McDonald’s Items That Never Made It Onto Menus
By Lauren Mccluskey
1 year ago
1. Think you know everything about Mcdonald's? Think again!
Image Source / Reddit.com
Mcdonald's is such a popular fast food chain and its international status means that, inevitably, its menu does actually vary pretty widely from country to country. There are items on international menus that would probably shock you as they've never made it onto the menus that you're more familiar with and love.2. Angus Burgers
Image Source / Reddit.com
Angus Burgers originated in Australia and the patties are said to be completely made up of Australian Angus Beef. According to sources, this Angus Beef Burger is available at chains around the world but, interestingly, not in the U.S. In fact, this item was discontinued a decade ago because it was just too expensive.3. Corn Soup
Image Source / Insider
Out of all the items that appear on international McDonald's menus, the most surprising might be the Corn Soup that is included on menus across Taiwan. This sweet-tasting soup is reportedly recommended as a side to accompany your fries and burgers but some Reddit users have reported that it is on the drinks menu in some chains!4. Teriyaki Burgers
Image Source / Reddit.com
Japan has its own unique menu that includes super popular Janapese flavors. And on this extremely successful menu, there's the Teriyaki range, including the Teriyaki Burger which comes in a variety of forms. These include the classic pork burger as well as the chicken filet and it was first introduced to the Japanese menu way back in 1989.5. Arepas
Image Source / Reddit.com
Arepas are traditional Latin American flatbreads that are usually stuffed with a variety of savory fillings including eggs, vegetables, meat, and cheese. They're so popular that they've made it onto Venezuelan McDonald's menus as a beloved breakfast item.6. McRaclette
Image Source / Reddit.com
Raclette is a type of Swiss cheese and is also a method for warming a wheel of cheese until it's deliciously gooey. In Switzerland, the McRaclette Burger might look like a standard beef burger, but it is topped with raclette cheese and a raclette spicy sauce, and the springy bun is also made from local flour.7. Torte de Banana
Image Source / Reddit.com
We all love a McDonald's Apple Pie, right? Well, across the world, there have been so many delicious variations of the sweet pastry, including in Brazil the Torte de Banana which is essentially a banana pie. This was developed because it was more in standing with local tastes and flavors.8. Tortinha Delice
Image Source / Twitter
One now-discontinued item in Brazil is called the Tortinha Delice. This sweet dessert incorporated the Torte de Banana, or Banana Pie, which was served with lashings of warm Nutella and big dollops of whipped cream. It was finally dusted with farofa which is toasted cassava.9. Bulgogi Burgers
Image Source / Reddit.com
Only available in South Korea, the Bulgogi Burger is a popular item on Mc'Donald's menus. It is essentially a pork patty accompanied by lettuce and mayonnaise on a bun, but the pork patty doesn't taste like any old patty. In fact, it is uniquely marinated in Bulgogi sauce which is a staple of Korean Barbeque. Hopefully one day it'll make it across the pond!10. Potato Scallops
Image Source / 7News
Potato Scallops are really popular on Australian menus and basically consist of deep-fried, thin-sliced potatoes which are dusted with delicious and flavorful chicken salt. But, interestingly, depending on where you're from, they'll be called different names with the most common being Scallops. Other names they go by include Potato Cake in the New South Wales region and Potato Fritters in South Australia.11. Sausage & Egg Twisty Pasta
Image Source / Reddit.com
One item that you might not be seen on U.S. menus any time soon is the Ham, or Sausage and Egg Twisty Pasta that is on breakfast menus in Hong Kong. According to sources, it's not a particularly popular item and one Reddit user described it as pretty tasteless.12. McFloat
Image Source / Reddit.com
Hong Kong has an array of interesting items on their McDonald's menus that may or may not make it all the way over to U.S. shores. But one of these we're hoping will appear is the McFloat, which basically consists of a dollop of their soft-serve ice cream floating on top of lemon-flavored Coca-Cola.13. McMolletes
Image Source / Pinterest
A popular breakfast staple in Mexican McDonald's is the McMolletes which are based on the local dish and tastes. They are made with round toasted bread sliced that are topped with beans, cheese, and fresh salsa. And although there are variations, the beans and cheese version is a classic breakfast option.14. Panzerotti
Image Source / Reddit.com
Panzerotti, or Turnovers as we probably know them, are very popular on the menus at Italian Mcdonald's and combine local flavors and tastes. These small pastries are usually packed with tomatoes and gooey mozzarella and are usually served as a side to accompany your meal.15. McPollo Italiano
Image Source / Pinterest
It might surprise you to learn that the McPollo Italiano doesn't actually come from Italy! In fact, it was actually developed in Chile for McDonald's menus across the country. And it gets its name from the ingredients that are said to mirror the colors of the Italian flag: Green avocado, white mayonnaise, and red tomatoes.16. Poutine
Image Source / Reddit.com
Poutine is a Canadian staple, so it's no wonder that it's made it onto Canadian McDonald's menus, as part of McDonald's efforts to include local dishes and tastes in their repertoire. If you've not heard of it, Poutine is basically gravy and cheese curds and is often poured generously over French fries.17. McLobster
