Food
10 McDonald’s Hacks to Have Breakfast and Lunch at the Same Time
Whether it’s breakfast or lunch time, when you’re on the go and jonesing for a crispy potato product or a beef patty in a soft bun, the golden arches beckon. With these 10 hacks, you can combine all the things you love about McDonald’s and lunch, for a double-whammy of McGoodness.
10. Biscuit Big Mac
“Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun”. Many McDonald’s fans remember the famous Big Mac jingle that was chanted from television sets in the 1970s. But what if the ingredients were a little bit different? Something like, “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese, pickles, onions, on a warm buttermilk biscuit instead of a sesame seed bun”? You can make it happen with this easy hack for a Biscuit Big Mac. Order a Big Mac, but instead of the outer bun, replace the bread with a buttermilk biscuit, straight off the breakfast menu. The difference in size compared to the original buns makes the sandwich a bit more unstable and allows for it to become delightfully fun and messy. A huge part of a mashup meal is that the parts don’t always fit exactly together and the meal becomes more of a sloppy experience, licking your fingers and enjoying every bite. The buttermilk biscuits add a sweet tang to the sandwich, pairing nicely with McDonald’s special sauce and the tang of the pickles. Big Macs are a huge favorite for so many diners, why not mix yours up a bit and try it with something new? While the biscuits are from the McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu, they also make a great dinner food and will blend in nicely with your delicious beef patties and veggie toppings. Leave the middle bun intact for extra stability and a fun combination of two types of bread.
9. Apple Pie Hotcakes a la Mode
This childhood fantasy dessert option is fit for birthdays, anniversaries and even just celebrating the fact that it’s an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. If you’re craving something so sweet it turns you into a straight-up gumdrop, decadent enough for royalty, dig into one of these. Order McDonald’s hotcakes, along with a piping hot Baked Apple Pie and a classic soft serve vanilla cone. Cut up your tasty apple pie, into bite-sized pieces or smaller. Add them to the top of your hotcakes, then dump the contents of your soft serve vanilla cone on top of the sugary mountain you’ve built. The result is a gorgeous combination of sweet apples, cinnamon, vanilla and sweet fluffy pancakes. Until hotcakes were available all day long, any kind of extra toppings that packed this much of a punch were unavailable at the same time. Now, desserts can be mixed in to the hotcake dish to jazz up your favorite treat time. If apple pie isn’t your thing, this same strategy can be used with chocolate chip cookies, McFlurries, hot fudge sundaes or any other choices that excite your tastebuds and inspire your inner mad scientist and McDonald’s fan. Mix up the choice of ice cream flavor or choose a pastry from the McCafe options to replace the apple pie – this type of creative explosion deserves a coffee pairing anyway, while you’re there.
8. Breakfast McPoutine
This is a little bit crazy, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s crazy in a really, really good way. Order a McPoutine if it’s offered where you are, and regular fries if it’s not. Poutine is a huge part of Canadian culture and cuisine, primarily in Quebec. It’s a deliciously sinful dish with french fries that are drenched in gravy and smothered in melting cheese curds. It works on hangovers, cravings and any time your tastebuds need a pick-me-up. For an all-day breakfast menu riff on poutine, choose your favorite breakfast sandwich and order it with a hash brown and some maple syrup. Cut up the sandwich into manageable bites, along with the hash brown. Once you’ve prepped your breakfast add-ins, combine them with your fries or poutine and allow the cheese, egg and other flavors to meld with your golden, crispy shoestring fries. Next, add maple syrup to the mix, drizzled or drenched, depending on your style. For poutine, less is more when it comes to syrup. For regular fries, more is often more. Chow down on this crazy treat with a fork and feel the Canadian within you, glowing bright like a maple leaf, while the breakfast fan in you shines even brighter.
