McDonald’s Big Mac (Easy Copycat Recipe)
Every McDonald’s fan can recite the 1974 jingle: two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun. This Big Mac copycat delivers all of it: two thin beef patties, a toasted three-part sesame bun, iceberg lettuce, American cheese, minced onion, pickles, and a creamy special sauce that does not start with ketchup. Making it at home means hand-shaped patties, buns toasted in butter, and a stack that arrives hot instead of steam-softened in a paper wrapper. Build one for burger night, a cookout, or a lunch that feels like an event.
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This McDonald’s Big Mac copycat recreates the world’s most recognized fast-food burger from scratch, including the three-part sesame bun stack, the tangy special sauce, and the layered build you can order from memory. Each component is simple on its own, but the whole is greater than the sum because of how the layers interact.
The beef patties are thin and hand-shaped, cooked quickly so they develop crust without overcooking through the middle. The middle bun, toasted on both sides, gives the stack structural integrity and a second hit of crisp, buttery bread right in the center.
If you have always wanted to pull off a real Big Mac at home rather than a close-enough stand-in, this recipe gets you there. The special sauce alone is worth making a batch of to keep in the fridge.
What makes this copycat recipe different
- Rehydrated dehydrated onions — the single most McDonald ‘s-accurate detail in the recipe. Real Big Macs use dehydrated onions rehydrated in warm water, not fresh chopped onions. Nearly every other copycat recipe misses this, which is why their burgers taste “close” but never exact.
- Ten thin patties from a single pound of ground chuck — matching McDonald’s actual 1.6-oz patty spec. Most copycat recipes split the beef into 8 patties, producing a burger that’s noticeably thicker and heavier than the original.
- A 350°F griddle, not a hot skillet — a specific flat-top temperature that mirrors how McDonald’s cooks its burgers. Other recipes hedge with vague “medium-high heat” instructions; this one gives home cooks a reproducible number.
- Buttered, griddle-toasted buns in the correct three-layer build order — bottom bun, sauce, onions, lettuce, cheese, patty, middle bun, sauce, onions, lettuce, patty, pickles, top. A detail most recipes either skip or rearrange, but one that’s essential to getting the real Big Mac bite.
What is special about the Special Sauce?
McDonald’s Big Mac sauce is really just a form of Thousand Island dressing. This special sauce isn’t made in McDonald’s stores anymore. It now comes in an airtight container that dispenses it like a caulking gun. What some people get wrong about this sauce is that it uses ketchup; this recipe doesn’t start with ketchup.
But you can make it yourself! My copycat Big Mac sauce recipe approximates the sauce reasonably closely. We love it, and you will too. And you can use the homemade Big Mac Sauce as a salad dressing for a Big Mac salad or a dipping sauce for chicken tenders and fries.
Big Mac Ingredients
Here’s what else you need. All of these ingredients are easily found at grocery stores.
- Ground beef chuck – Shaped into thin patties; chuck brings the classic fast-food flavor with enough fat to stay juicy.
- Salt – Seasons the meat and draws flavor to the surface.
- Black pepper – Adds warmth and a light bite to the patties.
- Butter – Brushed on the cut sides of the buns to create a crisp, golden, buttery toast.
- American cheese – Melts in the signature Big Mac way, glossy and draped across the patty.
- Minced white onion – Tucked between bun and sauce; mincing (rather than slicing) puts onion in every bite.
- Pickle slices – Thin-cut dill pickles that add crisp acidity to balance the rich sauce.
- Iceberg lettuce – Shredded for cold crunch and watery freshness.
- Special sauce – The Big Mac’s signature layer, a tangy mayo-based sauce with relish, mustard, vinegar, and spices (not ketchup).
- Sesame seed hamburger buns – Standard store-bought buns; you will repurpose the bottom halves of a few buns as the middle layer.
How to Make Big Mac Burger Buns
As you know, Big Macs have three layers of buns. The McDonald’s Big Mac Burger buns are easy to make at home.
You will use a package of hamburger buns and some buns as the middle bun. So, with a package of 8 hamburger buns, you can make about five homemade Big Macs.
Cut the top off of the top bun to make it even, then use the bottom half as the middle portion of the Big Mac.
