Yes, McDonald's Chicken McNuggets are made with real, USDA-inspected white meat chicken, specifically breast, tenderloin, and rib meat. Since 2016, the recipe has contained no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, featuring a batter coating and seasoning. While they are highly processed, they do not contain "pink slime".
McNuggets contain genuine chicken meat (commonly white meat), but they are a processed product that also includes starches, seasonings, coatings and functional additives. They are not 100% whole-muscle chicken.
McDonald's 6 piece Chicken McNuggets® are made with 100% chicken breast meat in a deliciously crispy coating, just waiting to be dipped.
Before August 2016, dimethylpolysiloxane and TBHQ were listed as ingredients in the McNuggets cooking process. According to Lisa McComb, a media relations representative for McDonald's, dimethylpolysiloxane is used as a matter of safety to keep the frying oil from foaming.
We start with all white-meat chicken cut from the tenderloin, breast and rib and mix it with a marinade for flavor and juiciness and to help them keep their fun shape. Once everything is mixed, we create the four famous Chicken McNuggets® shapes—bell, boot, ball and bone.
For fast food with real chicken, focus on dedicated chicken chains like Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, and Raising Cane's, which use whole muscle chicken breast, but also check brands like Culver's and even McDonald's (for nuggets) and Burger King (for some sandwiches) that offer real chicken products, though ingredient lists can vary with added seasonings or breading.
McDonald's McNuggets offer quality protein in the form of chicken breast but they're also high in sodium, which the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting. While McNuggets can fit into a nutritious eating pattern, lean protein sources with less fat and sodium are better choices.
The unhealthiest item at McDonald's is often cited as the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes, due to its massive calories, sodium, sugar, and saturated fat content (over 1300 calories and 122% of daily saturated fat). Other contenders for least healthy include large burgers like the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, large fries, shakes, and some breakfast wraps, packed with fat, salt, and refined carbs.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is a heat-resistant, silicone-based compound best known as the main ingredient in Silly Putty—but it's also approved by the FDA and EFSA for use in food. It's added to cooking oils, like those used at Chick-fil-A, as an anti-foaming agent to reduce splatter and improve fry quality.
They don't contain “pink slime”
While the “pink slime” is used as a finely textured lean beef sold by the meat industry to plenty of suppliers, it is not used in the famous McNuggets. McDonald's chicken nuggets are made with Tyson chicken, which is ground up, then fried and battered.
McDonald's most popular item globally is its French Fries, selling millions of pounds daily and often ordered with other favorites like the iconic Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets, though regional tastes vary with items like Hash Browns and McChickens also topping charts.
Bite-sized pieces of boneless chicken breast, seasoned to perfection, freshly breaded and pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil.
In a separate bowl, mix together the dry batter ingredients (all-purpose flour). 2. In another bowl, whisk together the wet batter ingredients (all-purpose flour, corn starch, baking powder, water, salt, garlic powder, and paprika powder). Add water and mix until a smooth batter forms.
The chicken in our McNuggets® is 100% chicken breast – chopped into small pieces in order to make it easier to shape and eat. In our restaurants, each Chicken McNugget® is cooked by our teams until perfectly crisp and then served nice and hot. Just the way a Chicken McNugget® should be eaten.
Bite-sized, golden nuggets made from all-white meat chicken. Snackable, poppable, perfectly portioned for single bites or multiple munches. Crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, little nuggets of joy.
All our chicken is real breast meat with no fillers or added hormones or steroids – in fact, no artificial or added hormones are allowed in the production of any poultry in the United States.
According to the lawsuit filed in Georgia, the food chain promised low delivery fees through its app or website but then increased menu prices on delivery orders by as much as 30%. Chick-fil-A did not admit guilt but has agreed to pay out $4.4 million in the settlement.
Despite this label appearing on many chicken products found in the store, no chicken you buy is ever given added hormones or steroids. In fact, the use of such added or artificial hormones is forbidden by law by the FDA and this must be noted on the label.
Here are the seven healthiest snacks on McDonald's menu, according to our trusty nutritionist.
There's no single "number 1" unhealthy food, but ultra-processed items like sugary drinks, processed meats (bacon, hot dogs), deep-fried foods (fries), and refined snacks (donuts, chips, sugary cereals) consistently top lists due to high sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, and additives linked to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. These items offer little nutritional value while increasing risks for chronic diseases.
Fast Food Chains Ranked by Health
The healthiest options at McDonald's focus on grilled chicken, lean beef, and strategic modifications like skipping sauces, with good choices including the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich, a 6-piece Chicken McNuggets (with lighter sauce), a Plain Hamburger, or the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, often paired with sides like apple slices and water instead of fries and soda, says Healthline and myorthrive.com.
Wendy's has been ranked as the most unhealthy fast food restaurant in the U.S., followed by Sonic, Taco Bell, and Dairy Queen, based on unhealthy ingredients in their menu items.
Ingredients: Chicken Breast Fillets With Rib Meat, Water, Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil), Sugar, Salt, Modified Food Starch, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Yellow Corn Flour, Modified Corn ...