The Shamrock Shake Is Making Its Return With A McFlurry Sidekick

While some customers love McDonald's for the selection of McNuggets, Big Macs, and fries, there is a certain fanbase dedicated to items that are not readily available on the menu. Limited-time items like the McRib and the Shamrock shake seem to elicit a new kind of love, perhaps because you can't enjoy these McDonald's menu items year-round. Shamrock shakes always seem to make a triumphant return around February or March, always prior to St. Patrick's Day (per Wane 15). For those who are itching to try the green-hued treat before it returns, there are slews of copycat Shamrock Shake recipes online. But even if the copycats are delicious, there's nothing like slurping down the real deal.

So what is one to do if a craving hits, but the Shamrock shake isn't available quite yet? Luckily, McDonald's has many other frozen desserts, including milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, and of course, McFlurries. McDonald's dessert menu offers a chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla shake, and an M&M or Oreo vanilla McFlurry. If those options aren't enough, you could always craft your own Neapolitan shake or apple pie McFlurry, a la the secret dessert menu (per Cosmopolitan). This year, fans don't have long to wait to drink their Shamrock shake and the returning minty McFlurry, so long as the McDonald's ice cream machines don't break.

This week, McDonald's shared that the Shamrock shake will return this year on February 20. The chain will also be bringing back its Oreo Shamrock McFlurry. Much like the shake, the Shamrock McFlurry is bright green and mint flavored. The major difference is the inclusion of Oreo cookie pieces. The Shamrock McFlurry is a fairly new creation, arriving on the scene in 2020. The frozen creation debuted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the OG Shamrock shake (via People).

McDonald's remains coy about just how long the shake and its McFlurry counterpart will last, only saying it's available for "a limited time." In years past, the shake has always lasted at least until St. Patrick's day, giving you enough time to drink one or a few. The chain did recently launch its USA menu spotter, which allows customers to be first to know about updates to the menu and limited edition releases. Fans can score their favorite sweet treat in a small, medium, or large, and time will tell if the prices will increase this year.