McDonald’s Vanilla Iced Coffee (good or bad, amount of sugar and caffeine + more)
McDonald’s used to be a lunch stop. However, it has embraced breakfast and greatly expanded its menu. McDonald’s now offers a range of items, although it remains focused on a simple menu.
One of these breakfast items is vanilla iced coffee. You can technically order this coffee throughout the day, but it’s most popular in the morning. For nutritional information and ingredient list for this coffee, read on!
What is McDonald’s Vanilla Iced Coffee?
McDonald’s vanilla iced coffee is one of many coffee options the chain is launching in 2022. It’s made with roasted coffee, cream, ice, French vanilla syrup, and contains sugar. However, most stores have sugar-free options. Thanks to its simple ingredients, this coffee takes just seconds to make and garners rave reviews.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about this McDonald’s coffee!
What does McDonald’s put in vanilla iced coffee?
The ingredients for vanilla iced coffee are relatively simple. McDonald’s starts with roasted coffee, then adds ice cubes, whipped cream and French vanilla syrup.
Also, the syrup is made specifically for McDonald’s drinks, making it difficult to recreate the coffee elsewhere.
With just four ingredients, the coffee is one of the simpler options on the McDonald’s menu.
Plus, it has only one more ingredient than regular iced coffee and no French vanilla syrup.
Is McDonald’s Vanilla Iced Coffee Sweet?
McDonald’s probably doesn’t put sugar directly into vanilla iced coffee. However, restaurant syrups contain some sugar that sweetens the drink.
In fact, a small cup of coffee in this flavor contains 17 grams of sugar.
With this, many people report that this iced coffee has a stronger coffee flavor.
Also, McDonald’s may do this on purpose to offset the ice, or it may simply be because of the use of syrup.
Is McDonald’s vanilla iced coffee good?
What one person likes is often quite different from what others like. In general, reviewers seem to like the flavor more than others.
Also, when McDonald’s other iced coffees are tested, it usually wins (or comes very close to winning).
However, when you compare it to coffee shops like Starbucks, it usually doesn’t compete. Remember, McDonald’s is a fast food restaurant, not a coffee shop.
Therefore, its coffee will not be one of the best.
Can you get McDonald’s iced coffee without cream?
Yes, you can ask for any McDonald’s iced coffee without cream. However, you can’t ask for a vanilla flavor without sugar, as vanilla syrup contains sugar.
Essentially, it wouldn’t be vanilla flavored without the added sugar. Also, you can request light cream or light syrup.
However, keep in mind that asking for less syrup can drastically change the taste. Of course, it will also lower sugar if that’s important to you.
Is there any sugar in McDonald’s vanilla iced coffee?
According to the recipe, the coffee does not have any added sugar. However, it does contain sugar on its nutrition label, probably because of the syrup.
Also, the syrup does seem to contain some sugar, which would add it to the drink.
So if you try to order an unsweetened vanilla iced coffee, you have to leave out the syrup, which is what the vanilla drink is made of.
For this reason, it’s best not to order this vanilla syrup-free drink. Conversely, if you want to cut down on sugar, just order a regular coffee and ask for no or low sugar.
Also, don’t forget that this drink includes cream. So if you’re trying to drastically cut calories, try not to add cream.
In some places, you can get sugar-free vanilla iced coffee. That said, the drink includes vanilla syrup, but the syrup used in this case is sugar-free.
How Much Caffeine Is in McDonald’s Large French Vanilla Iced Coffee?
McDonald’s long iced coffee has 320 mg of caffeine, more than any other coffee, including Starbucks’ Trenta.
So it’s a personal decision whether it has too much caffeine for you.
To learn more, you can also read our post on drinks at McDonald’s, McCafé and the biggest McDonald’s burgers.
in conclusion
McDonald’s Vanilla Iced Coffee is one of the brand’s most popular iced coffee flavors. Compared to other products, it often wins in the flavor department. However, its production is very similar.
That said, the only thing that sets it apart is the use of vanilla syrup, which contains sugar and flavoring.
Also, this coffee flavor has been around for a while and can be purchased throughout the day. As you might imagine, it’s most popular in the morning.
