McDonald's calories and macros for each menu item in 2024 (2024)

All images of menu items are property ofMcDonalds.com

If you want to know all the nutrition facts of the entire McDonald's menu, then you've come to the right place. Whether you are looking for breakfast, lunch or dessert, we list the entire menu.

If you are new to this blog, the most important thing you will take away from this content is that you can eatEVERYONEfoods you like, regardless of your goals.

Even if you have a weight loss goal, I want you to understand that nothing is off limits.

This also includes fast food.

I love putting together nutrition guides for fast food menus like this one (check out myChick-fil-A nutrition guideofWendy's Nutrition Guidefor more examples) to show you exactly what to expect when you order.

You may not consider McDonald's to be the highest quality food, but if you're going to be brokeMcDonald's foodand calories, you can see that it might not be as "bad" as you previously thought.

Does McDonald's have healthy food?

When most of us think of McDonald's, "healthy" isn't really the first thing that comes to mind.

How healthy or unhealthy you find the menu obviously depends entirely on your own goals and preferences.

If you have a high-egg whitediet and hope for some sort ofgrilledkip, you'll be disappointed with the options at McDonald's. But that doesn't mean you still can't get a quality meal at McDonald's!

If a low-carb or keto diet is more your style, the traditional menu doesn't have many options for you, but you can check outthis guide from Joe Dufffor some great keto-friendly options.

One thing worth noting is that McDonald's does not offer salads at the time of writing. This is not entirely unusual for thisFast food(Five mendon't offer salads), but it seems like the vast majority of fast food restaurants now offer salads for people who want to eat healthier.

At one point, McDonald's offered a handful of different salads, such asPremium Bacon Ranch-salatofPremium Southwestern Salad, but we'll wait and see if they come back.

If you want to eat a salad the next time you go out, I recommend you check it out Chick-fil-A,burger King, or evenTaco Bell, to name a few.

Note: If you're concerned about specifics like mg sodium, total sugar, grams fiber, trans fat, or saturated fat, checkMcDonald's-websitefor more specific nutrition facts.

Healthiest McDonald's menu items for specific diets

As you go through this post, I will break down each sectionMcDonalds-menuwith full nutritional information. But before we dive in, I want to show some healthy options for different dietary preferences.

If you're on a keto diet, your idea of ​​"healthy" will definitely be different than someone who's just trying to eat more plant-based foods, so there's no way to give you the healthiest option across the board.

However, I can point you in the direction of a healthy choice based on your specific diet:

McDonald's menu item with the most protein

Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese: 740 calories, 42 g fat, 43 g carbs, 48 ​​g protein

The Double Quarter Pounder is high in calories and high in fat, but it also contains the most protein on the McDonald's menu. It may not be the best option for high-quality protein, but almost 50 grams of protein is still quite appealing.

McDonald's menu item with the most protein under 500 calories

McCrispy Sandwich: 470 calories, 20 g fat, 45 g carbs, 27 g protein

If you want a high-protein McDonald's with fewer calories than the Double Quarter Pounder, the chicken sandwiches are all solid options.

With only about 500 calories each, they each contain 27 grams of protein, making them good options. There are burgers that have more protein, but also more calories and fat, so the McCrispy chicken sandwiches are some of the better options.

McDonald's menu item with the lowest carbs

4 pieces of chicken nuggets: 170 calories, 10 g fat, 10 g carbohydrates, 9 g protein

Although an order of 4 pieces of chicken nuggets is small, they are suitable when you need a quick, low-carb bite. Unfortunately, McDonald's doesn't have salads at the moment, otherwise it would be the easy choice here!

McDonald's menu item with the lowest fat content

Hamburger: 250 calories, 9 g fat, 31 g carbs, 12 g protein

It can be difficult to find a low-fat choice when you eat fast food, but if you stick to a single hamburger without cheese, you will consume less than 9 grams of total fat, which may be a good option for you. A double hamburger still only contains 16 grams of fat, so depending on your diet, you may be able to make do with it!

Calories and nutrition for McDonald's sandwiches

Whether you want to keep it simple with a single burger or go for a huge double quarter pounder (in other words, half a pound), there's a burger on the McDonald's menu waiting for you.

It's worth noting that these burgers are all-inclusivespices(ketchup and mustard) and American cheese (except for the hamburgers, which obviously contain no cheese). The spices generally add 10-20 calories per serving. sandwich, while cheese adds 50 calories.

A Big Mac at McDonald's contains 590 calories, which was much lower than I expected. Between the extra sesame seed bun, cheese, and special sauce, it's easy to assume that the Big Mac's calories would be incredibly high. But at 590 calories, the Big Mac's calories are actually lower than oneWhopper.

