Hey McDonald's: Please Bring These Menu Items Back to the U.S.

If customers could get Taco Bell to bring back the Mexican Pizza and Wendy's to bring back the Spicy Nuggets, then maybe there's hope McDonald's will bring back some of its fan-favorite items. Sometimes all it takes is an internet petition, thousands of tweets, and maybe some light DM'ing.

McDonald's has responded to customers' demands in the past, bringing back the Hi-C Orange Lavaburst in 2021 after its four-year menu hiatus. Getting the Hi-C Orange back on the menu was a considerable feat, but it seems customers are up to the challenge of bringing back other popular menu items.

We took to the internet to see what Twitter users want to see back on McDonald's menus, plus we polled our audience and editors to find out what they miss the most. So, without further ado, we present our official request for McDonald's to bring these items back.

Chicken Selects

McDonald's Chicken Selects were just chicken tenders, but they had a crisp bite and tons of seasoning in the breading. Even though they were accompanied on the menu by Mickey D's Chicken McNuggets, they were a much tastier chicken option.

The Chicken Selects were also found in the fan-favorite Snack Wrap (more on those later).

The Selects graced the menu from 2004 to 2013, before they fell from glory and were discontinued. They were then reimagined as Buttermilk Crispy Tenders in 2017. However, those tenders are not on the menu anymore either.

Chicken Selects are not completely gone from McDonald's menus across the world. U.K. customers can still enjoy them—which might give us hope that they can make it back across the pond.

Snack Wrap

If there is one menu item that fans everywhere are vocal about wanting to return, it's the Snack Wrap. Nearly every time McDonald's creates something new, dozens of people take to social media to express their disdain that the Snack Wrap still isn't on the menu.

"Not to be that guy but McDonald's PLEASE bring back the snack wraps," one user tweeted.

The Snack Wrap was a relatively simple concept: a piece of chicken (grilled or a Chicken Select), lettuce, cheese, and sauce all rolled into a soft-shell tortilla. It made a great pick-me-up in between meals as it was "snack" sized.

Originally introduced in 2006, the Snack Wrap had a good 10-year run. Eventually, it was discontinued in 2016 because it wasn't selling as well as McDonald's had hoped—and it was rather time-consuming to make.

Franchises had the option to continue selling Snack Wraps at their locations, but the option was eliminated altogether when McDonald's simplified its menu in response to COVID-19. Nowadays it feels like there are monthly rumors that McDonald's is bringing the Snack Wrap back, however, we've yet to see those rumors come true.

Snack Wraps—as well as the larger McWrap—are still available in Canada and the U.K. If you're really craving one, you might just have to cross the border to satisfy that hunger (we wouldn't judge you for it).

Fried Apple Pie

Nothing says fast food restaurant quite like a fried apple pie. While McDonald's current baked apple pie is a customer favorite, fans swear that the fried apple pie was better.

The deep-fried pie was beloved for its golden brown and crispy exterior and hot and gooey filling, which customers say is missing from the baked pie.

"I don't mind the baked pie, [but] it ain't been through enough. I'm talking straight out the grease. Crispity, crunchity, the filling about burnt your lip off," says user kevonstage in a TikTok.

McDonald's changed its recipe in 1992 to please customers worried about healthy eating. However, the change from fried to baked sparked outrage—and customers are still calling for McDonald's to reverse the recipe.

Today the fried apple pie can be enjoyed at McDonald's in the U.K. (the U.K. has everything we want apparently), Mexico, Japan, and a few other countries worldwide.

McSalad Shaker

McDonald's was seriously ahead of its time with this one. Before social media influencers were making salads in jars, Mickey D's was serving up its salad in a to-go cup.

The McSalad Shaker came in three varieties: garden, chef, and grilled chicken Caesar. The salads were layered in a cup so customers could easily add dressing, shake, and enjoy.

The shaker salads were discontinued in 2003 when salads in just a boring bowl joined the menu. However, McDonald's stopped serving all salads at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to speed up service.

Mac Jr.

If you love everything about a Big Mac but think it's just too big, there used to be an option for you. The Mac Jr. had all the same tasty flavors as the Big Mac just in a scaled-down size.

Instead of a middle bun and two patties, it was a single, larger patty on a regular bun. The burger was also topped with special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions.

The Mac Jr. was released alongside the Grand Mac, which was an even bigger Big Mac. It was only meant to run as a limited-time release in 2016, but the restaurant brought it back for a second time in 2018. In 2020, the Mac Jr. was released again under a new name: the Little Mac for yet another limited release. It's also been on the U.K. and Australian menus for limited releases.

Dear Ronald McDonald (because he's the one in charge, right?), if you're going to release something great for a limited time every few years, you might as well make it permanent!

McSkillet Burrito

Everyone knows that McDonald's breakfast is top-tier fast food breakfast—which is probably why customers are constantly calling for Mickey D's to make all-day breakfast a permanent fixture at the restaurant.

Today, McDonald's breakfast menu includes a Sausage Burrito, but it used to sell an even bigger and better breakfast burrito: the McSkillet Burrito. Launched in 2007, the burrito included eggs, sausage, skillet potatoes, cheese, peppers, onions, and salsa roja.

The McSkillet Burrito was quietly discontinued in 2010 never to be seen again.

McDLT

Ok, now this one is a little weird. The name stands for McDonald's Lettuce and Tomato and the burger was advertised as a lettuce and tomato burger, but the commercial clearly shows it has cheese, pickles, onions, and even ketchup on it. That's not even the strangest part—the real selling point (and also the weirdest) was how the burger came.

The McDLT was served in a two-sided styrofoam container. One side held the cool ingredients—the bun, lettuce, tomato, and other ingredients that are not mentioned—and the other side held the hot burger and bottom bun. Meaning when you went to eat it, the burger wouldn't have heated up your lettuce and tomato.

McDonald's McDLT came out in the '80s, but was discontinued in the '90s when they realized how bad the special container was for the environment.

Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait

McDonald's Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait is the most recently discontinued product but has already struck a nerve with some people. The yogurt parfait was one the healthiest menu options at Mickey D's, but still tasted delicious. It was made with low-fat yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, and granola.

Like many of the "healthy" items at McDonald's, the parfait was discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic when McDonald's simplified its menu to make service quicker and easier for the employees.

McDonald's has not announced any plans to bring back its pre-pandemic menu.

Arch Deluxe

The Arch Deluxe was one of McDonald's fanciest offerings. The company hired a fine dining chef, Andrew Selvaggio, to make the elevated burger marketed toward adults. It was made with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, peppered bacon, and stone-ground mustard sauce on a potato bun.

The Arch Deluxe was added to the menu in 1996 but only enjoyed a one-year stay after it flopped in sales.

Mighty Kids Meal

When you're a kid, you want to be treated like an adult so badly. McDonald's understood that feeling, so they made the Mighty Kids Meal for tweens (ages 8-10) who grew out of Happy Meals but weren't ready for regular meals.

In a Mighty Kids Meal, kids had the choice between a McDouble or a six-piece McNugget instead of the regular hamburger or four-piece McNugget in the Happy Meal. It still came with fries as the side as well as a toy.

The Mighty Kids Meal became available in 2001 but has since been quietly discontinued. However, the Mighty Kids Meal had a lasting impact on Mickey D's as kids today can now order both a four- and six-piece McNugget in a Happy Meal—but the burger remains the same.