Change Up Your Basic McDonald's McGriddle — Give It A Big Mac-Style Upgrade With An Ordering Trick

In 2003, McDonald's transformed the breakfast sandwich by swapping out the bun for a pair of palm-sized pancakes. The McGriddle was born. If the McGriddle has been your go-to breakfast order for the last two decades, it's high time to change up your basic McGriddle order. Instead of the usual, get two sandwiches, remove the bottom Griddle Cake from one of them, and then combine the sandwiches into a Big Mac-style breakfast upgrade, complete with the signature middle bun. Enjoy the extra Griddle Cake on the side.

This double-decker sandwich works for the same reasons the original Big Mac works. Double meat (and potentially eggs) are held tidy and together by the middle bun, just like the toppings in a club sandwich. And unlike the Big Mac, the larger portion of savory filling is balanced out by the maple-sweetened bun in the center of it all. And if you ask nicely, they might even give you some sweet and tangy Big Mac sauce for your breakfast sandwich.

Ready to take your McGriddle customization beyond a Big Mac-style stacking upgrade? There are so many upgrades worth ordering for a better McDonald's McGriddle. You can slip a crunchy fried hash brown into the sandwich. If you think the McGriddle needs a little zip, dab in some of McDonald's picante sauce. 

For the truly hardcore fast food hackers, there's only so much you can do to customize a McGriddle from the confines of a McDonald's restaurant. But if you're eating it at home, there are a couple of easy upgrades that can come from your own kitchen. 

Give it a quick zap in the air fryer to crisp up the bun. Or add a spoonful of sauerkraut to the McGriddle's pork and maple. The fermented condiment basically comes standard with German braised pork or maple-glazed brats. However you deck it out, there's no reason you can't have it your way, even if that's technically a different chain's classic slogan.