List of McDonald's products facts for kids
McDonald's is one of the world's biggest fast food chains. It started way back in 1940 in California, USA. By 1955, it had grown a lot and became known for selling many different kinds of easy-to-eat foods in thousands of places around the world. At first, the menu was quite small, but over time, McDonald's added many new and exciting items. In 2007, they had 85 items, and by 2013, that number jumped to 145!
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Tasty Hamburgers
McDonald's beef patties are made fresh and seasoned with salt and pepper. Here's a look at some of their most popular burgers, especially in the United States, with a few famous ones from other countries too.
The Classic Hamburger
The Hamburger is a simple but popular choice. It has a meat patty, ketchup, mustard, dill pickle slices, and re-hydrated onions, all on a toasted bun. In some places like New York City, it's served without mustard. You can also get it as a cheeseburger with one slice of cheese, a double cheeseburger with two slices, or a triple cheeseburger with three slices! These burgers have been on the menu since 1948.
Double Cheeseburger
The Double Cheeseburger has two beef patties, ketchup, mustard (usually), seven pickle slices, onions, and two pieces of cheese on a toasted bun. It became a regular menu item in 1965. In New Mexico, there's a special version called the Green Chile Double Cheeseburger, which has roasted green chili peppers on top!
Triple Cheeseburger
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The Triple Cheeseburger is just like the Double Cheeseburger, but it has three beef patties. Each patty has a slice of American cheese between them, plus ketchup, mustard, onion, and pickles.
Big Mac
The Big Mac was first introduced in 1967 and is one of McDonald's most famous burgers. It has two beef patties, a special Big Mac sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and diced onions. What makes it unique is the extra bun in the middle, called a "club layer," which separates the two patties. It all comes in a sesame seed bun. McDonald's has also offered bigger versions like the Grand Mac and smaller ones like the Mac Jr. Sometimes, they even bring back the Double Big Mac, which has four beef patties!
Quarter Pounder
The Quarter Pounder has a larger beef patty, weighing about 4.25 ounces (before cooking). It comes with ketchup, mustard, chopped onions, pickles, and two slices of cheese. Just like other burgers, it's made without mustard in some areas. This burger was invented in 1971 by Al Bernardin, a McDonald's owner. In some countries, it's known by different names, like "Royal Cheese" in France. You can also get a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, which has two of these bigger patties.
McDouble
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The McDouble is very similar to a Double Cheeseburger, but it only has one slice of cheese instead of two. It was brought back as a permanent item in 2008 because it was so popular.
Bacon McDouble
The Bacon McDouble is just like the McDouble, but it has two pieces of tasty applewood smoked bacon added to it. This sandwich became part of the "Dollar Menu & More" in the U.S. in 2013.
McFeast
The McFeast is a hamburger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise. It has been served in many countries since the 1970s. In Sweden, the McFeast has a quarter pounder patty, lettuce, a special mayonnaise with lemon juice, onion, and tomato. In other countries, it also includes ketchup.
Other Cool Burgers
- 1955 Burger – This burger is inspired by the year McDonald's was officially started by Ray Kroc. It has beef, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions, ketchup, and a smoky barbecue sauce. It's popular in Europe.
- BBQ Ranch Burger – A sweet burger with one beef patty, cheddar cheese, BBQ Ranch sauce, and tortilla strips.
- Bacon Clubhouse – This burger has a quarter-pound patty, lettuce, tomato, and a special sauce on a fancy artisan roll.
- Jalapeño Double – Similar to the McDouble, but with two kinds of jalapeño peppers (pickled and crispy), white cheddar cheese, and buttermilk ranch sauce.
- Denali Mac – This burger looks like a Big Mac but uses two quarter-pound beef patties. It's only sold in Alaska, named after the famous mountain.
- Crispy McBacon – An Italy-exclusive burger with two beef patties, cheese, bacon, and a special sauce.
- Sausage McMuffin – A popular breakfast sandwich with a pork sausage patty, American cheese, and an egg, all in a toasted English muffin.
Chicken Choices
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McChicken
The McChicken is a chicken sandwich with a breaded and seasoned chicken patty, mayonnaise, and shredded lettuce on a toasted bun. In some places, it's a bit spicy, and in others, it's not. It's one of McDonald's best-selling items, right after the Big Mac! In Canada, it's a full-size sandwich, while the smaller U.S. version is sold there as the Junior Chicken.
