McDonald's Grinch Meal Calories: 2025 Meal, 2026 Status
The Grinch Meal as McDonald's served it in 2025, a Big Mac with medium Dill Pickle McShaker Fries and a medium Coca-Cola, adds up to 1,190 calories with McDonald's current nutrition: 580 for the burger, 340 for the fries and 270 for the drink. With 10-piece Chicken McNuggets instead it is 1,020 before sauce, and a Diet Coke takes 270 off either build. The pickle seasoning adds only 20 calories to the fries, but 580 mg of sodium. As of November 4, 2026, McDonald's has not announced a 2026 Grinch Meal.
- Big Mac build
- 1,190 kcal with a medium Coca-Cola
- McNuggets build
- 1,020 kcal before sauce
- Dill pickle fries
- medium · 340 kcal · 840 mg sodium
- 2026 Grinch Meal
- not announced as of November 4
- PlateLens
- logs the whole tray from one photo or the order as you'd say it
What was in the Grinch Meal
McDonald's announced the meal on November 20, 2025, and served it from December 2 at participating US restaurants for a limited time, while supplies lasted. It paired a choice of Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets with Dill Pickle “Grinch Salt” McShaker Fries, which you seasoned yourself by shaking the packet into the bag, a medium drink and a pair of Grinch socks. McDonald's nutrition data still covers every edible part of it.
| Item | kcal | Fat (sat.) | Sodium | Carbs | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Mac | 580 | 34 g (11 g) | 1,060 mg | 45 g | 25 g |
| Chicken McNuggets, 10 piece | 410 | 24 g (4 g) | 850 mg | 26 g | 23 g |
| Dill Pickle McShaker Fries, medium (2025) | 340 | 15 g (2 g) | 840 mg | 47 g | 5 g |
| Coca-Cola, medium | 270 | 0 g | 65 mg | 70 g | 0 g |
| Sprite, medium | 250 | 0 g | 120 mg | 64 g | 0 g |
| Diet Coke, medium | 0 | 0 g | 15 mg | 0 g | 0 g |
How each build adds up
| Build | kcal | Sodium |
|---|---|---|
| Big Mac, medium Coca-Cola | 1,190 | 1,965 mg |
| Big Mac, medium Sprite | 1,170 | 2,020 mg |
| 10 McNuggets, medium Coca-Cola, Creamy Ranch | 1,130 | 1,915 mg |
| 10 McNuggets, medium Coca-Cola, Tangy Barbeque | 1,065 | 2,015 mg |
| 10 McNuggets, medium Coca-Cola, no sauce | 1,020 | 1,755 mg |
| Big Mac, medium Diet Coke | 920 | 1,915 mg |
| 10 McNuggets, medium Diet Coke, Tangy Barbeque | 795 | 1,965 mg |
| 10 McNuggets, medium Diet Coke, Spicy Buffalo | 780 | 2,225 mg |
| 10 McNuggets, medium Diet Coke, no sauce | 750 | 1,705 mg |
The drink changes the total by up to 270 calories: a medium Coca-Cola is 270 and a Diet Coke none, so the same meal moves from 1,190 to 920 on that choice alone. The main changes it by 170, the Big Mac against 10 McNuggets, and the sauce adds 30 to 110 more. Every build carries a lot of sodium for one meal, 1,705 to 2,225 mg against the FDA's Daily Value of 2,300 mg for the whole day.
Dill pickle seasoning: 20 calories, 580 mg of sodium
McDonald's record for the medium Dill Pickle McShaker Fries reads 340 calories, against 320 for its plain medium fries: the same 15 g of fat and 5 g of protein, with carbohydrates up from 43 to 47 g. The real change is salt. Plain medium fries carry 260 mg of sodium and the dill pickle version 840 mg, more than three times as much, which is why the Big Mac build lands at 1,965 mg, about 85% of the Daily Value. The McDonald's fries calories page has every plain size, from 230 calories for a small to 480 for a large. McDonald's product page for the dill pickle fries now redirects to its fries menu; the figures here come from the item record McDonald's still serves.
