McDonald’s Burgers Are Getting a Makeover
Updated: Dec. 15, 2023
Big changes are coming to McDonald's signature menu items, as the chain upgrades its burgers.
The buns will be softer, more pillowy, and more freshly toasted. The melted cheese will be richer and more gooey. The onions will be juicier, more caramelized, and fresher from grill to patty. These changes and more will be seen in McDonald’s burgers.
The restaurant chain announced upgrades to its signature menu items this week. McDonald’s will also bring back its iconic Hamburglar character in its newest TV commercial. As the company said about its new burgers in a statement: “They’re so delicious… they’ve drawn the Hamburglar back into a life of burger crime.”
How Is McDonald’s Upgrading Its Burgers?
McDonald’s is implementing changes to the buns, cheese, grilled onions and Big Mac sauce to their hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, McDoubles and Big Mac. “We found that small changes, like tweaking our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, added up to a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever,” said Chad Schafer, senior director of culinary innovation at McDonald’s USA.
These changes follow significant improvements from 2018, when McDonald’s eliminated artificial preservatives in its burgers. At that time, McDonald’s announced that all of the ingredients for its burgers (except for a small artificial preservative in the pickle) would be made from natural ingredients. This week’s announcement is another step forward in quality. In 2021, McDonald’s also replaced its previous chicken sandwiches with its higher-quality Crispy Chicken Sandwich.
Where Are the Improved Burgers Available?
After testing the changes in foreign markets like Australia, Canada and Belgium, the changes can be seen in U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Boise, Tucson and surrounding cities. By 2024, McDonald’s is expected to have these improved burgers widely available across its more than 14,000 stores nationwide.
