McDonald's Pie Flavors You Can't Get In The US

There are some who would argue that McDonald's is as American as apple pie. So it's fitting that the chain's very first staple dessert item, and still one of its most popular, is the turnover-style handheld apple pie. This humble treat began its life in Knoxville, Tennessee, and, by the 1970s, it had been introduced to McDonald's locations across the United States.

Most apples are not actually native to North America and were introduced by early European settlers, which in turn means that apple pies are not native to the U.S. Even so, McDonald's doesn't exist in just North America and Europe. And as it opened restaurants across the globe, it adjusted its menu to local tastes. Japan has the teriyaki burger, for example, and Venezuela has arepas, flat cornmeal cakes used to make sandwiches.

But adjusting a sandwich to the preferences of a local populace seems pretty simple. What about desserts? What about pies? It's true that McDonald's once sold cherry pies, which may still be available in some regions. And the Golden Arches has experimented with limited edition pies over the years, such as the sweet potato pie in 2013, and the disappearing, reappearing regional blueberry and crème pie. But when you look abroad, you will find a virtual pie paradise. Get your taste buds ready for 16 McDonald's pies that you won't find in the U.S.

In 2017, McDonald's in Singapore introduced its coconut pie as part of a special National Day menu. Singapore's National Day occurs annually on August 9 and celebrates the country earning its independence from Malaysia in 1965. Along with pineapples and coffee, coconuts are one of Singapore's traditional cash crops, making the hard-shelled fruit a fitting emblem for the multicultural city state.

These crispy handheld pies, which also made an appearance in 2020, are filled with bits of coconut as well as nata de coco (Spanish for coconut cream), a gel made from coconut water that is commonly used in desserts throughout Southeast Asia. Although it may not be on the menu right now, it is a Singapore favorite that you will definitely want to keep an eye out for.

We don't care if this pie is served hot or cold. Either way, it sounds like the perfect refreshing, tropical dessert to enjoy during summer to us!

In many East Asian countries, naturally sweet red beans, also called adzuki or azuki, are used in many kinds of desserts, usually in the form of a paste made from boiled red beans and sugar. In Japanese, this paste is called anko.) You often find red bean paste stuffed inside things like buns and used as one of the best flavors of mochi. And, as you probably guessed, McDonald's put red beans in a pie.

The red bean pie has popped up in at least Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. These red bean pies are fried, making them crispy and flaky. For health reasons, the apple pies found in the mainland United States are now baked, not fried. Reviews of the taste have been mixed. Those who grew up with red beans as a dessert item were excited at the pie's introduction. People who didn't are sometimes less than thrilled with the flavor. To each their own.

There is no doubt that the McDonald's red bean pie is a reflection of the regional population's tastes, and we frankly wish it was available in the States.

Speaking of mochi, McDonald's in Japan released a sakuramochi pie for the hanami season. Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry trees and their pretty pink blossoms. Hanami is the term for sitting and admiring trees in bloom. Japan is famous for its hanami festivals, which date back to the eighth century, a celebration of spring and the flowering trees that signify this time of year.

Sakuramochi is a traditional dessert made of chewy mochi filled with red bean paste and wrapped in a pickled cherry blossom leaf. But for this pie, McDonald's filled a pink, sakura-flavored crust with red bean paste and sakura-flavored mochi with flakes of pickled cherry blossom leaf mixed into it. The softness of the mochi provides a real contrast in texture to the flaky, crunchy pastry crust.

People have reported that the flavor of the pie does adequately recreate the taste of a genuine sakuramochi. So if you are in Japan during cherry blossom season, stop by a McDonald's for a bite of this unique seasonal pie.

Although the pineapple is indigenous to South America, many countries in Southeast Asia are top pineapple producers. This includes China and the Philippines where you will find pineapple pies on McDonald's dessert menu. And yes, pineapple pie has been known to pop up on occasion in Hawaii, too, but for everyone located in the rest of the U.S., it is a long trip to indulge their taste buds.

And indulgent it is. According to AndNowUKnow, when the pineapple pie made an appearance in the Malaysian market, McDonald's boasted, "Every mouthful is an unbelievable mix of sweet and zesty pineapple chunks enveloped in our crispy pie crust, absolutely yum!"

With chunks of fresh pineapple used in the warm pie filling, these pineapple pies are both a satisfying snack and a great way to end your meal. Is there a more delicious way to transport your mind to the tropics?

Modern American culture tends to associate pies with something sweet, such as fruit, pudding, cream, and other sugary treats. But in many other countries, pies are often savory. And if the pie filling is corn (also called maize), you get a bit of both.

