10 Lowest Calorie Lunches at McDonald’s
If you are stopping at McDonald’s for lunch, you may be wondering what to order if you want to eat healthy.
Lucky for you – McDonald’s has added several healthy and low-calorie lunch options to its menu over the past couple of years.
Continue scrolling to learn what to order at McDonald’s for lunch if you are searching for the lowest calorie lunches at McDonald’s.
Lowest Calorie Lunches at McDonald’s
These lunch options at McDonald’s are all under 500 calories and filling too!
1. 6-Piece Chicken Nuggets – 250 Calories
6 pieces of McDonald’s Chicken nuggets have just 250 calories, making it one of the lowest-calorie lunches you could order at McDonald’s. 6-pieces also has 15 grams of fat (2.5 grams of saturated fat), 15 total carbs, and 14 grams of protein.
The great thing about chicken nuggets at McDonald’s is that they have 0 grams of sugar and are relatively high in protein.
6-Piece Chicken Nuggets – Nutritional Info
6 pieces of the chicken nuggets at McDonald’s have 250 calories, 15 grams of fat, 15 total carbs (0 grams of sugar), and 14 grams of protein.
If you want something a little more filling, you could also order 10 pieces of the chicken nuggets, which have 410 calories.
Source: McDonald’s Nutritional Info
2. Hamburger – 250 Calories
A classic McDonald’s hamburger with no cheese has 250 calories, making it a low calorie lunch option. The classic hamburger is just that – a hamburger bun, a beef patty, ketchup, pickles, onions, and mustards.
The classic hamburger at McDonald’s is low in calories and a great low calorie lunch at McDonald’s.
McDonald’s Classic Hamburger – Nutritional Info
The classic hamburger at McDonald’s has 250 calories, 9 grams of fat (3.5 grams of saturated fat), 31 total carbs (6 grams of sugar), and 12 grams of protein.
3. Cheeseburger – 300 Calories
If you are craving a cheese hamburger, the cheeseburger at McDonald’s is a low calorie lunch option, coming in right at 300 calories.
McDonald’s Cheeseburger – Nutritional Info
The cheeseburger at McDonald’s has 300 calories, 13 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat), 32 total carbs (7 grams of sugar), and 15 grams of protein.
If you want to be even healthier, you can take off the top of the cheeseburger bun.
4. Egg McMuffin with Eggs and Cheese – 310 Calories
Who says that you can’t have breakfast for lunch? In addition to being one of the lowest calorie breakfast items at McDonald’s, the Egg McMuffin also makes for a great low-calorie lunch entrée.
Egg McMuffin – Nutritional Info
The Egg McMuffin at McDonald’s has 310 calories, 13 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat), 30 total carbs (3 grams of sugar), and 17 grams of protein.
If you want to make the Egg McMuffin, ask for no salted butter and no cheese.
5. Sausage Burrito – 310 Calories
The sausage burrito at McDonald’s is made with scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, onion, and a soft tortilla. If you love burritos, then you can’t go wrong with the sausage burrito for lunch at McDonald’s.
Sausage Burrito – Nutritional Info
The sausage burrito at McDonald’s has 310 calories, 17 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat), 25 total carbs (2 grams of sugar), and 13 grams of protein.
6. Filet-O-Fish – 390 Calories
The Filet-O-Fish sandwich at McDonald’s is made with a crispy fish filet patty, mayonnaise, cheese, tartar sauce, and a hamburger bun. I personally wouldn’t order the Filet-O-Fish at McDonald’s due to its high-fat content (19 grams, about 25% of your daily value), but it is a relatively low-calorie lunch entrée at McDonald’s.
Filet-O-Fish Nutritional Info
The Filet-O-Fish at McDonald’s has 390 calories, 19 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat), 39 total carbs (5 grams of sugar), and 16 grams of protein.
7. McChicken Sandwich – 400 Calories
The McChicken Sandwich at McDonald’s is made with a crunchy chicken patty, lettuce, mayonnaise, and a toasted bun.
McChicken Sandwich – Nutritional Info
The McChicken sandwich at McDonald’s has 400 calories, 21 grams of fat (3.5 grams of saturated fat), 39 total carbs (5 grams of sugar), and 14 grams of protein.
If you want to make your lunch healthier at McDonald’s, ask for no mayonnaise.
The McChicken sandwich at McDonald’s with no mayonnaise has about 310 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 14 grams of protein.
