Bottom Line: The Mambo Sauce from McDonald’s offers a more adult dipping sauce with some heat while the Sweet & Spicy Jam goes overboard on the sweetness.
McDonald’s has had dipping sauces available since they introduced the Chicken McNuggets all the way back in 1983. Thus, it doesn’t really seem like all that big of a news flash when new sauces arrive, but these guys have been advertising the hell out of their Mambo Sauce and Sweet & Spicy Jam lately. It’s like I can’t turn on the television or watch of video on the internet without seeing a commercial for these sauces. Heck, you go to their website right now, and that is the first thing you see. So when I stopped by the Golden Arches recently for a quick lunch, I decided to give them a try and report back on whether these are something that spicy food lovers will want to seek out.
Here is the description of each from the website:
Mambo Sauce: With roots in Washington DC’s Black community, Mambo Sauce’s history is just as rich as its flavor. McDonald’s take on this classic dipping sauce is tomato-based, sweet, spicy and vinegary—inspired by the DC Area Mambo Sauce. There are 60 calories in a packet of McDonald’s Mambo Sauce.
Sweet & Spicy Jam: McDonald’s Sweet & Spicy Jam dipping sauce is a jammy red pepper sauce with a Szechuan peppercorn kick and extra heat from cayenne pepper; finished with apple cider vinegar.
I should note at this point that I am not a fan of McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets which is considered the primary vessel for their dipping sauces. I do like the spicy McNuggets (see my review of those here), and I do like nuggets from places like Burger King and Wendy’s. But for some reason, Ronald’s regular ones just don’t work for me, so I used my fries for testing out the sauces.
The Mambo sauce tastes like what you would get if you mixed ketchup with a spicy jalapeno jelly. It’s got the tomato tang in there, but also a whole lot of sweetness and a bit of a fruity flavor along with a hint of vinegar. Basically, it is a more complex dipping sauce that should appeal more to adult tastes. It is a little sweeter than I would prefer, but it would probably go well with chicken tenders, which sadly are not on the menu at the Golden Arches lately. And this one does have a kick to it, more than I would expect from McDonald’s. This is definitely beyond Mild on my scale and approaching Medium, and it went pretty well with the fries. I may go back and order their new Spicy McCrispy chicken sandwich and add some of this to really kick that sammy up. It might also go well on a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, though don’t add too much because the sweet may take over.
As for the Sweet & Spicy Jam, it is definitely a jam with all the sweetness you expect from that. It has some cherry and plum flavors in there as well as a marmalade sort of punch. (Note: I am not a big fan of marmalade.) Like the Mambo sauce, this might work well with chicken, but only in small quantities. And it is apparently targeted at their breakfast items (the first sauce like that McDonald’s has released), though I don’t know that I would want it on an Egg McMuffin or a Sausage McGriddle. Maybe on the hash browns, but I didn’t think it went great with the fries. And as for the heat, this one barely gets to the Mild level on my scale. If it was a bit hotter, it might provide better balance to the sweet. But as is, the sweetness and fruity flavors dominate.
Between the two, I definitely prefer the Mambo Sauce and I hope that they keep that one around for a while. It delivers a nice kick, and I can see it going well with several of their menu items. The Sweet & Spicy Jam does not have enough spiciness to it, and the only thing I see it pairing with well is chicken, despite the fact that they claim it is for breakfast items. I will pass on that one next time but will definitely ask for more of the Mambo Sauce.
Calorie-wise, the Mambo Sauce totals 60 cals for one container while the Sweet & Spicy Jam will add 80 cals to your meal. So go easy on these, because fast food already packs quite a lot of calories in each order. The website claims that these are limited time only, but they are certainly advertising the sauces like Ronald wants them to stick around for a while. I’m sure lovers of the Szechuan sauce would have appreciated it if McDonald’s had done the same with that fan-favorite. But for some reason, they keep it to a very limited release. It’s definitely worth trying the Mambo sauce, especially if you are going to the Golden Arches anyway (and if you have kids, you know you will be there at some point). It looks like they will give you one of each per order but may charge extra if you ask for more.
Nutrition Info:
Mambo Sauce:
Serving Size: 1 Container (1.5 oz)
Calories: 60
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 14g
Sodium: 220mg
Sweet & Spicy Jam:
Serving Size: 1 Container (1.5 oz)
Calories: 80
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 19g
Sodium: 160mg