For some they might be a mere afterthought, but we – like many others – happen to believe that the right sauce or dip can take a fast food meal to the next level. From classic dips that match perfectly with crispy, golden French fries to spicy sauces and more, here we reveal the greatest fast food condiments of all time.
What's your go-to sauce? Click or scroll through our gallery to discover which dip or condiment we've ranked as the greatest of them all.
We've based our ranking on the enduring popularity of each condiment in its place of origin and beyond, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.
The fast food giant is launching a brand new dipping sauce for its McNuggets, inspired by the cult favourite Black Garlic Sauce from McDonald's Japan – and it’s already causing a stir with fans. This limited-time, app-only sauce is only available in the US and has been developed as part of a partnership with the popular anime series Jujutsu Kaisen – the packaging features eight unique lid designs depicting characters from the show. According to McDonalds, the sauce itself has ‘notes of garlic and soy sauce, balanced with a slight tangy sweetness’, and if it’s anything like the wildly popular Japanese version, it’s sure to be an instant classic.
Sonic recently grabbed the headlines when it released its Groovy Fries (a new version of its classic fries that are designed with deep grooves to make them perfect for dipping), but it’s the chain’s accompanying Groovy Sauce that has fast food fans hooked. A mouth-watering combination of creamy ranch, herbs and sriracha, it’s so good you’ll want to drizzle it on everything.
Taco Bell offers a variety of lip-smacking hot sauces, each with its own flavour profile and level of heat, running the gamut from mild to the extremely fiery Diablo sauce. But the one spice lovers rate the most is the Fire sauce – a medium-hot condiment that’s ideal for those who like a significant kick, but nothing too painful. Fans praise the sweet and subtly smoky flavour and say it works with pretty much everything on the menu. It’s so popular you can even buy it by the bottle.
Canadian fried chicken chain Mary Brown's offers a regular honey mustard dip, but it's the signature Honey Dill Sauce that in-the-know fans ask for. This classic combo of mayo, honey and dill was invented at Mitzi's Chicken Finger Restaurant in Winnipeg, Canada by accident, when the owner was trying to recreate a dish he'd eaten in another restaurant. It's since become a Canadian staple, especially for dipping chicken, and Mary Brown's sells bottles of its own version.
This dip might have appeared nearer to the top of this list had Wendy's not allegedly tweaked the recipe for its much-loved barbecue sauce in 2019. This caused such an uproar that more than 8,000 people signed an online petition to bring the old recipe back and the company was bombarded with complaints on social media. Some disgruntled customers think the new version is too watery and sweet, and miss the tang of the original.
This condiment is only available to KFC fans in the UK and Ireland, but it's a good one. Supercharger Mayo is used to give a kick to KFC burgers and wraps, and you can also get pots of the dip to coat your nuggets or wings in, too. So popular is the fiery condiment, the chain started selling bottles of the stuff in stores in 2019 – though unfortunately it's since stopped.
Honey mustard is a classic dip choice, with lots of fast food joints offering their take on it – yet McDonald's didn’t add its version to the menu until 2011. When the company first introduced chicken nuggets in the 1980s, one of the dip choices was plain honey. That is still officially on the menu, but is now overshadowed by its tangy sister, with its blend of zesty Dijon mustard, sweet notes from the honey and a hint of spice.
Chick-fil-A's namesake sauce might get the most attention, but this alternative offering from the brand has a devoted following. The US fried chicken chain describes its Polynesian Sauce, which was added to the menu in 1984 (pre-dating the iconic Chick-fil-A sauce), as a ‘sweet and sour sauce with a strong, tangy flavor’. When the company surveyed its restaurants, it found the dip was especially popular on the East Coast of the US.
If you've tasted McDonald's Szechuan Sauce, consider yourself lucky; it's only appeared on the menu a handful of times. The bold, tangy dip, with its ‘hints of soy, garlic, ginger and mild vinegar notes’, was originally released as a limited-edition item in 1998, as part of the company’s Disney Mulan-themed Happy Meal. It reappeared in 2017 and 2018, and as a surprise drop for just a few days in 2022. You never know – it could pop up again sometime soon.
Ketchup is the ultimate fast food condiment and, while many would say you can't improve on perfection, US chain Whataburger gave it a good go. Whataburger Spicy Ketchup made its debut on menus as a limited-edition sauce in 2012, and was such a hit it became a permanent addition a year later. If you're looking to pep up your fries with something just a little fiery, this is the condiment to go for.
When you're indulging in some super-spicy chicken wings, you're going to need something to bring down the heat. That's where Wingstop's Regular Ranch Dip comes in. The dressing, made with buttermilk, mayonnaise and ranch seasoning, is a favourite with customers of the wing chain, who praise the sauce’s subtle garlic kick. Some have said they love it so much, they'd take a bath in it – which led Wingstop to create a ranch-scented soap in 2023.
Order nachos at Taco Bell and they'll arrive covered in this deliciously creamy sauce. You can also get it as a side, so you can dip your fries, quesadillas or tacos into the molten, cheesy goodness. Basically, pretty much everything is improved by the addition of this delicious dip, which the chain describes as 'warm, melted, cheese gold'.
It might sound like it should be a zingy, citrus-flavoured dip, but the main ingredient in Burger King's Zesty Sauce is actually horseradish. While perhaps not the obvious accompaniment to onion rings or fries, it totally works, making this one of the most delicious dips on offer at the fast food chain. In 2019, a global shortage of horseradish meant the sauce was hard to come by for a while.
