Ideally, salads are healthy foods. This is why when the uproar against the unhealthy nature of McDonald’s offering increased, the fast-food brand decided to add salads to its menu. Many nutritionists and food experts regard McDonald’s salad menu as “the healthiest thing you will ever eat at McDonald’s”.
However, McDonald’s salads may not be as healthy as it seems. It appears that many salads from McDonald’s have high fat and calorie content. For instance, the Southwest Crispy Chicken Salad has 24 grams of fat and 480 units of calories.
Is McDonald’s Selling Salads in 2024?
In April 2020, after the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, McDonald’s made an announcement
, canceling its salad menu, amongst other offerings. The reason given for canceling these menus is to simplify and fast-track the production process and allow them to serve their customers better.
While this decision was touted to be a temporary one, it seems like the salad menus are not coming back on. This is because many of the menus and products that were canceled have been reinstated, except the salad menu.
One may wonder why McDonald’s would decide to take its healthiest food option off its menu in the middle of a pandemic. This decision seems to be a business move to help the franchise survive the economic upheaval that came with the pandemic.
As much as the salad was its healthiest option, reports show that the salad options bring in less profit than other food options for the fast-food brand despite being the cheaper option. The salad menu is not driving enough sales as it should, so it makes sense, from a business point of view, to cut the menu.
Moreover, it seems like the decision is paying off, as the fast-food brand looks like it would thrive even after the pandemic, when its other competitors struggle, according to analysts. Also, the wait times at McDonald’s drive-thru locations have reduced by 30 seconds in the past few months.
Finally, while we cannot say if salads are finally gone at McDonald’s, it seems a lot of people are not missing the food option itself.
What is Included in the McDonald’s Salads and Side Menu?
The constituents of the McDonald’s Salads and Side Menu includes many large salads and the basic side salad. The large salads are known as Premium Salads and they include the salad with meat. The premium salads include salad menus such as the Southwest Chicken Salad and the Bacon Ranch Salad.
The Side Menu includes apple slices and French fries. These French fries are some of the popular offerings from McDonald’s.
Does McDonald’s Offer Sauce with Salads?
McDonald’s does serve sauce with some of its salads. To be more specific, the Southwest salad comes with a Southwest Dressing sauce, amongst other embellishments and toppings.
What Kind of Salads Do They Have at McDonald’s?
McDonald’s did not start making salads until 1987 as a response to the criticism that its offerings are mostly fried and fatty foods and are unhealthy. Thus, the brand rolled out salads as a healthy option. By 2018, the salads offered by McDonald’s are of three types.
These salad types include the Side Salad, Bacon Ranch, and the Southwest Salad. The Bacon Ranch, like the name suggests, is a meaty salad. McDonald’s didn’t have vegans in mind when it came up with the recipe for this salad.
The salad consists of grilled or fried chicken. It could also be a double dose of bacon and garnished with red lettuce, small tomatoes, Spinach, Kale, and green Romaine lettuce. On the other hand, the Southwest salad does not have bacon in it as it only features chicken and the same toppings as that of the Bacon Ranch.
However, the Southwest Salad has a Tex-Mex theme. As a result, it comes garnished with tortilla strips, lime, corn, beans, and a Southwest dressing Sauce.
Finally, the Side Salad, which is not as meaty as the other salads, is also another salad that people enjoyed at McDonald’s. The salad contains kale, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce (both red and green).
Is McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Salad Still on the Menu?
In a bid to cut down on operational costs, simplify the production process and improve customer services, McDonald’s decided to focus on a limited menu offer during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. This means that the brand would have to focus on high-performing menus and cut down on other menus that were not driving high sales.
The Grilled Chicken Salad was one of the menus that were cut down and weren’t included in the limited menu offer. However, officials at McDonald’s reassured customers that the decision to remove the Grilled Chicken Salad is temporary and that the food option will be back on the menu later.
This is not the first time that McDonald’s will remove a food option from the menu and add it back later. It happened with the Chicken Selects which was removed from the menu in 2013 but added back in 2017 after four years.
What Other Fast Food Chains have the Best Salads?
Apart from McDonald’s, other fast-food brands offer very good salads. Some of these brands include Chick-fil-A, CoreLife, McAlister, Panera Bread, and Chipotle.
Does McDonald’s still have the Southwest Salad on Menu?
The Southwest Salad is currently not on the menu at McDonald’s. In a bid to cut down on operational costs, simplify the production process and improve customer services, McDonald’s decided to focus on a limited menu offer during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
This means that the brand would have to focus on high-performing menus and cut down on other menus that were not driving high sales. The Southwest Salad was one of the menus that were cut down and weren’t included in the limited menu offer.
However, officials at McDonald’s reassured customers that the decision to remove the Grilled Chicken Salad is temporary and that the food option will be back on the menu later.
