Does McDonald's Serve Hot Chocolate?

McDonald's is one of the world's most popular fast food chains. It started out as a small burger stand in San Bernardino, California, opened by Maurice and Richard McDonald in 1940, but has since become a global brand. And while the restaurant is still best known for its burgers, which we've ranked from worst to best, it has also built a name for itself with other menu items, including its oversized sodas and affordable coffee, known as McCafé. But if you're not a big coffee drinker yet still want a hot drink, you can also order hot chocolate at the chain. However, as of November 2024, some hot chocolate orders in the United States and Canada were on pause due to malfunctions with the machine that makes the decadent drink.

Although McDonald's technically has hot chocolate available on its U.S. menu, if you try to click on it through the website for nutrition details, you'll be brought straight back to the main McCafé menu. If you try ordering through the app, the drink is listed as "currently unavailable" at some locations. As of publication, there is no timeline for when hot chocolate will return to all McDonald's.

Starting in November 2024, a defect in McDonald's espresso machines (at least it wasn't the company's McFlurry machines this time) prevented some locations in the U.S. and Canada from properly making certain hot drinks on the menu. The machines, which are made by Melitta, had a safety issue flagged by the company, which was then relayed to McDonald's. As a result, the fast food chain pulled the machines, meaning several espresso drinks and hot chocolate were unavailable, even as of December 2024. It's unclear how long it might take to get all of the machines back up and running. Based on the online ordering app, it does appear that some U.S. locations have hot chocolate available, while others do not, though it's unclear if particular cities or certain geographic areas were more impacted by the recall than others.

Of course, the answer to whether McDonald's sells hot chocolate is technically yes. However, with the recent espresso machine issues, the only hope is that McDonald's brings back this chocolatey drink when the machines are fixed and working like normal.