Beloved chicken chain Popeyes put a new spin on an old classic with its Blackened Ranch Sauce. The creamy, smoky, slightly spicy dip is so good, you could happily just scoop it out the pot with your finger and be done. We recommended pairing it with some tasty chicken tenders or crispy wings.
The perfect match for crunchy, golden McNuggets (and introduced at the same time), McDonald’s Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce features a slightly surprising, rather sophisticated-sounding blend of apricot and peach, with a scattering of savoury spices mixed in. The result is a pleasingly fruity dip that leaves just a hint of lingering heat behind. A hit from the start, the dip remains on the menu to this day.
We mean no disrespect at all to this US fast food chain’s signature Arby’s Sauce (a tasty mix of barbecue sauce and ketchup) when we say that Horsey Sauce reigns supreme as king of the dips here. The mayo-based condiment has just the right amount of zippy horseradish kick and matches brilliantly with the brand’s beloved roast beef sandwiches – though it works perfectly as a dip for fries, too.
Sure, you can get guacamole in your burrito or your salad bowl, but Chipotle's take on the avocado dip is so good that you'll want to get a pot on the side, too. Chipotle hand mashes its creamy, chunky guac from scratch each day using Hass avocados, red onion, jalapeños, coriander, lime juice and salt. The result is a taste sensation that’s particularly delicious served with the brand’s signature lime tortilla chips.
American fast food chain Raising Cane's (which was named after the founder's dog) specialises in chicken fingers, and its house condiment – Cane’s Sauce – is legendary. The company says the creamy, mayonnaise-based sauce is ‘tangy with a little bit of spice and full of flavour’. Fans speculate that there’s ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in there somewhere, but the exact recipe is strictly guarded. The general manager of each franchise is told the recipe orally – it’s never written down – and sworn to secrecy.
Midwestern fast food chain Culver’s is loved for its frozen custard, golden cheese curds and ButterBurgers, but fans also adore its Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Sauce. The signature sauce is made from a creamy mix of sharp Wisconsin Cheddar and fresh dairy, and is served hot, for delicious dunking. The family-run company particularly recommends pouring the sauce over its beef pot roast sandwiches or chill cheese fries.
When Burger King reintroduced its famous chicken fries in 2015, it brought in a special new sauce to accompany them. So confident was the company of the dip’s tastiness, it was dubbed ‘the sauce of all sauces’, and a social media campaign told customers to #AskForTheSauce. Though the recipe was top secret, it was believed to be made from a combination of Burger King BBQ Dip mixed with honey mustard sauce. As predicted, it went down a storm, but was sadly discontinued.
Hot Mustard Sauce holds cult status amongst McDonald's fans, not least because it's so mysterious. One of the original dips brought in to accompany McNuggets in the 1980s, the item was apparently discontinued in 2014 – yet it can often still be found in McDonald's restaurants in certain regions of the US. If you're lucky enough to spot this tangy, spicy favourite don't hesitate – just get dunking.
Nearly every fast food joint offers some variation on barbecue sauce and everyone will have their favourite, but there's no doubt that McDonald's is the best-known. Amazingly, barbecue wasn't in the original line-up of McDonald's chicken nugget dipping sauces – it was added later, and became an instant classic. In 2024, controversy ensued in the UK when the chain announced it would be axing its regular barbecue dip in favour of a new Sweet & Smoky BBQ Dip.
KFC's gravy is nothing short of legendary. Colonel Sanders was famously obsessed with the quality of his gravy, but his recipe was so complex and time consuming that, after he sold the business, the chain adopted a simpler one, said to be made with gravy powder, water and the crackling leftover from deep frying all those chicken pieces. The Colonel might not have approved, but plenty of others do – in June 2022, a newly launched KFC in the UK sold 5,000 pots of gravy within its first eight hours of opening.
In-N-Out likes to set itself apart from other fast food burger chains, highlighting that nothing in its meals is ever frozen or pre-prepared. The company also opts to refer to its famous burger topping as a 'spread' instead of a sauce. The exact recipe for the condiment, which comes in sachets and is a key component in its famous Animal Style burgers and fries, is top secret, but mayonnaise, ketchup and burger relish are thought to feature.
For those who just can't decide whether they want to dunk their chicken in barbecue sauce or honey mustard, US chain Chick-fil-A's signature sauce is the tasty answer. Amazingly, its existence is a complete accident; in the 1980s, a Chick-fil-A employee at a branch in Virginia accidentally mixed the chain's barbecue sauce in with its honey mustard one. Customers absolutely loved the sweet, smoky taste, and the rest is history.
Whoever had the idea of creating dips for pizza crusts is a genius, as is the person who came up with the recipe for this herby, garlicky dip from Domino's. The creamy, tangy concoction is so addictive that in 2023, it was reported that the British public ate enough of the stuff to fill 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The pizza chain launched a vegan version of the dip in 2020.
Burger chain Shake Shack's signature ShackSauce recipe is so top secret, the company didn't even publish it in its very own cookbook. Instead, it gave readers a recipe that was 'close enough' to the original, containing mayo, mustard, ketchup, pickling brine and cayenne pepper. The sauce is used on Shake Shack burgers, but you can (and should) ask for an extra pot on the side to dip your fries into.
McDonald's fans have spent years pleading for the tasty secret sauce used on Big Macs to be sold separately. The chain eventually relented, releasing limited-edition pots in the UK in 2020 and in the US in 2023. It meant customers could add the sauce – believed to be made from a blend of ingredients including Thousand Island dressing, mayonnaise and pickle relish – to other burgers, dip their nuggets and fries into it or just devour it straight from the tub.
Now feast your eyes on the greatest fast food side dishes of all time
Last updated by Natasha Lovell-Smith.