REVIEW: McDonald’s The Grinch Dill Pickle McShaker Fries

I hate to be a grinch, but after hearing about the dill pickle-flavored “Grinch Salt” seasoning for The Grinch Meal’s McShaker Fries, I’m extremely grumpy at McDonald’s for not leaning heavily into green pickles for the rest of the meal.

Maybe have a dill pickle-flavored sauce for the McNuggets option, a pickle juice lemonade as the beverage, or maybe add an extra generous serving of pickles to the Big Mac version. But nope. No special nuggets sauce, no pickle-enhanced beverage, and a normal amount of Big Mac pickles. However, the meal comes with a pair of Grinch-themed socks that are only edible to goats.

Because I’m not in the mood for Grinch-themed socks, I don’t care about menu items I can get any time of year at McDonald’s, and I don’t want to spend Dubai-style chocolate money ($13) for The Grinch Meal, I ended up picking up The Grinch McShaker Fries a la carte. Geez, that last sentence makes me seem like I’m a total grinch. Grumble. Grumble. Grumble. But you know what, just like the Whos’ love and joy for Christmas made The Grinch smile, the dill pickle seasoning on fries turned my frown upside down.

To apply it to the fries, the packet comes with a paper bag that you dump your fries and seasoning into, then shake to combine. If you get the meal’s 10-Piece Chicken McNuggets option, I suggest also tossing in the nuggets to get some pickle-ness on them.

Initially, I was disappointed with how it made the fries look because it doesn’t turn them a bright green. But it’s understandable, because that would’ve freaked the fries out of those familiar with potatoes and solanine. While the seasoning is pale green in its packet, on the fries it appears more white. There are occasional flecks of dill that have a deep green color, but they are as dark as The Grinch’s heart, which makes them look black.

The Grinch Salt is equal parts savory and tangy, and its pickle flavor makes McDonald’s World Famous French Fries taste even better. Being a fan of pickle-flavored products, I couldn’t resist chain-eating them until they were gone. Towards the bottom of the bag, the powder seemed to be applied more thickly to the fries, making them almost too potent.

When all the fries were eaten, there was a decent amount of seasoning at the bottom of the bag. Seeing the leftover Grinch Salt kind of made me wish I had more fries, spent $13 for the Chicken McNuggets Grinch Meal, or had a lemonade I could dump it into.

The concept of adding a seasoning packet to McDonald’s fries isn’t new. While it has been done in the US before, it hasn’t really caught on here as it has internationally. Experiencing this tasty Grinch Salt gives me hope that McDonald’s might offer new flavors in the future.

Purchased Price: $5.19*
Size: Medium fries (also available with Large fries)
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (medium fries w/seasoning) 340 calories, 15 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 840 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.