Which McDonald's Menu Items Give You the Most Calories per Dollar?
Analyze which McDonald's menu items provide the most calories for your dollar, including insights on protein calories per dollar.
Lots of people opt for McDonald's as a cheap/convenient source of (questionably healthy) food. We thought it would be interesting to pair the nutritional data with prices to see which menu items actually get folks the most calories for their dollar.
Which menu items get you the most calories per dollar?
Assuming we're optimizing for just calories (energy), these items will provide you the most per dollar:
Conversely, these foods offer you the least calories per dollar spent:
Which menu items get you the most protein calories per dollar?
Of the 3 macronutrients, protein is the most expensive. There are a ton of benefits to getting adequate protein in your diet, so instead of optimizing for just calories/dollar, it may be in your interest to look for foods with the most protein calories per dollar.
Conversely, these foods offer you the least protein calories per dollar spent:
Check out the complete menu here:
Here are the key stats for the items I was able to quickly gather information on. Grabbed the prices here (set for Michigan so could be higher/lower depending on your area, but will give you relative guidance), and the nutrition information here.
//csv to html dump here: http://www.convertcsv.com/csv-to-html.htm
| Food | Price | Calories | Protein Calories | Calories/Dollar | Protein Calories/Dollar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sausage Biscuit (Regular Size Biscuit) | $1.27 | 430 | 44 | 339 | 35 |
| McChicken | $1.07 | 360 | 56 | 336 | 52 |
| Sausage McMuffin | $1.27 | 370 | 56 | 291 | 44 |
| Cheeseburger | $1.07 | 300 | 60 | 280 | 56 |
| Cinnamon Melts | $1.70 | 460 | 24 | 271 | 14 |
| Baked Hot Apple Pie | $0.95 | 250 | 8 | 263 | 8 |
| McDouble | $1.49 | 390 | 88 | 262 | 59 |
| Double Cheeseburger | $1.70 | 440 | 100 | 259 | 59 |
| Vanilla Triple Thick Shake (16 fl oz cup) | $2.77 | 693 | 52 | 250 | 19 |
| Sausage Burrito | $1.27 | 300 | 48 | 236 | 38 |
| Sausage Burrito | $1.27 | 300 | 48 | 236 | 38 |
| French Fries (Medium) | $1.70 | 340 | 16 | 200 | 9 |
| Ranch Snack Wrap (Crispy) | $1.81 | 360 | 56 | 199 | 31 |
| Big Breakfast (Regular Size Biscuit) | $3.73 | 740 | 112 | 198 | 30 |
| Chicken McNuggets (40 pc.) | $9.62 | 1880 | 384 | 195 | 40 |
| Mac Snack Wrap | $1.81 | 330 | 60 | 182 | 33 |
| Ranch Snack Wrap (Grilled) | $1.81 | 290 | 72 | 160 | 40 |
| Double Cheeseburger | $2.76 | 440 | 100 | 159 | 36 |
| Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles | $3.52 | 560 | 80 | 159 | 23 |
| Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream Cone | $1.07 | 170 | 16 | 159 | 15 |
| Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese | $5.13 | 740 | 192 | 144 | 37 |
| Sausage McMuffin with Egg | $3.20 | 450 | 84 | 141 | 26 |
| Sausage McGriddles | $2.99 | 420 | 44 | 140 | 15 |
| Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait (7 oz) | $1.07 | 150 | 16 | 140 | 15 |
| Hash Brown | $1.07 | 150 | 4 | 140 | 4 |
| Big Mac | $4.27 | 540 | 100 | 126 | 23 |
| Quarter Pounder with Cheese | $4.06 | 510 | 116 | 126 | 29 |
| Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit | $3.41 | 420 | 60 | 123 | 18 |
| McFlurry with Oreo Cookies (12 fl oz cup) | $2.56 | 315 | 52 | 123 | 20 |
| Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (3 pc) | $3.20 | 384 | 92 | 120 | 29 |
| Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles | $3.52 | 420 | 60 | 119 | 17 |
| Southern Style Crispy Chicken Sandwich | $4.16 | 430 | 96 | 103 | 23 |
| Cheeseburger | $2.99 | 300 | 60 | 100 | 20 |
| Egg McMuffin | $2.99 | 300 | 72 | 100 | 24 |
| Orange Juice (Medium) | $2.02 | 200 | 12 | 99 | 6 |
| Chicken McNuggets (10 piece) | $4.80 | 470 | 96 | 98 | 20 |
| Hamburger | $2.66 | 250 | 48 | 94 | 18 |
| Filet-O-Fish | $4.06 | 380 | 60 | 94 | 15 |
| Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Crispy Chicken | $4.91 | 450 | 116 | 92 | 24 |
| McDouble | $4.27 | 390 | 88 | 91 | 21 |
| Egg White Delight McMuffin | $2.99 | 250 | 72 | 84 | 24 |
| Apple Slices | $1.07 | 70 | 0 | 65 | 0 |
| Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken | $5.13 | 330 | 120 | 64 | 23 |
| Side Salad | $1.7 | 20 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
Hope you enjoyed the post.