Boone’s analysis puts McDonald's McPlant at 21% of an adult’s daily calories, 63% of the daily salt limit for a child aged 4 to 6 and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
How many calories are in a McDonald's McPlant? It contains 426 kcal, 19g of fat (3.5g saturated), 8g of sugar and 1.9g of salt. This sits in the middle of the range for the core menu.
Build a full meal with our nutrition calculator
A McPlant is rarely ordered on its own. Use the calculator below to add fries, a drink, dips and a dessert, and see what the combined order adds up to against daily guidelines for calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt.
Nutrition information
Nutrition information: McPlant
| Energy | 426 kcal |
| Fat | 19g |
| of which saturates | 3.5g |
| Carbohydrate | 41g |
| of which sugars | 8g |
| Salt | 1.9g |
| Protein | 19g |
Nutrition figures are McDonald’s UK published data, per item as sold and before any optional sauces or extras. Boone converts them to the portion and age comparisons on this page.
A McDonald's McPlant contains 426 kcal, which is 21% of the 2,000 kcal adult daily reference intake. It provides 19g of total fat, of which 3.5g is saturated, 8g of sugar, 1.9g of salt and 19g of protein.
At 3.5g, the saturated fat content is relatively low for a hot menu item, representing 18% of the adult daily guideline of 20g.
The plant-based patty and vegan cheese are both formulated products designed to replicate animal products, built from isolated proteins, starches, oils, binders and flavourings rather than whole-food ingredients. Despite being meat-free, the McPlant is not a minimally processed option: its ingredient list is longer and more heavily formulated than the beef patty it replaces.
A moderate choice on calories and saturated fat
A McDonald's McPlant contains 426 kcal and 3.5g of saturated fat, 18% of the adult daily saturated fat guideline of 20g. The plant-based patty and vegan cheese are both formulated products designed to replicate animal products, built from isolated proteins, starches, oils, binders and flavourings rather than whole-food ingredients. Despite being meat-free, the McPlant is not a minimally processed option: its ingredient list is longer and more heavily formulated than the beef patty it replaces.
Adult daily reference intakes (Reference Intake, RI)
Calories2,000 kcal
Total fat70g
Saturated fat20g
Total sugars90g (free sugar limit: 30g)
Salt6g
Boone compares each item against EU-wide Reference Intakes for an average adult (2,000 kcal) and the NHS/SACN free sugar and saturated fat guidelines. reference Intakes are EU-wide guideline daily amounts for an average adult (2,000 kcal). The free sugar limit of 30g is the NHS/SACN guideline, which is stricter than the 90g total sugars RI as it excludes naturally occurring sugars in whole foods and dairy.
Sugar, salt and protein by age group
The table below shows how the sugar, salt and protein in a McDonald's McPlant compares to daily guidelines for different age groups and life stages.
Sugar, salt and protein by age group: McDonald's McPlant
| Age group | Sugar (g / % limit) | Salt (g / % limit) | Protein (g / % target) |
|---|
| Age 4 to 6 | 8g / 42% | 1.9g / 63% | 19g / 95% |
| Age 7 to 10 | 8g / 33% | 1.9g / 38% | 19g / 68% |
| Age 11 to 17 | 8g / 27% | 1.9g / 32% | 19g / 45% |
| Adult | 8g / 27% | 1.9g / 32% | 19g / 38% |
Boone calculates sugar and salt against NHS/SACN daily limits and protein against estimated daily targets. Boone bands each figure red at 75%+ of the limit, amber at 20-74% and green under 20%. Protein is beneficial and has no upper limit, shown for reference only.
Protein
McPlant provides 19g of protein. For comparison, a general guide for adult daily protein intake is around 50g, so this item alone provides 38% of that target.
Salt
McPlant contains 1.9g of salt, 32% of the adult daily limit of 6g. This is a moderate contribution, leaving room within the daily limit for sides and other meals.
Ultra-processed food: what is really in it
A McDonald's McPlant is assembled from 5 separate components, each manufactured and prepared separately, often at different factories, before being combined and cooked at the point of sale. The most heavily formulated of these are the sesame seed bun, plant-based patty and vegan cheese slice.
Reading the ingredient list closely, a McDonald's McPlant contains emulsifiers, colourings and flavourings. These are not used to add nutritional value. Emulsifiers help water-based and fat-based ingredients (such as oil and vinegar in a sauce, or fat and water in a bun dough) blend together and stay blended, rather than separating out. Colourings standardise the appearance of a product so it looks the same in every restaurant, regardless of natural variation in the raw ingredients. Flavourings restore or enhance taste that may be reduced during industrial processing, or replicate the taste of a traditional ingredient in a plant-based alternative.