Image Source / Reddit.com
You might have never heard the words McDonald's and lobster in the same sentence before, but this is exactly what McDonald's Canada once tried! The McLobster was a lobster roll sandwich that never really hit it off, mostly due to the high price of lobster and supply issues. But if you're lucky, you might still be able to get a McLobster during the summer in some locations.18. Cadbury Creme Egg McFlurry
Image Source / Reddit.com
The McFlurry, if you're not familiar, is a pot of soft-serve ice cream that is mixed with a variety of sweet treats and chocolate. And across the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada the Creme Egg Mcflurry is a traditional menu item over the Easter period. The soft ice cream combined with the chocolate and fondant sauce is definitely worth a try!19. Mashed Potato Burger
Image Source / Reddit.com
McDonald's Hong Kong has certainly managed to come up with the strangest menu item yet! And yes, it's the Mashed Potato Burger! According to sources, this humongous burger contains two beef patties, salad, bacon, and, you guessed it, a dollop of mashed potato. Come on, are the fries not enough?20. Cordon Bleu Burger
Image Source / Reddit.com
Vegetarians look away because Poland must hold the record for stuffing the most meat between two buns ever... or they're pretty darn close! In fact, the Cordon Bleu Burger is on McDonald's menus across Poland and contains a beef patty, a fried chicken patty that reportedly also contains ham, as well as bacon!21. Pizza McPuff
Image Source / Reddit.com
McDonald's India has also developed some interesting items that you might not have seen before on a McDonald's menu. However, we're sure that you've seen something similar to this in the freezer section. The Pizza McPuff is a pocket of pastry that is stuffed with ingredients that you'd expect to find on a pizza, including mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and vegetables.22. Bacon Roll
Image Source / Reddit.com
In the UK, a Bacon Roll for breakfast is an absolute classic and you can pretty much find them anywhere across the nation. And you're also guaranteed to find these rolls on the McDonald's breakfast menu in the UK. And like the Australian Potato Scallops, there are disputes over the name too, including Bacon Bap, Butty, Sarnie, Muffin... The list goes on!23. NYC Benedict Bagel
Image Source / Twitter
As the McPollo Italiano derives from Chile instead of Italy, the NYC Benedict Bagel actually originates in New Zealand, not New York City. This popular breakfast item consists of the usual breakfast items you'd expect to find on a breakfast sandwich including egg, bacon, and cheese, but what makes it Benedict-y is, as we know, the Hollandaise sauce.24. McNoodles
Image Source / Reddit.com
You might not head to McDonald's expecting to find noodles, but believe it or not, it has been reported that McDonald's experimented for a while in developing Asian-style dishes. These were specifically developed as a limited-time experiment in Austria. But, to be honest, the experiment turned out to be as floppy as a floppy noodle, and it didn't really take off.25. Chicken McDo With Spaghetti
Image Source / Reddit.com
Did you know that McDonald's sells fried chicken in the Philippines? It's true, if you step into any McDonald's restaurant in the Philippines, you'll probably find the McDo listed on their menu which consists of fried chicken pieces. If you like, you can choose your sides from a selection of rice or spaghetti... Yes, spaghetti!26. Spicy Paneer Wrap
Image Source / Reddit.com
McDonald's India has also developed dishes that incorporate popular local ingredients. In this case, the Spicy Paneer Wrap is a vegetarian dish that includes the popular mild paneer cheese which is topped with more cheese, a creamy sauce, and vegetables, all wrapped up in a toasted tortilla.27. Shrimp Beef Burger
Image Source / Reddit.com
McDonald's South Korea has not only developed unique dishes that use local flavors, but it has also developed a burger that incorporates both beef AND shrimp together on one bun. The beef patty sits on top of the fried shellfish and is topped with the usual burger sauces and relish.28. Sweety con Nutella
Image Source / Reddit.com
A sweet treat on McDonald's Italy's previous menu is the Sweety con Nutella. This rich chocolaty dessert is no longer available but if you imagine a chocolate sandwich, then this is basically it. The chocolate spread was specifically the classic hazelnut chocolate spread, Nutella.29. McRice Burger
Image Source / Reddit.com
We bet you didn't know you could make a burger bun with rice! Well, this is exactly what McDonald's did in places like Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan! This sticky rice bun was effective too because it did hold everything inside. And although it was taken off the menu previously, it has resurfaced in Japan in the last few years.30. McKroket
Image Source / Fandom
The McKroket is a favorite from the menu of McDonald's Netherlands and although it might look pretty simple, most of the ingredients are actually hidden inside the croquette. In fact, the croquette that is topped with mustard, interestingly, contains beef stew.31. Discontinued Burger King items you need to know about: crown-shaped chicken nuggets
image source: thefoodxp.com
If chicken nuggets were going to be any shape at Burger King, they're definitely going to be crowns! So why didn't this perfect concept take off successfully? It should have been a trademark menu item, after all. People even started a petition to get them back after they were taken off (understandably) and although they're no longer available across the US, you can find them only in some Florida restaurants. They discontinued because they apparently thought the crown shape was a little too 'kid' oriented - er, hello, adults love crowns, too!32. Ribs
