McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce Can’t Be Purchased at the Drive-Thru

Szechuan Sauce McDonald's locations.

Adult Swim Szechuan Sauce McDonald's locations.

McDonald’s Szechuan sauce is available today in limited quantities at a small number of stores. But you can’t get it at the drive thru. If you try, you’ll be told that you need to go inside the store to make your order. And with such a limited supply available, you don’t want to lose precious time waiting in a drive-thru line, only to realize you’ll have to wait in a completely different line inside the store. (See a full list of every McDonald’s location that will carry Szechuan sauce in Heavy’s story here.)

McDonald’s hasn’t announced why they decided to only allow people to get the sauce if they purchase buttermilk chicken tenders in the store, but that’s the rule they’ve set up. It’s likely because the quantities are so limited, they need to only take the orders in the store to make sure there aren’t any mixups on when they run out.

McDonald’s also has a few additional rules you’ll need to follow:

    • Only one Szechuan sauce per person. (Yes, this is heartbreaking.)
    • They will start going on sale at 2 p.m. local time.
    • You must buy 4-piece, 6-piece, or 10-piece buttermilk chicken tenders to get the sauce.
    • Only a small number of stores are offering the sauce. (See the complete list in Heavy’s story here.)

It’s unclear why so few stores are selling the sauce. But fans are already excited about the possibility of tasting that sweet, sweet Szechuan sauce. Especially considering how much Rick of Rick and Morty was obsessed with it in Episode 1 of Season 3.

This all got started when Rick and Morty‘s Season 3 premiere was released unexpectedly on April Fool’s. The end of the episode featured Rick telling Morty that he was doing everything pretty much because he wanted to taste that Szechuan sauce again.

And I’ll go and I’ll find some more of that Mulan Szechuan teriyaki dipping sauce Morty, because that’s what this is all about, Morty, that’s my one-armed man. I’m not driven by avenging my dead family, Morty, that was fake. I’m driven by finding that McNugget sauce. I want that Mulan McNugget sauce, Morty, that’s my series arc, Morty. If it takes nine seasons, I want my McNugget dipping sauce Szechuan sauce, Morty. That’s what’s going to take us all the way to the end, Morty. Season, nine more seasons Morty, nine more seasons until I get that dipping Szechuan sauce…”

Szechuan sauce was only around for a limited time. It was part of a Mulan promotion from McDonald’s in 1998.