None of this means the ingredients are unsafe; all additives used are approved for use in UK food. What it indicates is the degree of industrial formulation involved. A home-cooked equivalent, made from a small number of fresh or minimally processed ingredients prepared in one kitchen, would typically involve far fewer steps and far fewer additives. The version sold at McDonald's reaches a comparable end result using a longer list of industrially processed components, several manufacturing sites, and a number of functional additives designed to keep the product consistent across thousands of restaurants.
What's in it: McPlant
Sesame seed bun
Wheat flour, water, sugar, yeast, sesame seeds, rapeseed oil, emulsifiers
Plant-based patty
Pea protein and soya protein based patty with rapeseed oil, methylcellulose binder, and flavourings, designed to replicate the texture of a beef patty
Vegan cheese slice
Coconut oil and potato starch based, with flavourings and colours to replicate cheddar
Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle
Fresh vegetables plus standard pickle
Vegan sandwich sauce and mustard
Plant-based mayonnaise alternative and mustard
Looking at the ingredient list rather than just the nutrition panel tells a different story. Even where individual macros (sugar, salt, calories) look moderate, the number of separately manufactured components, and the additives used to bind, emulsify, preserve, colour and flavour them, place almost every hot item on the McDonald's menu in the most processed food category under the NOVA classification system.
Processing (NOVA classification)
A McDonald's McPlant falls into NOVA group 4, ultra-processed food. The NOVA classification system groups foods by the extent and purpose of the processing involved, rather than by their individual nutrients. Group 4 covers products that are formulated mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods, plus additives, using a series of industrial processes with little or no whole food remaining recognisable in the final product. In this item, that includes emulsifiers, colourings and flavourings, on top of the breaded or formed proteins, processed cheese and multi-stage assembly typical of the menu. This classification applies to almost all hot menu items at McDonald's, and indeed to most fast food and packaged convenience food generally; it is not a finding specific to this item.
Ingredients
McDonald's McPlant is assembled from 10 separately manufactured components.
Ingredients by component: McDonald's McPlant
Sesame bun
WHEAT flour, water, sugar, SESAME seeds, yeast, rapeseed oil, salt, dextrose, thickener (guar gum), emulsifier, pea protein, potato starch, natural flavouring, WHEAT starch, maize maltodextrin, antioxidant, maize starch.
Plant based burger
water, pea protein (16%), rapeseed oil, coconut oil, flavouring, rice protein, stabiliser (methyl cellulose), potato starch, apple extract, salt, pomegranate extract, potassium chloride, concentrated lemon juice, maize vinegar, yeast extract, carrot powder, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), colour, maltodextrin.
Vegan cheese alternative
water, coconut oil (23%), tapioca starch, pea protein, modified potato starch, salt, stabiliser (carrageenan), natural flavourings, acidity regulator, preservative, colours, anti-caking agent.
Vegan sandwich sauce
water, rapeseed oil, sugar, spirit vinegar, modified maize starch, salt, thickener (xanthan gum), spices (contain MUSTARD), lemon juice concentrate, preservative, natural onion flavouring, dried garlic, natural turmeric flavouring, colour.
Lettuce
100% iceberg lettuce.
Pickle slices
gherkins, water, spirit vinegar, salt, firming agent, natural flavouring, preservative.
Tomato ketchup
60% tomato puree, glucose-fructose syrup, spirit vinegar, salt, spice extracts.
Mustard
water, spirit vinegar, MUSTARD seed (14%), salt, spices, spice extract.
McDonald's lists more than one approved formulation for the bun; the version shown is the primary one and the allergen table below covers all variants. Ingredients taken from the McDonald's UK product page, retrieved 17 August 2026. Recipes change - always check in restaurant before ordering if you have an allergy.
Allergens at a glance
McDonald's McPlant contains wheat, sesame and mustard.
Allergen information: McDonald's McPlant
| Allergen | Status |
|---|
| Wheat | Contains |
| Rye | May contain traces |
| Barley | May contain traces |
| Oats | Not present |
| Sesame | Contains |
| Soya | Not present |
| Milk | May contain traces |
| Eggs | Not present |
| Fish | Not present |
| Crustaceans | Not present |
| Celery | Not present |
| Mustard | Contains |
| Molluscs | Not present |
| Lupin | Not present |
Contains = declared as an ingredient. May contain traces = McDonald's states the allergen cannot be excluded. McDonald's prepares food in kitchens where all 14 major allergens are present and equipment is shared, so no item can be guaranteed allergen free, even when ingredients are removed on request. Buns, rolls and tortilla wraps are toasted in the same toaster as sesame-topped buns.