McNuggets
Chicken McNuggets were first introduced in 1983. They are small, breaded, and seasoned chicken pieces. You can get them in different sizes, like four, six, ten, or twenty pieces. They come with yummy dipping sauces like barbecue, sweet n' sour, honey, and sometimes spicy options. Originally, they were made from both white and dark meat, but since 2003, they're only made with white meat.
Premium Chicken Sandwiches
McDonald's has a line of bigger chicken sandwiches. These include options like The Classic (with lettuce, tomato, and mayo), The Club (with Swiss cheese and bacon), and the Ranch BLT (with ranch sauce and bacon). You can choose to have your chicken crispy or grilled, and they are often served on a special whole-grain or artisan roll.
Buttermilk Crispy Tenders
Buttermilk Crispy Tenders are strips of chicken made with a special buttermilk recipe. They were introduced in 2017 and are cooked differently to make them juicier than previous chicken strips. They were very popular but were temporarily removed from the menu in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other Chicken Favorites
- Chicken Fajita – Chicken, cheese, bell peppers, and onions in a flour tortilla.
- Maharaja Mac – In India, McDonald's doesn't serve beef. Instead, they have a large Big Mac-style chicken burger called the Chicken Maharaja Mac.
- McCrispy – Introduced in the UK in 2022, this is a spicy chicken breast fillet with lettuce and black pepper mayo on a seeded bun.
- Chicken Big Mac – This burger has all the same ingredients as a Big Mac, but with chicken patties instead of beef. It was introduced in the UK in 2022 and Canada in 2023.
Fishy Delights
- Filet-O-Fish – This sandwich has a fish fillet, tartar sauce, and a half slice of cheese on a steamed bun. It was created in 1962 for people who didn't eat meat on Fridays during Lent. In Spain, there's a "McFish" version that uses ketchup instead of tartar sauce and cheese.
Pork Products
- McRib – The McRib is a sandwich with a ground pork patty covered in barbecue sauce, slivered onions, and pickles. It's often available for a limited time each year in the U.S. and is a regular item on menus in some European countries like Germany.
Sauces for Dipping
McDonald's introduced dipping sauces in 1982 for their McNuggets. Over time, they've added many different flavors to suit local tastes. Some popular sauces include:
- Barbecue Sauce
- Sweet 'N Sour Sauce
- Honey Mustard Sauce
- Spicy Buffalo
- Creamy Ranch Sauce
- Curry Sauce
Szechuan Sauce
Szechuan Sauce was a special dipping sauce created to promote the 1998 Disney movie Mulan. It was only available for a short time. Almost 20 years later, it became very popular again after being mentioned in the TV show Rick and Morty. Because fans wanted it so much, McDonald's brought it back for limited times in 2018 and 2022.
Other Great Products
Fresh Salads
McDonald's started offering salads in 1987. They have changed their salad options over the years, aiming for healthier choices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, salads were temporarily removed from the menu in the U.S. to help with faster service.
Sides to Enjoy
Apple Slices Apple slices are a common side, especially in Happy Meals. McDonald's added them to help kids get more nutrition. They replaced some of the fries in Happy Meals with a bag of fresh, peeled apple slices.
World Famous Fries
McDonald's calls their french fries "World Famous Fries." They were added to the menu in 1949. The fries used to be cooked in a mix of beef tallow and vegetable oil, which gave them their special taste. Later, McDonald's switched to all vegetable oil.
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Loaded Fries
In Australia, McDonald's has sold different kinds of 'loaded fries' with toppings like gravy, sweet chili and sour cream, or even guacamole and salsa!
Other Sides
- In some countries, you can find potato wedges or fried onion pieces.
- In Canada, Poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy) was added to the menu in 2013.
Happy Meal Fun
The Happy Meal was introduced in 1977 and is a special meal for kids. It usually includes a main item like a burger or McNuggets, a side dish (like fries and apple slices), a drink, and a toy! The toys often tie in with popular movies or TV shows.
In the U.S., you can choose a hamburger, cheeseburger, or four-piece Chicken McNuggets. Sides are fries and sliced apples. Drinks include milk, juice, or soda. In the UK, you can also choose fish fingers or a chicken wrap, and sides like carrot sticks or fruit bags.
- McLobster – A lobster roll that was available for a limited time in some areas, especially in Canada and New England, when lobster was cheaper.
- Poutine – Now a regular menu item in most McDonald's locations across Canada.
- McSpaghetti – This dish, with spaghetti and meatballs, is still available in the Philippines and was briefly brought back in one U.S. location.
- McRice – Many McDonald's in Asia serve plain rice.
- McVegan – A plant-based burger available in some countries.