image source: thefoodxp.com
Ribs are a very popular menu item for fast food chains - if you can get your hand on them as a consumer. Because some places have them, and some places don't, and that's because a lot of the time they just don't work for a certain fast food brand, no matter how badly they want them to! Ribs and Burger King are a prime example. The funny thing about this one is that it was actually a success when ribs were on their menu - they sold millions of them! - so why were they discontinued? Well apparently some people didn't love them.33. Burger shots
image source: thefoodxp.com
Because who doesn't want a tiny burger? Issue number one with this menu item, though, is the name. If you hadn't seen a picture, what would you think a burger shot was? We're just thinking meat and a bun wedged in a shot glass you're supposed to knock back. Burger shots were actually supposed to be small slider burgers, but many people had confusion with the name, for starters. It wasn't actually the first time they've tried to sell burger sliders, and the first time failed, too... looks like Burger King just isn't supposed to sell tiny burgers!34. Satisfries
image source: thefoodxp.com
Apparently not satis-frying enough, because these were taken off the menu! But it might make sense why... because these fries were supposed to be the 'healthy' option, and healthy alternative to the regular, more greasy fries. But if you're going to Burger King, chances are you don't want anything healthy anyway! A lot of the critical feedback came from people thinking they weren't much healthier than the regular fries, as well as the fact that these fries - being 'healthier' and all - were more expensive than the other ones!35. Shake 'em up fries
image source: thefoodxp.com
Burger King really went all out trying to market different varieties of fries, didn't it? But why fix what isn't broken, when regular fries are perfect just the way they are! So what are Shake 'em Up Fries? They were an attempt by the fast food giant to make a more 'interactive' meal. They say don't play with your food, but apparently Burger King disagreed. You were supposed to get a bag of seasoning (of your choice) with the fries and add yourself so that you could literally... shake 'em up. Funnily enough, this concept has been done before with success, but for some reason it never took off at Burger King!36. Cupcake shake
image source: thefoodxp.com
There was a time when cupcake as a sweet, tasty snack was taking off, as one of the trendiest things you could eat (and order). The fast food chains wanted to jump on this trend, and that's what Burger King did with the cupcake milkshake. Which, in theory, sounds delicious, so why didn't it work out? It was reviewed as being delicious, sweet, creamy and everything you'd want from a cupcake milkshake. But some critics said it wasn't 'sweet enough' so that it was more of a 'meh' shake. And not enough people petitioned to get it back!37. Frozen lemonade
image source: thefoodxp.com
If you didn't want an averagely-sweet milkshake, maybe you wanted the classic frozen lemonade instead! How can this not be popular at Burger King? It's a classic. And especially for the fast food chain's summer menu, this was a hit. Or was it? Despite the fact it was so popular, and that a new flavor was even released - the strawberry frozen lemonade - Burger King took it off the menu. The reason it was taken off was because it was always supposed to be just a seasonal menu for the summer, so it wasn't supposed to be permanent! Boo.38. Donut holes
image source: thefoodxp.com
The great thing about donut holes was that even though it could have been a breakfast exclusive item, Burger King decided to have it on the menu all day long - because delicious donuts should be available all day long, of course! Although you can see the popularity of these tiny donut holes, a lot of people didn't think they were spectacularly good. A lot of people didn't even like them, complaining that they didn't really taste like donuts, but more heated bread buns. Due to the lack of sales, Burger King discontinued.39. King boxes
image source: thefoodxp.com
The King Box was an offering from Burger King that showcased one of their deals. We all love a good fast food deal when we can get a big selection for our money, and Burger King hopped on the idea of this. With the King Boxes, you could get a main of your choice, a side of fries, a drink of choice and then two cookies to finish it all off - sounds like a great deal, right? The reason it was discontinued wasn't necessarily because it was a bad idea, it was because other deals on the menu were being chosen over this - so they decided to let it go!40. Cini minis
image source: thefoodxp.com
Just like the burger sliders and the mini donuts, we're surprised that this cute idea didn't stay on the menu! There's a market for tiny portions of food when you just want something small to go, after all. Cinnamon buns are always a number one choice for Americans looking for a sweet snack, but apparently Burger King never meant for them to be a permanent item. Maybe because the demand would be too big? We don't know, but they've been on and off the menu a bunch of times, and now discontinued again. Oh well.41. French toast sandwiches
image source: thefoodxp.com
