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8 McDonald’s Secret Menu Items You Never Knew About

Yes, McDonald's has a secret menu. Here's how to work it.

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You didn’t hear it from us, but McDonald’s has a secret menu just like your other fast-food faves! With the help of Hack the Menu, we looked into lots of secret items that you might be surprised—and pleased—to know exist. Just bear in mind that not everything will be available at every McDonald’s location and your server may or may not know the lingo. That’s why you’ll get the best Mc-Mileage by being prepared to describe what you want…and doing so with a smile. Psst! These copycat recipes taste like the real deal.

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Poor Man’s Big Mac

The Poor Man’s Big Mac is a McDouble (a bargain at around $1.49 made up of two burgers and one slice of cheese) with special sauce (that’s the Big Mac Sauce), extra lettuce and no ketchup. You won’t miss the Big Mac’s third bun and hefty price of around $3.99. You can also whip up a copycat version of the Big Mac at home! If you’re more into pork, these secrets about the McRib will surprise you.

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Big Mac ‘n’ Cheese

You might think of this one as a “Veggie Mac,” because that’s precisely what it is: a Big Mac, hold the meat. It could cost you as much as a Big Mac, depending on your location, but if you don’t eat meat, it might be worth it. In the mood for a meatless meal? Here are some of our best veggie burger recipes.

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Grilled cheese

Slightly less tasty but way less expensive than the Big Mac ‘n’ Cheese is the Grilled Cheese, which is a cheeseburger, hold the burger. It will run you around $0.99. You can decide whether you want them to hold the condiments as well, but you might want to leave on the pickles. (So good!)

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Monster Mac

The Monster Mac is a Big Mac made with eight (or any number, really) burgers, instead of two. It will cost you extra, of course—we’ve heard at least $2.50 per patty. This is definitely not the same Big Mac that was introduced in 1968! Don’t miss our McHistory of the McDonald’s menu.

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Add an egg

Now that McDonald’s offers an all-day breakfast menu, you can level up your burger game by adding an egg to any burger. Just decide what kind of egg you want (your choices being the round McMuffin egg, folded eggs, scrambled eggs or scrambled egg whites). You’ll most likely have to pay somewhere between $1.19 and $1.59 for the egg. If you’re curious, these are the 10 bestselling McDonald’s menu items ever.

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Chicken McGriddle

This is another item that’s available thanks to the all-day breakfast menu. What it is: a chicken patty sandwiched between two McGriddle-cakes. It reminds us somewhat of chicken & waffles (which you can make at home with this classic recipe). The Chicken McGriddle is actually on the menu in some locations, which makes it more likely your server will know what you’re talking about!

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Fries with Big Mac sauce

This is precisely what it sounds like, and it shouldn’t even cost you extra because McDonald’s doesn’t charge for extra sauces.

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Top-secret dipping sauces

Warning: your server might be holding out on you! If you’re offered, say, barbecue sauce with your McNuggets, that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of other choices as well. The McDonalds Dipping Sauces include: Sweet and Sour, Honey Mustard, Chipotle BBQ, Tangy BBQ, Spicy Buffalo, Sweet Chili, Hot Mustard and Creamy Ranch. What a list! We’re big fans of using the dipping sauces for fries, too. Just ask, and you shall (probably) receive. If you want to explore other secret menus, visit these restaurants you never knew had secret menu items.

Taste of Home
Originally Published on Taste of Home

Lauren Cahn
Lauren Cahn is a New York–based writer whose work has appeared regularly on Reader's Digest and in a variety of other publications since 2008. She covers life and style, popular culture, law, religion, health, fitness, yoga, entertaining and entertainment. Lauren is also an author of crime fiction, and her first full-length manuscript, "The Trust Game," was short-listed for the 2017 CLUE Award for emerging talent in the genre of suspense fiction.