Source: McDonald’s McChicken Sandwich Info
8. McDouble Hamburger – 400 Calories
If you want a filling, tasty, and low-calorie lunch entrée at McDonald’s, my top recommendation would be to order a McDouble. You’ll get two beef patties (full of protein to keep you full), tasty cheese, and yummy condiments like pickles, ketchup, and mustard.
McDouble Hamburger – Nutritional Info
The McDouble at McDonald’s has 400 calories, 20 grams of total fat (9 grams of saturated fat), 33 total carbs (7 grams of sugar), and 22 grams of protein.
9. 10 Pieces of Chicken McNuggets – 410
The Chicken McNuggets at McDonald’s are so tasty and delicious!
If you want a high-protein lunch entrée at McDonald’s, the Chicken McNuggets are a great choice.
10 Pieces of Chicken McNuggets – Nutritional Info
10 pieces of Chicken McNuggets at McDonald’s has 410 calories, 24 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat), 26 total carbs (0 grams of sugar), and 23 grams of protein.
10 – Sausage McMuffin with Egg – 480 Calories
The Sausage McMuffin at McDonald’s isn’t just for breakfast! The Sausage McMuffin at McDonald’s is made with sausage, cheese, and eggs – making it high in protein and tasty.
Sausage McMuffin with Egg – Nutritional Info
The Sausage McMuffin with Egg at McDonald’s has 480 calories, 31 grams of total fat (12 grams of saturated fat), 30 grams of total carbs (2 grams of sugar), and 20 grams of protein.
How to Further Reduce Calories at McDonald’s
If you want to further reduce how many calories you are eating at McDonald’s, here are a few tips to shave off 50-100 calories.
Only Eat Half the Bun
Hamburger buns are mostly carbohydrates that are high in sugar and low in fiber and protein.
To reduce your calorie count, take off the top of the bun and have an open-faced sandwich at McDonald’s.
Ask for No Cheese
Cheese adds about 50 calories to any sandwich or hamburger at McDonald’s.
Note: McDonald’s doesn’t say how many calories are in a slice of cheese on its website, but I figured it out! The McDonald’s hamburger has 250 calories, but the McDonald’s cheeseburger has 300 calories. Thus, one slice of cheese at McDonald’s has 50 calories.
One slice of cheese at McDonald’s has 50 calories and 4 grams of fat.
Skip the Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is high in calories and saturated fat. Ask for no mayonnaise, and you can cut out 90-110 calories.
Don’t Order a Smoothie
You may think that adding a fruit smoothie, a soda, or an iced coffee to your lunch is harmless, but it’s not!
The fruit smoothies at McDonald’s have between 190 calories and 330 calories.
The fruit smoothies at McDonald’s are also high in sugar.
Skip the Sodas and Sweet Tea
Similarly, stay away from soda or the sweet tea at McDonald’s. A medium soda at McDonald’s has 210 calories (assuming you order a Coca-Cola) and the sweet tea at McDonald’s has 100-170 calories.
Instead, order an iced coffee with skim milk or a bottle of water.
Lowest Calorie Sauces to Have on Your McDonald’s Hamburger
When it comes to McDonald’s sauces, not all sauces are created equal. The lowest-calorie sauce to have on your McDonald’s hamburger is mustard (0 calories/packet) followed by ketchup (10 calories/packet). The highest calorie sauces at McDonald’s are mayonnaise (90 calories) and the creamy ranch sauce (110 calories).
Below are the McDonald’s sauces ordered from least calories to the most calories.
Calorie Information – McDonald’s Sauces
Mustard – 0 Calories
Ketchup – 10 Calories
Spicy Buffalo Sauce – 30 Calories
Tangy Barbeque Sauce – 45 Calories
Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce – 50 Calories
Honey – 50 Calories
Honey Mustard – 60 Calories
Mayonnaise Packet – 90 Calories
Creamy Ranch Sauce – 110 Calories
Source: McDonald’s Nutritional Info – Sauces
McDonald’s Nutritional Info
In case you want to see the nutritional information for all of the lunch and menu items at McDonald’s, you can see the McDonald’s nutritional info here.
Summary
In summary, McDonald’s has quite a lot of low-calorie lunch options under 500 calories. The lowest calorie lunches at McDonald’s are the 6-piece chicken nuggets, the classic hamburger, and the cheeseburger. Other low-calorie lunch entrees at McDonald’s include the McDouble Hamburger, the McMuffin sandwiches, and the McChicken sandwich.
To make any lunch at McDonald’s lower in calories, order your sandwich without mayonnaise and/or cheese, and eat only half of the bun.
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