Review: Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger from McDonald’s
Seeing as though I gravitate towards value more than anything else in the fast food realm, a new Dollar Menu burger at McDonald’s is something I’m all over. Mainstays like the McChicken and McDouble have solidified their spot for a good while now and it’s time for the spotlight to shine on a newcomer. McDonald’s recently added the Grilled Onion Cheddar burger to the Dollar Menu and I just spent a buck to see if this new taste is worthy of your buck.
McDonald’s describes their new Grilled Onion Cheddar burger like this:
A juicy 100% beef patty topped with grilled caramelized onions and smooth melty cheddar.
The onion has been featured front and center on some recent McDonald’s offerings such as the CBO Angus and others. With the Grilled Onion Cheddar burger, onions truly dominate. If you’re big into an oniony taste in your burger, you should come away pleased.
An interesting thing about the power of the onion in the Grilled Onion Cheddar is that I’ve never been too fond of grilled onions in my burger choices as I’m more into the crunchy variety. But I have to say, this burger won me over.Some thoughts on the economics of your spending at McDonald’s. I won’t go into too many details like I did with the whole “McDonald’s Burger Pricing Breakdown” back in March, but here’s a brief something to keep in mind. The McDouble is clearly the loss leader at McDonald’s that draws you in and has you spending way too much for your drink or some other grossly overpriced staple. The 390-calorie McDouble is a one dollar double patty burger that has 23 grams of protein and weighs in at 5.3 oz (151 grams). The new 310-calorie Grilled Onion Cheddar burger is a one dollar single patty burger that has 15 grams of protein and weighs 4.1 oz (115 grams). With all that out of the way, it’s hard to not be slightly jarred by the fact that a bigger burger is priced the same as the new kid in town, but I still find it difficult to get too worked up over one dollar. The Grilled Onion Cheddar burger on its own stands as a strong new addition.
There are just four primary ingredients to this burger, 100% beef patty, caramelized onions, pasteurized process white cheddar cheese and the standard bun. I found the Grilled Onion Cheddar burger to be quite tasty, albeit primarily a taste of grilled onions. What can I say? The flavor really just jumped at me and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. If you’re familiar with the Steak Egg and Cheese products from McDonald’s, you’ll know what to expect. The #1 flavor is the grilled onions and it complements the slightly salty McD’s burger patty in a way that ketchup/mustard/pickles never could. The white cheddar is processed and familiar like American cheese, but the taste is the mildest of mild cheddar and doesn’t hinder or help. It just does its job and takes a backseat to the onions.
The Grilled Onion Cheddar burger has no sauce, but the mustard found in the CBO Angus might have worked here also. As it stands, I’m glad McDonald’s didn’t just make a value-sized CBO but instead went with a new taste and kept it simple. No sauce might have you thinking the burger would be too dry, but I feel the onions did enough to meld together the beef with the cheese without sapping the moisture. I was pleasantly pleased with the Grilled Onion Cheddar burger. Even if I hated it, I was only out a buck. If you’re into onions on your burger, try it out. If you’re like me and you aren’t crazy about grilled onions, try it anyway…maybe you’ll become a believer. Truth be told, the Dollar Menu at McDonald’s needed a new member and this burger should fit right in.
Pros: One dollar. Added variety to the value menu items at McDonald's. Caramelized onions.
Cons: White cheddar wasn't a standout. Should have a "Mc" name of course.
Taste: 8.00/10
Value: 7.25/10
Grubbing on-the-go: 8.75/10
Price: $1.00
Overall GrubGrade: 7.75/10
More Info: http://www.McDonalds.com
Nutrition Facts:
Calories - 310
Total Fat - 13 grams
Carbs - 33 grams
Sodium - 660 milligrams
Cholesterol - 40 milligrams
Sugars - 7 grams
Dietary Fiber - 2 grams
Protein - 15 grams
Categories: Burgers, Reviews
Tags: Grilled Onion Cheddar, Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger Review, Grilled Onion Cheddar Review, McDonald's Grilled Onion Cheddar Review, McDonald's New Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger
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I bet it’ll get bumped up to $1.29 eventually.
