We Tried 6 Minty St. Patrick’s Day Shakes—Here’s the Best One

6. McDonald’s: Oreo Shamrock McFlurry

The Oreo Shamrock McFlurry debuted in 2020 to celebrate the Shamrock Shake’s 50th anniversary. It’s been popular enough to return each year since then. This is a special version of the classic Oreo McFlurry with a swirl of minty green syrup.

The new McFlurry cup is pretty sloppy, and the ingredients hadn’t been mixed very well. There were a lot of cookie pieces on top with a swirl of green mint syrup—but beneath that layer, it was plain vanilla soft serve. The cookie pieces were nice, but the mint syrup tasted artificial.

Bottom Line: Overall, we had high hopes for this dessert, but it fell short compared to other options. For $4.69, we would have appreciated a little more attention to detail when making the McFlurry.

5. McDonald’s: Shamrock Shake

The Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s is an icon. This treat established an entire genre of mint-flavored green-hued milkshakes to be served around St. Patrick’s Day. From the first sip, it’s hard not to experience nostalgia. It’s something we look forward to every year, and it always tastes exactly like we remember. Normally, we would say it doesn’t get much better than a Shamrock Shake, but once we tasted the other options, this treat lost some luster.

Bottom Line: If you want a smooth, no-frills mint shake, McDonald’s is the way to go. But at $4.39, it is a bit more expensive than other fast-food shakes, and while the flavor is nostalgic, the mint is not as prominent as in others we tried.

4. Dairy Queen: Mint Oreo Blizzard

The components of this Blizzard are similar to the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry, but Dairy Queen delivers a superior experience. The ice cream was richer and creamier, and the cookie bits were perfectly distributed throughout. There was plenty of mint flavor but no green food coloring. This option wasn’t as visually fun, but the taste was wonderful.

Bottom Line: Overall, the Blizzard was perfectly blended, though because DQ doesn’t use green food coloring, it wasn’t as visually appealing. At $5.19, it was also the priciest of the bunch.

3. Wendy’s: Thin Mint Frosty

If you look forward to Girl Scout Cookie season every year, and if you enjoy your Thin Mints straight from the freezer, then the Wendy’s Thin Mint Frosty is for you. Thin Mints rank high in our ranking of the best Girl Scout Cookies, and the coated wafer cookies sure make this shake stand apart from the rest.

Wendy’s was the only place that offered a chocolate base rather than vanilla. Since it draws inspiration from Thin Mint cookies, that makes sense. It comes with a thick ribbon of Girl Scout cookie-flavored syrup throughout, which takes the Frosty experience to the next level.

Bottom Line: It tasted distinctly like a Thin Mint, which was amazing. Plus, it was only $2.49, which made it the most affordable item on this list. We would order again!

2. Arby’s: Andes Mint Chocolate Shake

When the Arby’s employee passed this Andes Mint Chocolate Shake through the drive-thru window, we were immediately impressed. It was the best presentation of all the shakes we tried! At only $3.55, we appreciated the larger size for the smaller price.

This shake has a vivid green hue and is topped with a generous swirl of whipped cream. The cream was sprinkled with chopped bits of Andes chocolate mint candies. We will definitely swing by again for this one.

Bottom Line: Besides Arby’s shake having the best visual appeal, we also loved the authentic minty flavor. From taking a sip to using the straw to scoop up some whipped cream and candies from the top, it was 9/10.

1. Culver’s: Shamrock Shake Hack

The number one shake option we tasted wasn’t even a specialty seasonal offering but rather a strategic menu hack from Culver’s, one of our favorite fast-food joints. Every $3.89 shake includes up to two mix-ins. We asked for mint and Andes candies as our two options, and the result was incredible!

First of all, the base starts with the high-quality frozen custard Culver’s has made famous. This offers a smooth and rich starting point for an incredible milkshake. The mint mix-in tasted clean and distinct, while imparting that green color we love for St. Patrick’s Day. The Andes candy added texture and a hint of chocolate flavor to the shake.

Bottom Line: Everything was perfectly blended, and the result was a decadent shake that was right there on the line between “sippable through a straw” and wanting to use a spoon. The best part is, we can recreate this experience any time of year!