One of McDonald's staples over the years has been the McChicken sandwich, which you might be surprised to learn only contains 14 grams of protein. At 400 calories, you'd expect the McChicken to contain more protein than it does, but because it's a chicken patty rather than a chicken breast, the protein is much lower.

If you're looking for more protein, the McChicken is now joined by all McCrispy chicken sandwiches

McDonald's Sandwich with the lowest calorie content

Hamburger: 250 calories, 9 g fat, 31 g carbs, 12 g protein

McDonald's single hamburger is almost nutritionally comparable to any other fast food burger out there. For reference: a single hamburger fromburger Kingis 240 calories, 10 g fat, 26 g carbohydrates and 13 g protein. Very similar!

The nutrition for a McDonald's Cheeseburger is 300 calories, 13 g fat, 32 g carbohydrates and 15 g protein. We can estimate that each slice of cheese adds 50 calories, 4 g of fat, 1 g of carbohydrates and 3 g of protein, based on the hamburger's nutrition.

McDonald's Sandwich with the highest calorie content

Double quarter pounder with cheese: 740 calories, 43 g fat, 43 g carbs, 48 ​​g protein

It's no surprise that this massive half-pound burger tops the charts in calories, but that also means it has the most protein. At 740 calories and 48 grams of protein, this may not be the most ideal calorie-to-protein ratio, but it is certainly the highest.

It may come as a surprise that the Big Mac isn't the highest calorie option here. This is because the size of the Big Mac is largely due to the extra bun in the middle, and you don't get as much beef as even the single quarter pounder!

Ofbeefis much more caloric than the sandwich becausehigh fat content, which leads to fewer calories in the Big Mac.

McDonald's Sandwich with the highest protein content under 500 calories

McCrispy Sandwich: 470 calories, 20 g fat, 45 g carbs, 27 g protein

One of the newer menu items at McDonald's is the McCrispy, McDonald's answer to Popeye's andChick-fil-AwhenChicken war sandwichstarted a few years ago. If you want to maximize your protein intake without going overboard on calories, McCrispy or Spicy McCrispy are a great choice!

Calories and nutrition for McDonald's Sides

You can't talk about McDonald's without talking about Chicken McNuggetsFrench fries.

McDonald's fries are arguably some of the best around, and they are actually on the low end of the calorie scale compared to the other options out there. Check this outNutritional comparison of friesI put together to see how these fries stack up:

This guide compares a medium order of fries, which can vary in size depending on where you order (we're looking at you,Five men), but gives us a general idea.

If you order a Happy Meal, "Kid's Fries" are the size you can expect to receive with the meal.

When it comes to Chicken McNuggets, you have the option of ordering as little as 4, or going all the way up to 40. If you order 40 McNuggets, this probably no longer qualifies as a side dish, but we'll still count it as part of this category.

Calories and nutrition for McDonald's breakfast menu

McDonald's breakfast is just great. Nutrition aside, they have the best breakfast of any fast food out there (in my opinion...and probably Ronald McDonald's opinion).

As much as I hate to admit it, I absolutely love itThe McGradels. I'm forever "Team Waffles," but their fluffy pancakes make perfect sandwiches.

Combine it with onehash brun patty(or 20...those things are seriously addictive) and an iced coffee and you have a great breakfast.

The breakfast menu at McDonald's will vary slightly from time to time (we're still waiting for the bagels to return), but this is the full breakfast menu that was available at the time of writing this.

I hope Egg WhiteDelight comes back because it was one of the best low calorie, high protein breakfast options.

McDonald's breakfast with the lowest calorie content

Egg McMuffin: 310 calories, 13 g fat, 30 g carbs, 17 g protein

A classicNot a McMuffinis one of the low-calorie breakfast options you can find. A basic Canadian bacon, egg and American cheese on an English muffin, it's hard to beat. As far as fast food breakfast items go, this is actually one of the healthier options you can find.

Check out this image I created that compares the Egg McMuffin to some of the other healthiest options out there:

McDonald's used to offer the Egg White Delight McMuffin, which had even fewer calories and more protein, but it was discontinued in 2019.

We'll see if it ever comes back!

McDonald's breakfast with the highest calorie content

Big breakfast with hot sandwiches: 1,340 calories, 63 g fat, 158 g carbs, 36 g protein

It's called a big breakfast for a reason, and this thing is packed with over 1,300 calories! The Big Breakfast consists of a warm biscuit, warm sausage, fluffy scrambled eggs,crispy hash browns, in 3pancakeswith a side of butter and maple syrup. In other words, it has pretty much everything!