I remember fondly of the Cheddar Melt, which was a quarter pounder with sauteed onions, the saltiest cheddar cheese spread ever on a rye bun. It was delicious. The last time I had it was 1997. The Patty Melt (like the CM & GOM) is a great concept & alternative to the typical cheeseburger.
Yeah, thanks a lot. Now I want a Cheddar Melt …as well as a McDLT, two of the best burgers I’ve ever had at McD’s, which they continue to ignore for the dumbest of excuses.
You & me. If somebody ever builds a time machine, I’ll go back to the ’80s & stay there. Seems like fast food lost its way around 1990. I’m pretty sure styrofoam awareness killed the McDLT. Yeah the planet is cleaner but we lost a sandwich! What, they couldn’t make a new McDLT casing from pizza box cardboard??
Take it away, Georgey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTSdUOC8Kac
The McDLT was also my favorite.
Damn now I want Mickey D’s
I had it and it tastes good, but it woefully small. I am going to experiment and add another patty, sauce, lettuce and substitute a sesame bun top and see what it costs and how it tastes.
The description reminds me of White Castle burgers which I love, but can’t enjoy on the West coast. Bet these taste pretty dang similar. Thanks for the review and happy new year Grubster!
A little horseradish sauce takes this burger to a new place, mustard was OK, catsup made it McDonalds. Haven’t tried mayo yet. By itself I was slightly impressed, yet by the end of the burger I was tasting that familiar MickyD taste. Nice to see a change up though!
I’m always up for a new dollar menu item, even though I don’t frequent McDonald’s too much… Mainly when I have a french fry craving.
I tried this myself today. It was small indeed in a world where I’m used to a McDouble as being satisfying. But I loved the onions and hated the cheese as well as the extreme amount of bread this seems to have. But overall, I’d have it again if I found myself in a McDonald’s drive-thru. Shame I’m always too tired when I pass by one.
I tried to get this at a local McD’s and it wasn’t on the drive thru menu. Did I make a huge mistake by not asking about it. Is it on y’all’s DT menu’s?
I didn’t like the CBO when I tried it. I went ahead and tried this one anyway, and it confirmed my suspicion that the mustard was the main reason for that. This one succeeded by keeping it simple, resulting in a nice twist on the classic McDonald’s cheeseburger. I hope it sticks around.
(I will say that the idea of adding horseradish sounds intriguing…)
I tried one yesterday and really liked it. The onion flavor is outstanding (I’m a big fan of the steak, egg and cheese bagel too). I think one to be not quite enough for a meal though (even with fries) so I guess I’ll need two next time. Or a McDouble to go with it. I wonder if I can just add the onions to a McDouble for a little extra… That might be the ticket.
I tried this today in Richmond, VA and I have to admit, I hardly eat McDonald’s- this, however, was delicious. The fact that it is $1 is fantastic. I got a McChicken, Onion Burger, Medium fries and (diet soda ;D) and I was all set! I give it a 9/10 myself.
This burger was terrible, the onions were burnt, the burger was bland and the cheddar was cold and dry. Overall the burger was small and would recommend any other fast food venue for a dollar menu. 5/10
My onion burger came with a strange sauce, I hope those guys at McDonald wasnt trying to kill me!!
The actual SMALL sandwich does NOT look a bit like what was falsely advertised in TV ads! Yes there were a few onions and a mild oniony flavor, but the thin slice of processed cheese and the lack of ketchup, mustard, and pickles made it DRY and BLAND.
I tried it and it was absolutely horrible. What a little piece of junk. The cheese was no where close to being melted there was just a few little scrap pieces of onions on it and I could see through the pattie. I know it’s only $1.00 but damn charge me a little more and give me something decent please.
If you get the mcdouble and replace the mustard and ketchup with some grilled onions, it’d end up costing about 1.30 + tax. Not too bad, since you’re paying a bit more for an extra patty.
This burger is fairly good WHEN IT’S HOT. Nothing too special, but good. Eat it ASAP!! I made the mistake of taking one home (5 minutes away) to eat it. The longer it sits, and the colder it gets, the more flavor it seems to lose, and it had lost a lot by that point, IMO.