At first glance, the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal at McDonald’s looks like a healthy breakfast. Oatmeal, after all, is rich in fiber and can help lower cholesterol levels, making it a heart-friendly choice. The dish also includes a portion of diced apples, which are rich in antioxidants, along with a cranberry-raisin blend that could protect against free radicals and improve your digestion. Ironically, though, it’s one of the McDonald’s menu items you should avoid ordering — and it’s all because of its sugar content.
According to the McDonald’s Nutrition Calculator, the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal contains 31 grams of sugar, which is the equivalent of nearly 7.5 teaspoons. To put that into perspective, the American Heart Association recommends that men eat no more than 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day, and that women eat no more than 6 teaspoons. To put it another way, one serving of McDonald’s oatmeal contains more sugar than two servings of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes.
It should come as no surprise that close to half of the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal’s sugar content comes from the cranberry and raisin mix. Dried fruit is notoriously more sugary than fresh fruit on a pound-for-pound basis, since removing the moisture concentrates sugars. The cranberry raisin blend in McDonald’s Fruit & Maple Oatmeal contains 14 grams of sugar — equivalent to more than 3 cups of fresh cranberries. If you’re trying to watch your sugar intake, you’re better off ordering something else for breakfast.
The better breakfast alternatives at McDonald’s
The fruit & maple oatmeal isn’t even the most sugary breakfast you can order at McDonald’s. That distinction goes to their hotcakes and sausage, which contains 46 grams of sugar. Things get better if you take it easy on the syrup; a full serving of the sweet stuff has 33 grams of sugar. If you avoid ordering it with the maple entirely, you’re looking at 12 grams of sugar, or just under 2 teaspoons.
If you absolutely need something sweet for breakfast, your safest bet is a McGriddle. Both the bacon and sausage versions of the sandwich contain 15 grams of sugar, with 14 of those found in the griddle cakes. Those trying to be mindful of their cholesterol and sodium can go with the bacon, egg, & cheese McGriddle — at 215 milligrams of cholesterol and 1230 milligrams of sodium, it just barely edges out the sausage version as the healthier option. Of course, you could reduce the sugar even more by replicating the McGriddle at home and limiting how much you add.
The sausage burrito is probably your best option if you’re trying to limit your sugar intake as much as possible. The whole thing contains only 2 grams of sugar, with half of that coming from the tortilla. The sausage filling also includes eggs, tomatoes, green chiles, and onions, so while it may not be the best-ranked breakfast sandwich at McDonald’s, it’s a little more balanced than the other items.
