McDonald's US Big Mac: calories, sodium and protein by portion, age and sex

Nutrition information: McDonald's US Big Mac

Nutrition figures are McDonald’s USA 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.

McDonald's US Big Mac carries a large share of a child’s daily sodium

McDonald's US Big Mac contains 1,060mg of sodium, which is 71% of the daily limit for a child aged 4 to 8. It is also high in saturated fat.

FDA Daily Values (2,000-calorie diet)

Where the sugar comes from: McDonald's US Big Mac

5g of the 7g counts as added sugar, or about 1.2 teaspoons. The other 2g is naturally occurring.

Added sugars come from

• sugar, dextrose in the Big Mac bun
• sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup in the Big Mac sauce

Naturally occurring sugars come from

• lactose in the pasteurized process American cheese
• sugars naturally present in the Big Mac sauce
• sugars naturally present in the onions

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030: no more than 10g of added sugar per meal from age 11 and none for children aged 10 and under. FDA Daily Value: 50g a day. Sources are read from the published ingredient list for each component.

Processing and additives: McDonald's US Big Mac

McDonald's US Big Mac is assembled from 7 separately manufactured components, combined and served at the point of sale. Reading the ingredient list closely, it contains corn syrups and invert sugar, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified starches, emulsifiers, thickeners and gums, flavourings, flavour enhancers, colours, preservatives, emulsifying and buffering salts, firming agents and protein and dairy fractions. These are not there to add nutritional value. They make industrial production and distribution possible.

Boone classifies McDonald's US Big Mac as NOVA group 4, ultra-processed, based on the additives named above. NOVA groups foods by how far they are from their whole-food form, not by how nutritious they are. A group 4 food is not automatically unhealthy, and a group 1 food is not automatically healthy. Read from the published ingredient list, September 2026.

Ingredient count by order: McDonald's US Big Mac

The 37 manufactured ingredients

alum, ascorbic acid, calcium chloride, caramel color, citric acid, color added, corn starch, corn syrup, dextrose, enzymes, extractives of paprika, extractives of turmeric, faba bean protein, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed corn protein, hydrolyzed soy protein, hydrolyzed wheat protein, maltodextrin, modified food starch, natural flavor, niacin, pea protein, polysorbate 80, potassium sorbate, potato protein, potato starch, propylene glycol alginate, reduced iron, riboflavin, rice protein, sodium citrate, soy lecithin, spice extractive, thiamine mononitrate, wheat gluten, xanthan gum.

The 25 raw ingredients

beef, black pepper, cream, cucumber, cucumber pickle, cultures, distilled vinegar, egg yolk, garlic powder, lettuce, malted barley flour, milk, onion, onion powder, salt, sesame seeds, soybean oil, spice, sugar, sunflower and/or canola oil, turmeric, vinegar, water, wheat flour, yeast.

What those ingredients are, by type

Boone counts every distinct named ingredient on McDonald’s published component lists, including sub-ingredients, and removes duplicates, so salt appearing in four components counts once. Additive class names are dropped and the named substance kept, so “leavening (baking soda)” counts baking soda once. Ice and water added at the counter are not counted. Raw covers whole foods and basic kitchen staples such as flour, sugar, salt and oil. Manufactured covers substances that only exist as an output of industrial processing. Every figure here is a minimum. The build uses a Sweet ’n Sour sauce.

Ingredients by component: McDonald's US Big Mac

Ingredients taken from the McDonald’s USA product pages, retrieved September 2026, with obvious spelling errors corrected. Recipes change - always check in restaurant before ordering if you have an allergy.

Allergen information: McDonald's US Big Mac

Contains = declared by McDonald’s USA. May contain = McDonald’s states the allergen may be present. McDonald’s prepares food in shared kitchens, so no item can be guaranteed allergen free. UK rules also require barley, oats, mustard, celery and sulphites to be declared; these are shown where the ingredient list names them. Retrieved September 2026.