McDonald's has grown exponentially since its humble inception in San Bernardino, California in 1940. These days nearly every country around the world boasts its own unique McDonald’s menu items, but it's often those solely available in the USA that get mouths watering the most. From mouthwatering pies to special Big Macs, we've put together a list of the greatest McDonald's dishes you'll only find in America.

Read on as we reveal the 21 tastiest US-only McDonald's menu items, counting down to the one global diners wish they could try the most. 

We've based our ranking on the popularity of each food item in its place of origin and beyond, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective. 

Buttermilk biscuits and sausage-studded gravy are a Southern staple that you'll find in old-school diners and restaurants across the US – but if you’re after a fast food version, it’s worth stopping off at a McDonald’s to get a taste of the classic dish. This item can be found in McDonald’s outlets across the Southern states, usually as part of the breakfast menu.

While Krispy Kreme doughnuts aren’t exclusive to the USA, the act of purchasing them from a McDonald’s certainly is. In 2022, the fast food chain announced plans to team up with the doughnut giant, allowing customers to buy its glazed doughnuts in select locations across the country – including Louisville, Kentucky – for a trial period. By March 2025, approximately 2,400 outlets sold the sweet treats. There are plans to roll out the doughnuts across all US branches by the end of 2026.

The Oreo Shamrock McFlurry landed on US menus in 2020 to sit alongside McDonald’s already iconic Shamrock Shake, a limited-edition milkshake that's returned for St Patrick’s Day celebrations every February since 1967. This frozen alternative blends together vanilla soft serve with the Shamrock Shake’s signature minty flavour, and it's finished with crushed Oreo pieces. It’s returned every year since it launched.

An order favourite whenever it arrives back on menus, the Strawberry & Crème Pie was introduced in 2012 and was available across the US until 2014. Since then, the crispy baked treat – complete with a sweet strawberry jam and delicate crème filling – has returned numerous times, most recently in January 2025. Many say it’s the perfect dessert to finish your fast food meal with.

McDonald’s offers a whole host of regional breakfast options, and this platter-style tray piled with rice, scrambled eggs, SPAM and Portuguese sausage is what you can expect to dine on at Hawaiian locations. Loaded with protein and fibre, it’s guaranteed to keep you full right through to lunch – and it's a great option to enjoy on the go.

Eating pasta at McDonald’s sounds unlikely, but it was actually a pretty average menu order for many US customers in the 1970s. Called the McSpaghetti (pictured), the dish featured pasta, marinara sauce, meatballs and grated cheese. While the item has since been discontinued (although a variation is available in the Philippines), pasta lovers can still get their fix at a McDonald's branch in Orlando, Florida. As well as serving up personal pizzas, the outlet offers a range of gourmet dishes, including fettuccine Alfredo and pesto-slathered tortellini.

Delightfully doughy and packed with meaty morning favourites, McDonald’s breakfast bagels are the stuff of legend. While they do pop up in other countries from time to time, they're permanently available in Canada and, as of February 2025, the US. In the United States, you can get your hands on three types of bagel: Egg & Cheese, Bacon, Egg & Cheese, and Steak, Egg & Cheese.

Sticky and satisfying, the McTeri Deluxe is another regional favourite. The burger features a classic beef patty slathered in a sweet and savoury teriyaki sauce, layered with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, and sandwiched inside a sesame bun. Those after something even heartier can opt for a double patty. The mouth-watering treat is a limited-edition item that’s popped up numerous times (most recently in January 2025), and it's exclusively available in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.

McDonald’s unveiled the Holiday Pie – a seasonal twist on its hugely popular Apple Pie – in 1999, and it’s been a fan favourite ever since. The pie, which features a creamy custard centre and crispy pastry casing, is available every November and December in the run up to the festive season, and it always proves a hit with sweet treat lovers. Despite its popularity in the US, it's yet to make an appearance elsewhere.

