10 Best McDonald's Menu Hacks Right Now
Whether you're a casual customer or a diehard fan, it's hard to deny the comfort and reliability of a fast-food joint like McDonald's. The food is speedy, affordable, widely available, and pretty much the same wherever you eat it. Order a McDonald's burger on either side of the country, and you can bet that each one will taste nearly identical.
The downside to eating at McDonald's on a regular basis, however, is that having the same food time and time again can get pretty repetitive. McDonald's does add new items to the menu every now and then, but that doesn't happen often enough that regulars have something new to try with every visit.
Thankfully, McDonald's fans are an extremely inventive bunch. They're frequently thinking up genius menu hacks to make their old McDonald's favorites feel new again or taste even better than before. And in a blessing for other McDonald's lovers, many of these fans share their inventive ordering tips and tricks with the masses on social media.
We've rounded up the 10 best Mickey D's hacks floating around right now to help customers craving something new to switch up their orders.
Hash brown McFlurry sandwiches
Dipping fries in ice cream is a guilty pleasure for many people, and an inventive McDonald's fan concocted a brand-new spin on the pairing earlier this year.
TikToker Kelly Arvan (@arvanfamily) went viral back in May after sharing her hack for a McDonald's ice cream sandwich. In a video that has now racked up 7.3 million views, she ordered two McDonald's Hash Browns and smeared a thick layer of Oreo McFlurry in between the two. The result? A "salty, crunchy, potatoey, sweet" snack that Arvan declared a 10/10.
Don't hesitate to try out the hack with other McFlurry flavors. Arvan later returned to McDonald's to try out the sandwich with an M&M's Mcflurry and gave it a 7/10.
Better & cheaper Big Macs
The Big Mac will always be iconic, but as one of the more premium burgers on the McDonald's menu, it is one of the more expensive options. Luckily, there's purportedly a way for you to get a sandwich that's like a Big Mac but more affordable and also better, according to former McDonald's corporate chef Mike Haracz.
In a July TikTok, Haracz encouraged customers to order a McDouble with all of the Big Mac toppings. The elements in both burgers are actually pretty similar, so you can save at least a couple of bucks and get all of the same flavors by ordering a McDouble instead (a McDouble near me in New Jersey right now costs $2.89, while the Big Mac costs $6.29).
"This is the superior way. McDouble only has one slice of cheese just like a Big Mac. There's no middle bun. It is so much better and cheaper," Haracz said.
M&M ice cream sandwiches
If the Hash Brown and Oreo McFlurry combo is a little too adventurous for your palate, there's another way you can make an ice cream sandwich using food from McDonald's.
Over the summer, TikToker @tommywinkler shared a hack that calls for two McDonald's chocolate chip cookies and a cup of its vanilla soft serve. Winkler simply spooned some of the frozen dessert onto one cookie then topped it with the second. You can certainly stop there and dig in, but Winkler went a step further by pressing M&Ms onto the outside of the ice cream center.
He described it as "so soft and creamy" and rated it an 8.7/10.
The absolute freshest fries
McDonald's fans have very wavering opinions on the chain's fries. Many on Reddit think that McDonald's fries are the best out of any fast-food chain when they're hot and fresh, but become pretty unpalatable after sitting for more than a few minutes.
Luckily, there's a pretty surefire way for McDonald's fans to ensure their fries come hot and fresh. In a hack that has popped up numerous times on TikTok, fans revealed that McDonald's will cook your fries to order if you request them with no salt. This is because McDonald's pre-salts its fries, so they'll probably have to cook a fresh batch when you order them with no salt. Just make sure to request some salt on the side if you still want your fries to be salty.
McBrunch Burger
Get this. McDonald's has a burger so rare that there's only a fleeting period of time each day when you can order it.
This exclusive sandwich is called the McBrunch Burger, and it's supposed to come with two cheeseburger patties, bacon, eggs, and a hash brown inside a sesame bun. Head on over to your local Mickey D's at around 10:35 a.m. if you want to try to order one since that's when many McDonald's restaurants are transitioning from their breakfast menus to their lunch menus.
TikToker @tommywinkler filmed himself successfully ordering the burger earlier this year and gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up after devouring the whole thing. It's not a guarantee that all McDonald's workers will be willing or able to make it for you, but Winkler proved that it's at least worth a shot.
Extra crispy Chicken McNuggets
If you love a shatteringly crisp Chicken McNugget, consider asking McDonald's staffers to cook them a little longer than usual the next time you stop by for a fix. In a viral video last year, TikToker @bechardgrave filmed herself ordering a six-piece of the meaty morsels "well done" and was shocked when the McDonald's workers actually did it.
The TikToker said she was a little worried that the longer cook time would dry out the nuggets, but ended up enjoying them.
"Well done nuggets are the best!" another fan commented on the video.
DIY coffee milkshake
McDonald's has a pretty solid selection of shakes—chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and for a few strange weeks this past summer, Grimace. But a shake flavor that McDonald's doesn't have is coffee. That is, unless you're willing to make it yourself.
TikTokers have discovered a way to create their own McDonald's coffee shake by ordering a regular vanilla shake and pouring in a shot or two or espresso. While the end result is a little thinner than a typical milkshake, those who've tried it raved about the flavor.
"Oh my goodness, that is so freaking good," TikToker @dpeezy2099 said last year.
It's not fully clear exactly who came up with the hack, but the videos date as least as far back as 2020.
Chicken Big Mac
It's safe to say that pretty much any McDonald's fan knows about the Big Mac, but what these folks may not know is that there's a rare chicken version of the famous burger. McDonald's developed a Chicken Big Mac that's identical to the original, except that it replaces the two beef patties with chicken patties. Aside from a short-lived test in the Miami area back in 2022, however, McDonald's has only ever offered the sandwich for a limited time in the United Kingdom and Canada.
While it's unclear if McDonald's will ever bring the Chicken Big Mac to the States on a national scale, there is a little-known way you can get the coveted sandwich.
TikTokers have been ordering a Big Mac and two McChickens, then replacing the beef patties on the Big Mac with the patties from the McChickens. It does call for more money and effort, but if you're dying to get a taste of the Chicken Big Mac, this is probably the closest you'll get for now.
Breakfast sandwiches with hash brown buns
If you really love McDonald's hash browns, this next hack might just fulfill your wildest dreams. Back in June, TikToker @diegos_eats shared a special McDonald's breakfast sandwich hack: just order a Sausage McMuffin with Egg, but ask the McDonald's worker to replace the English muffins with two hash browns.
The TikToker did note that the McDonald's employees were very hesitant to do the swap when he ordered it himself. But if the workers do end up refusing, customers can recreate the sandwich DIY-style by ordering two hash browns separately and swapping them for the muffins. After taking a bite, he raved that replacing the hash brown buns made the breakfast sandwich "10 times better."
Ex-McDonald's chef and TikToker @chefmikeharacz said he actually tried to get McDonald's to add a hash brown breakfast sandwich to the menu when he was still working there. However, the higher ups refused because they thought "too many people would order it."
Request a steamed bun
Ex-McDonald's chef Haracz also recently shared a special hack that will allow you to experience the burgers you already know and love in a new way.
In a video last month that racked up nearly 300,000 views, Haracz encouraged McDonald's fans to request a steamed bun the next time they order a burger.
"It's hotter and I feel it lets you taste more of the ingredients on the burger. I wouldn't say it's 'better' but just a different eating experience. Some folks might prefer it," he told Eat This, Not That! after the video went viral.
Other TikTokers put the hack to the test, and some reported that the steamed buns were superior to the traditional buns. One even commented on Haracz's post to declare that the hack "will change your life."
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