I Got an Early Taste of McDonald’s New Arch Burger and I Needed a Knife and Fork to Finish It

It’s a special day for fast-food fans. While McDonald’s frequently updates its menu, it doesn’t often launch new burgers—especially one that dwarfs the Big Mac. We were intrigued to learn that the Big Arch burger is packed with several new components. The burger features white cheddar cheese slices, crispy onions, and a mustard-tomato-pickle-infused “Big Arch Sauce,” all served on a bun topped with sesame and poppy seeds.

The reason for this sudden innovation is straightforward: the McDonald’s Big Arch burger is only new to American customers. The burger originally launched at international McDonald’s locations in 2024, utilizing ingredients common to those global markets. Now, we are receiving the full, authentic experience with this domestic release. McDonald’s provided an early Big Arch burger to the Sporked test kitchen (though I technically sampled the burger for the first time last year). Let’s examine what makes this new offering stand out.

Pros: The new ingredients featured in the Big Arch are excellent additions to the McDonald’s menu, and I hope they remain available. Despite being a major industry player, McDonald’s doesn’t offer many customization options. The ability to add Big Arch sauce, crispy onions, or white cheddar cheese to other burgers would be a welcome change. (The sweet sesame-poppy-seed bun would be particularly great on their chicken sandwiches.)

Cons: The final <a href="https://shoppixy.com/first-product-on-amazon-with-one-million-reviews/” title=”First Product on Amazon With One Million Reviews”>product is simply overwhelming. Between three slices of cheese and a deluge of Big Arch sauce, this is easily the messiest McDonald’s burger I’ve ever eaten. The pickled tanginess of that sauce dominates the entire flavor profile (even if you order your burgers without pickles, as I do), and it quickly softens the crispy onions. These new ingredients would likely shine better in separate menu items designed to highlight their individual strengths.

McDonald’s wasn’t kidding when they said the Big Arch burger was “BIG with every bite”—but perhaps they should have been. I ended up eating this burger with a fork because I didn’t have an industrial supply of napkins on hand; call me crazy, but hamburgers really should be handheld.

Back in October, I attended a convenience-store trade show in Chicago to cover as many product reveals as possible. While in town, I visited the McDonald’s restaurant located on the ground floor of their Global Headquarters (situated right next to Hamburger University). This “Global Menu” location features a rotating selection of international items. Fellow Sporked contributor Tyler Bowers and I sampled sweet potato fries, a variety of filled donut holes called “McPops,” Biscoff McFlurries, and the first stateside release of the Big Arch burger. I didn’t write a detailed review at that time, but I recall that experience being far less messy; I’ll attribute that attention to detail to those particular employees working just a floor away from their bosses’ bosses’ bosses’ bosses’… You get the idea. (And yes, the ice cream machine worked.)