Corn is a grain that's high in starch and sugar. They don't call it sweet corn for nothing! But it also has many health benefits. So why not turn it into a pie? Corn pies have appeared at McDonald's locations in Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea.

A reviewer of the pie on Tripadvisor said that the crispy fried crust was the only dessert-like part of this pie. The filling "tasted like canned cream corn." And while they were glad that they gave the unique pie a try, it was not an experience they planned on repeating, calling it "one and done." But for fans of creamed corn, this could be a real treat!

Remember what we just said about savory pies? A hand pie, such as the kind you find at McDonald's, is like a handheld meal in one. How convenient is that? Enter Thailand's chicken lasagna pie, a true fast food meal.

Chunks of chicken, champignon mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce are all blended together and wrapped in a crispy fried pastry crust. The contrast between the textures of the crust and the soft filling is truly satisfying. This one is perhaps better compared to a calzone than a pie, but either way, it's easy to eat when you are on the go. Just don't burn your fingers or mouth.

You might expect a combination like this to pop up in lasagna's homeland — Italy — or elsewhere in the Western World. But Thailand features often on our list, so we can only assume that the Land of Smiles really loves its hand pies!

Here is another savory pie that sounds pretty darn delicious to us. Beef stew is a wonderful comfort food to warm up the body during cold weather. This is why McDonald's Japan releases its beef stew pie for December and January. Small cuts of beef were slow-cooked with potatoes and carrots in fond de veau, a special French veal stock, for a richer flavor. Customers could order a beef stew pie at any time of day, including as a hearty breakfast.

The ad campaign for this pie was "pie wa ai da," or in English, "pie is love." According to Japan Today, the pie sleeves themselves each had one of five different phrases printed on them: "That is not just sweetness," "Cooling off is scary," "Love is overflowing," "Enveloped tenderly," and "Careful not to burn yourself." Each phrase was also followed by, "Pie is love."

Is it too much to ask that McDonald's share the pie love with the United States?

Now let us hop back over to the sweet side for a moment as we travel once again to Singapore and talk about the amazing tropical goodness that is McDonald's mango passion fruit pie. Passion fruit is another indigenous South American fruit whose cultivation has spread to tropical climates across the globe. Mangoes are native to South Asia and found in many regional desserts, so it isn't surprising to find them baked into a pie in Singapore.

The jam-like pureed mango and passionfruit filling contained within a crispy pastry crust is pure satisfaction. The mango offers sweetness while the passion fruit brings a little bit of tart to the tongue. Each fruit tempers the other.

Singapore's mango passion fruit pie made its debut on January 1, 2020, just in time to ring in the new year. However, we think this would make a refreshing and delicious summer treat as well.

In many European countries, cheese is commonly served as a dessert course. So whether or not you consider a cheese hand pie to be a dessert or a meal will probably depend on your cultural background.

McDonald's Pay De Queso, or cheese pie in English, is probably more accessible to people in the U.S. You can find it on the Golden Arches' menus in Panama, Costa Rica, and just across the U.S. border in Mexico. It has the same sweet, flaky pastry crust as the apple pie, but it is filled with melted cheese.

ToddsMexico on YouTube described the cheese as tasting sweet and being like a "liquidy cream cheese." They also compared the taste to a Portuguese egg tart (which, for the record, does not contain cheese). "I could get hooked on this," one of the pair concluded. "One thing's for sure: It's a lot more interesting than an apple pie."

We aren't just talking about any one chocolate pie here. McDonald's has released multiple takes on a chocolate pie outside of the U.S.

Japanese McDonald's regularly sees the return of its popular Belgian chocolate pie. The brown crust is chocolate flavored, and the dark filling is like a rich chocolate pudding. South Korean McDonald's has the molten chocolate pie, which also has a chocolate pastry crust and chocolate filling. McDonald's in Singapore has a chocolate pie that, like the others, has a chocolate crust and is filled with "molten chocolate goodness," per the paper sleeve that it is served in.

One Instagrammer called the Singaporean chocolate pie "a really satisfying snack." They added that, speaking as a chocolate lover, "the thickness of the chocolate fudge inside the pie checks all the boxes." Another person who posted to Instagram admitted that it is "RICH, but not too sweet," which was something that they appreciated.

If chocolate is not your thing, but you still appreciate a rich dessert, consider a trip Down Under to try McDonald's crème brûlée pie. Crème brûlée is French for "burnt cream," and it's a simple dessert comprised of custard topped with caramelized sugar.

