Review: McDonald's Chicken Big Mac Brings Fast Food Comfort But Could Use More Seasoning

This. Means. Wars. (Chicken sandwich wars.) The U.S. McDonald's Chicken Big Mac drop launches a direct attack on those other fast food chicken sandwiches. But will it put the hurt-fil-A on any other chains, or is this just another rubber chicken dressed up as one of Mickey D's best-sellers?

On the heels of a successful soft-launch at the pop-up restaurant dupe McDonnell's in Los Angeles — where one fan described the supposedly new, off-brand McDonnell's chicken sandwich as tasting "familiar, but different" to Chain — McDonald's (the real one) went all in on a sandwich that stacks as tall as it Macs, featuring everything you love about the McDonald's Big Mac ... except with chicken instead of beef (and zero of the Big Mac's onions). While the 2024 launch is a big deal for most U.S. fans, this same sandwich has previously been enjoyed by a test-market in Miami in 2022, as well as on menus in the U.K., where it took just 10 days to completely sell out.

Almost 60 years after debuting the double-patty Big Mac in 1967, McDonald's is serving big chicken energy — for a limited time. (Enter throwback trauma to when Happy Meals had exclusive toys in them, and you could never collect them all!) Americans dig into an estimated 500 million Big Macs every year, but will we welcome the chicken version? I took to the streets of Los Angeles to snag my own McDonald's Chicken Big Mac and find out whether this bird's really ready for primetime.

I ordered my McDonald's Chicken Big Mac at 1:02 p.m. and had it hot in my hands by 1:08 p.m. (Is that fast? Does that length of time mean it's fresh? I have no idea.) It's been a minute since I sat down inside an actual McDonald's restaurant, but I plugged in my order at the kiosk (a new addition to this McDonald's) and waited for my extremely hyped chicken sandwich date to arrive.

"Do you want any extra sauce?" asked the staffer who appeared with my order. I looked into her bin of tangy BBQ, sweet 'n sour, and ranch, wondering if they would throw off the Big Mac vibe. "The Chicken Big Mac comes with Big Mac sauce, lettuce, pickles, and cheddar cheese," she added as guidance. Sensing ready-to-launch-ness, I stuck with the status quo and cracked open the clamshell box. It had all that stuff on it, plus two tempura-battered chicken patties, and 1 ½ sesame seed buns (y'know, because bottom, top, and middle).

My first bite was like a warm, saucy, chewy hug. I loved the crunch of the lightly toasted bun, and the crispy-battered chicken playing off the velvety melted cheddar, robust lettuce, and vinegary dill pickles. The Thousand Island-like Big Mac sauce feels iconic, if not a little bland. And the chicken needs salt. But where the Chicken Big Mac lacks in noteworthy seasoning, it makes up for in fast food comfort with all the McFeels.

Zero. It's a McMiracle! OK, but in real life, the McDonald's Chicken Big Mac clocks in at 530 calories according to McDonald's website, and 700 calories according to my Los Angeles McDonald's in-store kiosk. (I'm not sure how L.A. got that number.) But, going by the highly publicized count of 530 calories, the Chicken Big Mac lands just under the original Big Mac's heftier 590 calories (and way under the 1,340-calorie Big Breakfast with Hotcakes).

Dishing up 20 grams of fat, 61 grams of carbs, and 8.5 grams of sugar, the McDonald's Chicken Big Mac also slides in a cool 25 grams of protein to power your day. But if any of these numbers are not to your liking, McDonald's offers customizations on just about anything on its menu — and all you have to do is ask. Want to slim down on the carbs? Remove the middle bun (or the whole bun). Want a little less Big Mac sauce? The world is your oyster. You can even add a little more flavor with extra cheese, pickle chips, lettuce — even chicken, or extra buns — all with the press of a button.

The Chicken Big Mac experience hits a McDonald's near you on October 10, 2024 for a limited time. How limited? It seems like we've gotta buy enough to seem interested, but not buy them all and run out. While other markets served as testing grounds for the McDonald's Chicken Big Mac, the nationwide U.S. launch appears to be the biggest one yet, with slightly earlier drops in cities like Indianapolis, Indiana; El Paso, Texas; and Los Angeles, California. 

While prices depend on the region, you can expect to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.50 to $6.25 per sandwich. (As long as the chain's chicken suppliers aren't doing any alleged funny business with the prices.)

Maybe the most important "limited time" to remember is the time of day the Chicken Big Mac is available. As I saw flashing across my kiosk in Los Angeles, the sandwich is "not available after midnight." Why not? It might have to do with the simplified late-night menu, which features only tried-and-true hits like Big Macs (with beef), McNuggets, and Quarter Pounders. For locations that are open 24 hours, drive thru options from midnight to 5 a.m. will not satisfy a Chicken Big Mac craving at this time. It's also not available for breakfast, which for most outposts means Chicken Big Mac time runs from 11 a.m. (or, the end of McDonald's breakfast service) until midnight. For a limited time. (Stop saying that!)

As I first sunk my teeth into the McDonald's Chicken Big Mac, I immediately thought of the McDonald's Chicken McNuggets I loved as a kid. The chicken tastes exactly the same as it did in 19-whatever-something. But, as I am over the age of 7, I now require more seasoning in my chicken patty breading (even if it's coating minced meat). This is especially true without the umami boost of a cup of ridiculously sugary barbecue dipping sauce.

I don't know if I was expecting the Chicken Big Mac to feature the lumpy, bumpy, breaded, and seasoned chicken filets of the McCrispy or McChicken sandwiches — which would be a terror to hold together, doubled-up in the Big Mac bun — but these chicken patties can't hang with the big dogs in the chicken sando industry. Other than the KFC Double Down (where the patties are the bun), I can't think of a really great chicken sandwich that's doing a double patty well.

McDonald's has completed the Big-Mac-but-make-it-chicken assignment to much fanfare and glittering press. But you know how the Big Mac showcases its all-beef burger patties — their greasy, savory clout shining like heck on that bun? The Chicken Big Mac does the opposite, chopping its chicken like a hash brown, then frying it into two oversized McNuggets that seem like they lost a bet and ended up in a Big Mac when they meant to start new lives in Memphis.