- McPlant – A new plant-based burger developed by McDonald's, launched in the UK in 2021 and 2022.
Breakfast Time
McMuffins
McMuffins are McDonald's famous breakfast sandwiches. The first one, the Egg McMuffin, was sold in 1972. It has a fried egg, bacon (called Canadian bacon in the U.S.), and American cheese on a toasted English muffin. You can also get Sausage or bacon McMuffins.
Breakfast Sandwiches
McDonald's offers other breakfast sandwiches like bagels, biscuits, and McGriddles (pancakes with maple flavor). You can order them with sausage, ham, or bacon, and add cheese or egg.
All Day Breakfast
From October 2015, McDonald's started offering breakfast all day in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. This means you could get McMuffins, pancakes, and hash browns even after the usual breakfast hours. However, in the U.S., all-day breakfast was temporarily stopped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More Breakfast Items
Other breakfast items include pancakes and a platter called a Big Breakfast, which comes with scrambled eggs, a hash brown, sausage or bacon, and a biscuit or English muffin. Oatmeal was added to the breakfast menu in 2010. In places like Hawaii, you can find local breakfast items like Spam and fresh pineapple.
Drinks to Quench Your Thirst
Soft Drinks
McDonald's usually gets its soft drinks from The Coca-Cola Company, so you'll often find Coca-Cola products like Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. In some places, you might find Dr Pepper or even local drinks like Irn-Bru in Scotland.
Coffee and Tea
McCafe is McDonald's special line of coffee drinks. It includes lattes, espresso, iced coffee, hot chocolate, and mochas. You can also find hot and iced tea, and various juices.
Shakes
Shakes are available in many McDonald's locations. The regular flavors are vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. Sometimes, they have special seasonal flavors like the green Shamrock Shake for St. Patrick's Day. In Canada, McDonald's shakes are still called "Triple Thick" shakes.
Frozen Drinks
Since 2009, McDonald's in Australia and New Zealand have offered frozen Coke. It comes in different sizes and they often introduce new flavors like frozen Vanilla Coke or frozen Fanta flavors. You can even mix different Fanta flavors to create your own unique drink!
Sweet Desserts
- Pies were introduced in 1968. They used to be deep-fried but are now mostly baked in the U.S. The most common flavor is apple, but some places have cherry, strawberry, or even unique local flavors like corn (Japan) or taro (Hawaii).
- McDonald's also offers soft serve ice cream in different forms, like sundaes and cones.
The McFlurry
The McFlurry is a popular soft-serve ice cream dessert with pieces of candy or cookies mixed into it. It was added to the menu in 1997. You can find flavors like crushed Oreo, M&M's Minis, or pieces of different chocolate bars. McDonald's also has limited-time flavors, sometimes tied to movies!
- McDonaldland cookies are like animal crackers but shaped like McDonald's characters such as Ronald McDonald and Grimace.
- Cinnamon Melts – A popular cinnamon roll-like item with cream cheese icing.
- Fruit and Yogurt Parfait – A mix of frozen strawberries and blueberries with vanilla yogurt and granola.
- Smoothies – Available in some locations in flavors like blueberry pomegranate or strawberry banana.
Past Favorites (Discontinued Items)
Burgers No Longer Available
- Angus burgers – These were larger burgers with different toppings, but they were stopped in the U.S. in 2013 and in Canada in 2020.
- Arch Deluxe – An attempt to make a "fancy" hamburger in 1996, but it didn't do very well.
- McDLT – This burger was famous for its special packaging that kept the hot and cold parts separate.
- McLean Deluxe – A lower-calorie burger from 1991, made with leaner beef.
- McAfrika – A sandwich with beef, cheese, and tomatoes in pita bread, which caused some controversy when it was released in Europe during a famine in Africa.
Chicken Items No Longer Available
- Chicken McBites – Small balls of chicken, similar to popcorn chicken, which were discontinued in the U.S. in 2013.
- Chicken Selects – These were McDonald's version of chicken strips, available in different sizes. They were stopped in the U.S. in 2013 but are still available in some other countries.
Other Discontinued Items
- Hulaburger – A unique burger from 1963 that had a slice of pineapple instead of meat, meant for people who didn't eat meat on Fridays. The Filet-O-Fish won out over this one!
- Pizza/McPizza – McDonald's tried selling pizzas at different times. They even had family-sized pizzas! But they took too long to cook (11 minutes), which didn't fit with McDonald's fast service, so they were mostly removed by 1999.
See also
- List of Burger King products
