14 Hacks For Ordering At McDonald's Everyone Should Know

It all began with two brothers selling hamburgers and milkshakes out of a converted hot dog stand in 1948 in San Bernardino, California. Then Ray Croc came along and franchised McDonald's across the country, and the rest is history. Today, McDonald's has 36,000 franchises around the world and sells nine million pounds of french fries every day. McDonald's is located in every state and it's hard to imagine a road trip without seeing the iconic golden arches appearing across the countryside.

While the menu is likely familiar to most people, there may be some creative hacks you haven't heard of. We've rounded up the best-known hacks out there for ordering at McDonald's. For example, did you know that McDonald's sells cheap bags of cubed ice? Or that there are ways to get your hashbrowns cooked to crispy perfection? Or how about how to get a Korean-inspired ice cream latte? For this and more, read on.

Although McDonald's hamburgers are not gourmet food, they can really hit the spot when you have a certain craving. Part of the iconic and distinct flavor of a McDonald's burger is in the bun. The fast food giant knows this, and over the years McDonald's has tried different methods of preparing its buns. Today, the company toasts its buns to a beautiful golden brown. While this makes for a delicious, fast-food hamburger, there is another way to try your McDonald's burger the next time you order.

Try mixing up a Filet-O-Fish bun with your regular hamburger order. This idea first appeared on TikTok. The Filet-O-Fish is served on a puffy, pillowy, steamed bun. However, it's the only sandwich on the menu that offers the choice of a steamed bun. We don't know why McDonald's hasn't thought of offering the choice of a steamed bun with hamburgers, although the more choices they add to the menu, the more time-consuming it becomes for employees. However, they do have the capacity to steam buns. The buns go in a steam drawer for 11 seconds, making them soft and steamy. 

You can't order this online or through the app, but when you place your order, ask the employee for a steamed bun instead of toasted. You could also ask for the same bun used on the Filet-O-Fish. They should be able to accommodate your order, and you can decide if this makes for a better hamburger.

Everyone knows McDonald's french fries are best served fresh. It's easy to tell if they've been sitting around too long because they quickly begin to taste stale. But a hot, freshly made fry is truly delicious. While you have better chances of fresh fries when you go to McDonald's during busy times, like lunch or dinner, there is a hack that ensures you get a freshly made french fry each time. McDonald's fries are cooked in mesh baskets in canola oil. When they are done, employees allow the excess oil to drip and throw them all in a bin where they are salted and portioned into french fry holders. There they sit under warmers waiting for a customer to order them.

However, when someone orders french fries with no salt, they must be made fresh. The small batch is then portioned into holders without salting them. This means when you order a salt-free fry, you are guaranteeing the restaurant will have to make a fresh batch for you. There will probably be a small amount of salt on the fries since the scoop likely contains salt. However, if you need more salt, you can then add your own.

If you dine frequently at McDonald's and you aren't using the app, you are missing out on cost savings. It's also a convenient way to order before you get to the store. Rather than needing to order at the store, you can order ahead of time. When you get to McDonald's, you only need to provide the four-digit code. Ordering and payment can be done through the app and all you have to do is show up and grab your order. 

Aside from convenience, the app offers rewards for spending money that can be used for free food. There are also daily deals that can only be accessed through the app. Today, for example, my local McDonald's is offering deals such as a 99-cent coffee, $1 any size soft drink, and 20% off a purchase of $20 or more. As for the rewards, the more you dine there, the more they begin to add up. Each $1 is worth 100 points. Rewards start at 1500 points for items like a free cheeseburger or free hash browns. Save up 6,000 points or more and you can redeem them for a Big Mac, Happy Meal, or other similarly priced menu items. 

McDonald's has been selling Big Macs since 1967 when Jim Delligatti, a franchise owner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania introduced what he called a "double burger." This burger had two meat patties, a bun in the middle, onions, lettuce, cheese, and a special sauce. The burger was a hit and was rolled out nationwide the following year with the name, Big Mac. For the record, a 21-year-old secretary in the advertising department named Glickstein Rose came up with the name. While she was never paid for the name, she did get recognition in 1985 in the form of a plaque and a thank you note.