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A riff on diner classic chicken and waffles, this menu item – featuring crispy fried chicken inside two soft, warm McGriddles griddle cakes – is the breakfast order of champions. The griddles are ultra-pillowy and taste especially good dripping with maple syrup. Though many global customers have called for the morning favourite to be introduced on their home turf, it’s currently only available in the US and Canada.

Just the thing for days when cereal won’t cut it, McDonald’s Big Breakfast is a menu favourite for many across the US – and one that other global markets are intensely jealous of. The giant plate comes complete with a warm buttermilk biscuit, fluffy scrambled eggs, a sausage patty and a crispy hash brown. Paired with a hot cup of coffee, it’s a morning meal that's guaranteed to fill you up and put a smile on your face.

Bright green and irresistibly minty, the Shamrock Shake is a McDonald’s fixture when February rolls around. The milkshake was first released in 1967 to coincide with St Patrick’s Day, and it's returned every year since to celebrate the Irish holiday. The colourful drink proved so popular that, in 1980, McDonald’s released the Shamrock Sundae: vanilla soft serve topped with mint green Shamrock syrup. The shake was introduced in Ireland and Canada in 2020, and in the UK in 2025, helping to boost its global reputation even further. However, it's yet to travel to any other markets.

McDonald’s offers a delicious bacon-centric breakfast option for US diners, and it comes in the form of the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit. Warm and comforting, the chain's version of the diner classic features a sliced buttermilk biscuit filled with applewood-smoked bacon, a folded egg and a slice of American cheese. It’s available across the USA and pairs perfectly with a crispy hash brown.

McDonald’s rarely adds new items to its permanent menu – so when it does, fans take notice. In April 2025, the fast food chain unveiled its first permanent menu item in four years: McCrispy Strips. Coated in golden breading and packed with black pepper, these craveable chicken pieces are super juicy, and they've become an instant hit with fans. They're served with Creamy Chili Dip, a savoury, sweet and tangy sauce that’s perfect for dunking.

It may sound unbelievable, but McDonald’s does actually serve pizza – well, in one US location, anyway. Topped with oozy cheese, pepperoni slices, green peppers and onions, personalised pan pizzas were test marketed across the US and UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Despite proving successful initially, the slow cooking time – and the fact that the box didn't fit through drive-thru windows – prevented the menu item from becoming permanent. For those especially eager to try it, there's still one location in Orlando, Florida (which also happens to be the world's largest McDonald's) that serves up pizzas.

We’ve all had a Big Mac, but have you heard of the Denali Big Mac? This fully stacked burger is available exclusively in Alaska. It has all the traditional elements of McDonald’s Big Mac, but it features extra-large beef patties and even more special sauce. Introduced to Alaskan menus in 2006, it was originally named the McKinley Mac, a nod to Mount McKinley, the tallest peak in North America. When the mountain was renamed Denali in 2016, McDonald’s followed suit, changing the burger’s name to the Denali Big Mac.

Like your burgers extra spicy? If so, you’ll wish you could sink your teeth into this New Mexico exclusive. The Hatch Green Chile Double Cheeseburger has been a menu staple for those living in the Land of Enchantment for years. It features two juicy beef patties, cheese, onions, ketchup, mustard and diced hatch green chiles, which provide that signature heat. It’s fiery, flavourful and guaranteed to pack a punch.

McDonald’s breakfast items often don’t stick around for all that long, but that’s certainly not the case with its breakfast burritos. The chain has sold its irresistible Steak and Egg Burrito, which comes filled with juicy steak chunks, scrambled eggs, mixed veggies and a zingy salsa, since 1991. The only catch is that it’s only available in four US states: New York, New Mexico, California and Arizona. We promise it’s worth travelling for.

Can you remember a time when McDonald’s legendary (and tasty) apple pies were fried? When the sweet treats were first introduced to the menu in the 1960s, each one was fried to perfection. That is, until the chain swapped them for a baked version in the 1990s. Those still dreaming of the flaky fried pastry and tender apple filling can get their hands on fried styles in Hawaii, and at one McDonald’s outlet in Downey, California.