Every Burger King Dipping Sauce, Ranked Worst To Best

Loyalists to the most royal of the fast food chains have pledged their devoted allegiance to the king — Burger King, that is. Many praise the selection of sandwiches. All of the savory, flame-grilled burgers, including the Double Whopper, as well as the lightly breaded Original Chicken Sandwich are the most heavily decorated of all the king's horses and all the king's men. For many others, though, the sides are considered the stalwart soldiers among BK's heavy-hitting troopers. The chicken tenders, french fries, mozzarella fries, and onion rings all play a mighty role in the casual dining battle.

But then there are those who can't complete any Burger King order, from behemoth burger to small fry, without securing at least one of the chain's dipping sauces. Seeking another layer of flavor, many want to enhance their orders with the perfect accompaniment. My review ranks every Burger King dipping sauce that is currently available. BK offers six colorful options of separately packaged condiments you can get for free with your order. Take a dip now into my saucy survey and see where your own personal favorites (and most despised choices) have landed.

Coming in last in my little lineup is Burger King's marinara sauce, which I immediately identified as the ultimate catfish after the very first smell and taste of its obvious deception. Though the container clearly says otherwise (it does say marinara, right?), the condiment is merely ketchup posing as marinara. That realization became even clearer when I took a quick glance at the ingredients list. With distilled white vinegar, sugar, corn syrup, and tomato paste, the ketchup connection is undoubtedly strong and straightforward.

There is at least a mild attempt to mimic marinara, with flavorings that taste subtly of garlic and mixed Italian herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. But the disappointingly weak effort still was not enough for me to get past the sweet, vinegary taste and smooth, glutinous texture. While I have a lenient and forgiving dining mindset, nothing could convince me to believe this herbal catsup was anything close to a marinara-inspired sauce. With that said, for those who typically enjoy ketchup as their go-to dipping condiment, this option would be an interesting deviation with enough similarities to stay connected to the classic choice. But it doesn't really reach anywhere near the pinnacle level of the more popular ketchup brands reviewed in a separate Chowhound ranking.

Burger King's BBQ sauce is not bad ... but it's not that great, either, and it doesn't deserve a higher standing than this. I can summarize this pick in a few simple words: Okay. Fine. Standard. While it exemplifies everything you would expect an average barbecue sauce to have, its lackluster personality mutes the bold intensity we have all come to appreciate in store-bought barbecue sauces that we've ranked. BK's take on barbecue is safe and surface-level at best, without taking a culinary creative risk of diving too deeply into a more flavorful sauce. Basically, it is what it is. It's BBQ sauce, but a rather dull BBQ sauce.

The sauce includes molasses in its sweet-and-sticky mix, a well-respected barbecue feature. However, that has to play second fiddle to the very first listed ingredient of sugar, which muffles the true smoky, caramelized tasting notes of the molasses. As for other redeeming qualities, tomato paste, distilled vinegar, tamarind concentrate, and pineapple juice concentrate bring a brief spark of bright acidity and tanginess.

And though the not-specified spices add some nuanced complexity, there is virtually no spicy heat. I would recommend this condiment to eaters who don't like anything too spicy and who would rather enjoy a tame essence of a typical barbecue sauce without committing to the "real" thing. But this BBQ sauce left me wanting more.

Exactly as promoted, Burger King's sweet and sour sauce wasn't hiding anything or leaving anything to the imagination like my two previously reviewed BK sauces. Unlike the marinara sauce, this one stayed true to its intended flavoring components. And, distinct from the BBQ sauce, the ingredients gave this sauce enough zingy, lively character.

A historically commonplace condiment in many Chinese-American restaurants, this style of sauce has comfortably found a cozy nook in the fast food sector with BK's iteration. It's a refreshing fruit-forward selection compared to the others, and I enjoyed that this one had some acidic pep in its step. The combination of pineapple and apricot puree, along with dehydrated red bell pepper, is responsible for the fruitier vibes.

Despite its sunny charm, there is one major setback: I thought this sauce was still too cloyingly sweet. The balance is slightly off, teetering just a tad too far away from the sour, tangy elements. It's a little stuck in the sticky sweetness of a sugary sauce, which tiptoes dangerously close to, but ultimately avoids, tasting like an apricot jam.