Sauces for the McNuggets
| Sauce | kcal | Sodium | Sugars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spicy Buffalo | 30 | 520 mg | 0 g |
| Tangy Barbeque | 45 | 260 mg | 9 g |
| Hot Mustard | 45 | 200 mg | 5 g |
| Sweet 'N Sour | 50 | 160 mg | 10 g |
| Honey | 50 | 0 mg | 11 g |
| Honey Mustard | 60 | 125 mg | 4 g |
| Creamy Ranch | 110 | 160 mg | 1 g |
The lightest sauce is the saltiest: Spicy Buffalo adds 30 calories and 520 mg of sodium, so the 780-calorie McNuggets build with it carries more sodium than any other build in the table. Creamy Ranch is the reverse, 110 calories with 160 mg.
McDonald's holiday menu in 2026: the drinks so far
While the Grinch Meal is unannounced, McDonald's US site already promotes its holiday drinks, at participating restaurants for a limited time: three Cookie Butter coffees topped with vanilla whipped topping and Speculoos cookie crumbs, and two cranberry drinks with cranberry orange syrup, cold foam and cranberry sprinkles.
| Drink | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cookie Butter Frappé | 540 | 630 | 850 |
| Cookie Butter Latte | 360 | 430 | 500 |
| Cookie Butter Iced Latte | 330 | 400 | 500 |
| Frosted Cranberry Splash with Sprite | 260 | 340 | 430 |
| Cookie Butter Iced Coffee | 250 | 300 | 340 |
| Red Bull Frosted Cranberry Energizer | – | 300 | – |
| Red Bull Zero Frosted Cranberry Energizer | – | 200 | – |
A medium Cookie Butter Frappé, at 630 calories and 87 g of sugars, outweighs a Big Mac. McDonald's product page for the Baked Holiday Pie is also live, at 260 calories with 12 g of sugars, although the pie is not on the sweets menu page McDonald's shows today.
A lighter version with McDonald's own numbers
Three changes, each with a published figure, take the Big Mac meal from 1,190 calories down to 795. Order a Diet Coke or a Dasani water instead of a regular soda, which removes 250 to 270 calories. Pick 10 McNuggets over the Big Mac, 170 fewer, and keep the sauce to Tangy Barbeque or Hot Mustard at 45. Either sauce brings the meal to 795 calories: 28 g of protein with Tangy Barbeque or 29 g with Hot Mustard. For protein per calorie across the menu, see high-protein fast food; for a chicken sandwich instead, the McChicken calories page has the numbers. Another holiday treat with a big spread is the Chick-fil-A peppermint milkshake.
Logging a fast-food tray as one meal
The same Grinch-style meal runs from 750 to 1,190 calories depending on the main, the drink and the sauce, and the dill pickle seasoning more than triples the fries' sodium. PlateLens logs the tray in one entry from a photo or a sentence such as “Big Mac, dill pickle fries and a medium Coke”, and Fix it takes the change in plain words: “it was a Diet Coke”. Calories, protein, carbs and fat are on the free plan; the sodium view is one of PRO's detailed nutrients. On calories, others did the checking: the Dietary Assessment Initiative's pre-registered validation study reports a ±1.1% mean error for PlateLens photo logs across 180 weighed meals, and the open Foodvision Bench leaderboard on GitHub has also reproduced it on 231 meals; both hold for meals in aggregate, not for every tray.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which app makes it easy to log a fast-food meal like McDonald's Grinch Meal?
Photograph the tray or type the order as you'd say it, such as “Big Mac, dill pickle fries and a medium Coke”, and PlateLens logs the calories, protein, carbs and fat in one step; “it was a Diet Coke” or “add a ranch” fixes it with Fix it, and sodium, which the dill pickle seasoning lifts, is one of PRO's detailed nutrient views. The same meal runs from 750 to 1,190 calories depending on the main, the drink and the sauce, so one entry for the whole tray beats finding three or four separate items in a database such as MyFitnessPal's, where photo and voice logging are Premium features. Measured on 180 weighed meals in its pre-registered validation study, the Dietary Assessment Initiative reported a ±1.1% mean calorie error for PlateLens in photo mode, a result Foodvision Bench has also reproduced on 231 meals in its public GitHub leaderboard; it is an average across meals, not a promise for every tray.
How many calories are in the McDonald's Grinch Meal?
