Making a Big Mac at home is quite easy if you know how to master one thing: the classic Big Mac Sauce. Indeed, this creamy, yet tangy Special Sauce is essentially what makes the Big Mac stand out in our food memory bank. Not only can this sauce be used to make a vegan Big Mac at home, but it can also be used as a dip or a creamy salad dressing.
While it might sound daunting, McDonald’s Special Sauce is actually quite easy to make vegan. And the best part about it is that you can most likely make it with ingredients you already have at home.
Keep reading to learn more about McDonald’s Special Sauce and how to make a vegan Big Mac sauce copycat recipe at home.
What's The Big Mac Sauce Recipe?
For obvious reasons, McDonald’s official Big Mac sauce recipe is kept top secret. While the ingredients are listed on the McDonald’s website, there is a lot that we don’t know, such as the methodology, exact proportions of ingredients, and precise spice mix.
To give you an idea of what the sauce is made of, here are the official Big Mac sauce ingredients listed on McDonald’s Canadian website:
Soybean oil, Sweet relish (sugars, cucumber, water, vinegar, salt, xanthan gum, natural flavours, calcium chloride), Water, Vinegar, Liquid egg yolk, Onion powder, Spices (including mustard), Salt, Sugar, Garlic powder, Paprika extract, Propylene glycol alginate, Caramel colour, Hydrolyzed (corn, soy, wheat) proteins.
If we exclude the more difficult-to-source ingredients, we can conclude that the Big Mac sauce is made up of an emulsifier (such as oil), sweet relish, sugar, distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, and a mix of spices, including onion powder, salt, garlic powder, turmeric, paprika.
The less recognizable ingredients, such as propylene glycol alginate, xanthan gum, calcium chloride, and soy lecithin, are used to emulsify, stabilize, and thicken the sauce. When making a Big Mac sauce copycat recipe at home, most people will simply use mayonnaise, which is already emulsified. Since we are making it vegan, we will use a vegan mayonnaise.
How to Make Vegan Big Mac Sauce
McDonald’s Big Mac sauce is the perfect balance between creamy and tangy. To achieve this, we basically need to combine a source of fat (vegan mayo for its creaminess) and acidity (distilled vinegar, as per the official Big Mac sauce ingredients).
Next, we need to sweeten it and season it with salt and the combination of spices that make up its flavour profile. To simplify the recipe, we used French dressing which contains mustard, paprika, sugar, and other ingredients that help complete the Big Mac sauce.
As per the official Big Mac sauce ingredients, we also need to add sweet relish to the mix to give the sauce its signature texture.
Once the ingredients for the sauce are well combined, the sauce should be put in the fridge for at least an hour. This step is important as it will allow the ingredients to come together to form the flavour profile we’re looking for.
Here’s exactly how you can make a vegan Big Mac sauce copycat recipe from home. If you’re not vegan, feel free to use whatever mayonnaise you have on hand.
Best Vegan Copycat Big Mac Sauce Recipe
Want to make the perfect vegan Big Mac sauce from the comfort of your home? You’ve come to the right place! Here are the ingredients needed and steps to be taken in order to make a copycat Big Mac sauce, completely vegan.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- ½ cup mayonnaise (we use Hellman’s Vegan Mayonnaise)
- 2 tbsp French dressing (we use Kraft French Dressing since it’s vegan-friendly)
- 2 tbsp Sweet Pickle Relish
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp white sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
Steps:
- Add all of the above ingredients to a small bowl.
- Mix until well combined.
- Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight for best results.
Prep time: 2 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 2 minutes
Yield: Makes ¾ cup of Big Mac sauce
How to store: Big Mac sauce can be stored in a closed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
Is McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce vegan?
Based on the ingredients listed on McDonald’s official website in Canada, Big Mac sauce is dairy-free but not vegan. Big Mac sauce is not vegan because it contains egg yolks.
Is McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce vegetarian?
Based on the ingredients listed on McDonald’s official website in Canada, Big Mac sauce is not vegetarian since it contains egg yolks. However, if you’re a vegetarian who still eats eggs, also known as an ovo-vegetarian, Big Mac sauce could be considered vegetarian-friendly.
