I Tried 8 McDonald's Ordering Hacks And These Are Worth The Hype

The 2020s will forever be known as the decade of the fast food hack. Social media is teeming with all the unique ways you can customize an order at your favorite chain for quick eats, especially if your go-to spot is McDonald's. Unbeknownst to some, the uncontested king of American fast food doesn't limit you to just plain old burgers and nuggets — you just have to know what to ask for. Whether you're trying to save a few bucks at McDonald's with a clever hack or create an epic Franken-meal, there's an endless stream of ways to change things up at the Golden Arches.

If you flock to TikTok or Instagram for some McDonald's hacks to try, you're sure to be met with, let's just say, a little too much creativity. Surely not every viral fast food hack is worth its weight in fries. To pick through the special ordering requests that McDonald's employees can't stand and the ones that yield a downright nasty meal, I tried a few popular ordering hacks to find those worth the hype. These are the hush-hush tricks that level-up a boring fast food order and (probably) won't make the employees at your local McDonald's sic Grimace on you.

"Surf and turf" isn't a phrase you normally associate with fast food, but who says it has to refer to ribeye and lobster tails? Most McDonald's customers are opting for a turf-based meal, aka a burger, and overlooking the chain's surf option — and I can't say I blame them. The Filet-O-Fish is easily one of the top items to avoid ordering at McDonald's for myriad reasons; for starters, it comes with only a half slice of sad-looking American cheese. Plus, there are no crunchy veggies to give it any contrast, and the fish patty is the flavor equivalent of watching paint dry. However, there's one reason that McDonald's should keep this maritime abomination around for good, and that's for the Surf n' Turf burger.

To make a Mickey D's Surf n' Turf, simply remove the fish patty from the Filet-O-Fish and add it to a Big Mac (or Quarter Pounder, if you so choose). You can ask a McDonald's staff member if they'll construct it for you in the kitchen, but I was told I'd have to do it myself. C'est la vie. When I bit into this hefty sandwich for the first time, I wasn't surprised by the lack of fish flavor, since McDonald's fish patties are famously bland. Instead, the dense, crispy seafood essentially creates a bigger burger with a more satisfying bite. I'll admit, this one needs to be sauced to the nines to give it enough pizazz, but if you're not afraid of a little mess, it's absolutely worth it.

Ok, I lied. There's actually one more thing that the Filet-O-Fish is good for, other than the Surf n' Turf burger and that weird, catchy commercial with the singing fish circa 2009. You probably never even noticed it, but McDonald's uses a specific bun for the Filet-O-Fish that it doesn't use for any other item, and it might be the fishy sandwich's best quality. The Filet-O-Fish comes with a delightfully squishy, warm, steamed bun — and if you ask nicely, the staff at McDonald's will make your burger using this special bun.

This might be my favorite hack on this list. It's so simple and seemingly inconsequential, but it takes a McDonald's burger from "fine" to "fantastic." Personally, I find those sesame buns that the chain is famous for boring and usually on the stale side. The steamed bun, on the other hand, always tastes fresh and has the perfect amount of squish. It isn't so delicate that it falls apart, but it still melts in your mouth. It made my Big Mac taste like a giant version of a White Castle slider (my favorite fast food burger of all time), so it's safe to say I'll be getting my burgers made this way for the foreseeable future.

If there's one thing most burgers could use a bit more of, it's crunch. Potato chips, pickles, bacon, crispy fried onions — these are all objectively the best burger toppings thanks to the flavor and texture boost they offer. McDonald's burgers (and all fast food burgers, for that matter) have a tendency to be a little on the thin and mushy side, so they can use a little pick-me-up. In this case, McNuggets are the answer to your sad, floppy burger woes.

Beefing it up (poultry-ing it up?) with some nuggies is the way to go to get more heft and texture out of your Quarter Pounder and turn it into the esteemed Quarter Pounder Crunch. You can order your burger with a few nuggets tossed on, but unless the staff at McDonald's are in the mood to experiment or are feeling extra generous, they'll probably suggest that you order a small side of nuggets with your meal. That's fine, too. This hack is incredibly easy to throw together yourself, as long as you don't forget a crucial element: sauce. Without sauce, this nugget-burger tastes incredibly dry, so make sure to order your burger fully sauced up or get some on the side. I opted for extra ketchup and plenty of mayo on mine, but barbecue is also a fan favorite on the Quarter Pounder Crunch.

This strange-sounding hack took me by surprise more than the others on this list. On paper, it sounds pretty vile, but the execution is astonishingly delicious. It starts with a cult-classic McDonald's item: sweet tea. If you, like me, spent most of your life in the Northern part of the U.S., your first taste of McDonald's sweet tea is probably a core memory. I literally remember exactly where I was standing when I got my first sip of McDonald's sweet tea, which is why I was appalled to learn that anyone would attempt to tarnish this perfect beverage. But two basic additions turn this Southern-style sweet tea (which is not the same as classic iced tea) into a creamy, Mexican-style refreshment.

I'm not qualified to explain the science behind why it works, but a few creamers (as in, the ones served alongside a coffee) and a hearty sprinkle of cinnamon in a McDonald's sweet tea make the drink taste just like horchata. A traditional Mexican horchata recipe consists of rice, evaporated milk, and cinnamon, so this flavor doppelgänger is confusing, but delicious nonetheless.

I tossed exactly three tiny creamer cups in a medium-sized sweet tea to make my McHorchata. An employee at the location I visited was nice enough to sprinkle some cinnamon in my drink, but don't be ashamed to bring your own to Mickey D's in case your closest location doesn't stock cinnamon.