In the summer of 2022, Australians saw the crème brûlée pie added to their local Macca's menu. The fried pastry shell contains two different flavors of custard to mimic the taste of crème brûlée: Vanilla and caramel. The pie could also be ordered in McFlurry form, blended with vanilla ice cream, and topped with caramel sauce.

While some who tried it reported to Twitter that it was a bit too sweet for their tastes, one reviewer tweeted, "Macca's crème brûlée pie actually slaps." One user was so excited to find the new pie on the menu that they ordered it for breakfast!

For a limited time, McDonald's Japan also carried a crème brûlée pie filled with custard and caramel sauce.

That's right, banana pie. And we don't mean banana cream pie, which many readers are likely familiar with. This is just banana pie. Similar to the iconic McDonald's apple pie, the bananas are baked, mashed, flavored with a little bit of cinnamon, then encased in the fried pastry shell people outside the U.S. are accustomed to. You can frequently find banana pies on McDonald's menus in Malaysia and Singapore.

For a nice twist, McDonald's Taiwan has offered Chocolate Banana "Double Stuffing" Pies. The crispy crust for this pie is chocolate, like the chocolate pies that we mentioned above. And like the aforementioned crème brûlée pie, there are two different fillings, one chocolate and one banana. However, this banana looks more like a flavored custard than baked bananas.

Whether they're served alone or paired with chocolate, bananas make a fine pie filling, and we wish we could try both of these varieties!

Not only do we come back to savory pies with this one, but we are also returning to Japan. McDonald's bacon potato pie has appeared on and disappeared from Japanese menus since 1990. And, according to its ads, the flavor has remained just as delicious all this time. In Japan, this pie is a real favorite among Makudo devotees! One fan tweeted that they wished it would stick around forever — especially since bacon and potatoes are available year-round.

Like the previously mentioned beef stew pie, this one sounds like a cozy way to warm up on a cold day. And it struck us as also a bit stew-like because so many potato soup recipes call for bacon. The creamy pie filling is made up of pillowy potatoes, little bits of bacon, and onions for added flavor, making this another meal-in-one. Although one person on Twitter posted that it was so good, they couldn't stop at just one.

Malaysia offers another savory option in the form of chicken rendang pie. Rendang is one of many curries from around the world made from meat (in this case chicken), coconut milk, and a blend of several different spices and seasonings.

Unlike the rest of the pies on this list, the chicken rendang pie is made using the same type of crust that is also used to make curry puffs. In fact, one reviewer on Instagram said of the pie's flavor, "It's kinda like a curry puff." You can tell you are getting something different based on looks alone. The crust looks crispy rather than crunchy.

Reactions on Twitter ran from it's good to it's just okay. Some reviewers felt it was overpriced. Rebecca Saw recommended getting a real curry puff from somewhere else. In her opinion, Ikea was preferable to McDonald's. Even so, we'd love to at least have the option to not like it in the U.S.

This one sounded so good, we couldn't just lump it in with the other regular chocolate pies. In 2018, McDonald's Malaysia released a salted caramel and chocolate pie. Half of the traditional crispy pastry crust was filled with what looked like a chocolate custard while the other half was filled with salted caramel. McDonald's website described the new dessert pie as "truly a delight!"

Many people took to Instagram to express their joy. One fan of the dual-flavored dessert wrote, "If you have a choice of two things and can't decide, take both." Another reviewer was impressed by the pie's ability to keep both flavors from mixing together. They added, "The caramel portion stood out the most with its strong buttery vanilla taste. The chocolate was also really decadent, and you just can't stop eating at it until it's all gone."

Salted caramel and chocolate treats have been popular in the U.S. for a while now. So how about bringing this one to the American market, McDonald's?

McDonald's abroad has actually made a few different versions of the cookies and cream pie, and we'll gladly take any one of them.

In Malaysia and Hong Kong, McDonald's partnered with Oreo to create an Oreo brand cookies and cream pie. The chocolate pie crust was filled with sweet cream to offer that genuine Oreo flavor. Inside, there are two different kinds of filling. One is a lightly colored cream, like the filling of a sandwich cookie.

McDonald's Japan took a different approach to this classic combo. The pastry shell appears to be the same fried pastry shell most McDonald's customers are familiar with but in the shape of a triangle. Inside looks like a cream with chunks of chocolate cookie inside. However, there is no indication of this pie being affiliated with the Oreo brand.

Those who tried one or the other of these pies recommended eating them while they were still warm, guaranteeing a satisfyingly gooey center.