If you’ve ever been to McDonald’s, you have tried a McDonald’s Big Mac. Now you can create your own homemade Big Mac with this copycat recipe! The Big Mac ingredients include two hamburger patties, American cheese, “special sauce” (a variant of Thousand Island dressing), iceberg lettuce, pickles, and onions, served in a three-part sesame seed bun.
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Table of Contents
What Makes a Homemade Big Mac So Good?
This homemade Big Mac is elevated from fast food quality with patties that you can enjoy directly after hand-shaping and grilling them.
It is also made with the freshest ingredients, such as crispy lettuce, sweet and tangy Big Mac sauce, pickles, onions, and more. All of the components are layered between light, toasted burger buns, giving a slight crispiness that offsets the juicy meat.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
Few burgers match the fame of a classic Big Mac. Whether you’re looking to save some money or just want to take on a fun cooking project, this recipe will offer you a juicy and saucy burger that tastes just like it’s fresh from McDonald’s.
Making this stacked burger at home is much easier than you think. There’s not a long list of ingredients for the patties, just a simple combination of 100% beef, salt, and pepper, which is all it needs.
When you pair the beef patties with the incredible special sauce and all the toppings, you’ll applaud yourself for how authentic and delicious it tastes.
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 gets squirted out like you would a chaulking gun.
But you can make it yourself! My copycat Big Mac sauce recipe is a fairly close approximation of the sauce. 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 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
- Salt & Pepper
- Butter
- American Cheese
- Minced Onion
- Pickle Slices
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Special Sauce
- Sesame Seed Hamburger Buns
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 of the 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.
What to Serve with a Homemade Big Mac
Pair your juicy Big Mac with a McDonald’s sweet tea and some french fries! And, while you’re at it, you might as well enjoy the full experience with a copycat McDonald’s M&M McFlurry, which you can dip your fries in.
You can also serve the burger with a salad, tater tots, potato chips, onion rings, or coleslaw. There are plenty of accompaniments that complement the burger, so feel free to get creative.
How to Store Them for Later
For best results, keep the components separate when you store leftovers. This prevents the bread from getting soggy and retains the freshness of each ingredient. Keep the lettuce, onions, pickles, sauce, and cheese in their respective containers or resealable bags.
The hamburger patties have the best quality when you store them in an airtight container after they fully cool. Keep everything in the refrigerator except for the buns. Before reheating the patties, examine all the toppings, especially the lettuce, to ensure they are still fresh.
What is the Best Way to Reheat It?
The best way to reheat the burger patty is on the stovetop or in the oven. With the stovetop method, you can add a splash of water and cover it to prevent it from drying out. Flip it over and remove it as soon as it is thoroughly heated.
The oven is also excellent because it toasts the buns evenly, and you can reheat the burgers simultaneously. Set the oven to 350°F and cook the burgers on each side for 3 to 5 minutes. After flipping the patties, add the buns for the last 5 minutes.
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 all around the world.
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 Big Mac ingredients.
Love burgers? Try these recipes
- Butter Burger
- The Whopper
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- Truffle Burger
- Buffalo Blue Cheese Burger
- Pizza Burger
- Big Mouth Burger Bites
- McDonalds Hamburger
- Basic Burger Seasoning
Popular McDonald’s Drinks
Check out more tasty beef recipes and favorite fast food restaurant copycat recipes.
What is your favorite Mcdonald’s recipe? Share your favorites below in the comments. Remember to follow us on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss another McDonald’s copycat recipe.
Homemade Big Mac
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.
- 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.
Medina
This is the best burger I Ever tried !!!!!😀👍💙
lucy g
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
Lauri
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
Chanel Pugh
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?
Stephanie Manley
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.
Chanel Pugh
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?
Tiffany Jackson
All you have to do is leave off cheese and lettuce and double the amount of Mac sauce
Delilah
Fricken awesome
Person lol
The burger was very good , all in all 5 stars would have again
Joan
Found this site and I LOVE your copycats. Keep doing what you do. I know you have lots of devoted followers!
Samuel
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
Belinda
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!
Andrea Yeric
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.
Larry Doub
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
Stephanie
I loved Taco John’s too. I miss some of the old favorites as well.
bev
you have realy great recipes thank you so much bev
eva
What is India Relish?
Stephanie Manley
It is a type of relish, it is sweet with a touch of spice to it.
Patrick William Rich
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.
Patrick William Rich
Wow stuff to make homemade big macs.
vernon
i love big macs
Ronnie's Crew
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.
Stephanie Manley
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.
eric
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.
PJM
What’s the special sauce???
stephaniemanley
It is like a thousand island salad dressing.
Randy
Use the hyperlink in the article.
Lolly
Sounds good, but have to laugh at “cooking from scratch is healthier”!
stephaniemanley
I think cooking from scratch is generally healthier, less preservatives, and more known ingredients. These always work for me 😉
Theresa
I agree.
D'sMom
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! 🙂
stephaniemanley
Great suggestion, I personally love the dehydrated onions, I think you always get a consistent flavor when you use them.