Lemon, lime, and vanilla isn't a wonderful flavor combo. Lime, especially, is incredibly tart, which contrasts heavily with vanilla's mellow sweetness and results in a funky, acrid flavor, like two flavors battling for supremacy over your taste buds. But when it comes to the artificial citrus-esque taste of Sprite, anything goes, including vanilla.

The next time you're craving an extra-sweet drink alongside your savory McDonald's meal, order a few pumps of French vanilla syrup in a drink cup. Then, fill said cup with ice and Sprite and thank me (or whoever originally came up with this hack) later.

Allegedly, this McDonald's Sprite hack creates a drink that tastes just like cotton candy, but I have a bone to pick with this flavor comparison. I didn't really pick up on any cotton candy vibes here. However, the nameless flavor that the ingredient combo creates — not quite vanilla, but also not quite lemon-lime — is delicious, and it isn't as palate-shockingly sweet as you might think.

I opted for three pumps of French vanilla in a medium-sized drink cup, and after giving it a good stir to let the syrup distribute evenly, it completely altered the taste of the Sprite and made it dessert-like without being nauseatingly sugary. Imagine a cream soda with a slightly tart, candy-like finish; that's the only way words can describe this otherworldly flavor that's absolutely worth a try on your next McDonald's run.

If you've never experienced an affogato, please allow me to change your life forever: This iconic Italian dessert simply consists of espresso poured over a scoop of gelato. It's refreshing, invigorating, and delicious — the perfect post-dinner treat. McDonald's doesn't offer gelato, of course, but it does sell the next best thing: vanilla soft serve (that is, if the machine is working).

You can order an affogato-style treat at nearly any fast food place, but most fast food chains don't offer espresso, so you'd have to settle for drip coffee over your soft serve. Enter McDonald's, where a classy pick-me-up is only two ingredients away. I had to take a few bites of my soft serve to make room for the espresso, but once I poured it into the sundae cup, the ratios were perfect. The ice cream stayed solid enough that the two ingredients didn't mix together immediately, which is exactly how it should be; I like to take a bite of an affogato while the espresso and gelato are still two distinct components of the dessert.

McDonald's ice cream is just as good as the soft serve from a dedicated dessert shop, and the espresso is surprisingly decent for a fast food chain. Combined, this is a no-brainer hack that's easy to order without making things complicated; simply order a single or a double shot of espresso and some soft serve in a plastic cup (a cone-less sundae, in McDonald's-ese).

I consider myself the queen of mixing condiments with other condiments. In particular, I love mixing mayo with other sauces and dips, be it hot sauce, ketchup, teriyaki, you name it — but this hack had me questioning the validity of social media fast food hacks altogether. Sweet and sour is not a sauce I would ever consider combining with mayo. Rich, fatty mayo and tangy sweet and sour combined sounds like a disaster waiting to unfold on your taste buds. However, I can confirm that this is a quintessential case of opposites attracting.

This sweet and saucy McDonald's nugget hack is a must-try, especially since, on paper, it sounds so bizarre, and — let's be honest — pretty gross. I mixed my sweet and sour and mayo in a 2:1 ratio, and that turned out to be the literal recipe for success. The tangy sweetness from the sweet and sour was still fully apparent, albeit much more subdued compared to the blast of sugar and zestiness you get in the unadulterated sauce. The mayo gives this nugget dip a richer body and egginess without totally diluting the taste, creating a downright addicting sauce. Mayo on its own is a terrible nugget dip, clearly, and solo sweet and sour leads to quick flavor fatigue. But together, these two are an unexpected but amazing duo, the yin and yang of the fast food condiment world.

For those days when one fast food burger probably won't fill you up, but two would be overkill, there's the Bigger Mac. All you have to do is make this one simple request to get a heftier Big Mac at McDonald's: Order your sandwich with Quarter Pounder patties instead. They don't look too different from one another, but Big Mac patties weigh one-tenth of a pound, while Quarter Pounder patties weigh — wait, don't tell me — a quarter of a pound. So, two of these monster burgers create a whopping half-pound Big Mac, compared to the traditional recipe, which clocks in at less than a quarter pound.

One of the most common qualms McDonald's customers have with the Big Mac is the bread-to-meat ratio, which heavily favors bread. The patties that normally come on the chain's most iconic sandwich are so thin that they barely register on your taste buds when you bite into them. So for those who want the heftiness of the Quarter Pounder with the construction and classic sauce of the Big Mac, this ordering hack is sent straight from the fast food gods.

The best part is that I don't think I was charged any extra for this major burger upgrade. However, that isn't to say that all McDonald's locations will honor this request for free.

To round up these McDonald's ordering hacks that are worth your time and effort, I chose some of the most popular hacks mentioned in online articles and viral videos on social media. I ordered each the way it was described online and only included those that resulted in a better item or a unique flavor. I also included hacks that were practical for real-life ordering scenarios and not just social media shock-value. Famous secret menu items that are over-the-top, exceedingly humongous, or made by vloggers who simply thrive on fast food chaos were excluded.

To determine whether or not a hack is worth it, I judged it fairly and objectively, setting aside as much personal bias as possible. I based my assessment on the item's flavor and texture, primarily, but also on the ease of ordering. I left off any hacks that were likely to result in a disheartening denial or an employee's ruined day. I also didn't factor in cost or availability into this list. All of these McDonald's hacks are easy to order, fun to construct, and breathe new life into a boring McDonald's run.