Often reserved for a classic Buffalo wings recipe, this style of sauce is an equally tasty choice among fast food finds. It doesn't hit you immediately, but Burger King's Buffalo sauce has a trick up its sleeve when you give it some time to mingle. Perhaps as an intended delayed release, this creamy condiment playfully attacks with a back-of-the-tongue mild spiciness. The sauce has a pacified heat level, which is friendly and approachable for a calm and casual weekday fast food meal, but it is definitely underwhelming for those who crave more adventurous spice. In the situation of a quick fix for lunch or dinner, when other busy plans are imminent, I'd rather not suffer from a debilitating heat-forward sauce. Spare me the indigestion, please, and hand over another packet of BK Buffalo sauce.

One of the main reasons why this sauce did not earn a higher position in the ranking is that there was a harshness to the taste and smell, a stinging sensation unrelated to the heat level that made the eating experience slightly uncomfortable. More than likely, that is because there is too much vinegar in the recipe, which makes the sauce a pinch too abrasive. But allow me to be my own devil's advocate and argue that's the intention of Buffalo sauce. And similar to the defensive strategy of a poisonous frog, the sauce's neon-orange color triggered enough of a warning for what I was about to eat.

With dual action from both prepared mustard and mustard seed, as well as some hot sauce in the mix, Burger King's honey mustard sauce had just the right amount of a mischievous pungency. But you don't need to worry about mustard being the melodramatic prima donna trying to hog all the spotlight. For those (and there are many) who don't like straight-up mustard ruining their french fries, nuggets, or burgers, this sauce is your solution. The mustard component did not engulf the other ingredients; overall, this was a well-balanced sauce with no ingredient competing with the other.

The addition of floral honey adds a sweetness that is more dynamic than simply plain white sugar. There is also some dehydrated garlic and onion, which I think helped to keep the sweetness level in check. And because there are egg yolks in the base, the sauce has a rich and creamy consistency, a most-welcome variation compared to the sticky-sweet marinara, BBQ, and sweet and sour sauces. The honey mustard sauce certainly has earned its spot close to the top, but there was still one bigger, bolder selection that rightfully kept this one from taking first place.

It's zippy and zingy, bold and bright, fun and fresh — the best dipping sauce from Burger King is the zesty sauce! So, what exactly makes this silky sauce "zesty?" It is an alluring mystery that is part of the original charm. And once I did my research, I discovered that it's a bold wildcard, an unexpected curveball that might cause a divided uproar. It may even be as controversial as the worst scandals in Burger King history. Ready? The secret ingredient is horseradish.

With an egg-yolk-thickened creamy base and a little vinegar, tomato paste, sweetener, spices, and lemon juice, it would have been a crazy decision not to include horseradish. The intensity of this particular ingredient is not as strong as you might believe; rather, its robust pungency is toned down with enough careful discipline that it becomes a strategic team player instead of an overwhelming monstrosity.

Zesty sauce has gained fame and notoriety among the online public as the preferred sauce, with insiders recommending you pair it with the onion rings on the menu (and with the rogue onion ring or two that blesses a basket of french fries with its unexpected presence). But this sauce also does wonders when paired with so many other menu favorites. I've enjoyed it multiple times slathered on nuggets, Whoppers, chicken sandwiches, and hash browns. When you welcome, rather than shun, horseradish as a taboo ingredient, you and your chosen dippers will be grateful for the tasty results.

I based my ranking system specifically on signature Burger King sauces, which means that I immediately eliminated any sauce or condiment produced by another brand as part of a partnership with Burger King. As an example, I did not touch Burger King's ranch sauce offering, which is a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch rather than a signature BK sauce.

With my recipe development background, as both an online recipe developer and as a pastry cook, I carefully analyzed the ingredients list on each sauce packet to attain a better understanding of the overall textures and flavors. I also evaluated sensory factors that contributed to the overall likeability and enjoyability of the eating experience: taste, color, smell, and texture. In addition to first trying the sauce on its own without any other food item, the real test involved using each sauce for its intended purpose: dipping. Though I would just as gladly have wielded a chicken nugget, onion ring, or section of burger as my choice of dipper, I limited the eating portion of my judgment to how well the sauce pairs with french fries, the optimal vehicle for leading the taste-tasting process.