The Best Discontinued Items from McDonald’s

There are currently 13,544 McDonald’s locations in the United States. 

That makes it the third largest restaurant chain in the country — following Subway and Starbucks with 20,325 and 15,988 locations respectively — and one of the most accessible places to eat. According to data reported by Technomic earlier this year, the golden arches were also the biggest chain restaurant in the U.S. by revenue in 2023, with a staggering $53.1 billion in sales.

With so many Americans dining at McDonald’s — nearly nine out of ten households visit the chain at least once a year — it’s not surprising that many of us have our own signature orders or nostalgic memories associated with it. (Personally, I get fries and an Oreo McFlurry every single time.)

But what happens if your favorite McDonald’s item disappears? Sometimes a new creation will be so delicious you’re sure it’s going to become a go-to, only for it to leave the menu after a few months. Or in the worst cases, a McDonald’s order you thought you could depend on might go extinct. Case in point: I still mourn my favorite road trip meal as a child, the much beloved Chicken Snack Wrap.

Of course there are a few creative concoctions that I don’t need to see return to McDonald’s. (For anyone unfamiliar with the Hula Burger, this meatless sandwich was invented in 1963 and featured a horrifying combination of only three ingredients: a thick, grilled slice of pineapple and two pieces of American cheese between a bun.) But if I could bring back every burger, fry, and wrap that I want from McDonald’s’ 69-year run, these items are the ones that would make the list.

Chopped Beefsteak Sandwich (1979)

If you’re a fan of the McRib, or want to try something similar to it but don’t eat pork, then you might want to start lobbying for the return of the Chopped Beefsteak Sandwich. Served on a longer, French roll-style bun, this sandwich had a grilled beef patty (“made from select cuts of 100% pure beef,” according to old advertisements) topped with onions and a tangy steak sauce. Unfortunately it was pulled from the menu about a year after being introduced in 1979, because it was more expensive than the standard burgers.

Onion Nuggets (Circa 1975)

As a person with an unflinching devotion to onion rings and chicken nuggets, I’m devastated that I haven’t had the opportunity to try these. Onion nuggets are exactly what they sound like: chunks of minced onion that have been battered and deep-fried. These crispy morsels were actually on the menu for several years in the late ‘70s, but were ultimately replaced with a new, similar item, due to increased customer demand for chicken — and thus the chicken nugget was born.

Snack Wraps (2006)

I’m sure many of you are mourning this less-distant McDonald’s menu favorite, as am I. The Snack Wrap first appeared at the restaurant chain in 2006, and customers loved the combination of crispy chicken tenders and ranch dressing (or honey mustard) wrapped in a tortilla. But after ten years the wrap was discontinued, reportedly due to complaints that it was too time-consuming to make. There is a little bit of good news: late last year, McDonald’s executives said that they do eventually plan to bring back a version of the snack wrap, although an official announcement and launch date have not been released.

Chicken Selects (Circa 1998)

That crispy breaded chicken breast strip inside of a Snack Wrap has appeared on the McDonald’s menu on its own under another name: Chicken Selects. These were the restaurant’s rendition of classic chicken tenders, and since they were nixed in the United States in 2013 (aside from a brief reappearance a few years later under a new name, Buttermilk Crispy Tenders), fans have waxed poetic about what they believe should be a menu staple. I asked popular fast food and snack content creator @snackolator which McDonald’s item he’d most like to see return, and he immediately named the Chicken Selects, explaining that they “were a great option especially when I wasn’t looking for a burger, and the breading was always crunchy on them. They definitely felt like a premium chicken fast food item at the time!”

Super Hero Burger (1995)

The exact name of this sandwich is a little muddied — some sources call it the Triple Double Burger, others the Super Hero Burger or Superhero Burger — but its format is clear. This is built on a long bun like the McRib and the Chopped Beefsteak Sandwich, but it has three hamburger patties that slightly overlap across the length of the bun, two types of cheese (white and yellow American), lettuce, tomato, onions, and mayonnaise. It was created as part of a promotion for the 1995 movie “Batman Forever,” hence the superhero name, and fans loved it so much one Redditor said “I think I like Batman Forever mostly because of this promotion and how great that burger was.”

Cheesy Bacon Fries (2019)

The only way you can improve on the iconic McDonald’s fries? Add cheddar cheese sauce and crispy bacon bits on top. These were a limited-time offering on the menu in 2019, as part of a set of temporary additions featuring bacon, so they’re recent enough that some of you may have tried them. After being introduced in select locations from January through March of that year, the customer response was so positive that McDonald’s took the specialty fries nationwide for a brief period.

Donut Sticks (2019)

These sweet sticks of fried dough are coated in cinnamon sugar and also hail from 2019. I haven’t tried them myself, but I have tasted McPops, a miniature, filled doughnut that’s popular at international McDonald’s locations. The dough of McPops is incredibly soft and fluffy, which gives me faith that the doughnut sticks were equally delicious. @snackolator said that they’re also one of his all-time favorite items, noting that the doughnut sticks “were a fun breakfast option when you had a sweet tooth and would also be great with a McFlurry or ice cream cup as well!”