The Unexpected McDonald's Dipping Sauce To Try With Your Nuggets

From burgers and fries to egg sandwiches and ice cream cones, the McDonald's menu is more timeless than it is adventurous. But that doesn't mean you can't experiment with it to customize some funky yet flavorful combinations of your own. One of the simpler ways to hack the McDonald's menu is by dipping one of its most famous items — chicken McNuggets — in surprising sauces. But we're not talking about a tub of Szechuan, we're talking about caramel sauce.

Although McDonald's caramel sauce isn't part of its official dipping sauce roster, you can order it as a standalone ingredient and use it as one anyway. Despite being made for coffee drinks and sundaes, this rich, toffee-adjacent sauce complements the savory, salty taste of chicken like a culinary yin and yang. Despite being synonymous with sweetness, caramel flaunts a complex flavor tapestry with nutty, buttery, and toasty notes, making each bite a symphony of flavor. Not to mention that its silky texture is a pleasant contrast to the crunchy boot-shaped chicken bites, jazzing up not just its flavor, but also its mouthfeel.

McDonald's previously sold an official caramel sauce that was unfortunately discontinued in 2011. However, McDonald's serves its caramel sauce, which is now listed as a syrup, by the pump. Like all menu items, prices vary by location. Just request a few pumps of caramel syrup alongside your meal to enjoy this unconventional but surprisingly sophisticated combination.

Dunking McNuggets into caramel sauce is a bold and flavorful choice as it is. But since you're already experimenting with ambitious combinations, you should know that there are additional ingredients you can combine with the McDonald's caramel sauce for an even more dynamic dipping experience.

To keep things simple, combine caramel sauce with other McDonald's dipping sauces for a cheffy and inventive remix on an already daring order. Mixing caramel sauce with honey mustard culminates in a silky smooth amalgam of on-the-noise sweetness tinted by accents of mustard seed spiciness. For a deeper contrast, combine caramel sauce with buffalo sauce for a more present kick of tangy heat. Barbecue sauce and caramel are more similar than you think, the caramel-y notes of the BBQ dip mesh seamlessly with the sweet dipping sauce, providing its dessert-like taste with a touch of sticky, savory smokiness.

Although fast food is all about convenience, if you can find the time and energy, consider combining caramel sauce with some at-home ingredients. Miso paste, for example, gives caramel sauce a much-needed blast of umami. No miso paste? No problem, Worsechetire or soy sauce works similarly. A spoonful of chili crisp adds an allium-forward, spice-tinted trim to caramel that also transforms its texture into a more saucy condiment.

Regardless of whether you combine it with added ingredients or keep it straight and simple, caramel sauce is the unexpected McDonald's worth dunking McNuggets in. Dare we suggest pairing it with the new Chicken Big Mac?