It may seem like McDonald’s has had pretty much the same menu forever and ever, but the fact is that the famous franchise has experimented with all kinds of different items over the years…
And some of those things didn’t last very long and have been forgotten by pretty much everyone.
Here are 7 discontinued menu items that Mickey D’s used to offer.
1. Onion Nuggets
These don’t sound too appetizing, do they…?
These vegetarian nuggets were available in some U.S. markets in 1978 and 1979 before Chicken McNuggets made their debut.
They never caught on but you better believe that the chicken variety did!
2. McPizza
It’s strange to think of eating pizza at McDonald’s but the company went all-in on the concept in the late 1980s.
They even created a quick-cooking oven and made the windows wider in drive-thrus so workers could pass the pizzas through.
The McPizza only lasted a few years in most locations but there is still one McDonald’s in Orlando, Florida, that sells them.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
3. Hula Burger
Ray Kroc, the man who turned McDonald’s into a fast food institution, wanted to offer a Hula Burger that would have a pineapple instead of a beef patty. This concept was aimed at Catholic customers who didn’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent.
A McDonald’s restaurant in Ohio sold both the Hula Burger and the Filet-O-Fish sandwich at the same time to see which one customers liked better.
The Filet-O-Fish turned out to be much more popular than the Hula Burger and earned a permanent spot on the Mickey D’s menu.
4. McSpaghetti
This just really doesn’t sound like a good idea at all…
Pasta at McDonald’s debuted in 1970 and was discontinued in the 1980s…however, if you still really want to try it, McDonald’s restaurants in the Philippines still offer this dish.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
5. McHotDog
McHotDogs were launched in 1995 but only lasted a few years and were off the menu by the end of the ’90s.
Ray Kroc wasn’t a fan of the idea. In his 1977 autobiography, he said, “There’s d**ned good reason we should never have hot dogs. There’s no telling what’s inside a hot dog’s skin, and our standard of quality just wouldn’t permit that kind of item.”
6. Arch Deluxe
McD’s tried to fancy up their burger in 1996 when they introduced the Arch Deluxe. The updated burger was served on a bakery-style roll and featured dijonnaise sauce and peppered bacon…and it was more expensive than the Big Mac.
The company poured $300 million into the marketing campaign for its new burger but it didn’t last very long.
7. Mighty Wings
And then there was the Mighty Wings experiment.
The bone-in wings debuted in 1990 and were actually popular enough to stick around until 2003. The wings came back for short guest appearances in 2013 and 2016 but haven’t been seen since…