This breakfast item on the Burger King menu should have been an absolute hit - it's always good when you have a combination of both sweet and savory, and especially for the day's first meal! Surprisingly, this one was still discontinued - worse, it was taken off the menu the very same year it had only just been put on! The reason was down to low sales - presumably because the novelty of the sweet and savory thing wears off after you've had it once, and most customers just wanted to opt for the regular breakfast items instead!42. Maple waffle sandwiches
image source: thefoodxp.com
If you're surprised that the French toast sandwiches didn't kick off, this one is even more shocking for being discontinued: the delicious maple waffle sandwich! It was another breakfast offering from Burger King, and was even released around the same time as the French toast option. But it seemed both were destined to be discontinued! Lots of people still liked this waffle creation as much as they'd like the French toast one, but it was just one of those where it couldn't really compete with the staple breakfast items you'd want in the morning.43. Seasoned sweet potato curly fries
image source: thefoodxp.com
Here's another attempt that Burger King made on switching up the recipe of its fries. Sweet potato is a popular choice, and we know it tastes amazing, but how does it fare in a fast food place up against regular fries? As we mentioned before, sometimes the classic fries are always going to be best! The sweet potato fries even came with sweet maple seasoning, but the issue with this one was that it was more a limited time menu item than a permanent thing. So it was popular when it was available, but it was discontinued.44. Bacon sundae
image source: thefoodxp.com
We know what you're thinking - but we're on a trend here of sweet and savory somehow strangely working together. And that applied to the bacon sundae, too! This one wasn't of course a breakfast option (that might be encouraging unhealthy eating a little too much) but it was part of the all-day main menu. The sundae was hit with mixed reviews (understandably) and while a lot of people did love it, it wasn't something they wanted to eat all the time, so sales went down and Burger King decided they had to discontinue!45. Poutine a' la burger
image source: thefoodxp.com
This popular and well-known dish from Canada was added to the Burger King menu once, with its classic fries, gravy and cheese offering being paired with some other bits (like beef and pickles) to make it a 'step up' from the traditional poutine. The first problem was thinking the poutine needed to be improved at all! Many customers didn't really like the idea of even more ingredients being added to fries, gravy and cheese, so it didn't do very well in the sales department after most people avoided it. After sales went down, they discontinued!46. Chicken tenders
image source: thefoodxp.com
It's surprising how much drama these simple chicken tenders caused for Burger King when they first came on the menu. First, it was because they appeared for a very limited time, so people were upset when they got taken off the menu, and even started to petition for them to be brought back. Then, when Burger King actually did put them back on the menu for a while, they then said that they'd never had chicken tenders on the menu before... Weird. They were discontinued because Burger King never wanted them to be a permanent thing!47. Mac 'n' cheetos
image source: thefoodxp.com
You only need to read the name to know this is a great idea - so why was it discontinued? Mac 'n' cheetos were offered as a delicious side option, for people who love both mac and cheese, and Cheetos flavor specifically. The item took off, loads of people were ordering them, but then Burger King decided to take them off the menu. The reason was apparently - as these things go when they're another big brand item - it was supposed to be a limited time deal only due to a collaboration with Cheetos. It was a short-term novelty!48. Flamin' hot mac 'n' cheetos
image source: thefoodxp.com
Speaking of Cheetos! If the regular ones weren't enough for you, how about the Flamin' Hot ones that they released as well? It was pretty much the same offering as the last one, but with added 'flamin' hot' seasoning on the sticks to make them a whole lot spicier. The reason these were also discontinued was once again the intention of it only been a short-term thing as celebration of their collaboration with Cheetos! Both the regular and Flamin' Hot were supposed to be a whimsical deal you could enjoy only for a short time!49. Crispy pretzel chicken fries
image source: thefoodxp.com
So as we know, Burger King does have successful chicken fries on its main menu, but these crispy pretzel versions appeared as one variation of the original chicken fries, and for limited time only. When the original chicken fries appeared on the menu - and were then taken off again - people were pretty mad because they wanted them back. There were even protests outside Burger King headquarters! It worked, because the chicken fries became permanent, but this crispy pretzel version was never supposed to be a long-time thing!50. Gingerbread cookie shake
image source: thefoodxp.com
This delicious shake made with gingerbread cookies was a huge hit when it appeared on the Burger King menu just in time for Christmas! They also had a soft serve ice cream that had gingerbread pieces in it, too. Everyone went wild for this gingerbread shake - because of course they did - which inevitably led to disappointment when it was taken off the menu. But alas, this was because it was only a seasonal festive menu item that was going to come off at some point after the holidays.... which is exactly what happened when it was discontinued!What To Read Next
Load More