When calories are an issue, you probably won't order the big breakfast, but it would certainly fill you up.

Highest protein McDonald's breakfast under 500 calories

Sausage McMuffin with egg: 480 calories, 30 g fat, 30 g carbs, 21 g protein

With 21 grams of protein, the Sausage McMuffin with Egg is the most protein-packed breakfast option at McDonald's. Although it contains almost 500 calories, this is definitely a good option if you're looking for the most protein.

If you want more bang for your buck, the regular Egg McMuffin is still a better choice. Although it contains slightly less protein at 17 grams, it only contains 310 calories.

Calories and nutrition for McCafe drinks

What's breakfast without coffee? While McDonald's breakfast is incredible, their coffee selection is even more impressive.

McDonald's used to only offer basic hot coffee, but as you can see here, their McCafe menu has expanded.

The breakdown you see here is for medium drinks, but you also have the option of ordering a small or a large drink, which changes the calories and macros in your drink.

You can go to McDonald's website if you want to find nutrition facts for a specific size, but I'd like to give you a few notes about the McCafe menu:

1. Black coffee and Americanos are not listed here because they contain 0 calories.
2. Iced coffee contains almost 200 calories, which may be surprising to you. The standard iced coffee is served with cream and flavored syrup, but you can also order the coffee without if you prefer.

Calorie-saving tips for McDonald's coffee

As you can see here, some McCafe drinks are quite high in calories. Here are some tips to make your coffee drinks a little healthier.

1. Ask for no cream in your coffee. If you omit the cream in your coffee, you will save 60 calories for a small coffee, 80 calories for a medium coffee and 100 calories for a large coffee.
2. Replace the whole milk in your specialty drink. In 2022, McDonald's began offering dairy-free milk alternatives, so you can swap the whole milk for a low-calorie option or you can stick with dairy and choose fat-free milk.
3. Use sugar-free syrup. McDonald's offers sugar-free French vanilla syrup, and if you were to convert the regular syrup to the sugar-free version in a large iced coffee, you would save 120 calories!

Calories and nutrition for McDonald's sweets and treats

When it comes to sweets, you probably don't want to order them to be "healthy," and that's fine. After all, they are treats.

But like I always say, it never hurts to know what you're consuming!

I won't compare the lowest and highest calorie options here because the options are pretty clear based on size (asmall cookiewill clearly be the lowest calorie, and a large shake is unsurprisingly the highest calorie).

But I would like to draw your attention to the ice: avanilla coneof McDonald's is only 200 calories, which isn't much at all.

If you want a sweet treat, enjoy itscoop of vanilla ice creammaybe a good idea. With only 200 calories, it's not difficult to fit it into any diet. If you want to save some calories, you can always throw out the cone, which would save you about 60 calories.

And if you're looking at this menu and wondering where the apple fritters, blueberry muffins, and cinnamon rolls are, they've unfortunately been discontinued in summer 2023. McDonald's decided to phase out their McCafe Bakery items, perhaps to make way for branded products. newCosMc's café.

Calories and nutrition from Shamrock Shakes and other restricted items

When it comes to fast food, menu items will always come and go, and McDonald's is no exception.

The most striking seasonal item at McDonald's is undoubtedly the Shamrock Shakes.

A small Shamrock Shake contains 500 calories, a medium Shamrock Shake contains 540 calories and a large Shamrock Shake contains 800 calories.

That seems like a pretty big jump in calories from medium to large, but I don't make the rules! Whichever size you choose, you will save 60 calories by ordering a Shamrock Shake without whipped cream.

The McRib also seems to make a comeback every now and thenTaco Bells Nacho Frietseems to come and go every year.

McDonald's also currently offers a 'Double Big Mac', but there's no telling how long that will last. The Double Big Mac has 4 beef patties and even more sauce than the regular Big Mac.

With 4 beef patties containing 780 calories, you would think this sandwich would be packed with protein, but the Double Big Mac contains only 40 grams of protein: more calories and less protein than a Double Quarter Pounder.

Conclusion: is McDonald's healthy?

GeneralMcDonalds-menuhas a very wide range of options, so you will likely find something that suits your dietary needs.

Whether it is 'healthy' depends entirely on what you are looking for.

McDonald's menu doesn't have many high-protein options and many of the items are high in fat, but that doesn't mean it won't be impossible to find an option for you if you want to eat high in protein or low in fat.

Unfortunately, McDonald's does not currently offer salads, so if your definition of healthy means plentyvitamins and minerals, then you miss McDonald's.

But like everything else in life, moderation is always key. Even if McDonald's doesn't have optimal options for you, I hope this guide shows you that there are still plenty of options you can use for your diet.