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January 2024 was a big month in the world of fast food. Many major chains kicked off the new year by introducing exciting new items, including a bacon-laden breakfast burrito that just debuted at Wendy’s and an expanded line of Mango Passion beverages at Chick-fil-A. The biggest fast-food news of January, however, arguably came from McDonald’s.
The fast-food giant officially brought back its Double Big Mac for a limited time starting on Jan. 24. This is the first time in four years that Americans have gotten the opportunity to sample the massive sandwich, since it was last available in the United States in March 2020.
As any longtime McDonald’s fan knows, a classic Big Mac comes with two beef patties, special sauce, pickles, shredded lettuce, chopped onion, and a slice of American cheese on a three-tiered sesame seed bun. The Double Big Mac is nearly identical to the original aside from sporting two extra beef patties and extra Big Mac sauce.
As someone who is deeply immersed in the fast-food universe, I was immediately intrigued by the concept of an even bigger Big Mac. McDonald’s recently rolled out a new and improved version of the classic Big Mac that was supposed to have meltier cheese, fresher lettuce and pickles, softer brioche-style buns, and extra special sauce, among other changes. I was largely disappointed when I sampled the upgraded burger because there was way too much sauce and the beef was dry. But does making the Big Mac “bigger” make it better? Or, is the Double Big Mac just another McDonald’s gimmick that isn’t really worth your time?
I recently set out to answer all of those questions and more by trying it for myself.
Double Big Mac (Per Order): 780 calories, 48 g fat (17 g saturated fat, 2 g trans fat), 1390 mg sodium, 42 g carbs (2 g fiber, 7 g sugar), 40 g protein
I snagged a Double Big Mac from my local McDonald’s and decided to add on an original Big Mac as well in order to see how the two compare. The regular Big Mac cost me $6.39, while the Double Big Mac was a little pricier at $7.99.
The look: The deep golden brown bun on both sandwiches was the first thing that caught my eye. However, I also noticed almost immediately that the burgers were pretty messily assembled. American cheese, globs of Big Mac sauce, and slightly wilted lettuce were oozing out the sides. I needed to wipe the juices and goo off my hands with a napkin every time I handled the burgers.
The two were surprisingly close in size when I placed them side-by-side. As you can see from the photo above, the Double Big Mac (left) was only slightly taller than the Big Mac (right). I weighed both on a scale and found that the Double Big Mac weighed 260 grams while the Big Mac clocked in at 217 grams. So, the two do have a notable size difference by weight even if they don’t look all that different by eye.
Regular Big Mac (Per Order): 590 calories, 34 g fat (11 g saturated fat, 1 g trans fat), 1050 mg sodium, 46 g carbs (3 g fiber, 9 g sugar), 25 g protein
The taste: Trying the Double Big Mac was one of the messiest fast-food experiences I’ve had in a while. There was absolutely nothing I could do to prevent the cheese and condiments that accumulated around the sides from smearing onto my face when I bit into the burger. As I took more and more bites, it became harder and harder to contain the chaos that was inside those brioche-style buns. Big Mac sauce dripped onto my hands. Pieces of lettuce were scattered across my kitchen counter. I could barely stop the beef patties from squeezing out of the back of the bun as well.
Such an over-the-top burger would be worth the mess if it was delicious, but I don’t have many good things to say about the Double Big Mac. For starters, one piece of cheese isn’t nearly enough for four beef patties. I could barely taste the measly slice that was on my burger because there was so much of everything else. The beef patties were dry yet again, and it was extra noticeable this time because there were more of them. The lettuce didn’t taste like it was all that fresh. There was also way too much of that rich, slightly cloying Big Mac sauce for my taste.
The one upside of the extra beef on the Double Big Mac was that it made the special sauce a little less overpowering, at least in comparison to the classic Big Mac. However, the beef itself isn’t that flavorful, so it didn’t add much in terms of taste.
If you’re a longtime Big Mac fan, you might enjoy trying the Double Big Mac for the novelty alone. But for me, it was a big flop.
Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a News Writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Read more about Zoe