How to Make a Big Mac
- Season the hamburger meat with salt and pepper.
- Shape into 10 thin patties.
- Grill the patties or cook the patties in a large skillet to your liking.
- Spread butter on the cut sides of the buns and place them butter-side down on the grill.
- Grill the buns until they are slightly browned. Make sure the middle bun is toasted on each side.
- Build the burger by placing the secret sauce, lettuce, cheese, onions, and one patty on the bottom bun.
- Top it off with the middle bun.
- Then add the sauce, lettuce, pickles, onion, and another patty to the middle bun.
- Top with the top bun, and you are all set.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Freezer Storage: Freeze fully cooled cooked patties (without toppings) in a single layer on a sheet tray, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat. Do not freeze assembled burgers; the lettuce, pickles, and sauce will turn to slush.
Refrigerator Storage: Store the components separately in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Keep the cooked patties, lettuce, onion, pickles, sauce, and cheese in their own containers to prevent sogginess. Buns live at room temperature, bagged.
Reheating Method: Reheat the patties in a skillet over medium-low heat with a tablespoon of water and a lid for 1 to 2 minutes per side to restore moisture, or in a 350°F oven for 3 to 5 minutes per side, adding fresh-buttered buns for the last 5 minutes. Build the stack right after reheating.
History of the Big Mac
This famous hamburger was created by Jim Delligatti, who owned several McDonald’s franchises in the Pittsburgh area. Although not all Big Macs are made exactly the same, this burger is sold worldwide.
The one we have come to know and love became popular in 1974 with this jingle, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions – on a sesame seed bun.” This marketing campaign will not let us forget all of the ingredients of the Big Mac.
How can you make this recipe even better?
No one can argue how good this tastes. It is the perfect flavor combination. Pulling out the middle bun and making a larger burger patty yields one delicious burger. We either do these as smash burgers or season the meat with Lawry’s seasoned salt. The elements of this burger that stand out are the combination of onions, pickles, lettuce, and sauce. So when we make this at home, we build it like a regular burger and add all the toppings.
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McDonald’s Big Mac (Easy Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 5 whole hamburger buns plus 5 extra bottom buns for use as middle buns
- ¼ cup Big Mac sauce
- 5 tablespoons minced onion
- lettuce
- 5 slices American cheese
- 15 dill pickle slices
Instructions
- In a bowl, season the ground chuck with salt and pepper. Shape the meat into 10 relatively thin patties.
- Heat a griddle to 350°F. Place the patties on the griddle and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, adding an extra dash of salt and pepper while cooking.
- Flip the burgers and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, until the juices from the meat run clear.
- Spread the softened butter on the cut sides of the buns and place them on the griddle until the bread begins to brown. Flip the middle buns and allow them to toast on both sides.
- Assemble the burgers in the following order: bottom bun, Big Mac sauce, onions, lettuce, cheese, hamburger patty, middle bun, Big Mac sauce, onions, lettuce, hamburger patty, two or three pickle slices, and finally the top bun.
This is the best burger I Ever tried !!!!!😀👍💙
My husband and I refuse to eat 99% of all fast food out there [mainly because we don’t know where it comes from or what’s in it these days!] and tonight I wanted a big mac SO bad! So we found your recipe and I have to say, IT WAS AMAZING! Thank you SO much!!!
Lucy G
I like how real you are! This the first video I have watched of yours. You speak clearly and execute your recipie easy to follow and explain everything as your doing it. You should have a Food Network show about copycat recipes!
Thank you!
Lauri
Can I put this recipe in my bullet journal please? If yes, How can I copy down a no-cheese no-lettuce big mac with extra mac sauce, onions and pickles?
You might want to write down the recipe the want to enjoy it. I hope it helps! I love my bujo! I wouldn’t be without it.
I want to write the recipe without cheese and lettuce with extra mac sauce, extra onions and extra pickles. How can I copy down the modified recipe in my bujo?
All you have to do is leave off cheese and lettuce and double the amount of Mac sauce
Fricken awesome
The burger was very good , all in all 5 stars would have again
Found this site and I LOVE your copycats. Keep doing what you do. I know you have lots of devoted followers!
