What Really Happened To McDonald's McSalad Shakers

In the spring of 2000, McDonald's launched what would prove to be a short-lived product called McSalad Shakers, a concept that involved placing a salad in a clear, lidded plastic cup. The salad came with a side of dressing designed to be mixed in and shaken up inside the container with the rest of the ingredients. The salads were available in three different options including Chef, Grilled Chicken Caesar, and Garden McSalad Shaker. It was touted as a portable and convenient fresh meal that could be eaten on the go to accommodate busy lifestyles.

However, the McSalad Shakers never really gained traction and all three version were discontinued by 2003. Sadly, the concept failed to gain a following, not producing enough sales for McDonald's to keep it on the menu. They were replaced by a more traditional salad served in a bowl. The McSalad Shakers may have earned the dubious distinction of landing on our curated list of the biggest fast food failures of all time, but that doesn't mean everyone hated them. While it may not have sold well during its brief existence, there is still a devoted group of McSalad Shaker aficionados who would like to see it make a comeback someday, and some of them have made their thoughts known on Reddit.

As recently as 2021, a Redditor posted a comment to the subreddit r/nostalgia declaring, "I think McDonald's needs to bring back the McSalad Shaker." The Redditor wasn't alone in calling for the reappraisal of the failed salad dish. Many others agreed that they enjoyed the on-the-go salads back in the day, with one user particularly expressing their fondness for the Chef Salad. As one user put it, "It really is a genius delivery method for salad on the go from a fast food joint."

Over the years, McDonald's has tried and discontinued several different menu items like the McLobster and McHotdog. (Don't even get us started on McSpaghetti). When we asked Mashed readers for a survey of McDonald's biggest fail so far, the least amount of respondents thought the McSalad Shaker was the biggest loser. So,  maybe there is hope for a limited-time return of McSalad Shakers one day. After all, McDonald's at least referenced the discontinued item in an April 2023 Twitter post: "My grandma got a Twitter just to tell me to bring back McSalad Shakers." Only time will tell if McDonald's decides to shake things up on its menu once again.