Takeaway Truth: McDonald’s Bacon And Cheese Sauce Loaded Fries

Takeaway Truth is an occasional Lifehacker feature where we compare marketing images against what you actually get served. Today: McDonald’s Bacon And Cheese Sauce Loaded Fries. (Plus taste test!)

McDonald’s Loaded Fries are a new “upmarket” side option that do exactly what they say on the tin: they’re basically normal French fries with a some extra stuff loaded on top. There are two options: Guac and Salsa or Bacon and Cheese sauce. They are available in single serve sizes for $4.10, or as a larger share pack for $7.20.

Here are the teaser ads:

Of the two flavours, Guac and Salsa is ever-so-slightly healthier: it packs in 1590kJ of energy, 5.7g of protein, 19.8g of fats, 42g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugars and 615g of sodium. The Bacon And Cheese Sauce has 1760kJ of energy, 11.7g of protein, 24.2g of fat, 37.1g of carbohydrates, 2.1g of sugars and 877mg of sodium.

We decided to test the Bacon And Cheese Sauce version, because bacon. Here’s a side-by-side comparison, with the real version procured from a Blaxland restaurant:

This is a pretty rubbish effort. The colours are wrong, the quantities are off and the bacon looks more like a grated beef jerky. Are these even the same ingredients? I’m genuinely not sure. On the plus side, the presentation is pretty neat and the fries still look like fries.

Sadly, the taste isn’t much better — the cheese sauce is way too strong and also made the chips unpleasantly soggy. The “bacon” wasn’t anything special either — if you’re expecting diced rashers of fresh bacon you’re going to be hugely disappointed. I definitely won’t be ordering these again. Ever.

(If your keen to give McDonald’s Loaded Fries a try, you might be better off with the Guac and Salsa version: while I’ve yet to taste it, my colleague Hayley Williams gave the flavour combination a big thumbs up.)

Truth Rating: 3/10

Taste Verdict: 5/10

Which fast food franchise or menu item would you like us to tackle next? Let us know in the comments section below.


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