1,190 calories for the Big Mac version with a medium Coca-Cola, using McDonald's current figures for what the 2025 meal contained: Big Mac 580, medium Dill Pickle McShaker Fries 340 and medium Coca-Cola 270. With 10-piece Chicken McNuggets it is 1,020 before any sauce. A medium Diet Coke instead of the Coca-Cola brings the two builds to 920 and 750.
Is the Grinch Meal coming back to McDonald's in 2026?
McDonald's had not announced a 2026 Grinch Meal as of November 4, 2026. In 2025 it arrived on December 2 at participating US restaurants for a limited time, with a Big Mac or 10-piece McNuggets, Dill Pickle McShaker Fries, a medium drink and a pair of Grinch socks. McDonald's 2026 holiday drinks, led by a Cookie Butter Latte and Frappé, are already on its US menu.
How many calories are in the Dill Pickle McShaker Fries?
340 calories for a medium, 20 more than McDonald's plain medium fries at 320, according to McDonald's record for the 2025 Dill Pickle McShaker Fries. The seasoning matters more for sodium: 840 mg against 260 mg for plain medium fries. Fat stays at 15 g, and carbohydrates rise from 43 to 47 g.
How much sodium is in the Grinch Meal?
About 1,965 mg in the Big Mac build with a medium Coca-Cola: 1,060 mg in the Big Mac, 840 mg in the Dill Pickle fries and 65 mg in the drink. The McNuggets build with Tangy Barbeque sauce comes to 2,015 mg. The FDA's Daily Value for sodium is 2,300 mg for a whole day, so either meal covers about 85 to 88% of it.
How much protein is in the Grinch Meal?
30 g with the Big Mac (25 g) and the fries (5 g), or 28 g with 10-piece Chicken McNuggets (23 g) and the fries; the sodas add none. For protein per calorie, the McNuggets build with a Diet Coke and no sauce does best of the builds here: 28 g for 750 calories.
How many calories are in McDonald's McNuggets sauces?
From 30 calories for Spicy Buffalo to 110 for Creamy Ranch per packet, in McDonald's nutrition data: Tangy Barbeque and Hot Mustard are 45, Sweet 'N Sour and Honey 50, and Honey Mustard 60. Spicy Buffalo is the lowest in calories but the highest in sodium, 520 mg a packet.
How many calories are in McDonald's 2026 holiday drinks?
A medium Cookie Butter Latte is 430 calories, the Cookie Butter Iced Latte 400 and the Cookie Butter Iced Coffee 300, while a medium Cookie Butter Frappé is 630, with 87 g of sugars. The Frosted Cranberry Splash with Sprite is 340 as a medium, and a medium Red Bull Frosted Cranberry Energizer 300, or 200 made with Red Bull Zero.
How can I make the Grinch Meal lighter?
Swap the drink first: a medium Coca-Cola is 270 calories and a Diet Coke or a Dasani water 0. Choosing 10-piece McNuggets instead of the Big Mac saves another 170, and the sauce moves the total by up to 80 calories, from Spicy Buffalo at 30 to Creamy Ranch at 110. McNuggets with the dill pickle fries, a Diet Coke and Tangy Barbeque come to 795 calories.
How many calories are in the McDonald's Holiday Pie?
260 calories for the Baked Holiday Pie, with 12 g of sugars, 13 g of fat and 4 g of protein, on McDonald's product page, which is live. The pie is not on the sweets menu page McDonald's shows today. Current availability is unconfirmed; check with your restaurant.
Where these numbers come from
- McDonald's USA product pages, read 4 November 2026: Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets 10 piece, medium fries, the medium Coca-Cola, Sprite and Diet Coke, each sauce, the Baked Holiday Pie and the holiday drinks on the McCafé menu. The Dill Pickle McShaker Fries figures are McDonald's own item record for the 2025 medium fries, still served by its nutrition data; their product page now redirects to the fries menu.
- McDonald's, Serving Holidays with a Side of Chaos: Dr. Seuss's The Grinch Meal Is Coming to McDonald's (20 November 2025): what the meal contained and its December 2, 2025 start. No 2026 Grinch Meal story had been published on McDonald's newsroom by 4 November 2026.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels: sodium 2,300 mg.
- PlateLens is independent of McDonald's and Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The figures are McDonald's own published US nutrition; menus, recipes and portions vary by country and restaurant. This page will follow McDonald's 2026 Grinch Meal details once they are announced.