When the Big Mac first appeared on menus, it sold for 45 cents. Today, it's quite a bit more, which is no wonder people have tried hacking the menu for a cheaper deal. If you want a Big Mac at a lower cost, try the following. Order a McDouble at a lower price. Customize it with no ketchup or mustard, but add shredded lettuce and extra pickles. Finally, you'll have to do this step in person but be sure to add Big Mac sauce for that signature flavor.

Aside from sides and desserts, there aren't meatless options at McDonald's. Unlike Burger King, McDonald's doesn't offer a plant-based burger. However, there is a little-known trick you can use to get a grilled cheese sandwich. You can't order a grilled cheese sandwich from the menu. You can, however, try the following hack. When you place your order, ask for a cheeseburger, but tell the employee you want to hold the burger. If you only want the cheese, be sure to order it without any condiments or extras. Or you can get it with all of the typical fixings on a hamburger. And finally, you will want to be sure to ask for toasted buns.

If you're in Australia, you will be lucky enough to have the option to order a McDonald's grilled cheese sandwich directly from the menu. They're called "toasties" and they come plain with just cheese or with various other fillings like bacon, Aussie jack cheese, BBQ sauce, ham, and tomato. They may be just fast food, but they get pretty good reviews.

Depending on which breakfast sandwich you order, you will get a different type of egg from McDonald's. The Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit, the Sausage Biscuit with Egg, and the McGriddles options are made with a "folded egg." According to McDonald's, folded eggs are, "liquid eggs that are pre-cooked and folded before being flash frozen by our suppliers." These eggs come to the restaurant frozen and get heated up on the grill. 

However, the Egg McMuffin and Sausage McMuffin with Egg are not made with folded eggs. Instead, those sandwiches get round eggs. The eggs are cracked into an egg ring on the griddle and cooked at the restaurant. Keep in mind that regardless of how you order your egg, you are still getting real eggs. The difference is how it's prepared.

To get any breakfast sandwich with a freshly cracked egg, ask for a round egg instead of a folded egg. You may get an extra charge depending on the location. In another variation, you can also ask for the scrambled eggs that come with the Big Breakfast on your sandwiches instead of a folded egg. The scrambled eggs come in liquid form to the restaurants and are cooked fresh in butter.

This hack allows you to skip the bread and instead make a breakfast sandwich out of two crispy hashbrowns. You can try this two ways. You can ask the employees to substitute hashbrowns for the biscuit or English muffin in the breakfast sandwich. You'll likely be charged for the hashbrowns. Or you can keep things easier at the drive-through or counter and order your choice of sandwich, plus two hashbrowns, and simply assemble the sandwich yourself. 

However, if you want to try a sweeter variation of the hashbrown breakfast sandwich, you can try this viral social media hack. It came from an Australian woman's TikTok and has since swept through America. Kelly Arvan was craving hashbrowns and ice cream, so she ordered two hashbrowns and an Oreo McFlurry. She spreads the ice cream on the hashbrowns, creating a warm, crispy, salty, and sweet ice cream sandwich. As Kelly says, "the cravings can hit you at any time." She gives her creation a 10 out of 10.

Unless you are in Japan or South Korea, you won't be able to have the world-famous ice cream latte from Paul Bassett's high-end coffee shop. But that doesn't mean you can't make your own version of a Bassett with an American, fast food flair. The Paul Bassett ice cream latte uses high-quality ingredients including soft-serve ice cream made from organic milk and specially sourced coffee beans. While this hack won't give you that kind of quality, it will still be tasty. 

Here's how to hack it as seen on TikTok videos beginning in 2021. Order an iced coffee and a soft-serve ice cream cone. Drink some of the coffee to give yourself room. Take the lid off of your coffee and dunk the cone into the drink. Mix it around a few times. If you'd like a little flair, leave the cone in the cup for a garnish angled to the side. Now enjoy your creamy, iced coffee. If you aren't in the mood for coffee, you can get creative with this one and use soda instead to make root beer floats, orange creamsicles, or coke floats.

There are different variations to the story as to how pie à la mode was invented. Some say it began in the 1890s with Charles Watson Townsend, a guest of the Cambridge Hotel in New York. Others believe that John Gieriet, owner of the Hotel la Perl in Duluth, Minnesota invented it in the 1880s. What we do know is that warm pie served with ice cream has been a classic American dessert for nearly 150 years.

There is a very simple hack for getting a fast food pie à la mode from McDonald's. The menu doesn't have a scoop of soft serve unless you order a cone. However, you can order a plain sundae. This is essentially a cup of vanilla soft serve without any toppings. Order the plain sundae with the apple pie. Take the lid off the sundae and dunk the apple pie right into your cup. Now use your spoon to break up the pie into pieces and mix into your soft serve.

The Happy Meal launched in 1977 in just a few markets. It came with a regular burger, Keebler cookies, soda, and a Cracker Jack toy. The public loved it, and a couple of years later, it rolled out nationwide. The toys were simple and kids could get things such as McDoodle stencils, McWrist wallets, a spinning top, or erasers. Later that year, McDonald's had its first movie tie-in toy with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" movie.

Through the years, McDonald's Happy Meal toys have become beloved collectibles for many. If you've ever had a child who wanted to collect every toy before its limited time is gone, or if you're an adult with a collection, you know that you don't always want to buy a meal to get your item. Thankfully, McDonald's understands this and will let you buy toys separately from the meals. All you have to do is ask an employee behind the counter.

Groceries are expensive and any way that you can find savings helps. If you need a bag of ice for a party or to fill a cooler for a trip, before you head to the grocery store or gas station, you may want to check out McDonald's. Not many people know that McDonald's sells bags of ice for generally much lower prices than you'd find elsewhere. Depending on the location, you may get a back for around 99 cents to $1.50. This is likely to be less than you'd find at other stores.

You can't order it from the menu but ask an employee. They may need to grab their manager to check, but they likely can sell you a bag of cubed ice for a low price. This can be a time saver if you're heading out of town and need ice for your coolers and a quick meal. You can get bagged ice through the drive-through without even having to go inside. 

There are two reasons you may want to say yes when a McDonald's crew member asks if you'd like your receipt. First, you can get free things by filling out a customer satisfaction survey. The instructions to get a validation code from an online survey are printed on the receipt. It is usually a coupon for a buy-one-get-one-free food item. You can't redeem the coupon through the app but will need to use it at the restaurant.

The second reason you should always ask for a receipt has been revealed by employees. Employees know that McDonald's hires secret shoppers to rate the food and customer service. The shoppers get reimbursed and need their receipts. Employees may suspect when you ask for your receipt that you could be a secret shopper. To make good impressions, employees will want to give suspected secret shoppers fresh food and good service. McDonald's website explains, "we send in mystery shoppers at peak periods to see how well each restaurant handles the demand of a busy service."

When McDonald's began selling chocolate chip cookies in 2012 as part of its McCafe menu, it was a real game changer. And when someone dreamed up the 13-pack chocolate chip cookie tote, things got even better. But even better than that is combining warm chocolate chip cookies with frosty, cold ice cream. 

Since McDonald's serves both cookies and ice cream, you can easily hack your way to a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. Don't ask for it directly, because it's not on the menu. However, this one is easy to make yourself. Simply order two cookies and a plain sundae or an ice cream cone. Scoop the soft serve in between the cookies, and you have a delicious ice cream sandwich. Others online have tried different variations of this. If you don't want plain vanilla, you can make this sandwich with a M&M McFlurry or Oreo McFlurry for delicious results. 

If you like McDonald's hashbrowns now, you need to try them just a bit crispier. When you order, ask the employee for your hashbrowns to be done, "extra crispy," or "well done." They will cook your hashbrowns just a few minutes past the time the bell rings for the hashbrowns to come out. You'll end up with hashbrowns that are slightly darker, but much crispier than with the standard amount of cooking.

This works on french fries and McNuggets as well. Ask for your nuggets to be cooked "well done" and they will get a few more minutes in the fryer. When you ask for special requests like this one, be kind to the employees and understand that it means you will wait a few more minutes. As long as you are patient and friendly, the employees likely won't mind making your request.