McDonald’s was once a lunch stop. However, it has since embraced breakfast and expanded its menu considerably. McDonald’s now carries a range of items, though it’s still focused on a simple menu.
One of these breakfast items is vanilla iced coffee. Technically, you can order this coffee throughout the day, but it is most popular in the morning. For nutritional information and ingredients lists for this coffee, keep reading!
What Is McDonald’s Vanilla Iced Coffee?
The McDonald’s vanilla iced coffee is one of the chain’s many coffee choices in [currentyear]. It’s made using roasted coffee, cream, ice, and French vanilla syrup, containing sugar. However, there is a sugar-free option available at most stores. Thanks to its simple ingredients, this coffee takes only seconds to make and gets rave reviews.
Keep reading below for everything you need to know about this coffee at McDonald’s!
What Does McDonald’s Put in Vanilla Iced Coffee?
The ingredients in vanilla iced coffee are relatively simple. Starting with its roast coffee, McDonald’s then adds ice, light cream, and French vanilla syrup.
Further, this syrup is specifically made for drinks at McDonald’s, making it difficult to recreate the coffee elsewhere.
With only four ingredients, this coffee is one of the simpler options on the McDonald’s menu.
Also, it only contains one more ingredient than the usual iced coffee, which does not have French vanilla syrup.
Is McDonald’s Vanilla Iced Coffee Sweet?
McDonald’s may not put sugar directly into the vanilla iced coffee. However, the restaurant’s syrup contains some sugar, making the drink sweet.
In fact, a small coffee of this flavor contains 17 grams of sugar.
With that, many people report that the coffee flavor is a bit stronger in this iced coffee creation.
Moreover, McDonald’s may do this on purpose to counteract the ice, or it could just be due to the syrup used.
Is The Vanilla Iced Coffee At McDonald’s Good?
What one person likes is often completely different from what someone else likes. Generally speaking, reviewers seem to enjoy this flavor over others.
Also, it often wins (or comes very close to winning) when McDonald’s’ other iced coffees are all put to the test.
However, when you put it against coffee stores like Starbucks, it often doesn’t compete. Remember, McDonald’s is a fast-food joint – not a coffee shop.
Therefore, its coffee will not be one of the best coffees out there.
Can You Get A McDonald’s Iced Coffee Without Cream?
Yes, you can ask for any McDonald’s iced coffee without the cream. However, you cannot ask for the vanilla flavor without sugar, as the vanilla syrup contains sugar.
Essentially, it would not be vanilla-flavored without the sugar added. Furthermore, you can ask for light cream or light syrup.
However, keep in mind that asking to use less syrup would change the flavor substantially. Of course, it will also lower the sugar if that’s what’s important to you.
Does McDonald’s’ Vanilla Iced Coffee Have Sugar In It?
According to the recipe, the coffee does not have any added sugar. However, it does have sugar on the nutritional label, likely due to the syrup.
Also, it appears that the syrup does contain some sugar, which adds it to the drink.
Therefore, if you try to order a vanilla iced coffee without the sugar, you’d have to eliminate the syrup because the syrup is what makes the drink vanilla.
For this reason, it’s best not to order this drink without vanilla syrup. Instead, simply order a regular coffee and ask for no or low sugar if you want to lower the sugar.
Also, don’t forget that this drink includes cream. So, if you’re looking to reduce the calories substantially, aim to order it without the cream.
In some locations, you can get a sugar-free vanilla iced coffee. That said, this drink includes vanilla syrup, but the syrup used in this case is sugar-free.
How Much Caffeine Is In A Large French Vanilla Iced Coffee From McDonald’s?
A large iced coffee from McDonald’s has 320 milligrams of caffeine, more than other coffees, including a Trenta from Starbucks.
Therefore, whether or not this is too much caffeine for you is a personal decision.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on drinks at McDonald’s, McCafe, and the biggest McDonald’s burger.
Conclusion
McDonald’s vanilla iced coffee is one of the brand’s more popular iced coffee flavors. Compared to other offerings, it often wins in the taste department. However, it is made very similarly.
That said, the only thing that sets it apart is the use of vanilla syrup, which contains sugar and flavoring.
Moreover, this coffee flavor has been available for some time and can be purchased throughout the day. As you might imagine, it is most popular in the morning.
