of that together, stick it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and then mix it up again just before serving

Quite a few Reddit users were surprised that it's predominantly a mayonnaise and mustard-based sauce rather than having ketchup, but that's the way it goes.

There were plenty who said they 'just use thousand island dressing' and hadn't realised that it wasn't quite hitting the spot right.

Now you know how to make it should the mood to buy all those ingredients and put in the work yourself take you, alternatively you could just buy a Big Mac.

Featured Image Credit: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Topics: McDonalds, Food And Drink

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Recommended reads

Pete Davidson causes controversy after Charlie Kirk joke at Netflix’s Kevin Hart RoastNetflixTeenager left hanging by broken leg on power line after car crash shares sobering new images five years laterInstagram/@_kickitkenny_9Moment two Virgin Island co-stars get intimate with each other on TVChannel 4/The SunNetflix cut brutal Lizzo weight loss joke from Kevin Hart roastNetflix

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
5 hours ago
8 hours ago
2 days ago
  • dailyrepsguy / TikTok
    2 hours ago

    Shredded dad does nothing more than 20 minutes daily workouts and the science backs him up

    Skye Mackintosh, known as the 'Daily Reps Guy' on TikTok and Instagram, is showing how you can get lean with very little time needed

    Lifestyle
  • Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
    5 hours ago

    Cadbury releases first new Twirl flavour that rivals Nestle classic

    A solid follow up to the Twirl Mint and Twirl Orange, step aside Caramac...

    Lifestyle
  • Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
    8 hours ago

    Doctor points out uncomfortable truth for people who drink between one and 13 units of alcohol a week

    People are drinking less than ever before in the UK

    Lifestyle
  • Getty Stock Image
    2 days ago

    Why you get 'squiggly floaters' in your eyes as expert explains what to do if you see them

    It can be harmless but in some cases, it can be a bad sign for your eye health

    Lifestyle
  • People are just finding out what McDonald’s Grimace actually is
  • People are only just realising what Boxing Day actually means
  • McDonald’s fans left in shock after finding out what is in Sweet ’N Sour dip
  • People left stunned after finding out what paprika is actually made from