McDonald's Big Mac: calories, nutrition, ingredients and allergens

A McDonald's Big Mac contains 509 kcal. With small fries the total reaches 759 kcal. With medium fries the total reaches 839 kcal. With large fries the total reaches 939 kcal. Adding a medium Coca-Cola to a medium meal brings the total to 1,019 kcal. The Big Mac represents 25% of the 2,000 kcal adult daily reference intake and is one of the most recognised fast food items in the world, sitting toward the middle-to-higher end of the core McDonald's menu on calories.

Per item: 509 kcal, 25g fat (9.6g saturated), 41g carbohydrate (9g sugar), 2g salt, 26g protein. The saturated fat content of 9.6g is 48% of the adult daily guideline of 20g. The salt content of 2g is 33% of the adult daily limit of 6g and 67% of the daily limit for a child aged 4 to 6. The sugar content of 9g is 30% of the adult daily free sugar limit of 30g and 37% of the limit for a child aged 7 to 10 — higher than any of the cheeseburger range, primarily due to the Big Mac sauce.

Big Mac sauce is a formulated condiment containing rapeseed oil, water, pickle relish, glucose-fructose syrup, modified maize starch, spirit vinegar, egg yolk, salt, mustard, xanthan gum and colours. The glucose-fructose syrup is a free sugar that contributes to the Big Mac's higher sugar content compared to other burgers in the range. The modified maize starch acts as a thickener and stabiliser. Xanthan gum is used to maintain the sauce's texture and consistency. The Big Mac sauce is the primary reason the Big Mac contains 9g of sugar compared to 7g across the cheeseburger range.

A McDonald's Big Mac contains 509 kcal compared to 436 kcal in a Double Cheeseburger — 73 more calories. However the Big Mac has significantly less saturated fat at 9.6g versus 10.5g in the Double Cheeseburger. The Big Mac has more sugar at 9g versus 7g due to the sauce. Salt is similar at 2g in both. The Big Mac costs more and is more widely recognised but the Double Cheeseburger is actually higher in saturated fat despite being lower in calories. For lower saturated fat the Big Mac is the better choice of the two.

A McDonald's Big Mac contains 9.6g of saturated fat, which is 48% of the adult daily guideline of 20g. For a child aged 7 to 10 with an estimated daily saturated fat guideline of approximately 16g, it represents 60% of their daily allowance. Despite being one of the most calorie-dense basic burgers on the core menu, the Big Mac's saturated fat is lower than both the Double Cheeseburger at 10.5g and the Bacon Double Cheeseburger at 11.5g. The two beef patties in the Big Mac are the same size as the standard patties but the special sauce replaces the second cheese slice contributing to the difference.

A McDonald's Big Mac contains 9g of sugar, all of which counts as free sugar under NHS guidelines. This is 30% of the adult daily free sugar limit of 30g and 37% of the limit for a child aged 7 to 10. The 9g sugar content is notably higher than the Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger and Triple Cheeseburger which all contain 7g. The extra 2g comes primarily from glucose-fructose syrup in the Big Mac sauce. Adding a medium Coca-Cola to the meal adds approximately 35g of free sugar on top, exceeding the adult daily limit from the drink alone.

A McDonald's Big Mac with small fries contains approximately 759 kcal. With medium fries the total is approximately 839 kcal. With large fries the total is approximately 939 kcal. For a child aged 7 to 10 with a daily energy need of around 1,700 to 2,000 kcal, a Big Mac with medium fries represents approximately 42 to 49% of their daily requirement from one meal. The salt total with medium fries reaches approximately 2.6g — 87% of the daily limit for a child aged 4 to 6.

A McDonald's Big Mac is assembled from 7 separately manufactured components: the three-piece sesame seed bun, two beef patties, one processed cheese slice, shredded lettuce, Big Mac sauce, sliced pickle and diced onion. Each component is manufactured and prepared separately, often at different facilities, before being assembled at the point of sale. The three-piece bun — with a middle crown layer not present in any other McDonald's burger — is unique to the Big Mac and adds additional emulsifiers and processing compared to the standard two-piece bun.

A McDonald's Big Mac contains 2g of salt, which is 33% of the adult daily limit of 6g. For a child aged 4 to 6 with a daily salt limit of 3g, the Big Mac alone uses 67% of their daily allowance. Adding medium fries brings the total to approximately 2.6g, which is 87% of the daily limit for a child aged 4 to 6 from one meal. The salt content is the same as the Double Cheeseburger despite the Big Mac being a different structural composition — the sauce and additional bun layer contribute to maintaining a similar salt level.

Yes. A McDonald's Big Mac falls into NOVA group 4, ultra-processed foods. The three-piece bun contains emulsifiers, antioxidants, maltodextrin and dextrose. The Big Mac sauce contains glucose-fructose syrup, modified maize starch, xanthan gum and colours. The processed cheese slice contains emulsifying salts, whey powder and colours. The pickle slices contain a firming agent and preservative. The Big Mac has more separately formulated components than any other burger in the core range, making it one of the most heavily assembled items on the menu.

A McDonald's Big Mac contains wheat, milk, sesame and mustard. The mustard allergen comes from the Big Mac sauce and is unique to the Big Mac across the core burger range — none of the other basic burgers contain mustard as a declared allergen. It may also contain traces of barley, rye and soya from shared kitchen equipment. McDonald's UK cannot guarantee any item is completely allergen-free due to shared preparation areas. Always check the McDonald's UK app or in-restaurant allergen information for the most current data before ordering for anyone with a food allergy.

A McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese contains approximately 520 kcal compared to 509 kcal in a Big Mac — very similar in calories. The Quarter Pounder uses a single larger beef patty at approximately 113g before cooking versus two smaller patties in the Big Mac. The Quarter Pounder has similar saturated fat at approximately 10g versus 9.6g in the Big Mac. The Big Mac has more sugar due to the sauce. The Quarter Pounder has more protein from the larger single patty. The two items are broadly comparable nutritionally with the Big Mac having slightly less saturated fat and slightly more sugar.

The Big Mac is not on the McDonald's Happy Meal menu. For a child aged 4 to 6, the salt content of 2g uses 67% of their daily limit and the saturated fat of 9.6g represents approximately 88% of their estimated daily guideline from a single item. The sugar content of 9g — 37% of the daily limit for a child aged 7 to 10 — is also higher than any other burger in the core range due to the sauce. For children, the Hamburger at 248 kcal, 3.2g saturated fat and 1g of salt remains the most moderate choice on the core McDonald's burger menu.

Water is the lowest calorie option at zero calories and zero sugar. A medium water with a Big Mac and medium fries keeps the meal at approximately 839 kcal with no drink sugar. A medium Diet Coke or sugar-free Sprite adds zero calories and zero sugar. A medium Coca-Cola adds approximately 180 kcal and 35g of free sugar — nearly four times the sugar of the burger itself. Given that the Big Mac already has the highest sugar content of any basic burger in the core range at 9g, the drink choice has a proportionally large impact on total meal sugar.

A McDonald's Big Mac medium meal — burger with medium fries and medium Coca-Cola — contains approximately 1,019 kcal, 44g of free sugar (9g from the burger and 35g from the drink), 2.6g of salt from the burger and fries combined, and approximately 11-12g of saturated fat. That is 51% of the adult daily calorie reference intake and more than the adult daily free sugar limit from a single meal. Substituting water for the Coca-Cola reduces the meal to approximately 839 kcal and brings free sugar down to 9g — well within the adult daily limit.