7. McBreakfast Salad
Nothing beats a hearty, breakfast-themed riff on a healthier lunch option that you maybe don’t want to keep quite so healthy or quite so lunch. At McDonald’s, the breakfast sandwiches and hash browns are a classic combo, nostalgic for those who ate them early in the morning on the way to their first job or on road trips as a child of the 90s. The best way to subtly lunch on a breakfast sammie and hash brown without your coworkers knowing how much you love breakfast (too much, maybe), is to combine it with a salad. Order a breakfast combo, complete with hash browns, of your favorite sandwich. Whether you love the classic Egg McMuffin, prefer the Sausage McMuffin, or have a McGriddle that holds your heart forever, any breakfast sandwich will work with this simple hack. Next, grab a salad of your choice. The more versatile the salad choice, the better, as it will blend well with your breakfast flavors. Garden Fresh is a suggested choice, but go nuts if Caesar Bacon is your jam. Use a knife to cut the sandwich and hash brown up into bite-sized pieces, using all of the ingredients, including the english muffin or griddle cake bun (these will be your decadent croutons). Toss the pieces into your salad for a mix of veggies, meat, egg, bread and hash brown that turns an ordinary salad into a mashup adventure, fit for breakfast, lunch or any meal in between. This is a sneaky way to enjoy a fun combo of breakfast and lunch menu items, as the salad is concealed in its container and only the nosiest of people will peek inside.
6. McChicken Cordon Bleu
This is only for the fancy folk and certainly not for the faint of heart. The McChicken Cordon Bleu mimics the taste of a classic Swiss dish that is simply delicious. A cordon bleu contains chicken pounded thin, then wrapped around ham and sharp cheese. The entire creation is breaded, then either fried or baked. It is decadent, mouth-watering and sometimes a little too fancy. Enter the McChicken Cordon Bleu, a humble, wallet-friendly version of the dish that you can make for yourself with this easy hack. Order the McChicken sandwich, with mozzarella. Then order a classic Egg McMuffin. Add the egg and ham to the chicken sandwich and your tastebuds will never know the difference. They’ll have no idea whether you’re sitting next to a plastic play area full of climbers and tubes for little kids, or in a classy bistro somewhere being served by waiters in crisp white shirts. This hack makes a great treat for dinner time, when you’re looking to experiment a bit and experience new flavor profiles within an old favorite, the classic McChicken sandwich. In the spirit of McDonald’s, supersizing and add-ons, any McD’s fan will enjoy the added protein and flavor that this breakfast-lunch sandwich hack encapsulates. You can truly have it all. Mix up the choice of bun or sauce to play around with this option and personalize it to your unique tastes.
5. Hotcake Chicken Wrap
McDonald’s hotcakes are a favorite from the McDonald’s breakfast menu, lasting since their introduction in the late eighties. Golden, fluffy, cakey and sweet, the hotcakes are a delicious addition to a morning feast. For those who love the taste of fried chicken and maple syrup, the Hotcake Chicken Wrap is a hack worth testing out. Unroll your favorite chicken wrap, such as BBQ bacon or fiery buffalo, then add the hotcakes. Place the cakes beneath the chicken, against the tortilla, then re-roll the wrap. This creates a double layer around the outside of the creation, with sugary, soft pancake goodness housed under a warm tortilla that holds it all together. Biting into this item conjures up memories of waffle house meals and the best tacos you’ve ever had. Add maple syrup to the hotcakes before rolling everything up if you’d like an ever sharper contrast to your savory or spicy chicken centre. The crispiness of the chicken holds up under the lighter-than-air hotcakes and the tortillas allow you to take this unbelievable McDonald’s magic with you wherever you may go. While this isn’t available directly from the menu, you can request it or just order both items and make your own – you’ll feel like a kid again playing with your food, and you’ll be rewarded with a truly awesome breakfast-lunch meal. Try it with all the chicken wraps and choose your favorite (the spicier the better for contrast with the sweet of the cakes).
