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In the 85 years it's been around, McDonald's has racked up a considerable list of discontinued items, which makes sense given the number of items the fast-food chain has served over the year, and their scale of operations.
McDonald's is by far one of the largest fast-food chains in the US and worldwide. According to the New York Post, there are more than 41,000 Golden Arches locations across over a hundred countries in 2024- and most of these locations are in the US. What started as one humble location in San Bernardino, California back in 1940 now has over 13,000 locations in the US, as of 2024. With such a long and large legacy, the Golden Arches have seen some flops and farewells along with some evergreen classics.
McDonald's is often introducing new menu items to keep up with the times and keep customers coming back for more, but not all of these items stay on the menus forever.
Some, like the Snack Wrap and the Chicken Strips, make a comeback due to popular demand, while some remain in popular demand, like the Cinnamelts. Some make a comeback for just a little time, like the Spicy Chicken McNuggets that came back for a short stint in 2020 for the first time since 1983, and then again in 2022, according to People. And the nuggets are not alone Here is a list of 5 more discontinued McDonald's menu items.
Onion Nuggets, circa 1975
Onion rings are usually a hit with the masses, but it didn't quite work for McDonald's. Back in 1975, the fast-food giant served up Onion Nuggets, which can now be best described somewhere between an onion ring and the now-popular McNugget. The fast-food chain was trying to appeal to a vegetarian customer base with the Onion Nuggets.
However, the Onion Nuggets were not popular with customers, and sales lagged. The nuggets were officially dropped from the Golden Arches menu in 1984, a year after the chicken McNugget was added to the menu. The Onion Nuggets are yet to make a comeback.
The Snack Wrap
The Chicken Snack Warp hit the Mickey D's menus in 2006. The wrap featured chicken, lettuce, cheese, and a sauce- ranch or honey mustard- wrapped in a flour tortilla. The item was, in fact, quite popular with patrons.
Unfortunately, the Snack Wraps were taken off the menu, reportedly due to poor sales and the fact that they took longer to assemble, according to Food and Wine.
However, Snack Wrap fans have a special something to look forward to in 2025- McDonald's has announced that the Snack Wrap is coming back. As reported by USA Today, Joe Erlinger, president of US operations of the fast food chain announced the 2025 comeback on "Good Morning America", saying.
“ It has a cult following. I get so many emails into my inbox about this product.”
Cinnamelts
Introduced in 2007, Cinnamelts were part of the breakfast menu at Mickey D's. The Cinnamelts were little slices of bread with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, topped off with cream cheese, mirroring the taste of warm cinnamon rolls.
Cinnamelts were a hit with customers, but they were phased out of the menu 10 years down the line- there is no official date for when it was taken off the menu. According to Taste of Home, it is likely they were discontinued due to high production costs.
The Cinnamelts seemed to be a sorely missed item, with fans going as far as creating a Change.org petition "To Bring Cinnamelts Back" in 2017. As of February 20, 204, the petition has over 18,000 signatures.
Fish McBites
Filte-O-Fish has been a Golden Arches classic. In February 2013, the fast-food chain launched the Fish McBites, expanding its fish options.
The Fish McBites were similar to the Chicken McBites. The fried fish balls were made of the same Alaskan Pollock Filet used for the Filet-o-Fish, served with a tartar dip. However, the item was not very popular with customers, and the Fish McBites were discontinued in April 2013, barely 2 months after their release,
All Day Breakfast at McDonald's
In 2015, the fast food chain announced an all-day breakfast service at the Golden Arches outlets. This was an instant success with the customers, as the chain's breakfast menu continues to be quite popular.
However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the all-day breakfast service was discontinued as the fast-food chain cut costs to focus on streamlining services and prioritizing popular food items. At present, McDonald's does not serve a breakfast menu beyond breakfast hours. The exact time varies by restaurant.
Not every menu items by the Golden Arches were meant to be forever- while some were meant to be limited edition, some just didn't work that well either due to low demand or logistical barriers and had to be taken off the menu. While some are making a comeback, others remain a memory in the 85-year legacy of the fast-food chain that is still growing.