Do you have a recipe for the taco Bell cheeseburger burrito or mcskillet burrito from McDonald’s I loved them an they quit making them
Just found this recipe. Will definitely try it as my family loves hamburgers! Just one note – Lettuce is not listed on the ingredient list. Thanks for your recipes -so glad I found you!
Love the suggestions and I am going to make this asap. The Big Mac has always been a favorite and that is why this is an extra special recipe.
The trouble I have with the Big Mac, they don’t use enough meat, they should be made with at least a 1/3 pound burger, with all the stuff and bun on them you can’t taste the burger.
I would love to see the old school pizza and taco burgers from the 70s we had in school, as well as the original Bacon Cheese Burger and the New York Patty Melt from Hardy’s of the 80s and 90s, but the most, the Chicken Sierra Fillet and I forgot the other thing, oh chicken fajita burrito thing Taco Johns had in the 90s, omg they were to die for
I loved Taco John’s too. I miss some of the old favorites as well.
you have realy great recipes thank you so much bev
What is India Relish?
It is a type of relish, it is sweet with a touch of spice to it.
I love Big Macs and french fries and they are from McDonald’s which does have those very cool and modern PlayPlaces and that is going back to its classic 90s way.
Wow stuff to make homemade big macs.
i love big macs
I was a cook at McDonald’s during the time the Big Mac was introduced and you are very close to how we prepared the sandwich when it was initially rolled out nationwide. The use of ground chuck is spot on in that McDonald’s used ground beef that was free from additives at that time and not like the “pink slime” induced beef that is in use today across the industry. The patties were frozen and weighed one tenth of a pound and were placed on the grill in this state. The one change I would add is the searing process that McDonald’s utilized in pressing down hard on the patties at the 30 seconds mark after placing them on the grill. This created a crust on the face of the burger and also prevented loss of moisture from the meat. This is the only time you should ever press down on a burger patty.
As another poster stated, we did utilize re-hydrated dried onions that were soaked at the start of the day. These were actually placed on the hamburger patty after turning and allowed to cook the flavor into the meat along with a good shake of both salt and pepper. You also mentioned the toasting of the bun which was a critical step in making sure the sauce did not soak into the bun. McDonald’s had a special toaster manufactured to toast both sides of the middle bun while also toasting one side of the top and bottom. Unfortunately, McDonald’s quit toasting their buns over a decade ago and the quality of their sandwiches has suffered.
Thanks for posting these types of recipes as they allow our children and grandchildren to experience the exact types of food that we remember from our childhood prior to the big corporate takeovers of fast food that occurred in the 80’s and 90’s. I for one would love to see the same type of recipes from other fast food chains as the youngsters today have no idea how much better and higher quality the food of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s were compared to today.
Thank you for your detailed response. I will have to try making it with the dehydrated onions.
Often I know fast food can be good, I think it often intends to be better than it really is.
We were told the meat was a mixture of chuck and round with a fat content of 16.9%-18.2%. Yes, they were a 10-1 patty 1.6 ounces each and we put 7 pieces of dehydrated onion on each patty. Well most of us did so we didn’t get yelled at. The meat of the quarter pounder was cooked for 4.5 minutes and the 10-1 patty for 2.0 minutes total. We did put a weight on the meat to keep them from cupping.
McDs bought out all the potatoes in one region of Idaho where the potatoes had the greatest solids of any potato in the U.S. so good luck in copying those. The bun was higher in sugar than most store-bought buns but they were made by Rainbo and I got the rainbo man to sell me a tray of them once when I was in a grocery store.
What’s the special sauce???
It is like a thousand island salad dressing.
Use the hyperlink in the article.
Sounds good, but have to laugh at “cooking from scratch is healthier”!
I think cooking from scratch is generally healthier, less preservatives, and more known ingredients. These always work for me 😉
I agree.
Good idea on the middle bun! 🙂
To get the minced onions that McD’s uses you can “Re”hydrate dehydrated onions by soaking them till soft in warm water.But drain them as soon as they turn soft,dont let them sit any longer than necessary in the water.Let them drain as long as it takes to get them somewhat dry,then place in a paper towel to get the last of the water off of the onions,then voila!Rehydrated onions! 🙂
Great suggestion, I personally love the dehydrated onions, I think you always get a consistent flavor when you use them.