4. The Mc10:35
This breakfast-lunch McDonald’s hack has a little bit of history wound into it. The name comes from a time long, long ago in a land far, far away, before all-day breakfast at McDonald’s was available for all of our enthusiastic enjoyment. In that time (prior to fall 2015), McDonald’s offered exclusively a breakfast food menu until 10:30am, then they sold only lunch items and no breakfast menu at all from 10:30am until close. There was a small period of time where breakfast and lunch slightly overlapped, from approximately 10:25-10:35. In that sweet space in the schedule, customers were able to order both breakfast and lunch items as the restaurants transitioned between menus. From this little-known free-for-all chunk came the Mc10:35. The sandwich combines a classic Egg McMuffin with a McDouble – patrons would order it quickly when they could, to enjoy a breakfast-lunch mashup not available again until the following day, during another brief and sweet ten minute window. A soft bun is topped with two beef patties with cheese, a round egg and a slice of ham, Canadian bacon-style. The combo has been a fan favorite for a long time, but now customers don’t have to work quite as hard for it. Anyone can order a Mc10:35 all day long, with the breakfast menu available (this is the future).
3. Breakfast Bagel Burger
The Breakfast Bagel Burger is for folks who understand bread, what makes good bread and how to use bread to enhance a meal. It’s no surprise, then, that the Breakfast Bagel Burger is only offered by McDonald’s locations in France. For a country famous for their delicious baguettes and baked goods, it only makes sense that customers demand the option of placing their hamburger atop a chewy, well-seasoned bagel. The classic burger buns at McDonald’s are deliciously sweet, soft and sprinkled with sesame seeds. They remain just the right amount of squishy while still holding up under thick patties, melted cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard. The best part of the sandwich is sometimes the bun. But, sometimes you want to mix it up – or, perhaps you’re travelling quite a distance with your burger before chowing down. For times like these, order your burger on a McDonald’s Breakfast Bagel, for a heartier texture and chewier bread that lasts longer under pressure. Choosing a bagel means extra seasoning around the ingredients of the burger, adding dimensions that are less sweet and neutral and pack more of a flavor punch. The simple hack creates a whole new experience for burger lovers – one worthy of the finest restaurants in France. Grab one of these for lunch, brunch, or any meal of the day and do your bread right, for the sake of your favorite burger.
2. Bacon and Egg McDouble
The McDouble is the best way to get a huge fix of McDonald’s beef and cheese deliciousness into your mouth as quickly as possible. With two beef patties topped with cheese, the sandwich satisfies big hunger and a classic McD’s craving at the same time. On a particularly joyful day, you may decide to see that McDouble and raise it a serving of bacon and eggs. The McDouble is twice as good with breakfast on top, guaranteed to be an experience you want to repeat again and again. The two patties topped with bacon and a cheesy, fresh egg make a flavor combo worthy of the hippest hipster burger bars, without the extra cost for the server’s cool glasses rims. The soft bun, smooth, silky egg and crispy bacon meld with the salty, rich melted cheese and classic burger. This is a perfect choice for a hangover cure, as it throws down protein like nobody else and tastes like relief. Order this off the secret menu, maybe with a double of sides as well – hash browns and fries, with ketchup and maple syrup, anyone? While the Bacon McDouble is available on the regular menu, it’s the addition of the egg that makes this option special. Make sure you arrive hungry for this one – the sandwich packs a serious punch and will fill you up enough to crush a hike or continue partying until the wee hours of the morning, when breakfast starts to make sense again.
1. The Chicken McGriddle
Two McGriddle buns sandwich a crispy, fried chicken patty in this brunch creation. The smell of maple and deep-fried poultry, combined with the familiar taste that combines salty and sweet make this an addictive, crave-worthy treat. The sandwich is a portable chicken and waffles meal, easier on the wallet and simple to take on a road trip or walk. While originally on the secret menu, McDonald’s decided to experiment with adding the McGriddle to their regular menu options in 2017. The test was done in various Florida and Georgia locations, to much success. The option is now listed as a part of the official McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu. One of their most popular breakfast-lunch menu combos, the McGriddle combines American soul food flavors with familiar McDonald’s sweetness and textures. A nice riff on the sausage or egg McGriddle, the Chicken McGriddle allows for a less heavy meat option that takes advantage of the all-day breakfast at McD’s. When a secret menu item is officially added to the regular menu, you know that it must be good. Demand for the not-so-secret combo became so great that now anyone can grab a Chicken McGriddle to brighten their day. Try it with ketchup, or dip it in some extra maple syrup, waffle house style. However you take it, the Chicken McGriddle is a sure bet.