McDonald’s Szechuan sauce returns, thanks to ‘Rick and Morty’

McDonald’s beloved Szechuan sauce is back for one day this week, and you can thank Adult Swim’s “Rick and Morty” for the windfall.

The fast-food chain is selling the condiment popularized by the animated show on Saturday, Oct. 7 in select restaurants — including several in Manhattan and one in Long Island City — in tandem with the release of its new buttermilk crispy chicken tenders.

In the third season premiere of Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s hit cartoon, scientific genius (and alcoholic) Rick Sanchez rants about the dipping sauce as the true motivation for his risky adventures through space and alternate dimensions: “I’m driven by finding that McNugget sauce … that’s my series’ arc, Morty,” he raves at his grandson. “If it takes nine seasons, I want my McNugget, Szechuan dipping sauce.”

McDonald’s first released its Szechuan teriyaki dipping sauce as a limited-edition promotion for the premiere of the Disney movie “Mulan” in 1998. According to photos of old packets, it’s made with tomato paste, soy sauce, dried chili peppers, “natural smoke flavor” and a long list of preservatives.

Roiland, Harmon and other “Ricky and Morty” writers lobbied the fast-food chain to revive the condiment on Twitter after the release of their episode in April, praying that their cultural influence might persuade the giant corporation.

Fans launched a petition on Change.org to urge McDonald’s to bring back the recipe; it has collected more than 38,000 signatures.

In July, the “Rick and Morty” Twitter account crowed about receiving an entire bottle of the Szechuan sauce, which came with a label warning users against serving it to “mad scientists traveling with their grandson.” The McDonald’s bottle also arrived with a note from “Chef Mike,” who claimed he’d rescued the condiment from an alternate dimension where it’s always 1998.

“A few lucky fans will also get to experience the glory, but the first bottle in this dimension is for you,” the chef said, addressing Roiland.

Now, it’s finally the public’s turn to get their taste of a sauce for “typically incredibly motivated, born winners that combine a sweet disposition with a slow-burning heat,” the chain said online. “Sometimes, their impulsivity can get them into all sorts of hijinks, but their mad genius is their portal out of trouble.”

These restaurants will be stocking the Szechuan sauce and selling it on Saturday after 2 p.m. with a four-, six- or 10-piece order of the buttermilk crispy chicken tenders: