A Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese carries 50g of protein, a full day's reference intake for an adult in one burger. Boone ranks every current McDonald's UK item by protein per portion, and shows protein per 100 calories alongside, because the two answer different questions: how much you get, and how much comes with it. Chicken Selects top the density table at around 7g per 100 calories. Fries are the lowest of any food on the menu at 1g. Set the age below and each figure recalculates as a share of that person's daily reference intake.
Every McDonald's UK burger, chicken item and wrap ranked by protein per portion. The Chicken Sharebox leads at 77g, more than one and a half times an adult's 50g daily reference intake, followed by the 9 Chicken Selects Sharebox at 70g. Among single-person items the Big Arch with Bacon is highest at 62g and the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese reaches 50g, a full day's reference intake in one burger. Chicken Selects have the best protein density on the menu at around 7g per 100 calories.
The McDonald's UK breakfast menu ranked by protein per portion. The Double Sausage and Egg McMuffin and its Hot Honey version both reach 36g, roughly 72% of an adult's daily reference intake before nine in the morning. The Breakfast Wraps follow at 35g. At the other end, plain Porridge is 7.8g and a Hash Brown 1.1g, so the protein in this section comes almost entirely from the egg, sausage and cheese.
The McDonald's Happy Meal and kids range ranked by protein per portion. The Cheeseburger Happy Meal leads at 25.8g across the whole meal, and the McNuggets Happy Meal has the best density of the five at 6.4g per 100 calories. Because children need far less protein than adults, these figures cover a much larger share of a child's requirement than the same numbers would for an adult.
McDonald's UK cold drinks ranked by protein per portion, which is not where most people look for it. A large Chocolate Milkshake carries 14g, more than a Filet-O-Fish, because the base is milk. The milkshakes fill the top of this section between 5.5g and 14g. Everything else, from the colas to the juices, is at or near zero.
McDonald's UK sides, fries and dips ranked by protein per portion. A three-piece Mozzarella Dippers leads at 9.7g. Fries carry 2.3g to 4.4g depending on size, which works out at 1g per 100 calories, the lowest density of any food on the menu. The dips contribute almost nothing.
McDonald's UK hot drinks ranked by protein per portion. A Latte is highest at 11g, and at 7.6g per 100 calories it has the best protein density of anything McDonald's sells. A Cappuccino is 6.4g and a Flat White 6.3g. It all comes from the milk, so black coffee and tea are effectively zero.
McDonald's UK desserts ranked by protein per portion. The Galaxy Caramel McFlurry leads at 5.9g, and the regular McFlurries cluster between 5.2g and 5.6g from the ice cream base. Density is low across the section at under 2g per 100 calories, so while there is some protein here it comes with a great deal else.
Protein figures are per portion as served, taken from McDonald's UK published nutrition information and checked in August 2026. Daily reference intakes follow the values used on UK food labels: 50g a day for an adult, with proportionally lower figures for children. Unlike energy, protein reference intakes do not differ by sex, so this ranking has no male and female split. Protein per 100 calories is Boone's own calculation from the published figures, shown so that items can be compared on density as well as total. Reference intakes are a labelling standard rather than a personal target. Actual protein requirements vary with body weight, age and activity level, and people training regularly are commonly advised to eat well above the reference intake. Where an item is sold in more than one size, each size is listed separately, and sharing items are shown at their full pack value.