What is Potassium Sorbate?

McDonald's Hamburger: Complete Nutrition Review

This simple yet highly popular single patty hamburger is made with 100% beef. One McDonald’s hamburger has 250 calories, 9 grams fat, 30 grams carbohydrates, and 12 grams protein.

Read this complete guide for a detailed overview of the nutritional information, calories, ingredients, and allergens in the hamburger.

McDonald’s Hamburger Nutritional Information

Nutritional information is presented in this guide based on a single serving measured as one hamburger.

Daily Value

Daily value (%DV) indicates the amount of a specific nutrient in burger, relative to the recommended daily limit. Use %DV to compare and balance food choices based on your dietary goals.

As shown in the chart below, McDonald’s hamburger has a medium level of saturated fat, but is high in sodium.

Serving size: 1 Burger

% DAILY VALUE

Use %DV to determine if the level of nutrients in a food is low (5% or less) or high (20% or more).

	%DV	Level
Saturated Fat	17%	MED
Sodium	22%	HIGH
Added Sugars	9%	MED

%DV based on 2,000 calories

Calories

There are 250 calories in a single hamburger.

Here is a summary of calories by macronutrient, per serving:

80 calories from fat
120 calories from total carbs
50 calories from protein

Carbohydrates contribute the highest proportion (48%) of the total calories. Dietary fats makes up another 32% of the total calories and the remaining 20% is from protein.

McDonald’s Hamburger

% calories from fat, carbs and protein

calories from fat

32%

calories from carbS

48%

calories from Protein

20%

The breakout of calories by nutrient is a rounded estimate based on the nutrition facts label provided by McDonald’s. Calories may vary by location, as a result of how it’s prepared, or due to additional topping choices.

ESTIMATED FITNESS TIME TO BURN 250 CALORIES

Walk 1 hour 20 minutes
Play Golf (with cart) 1 hour
Cycle 20 minutes

Learn more about fast food menu options. Review the nutritional value of a classic hamburger from Burger King and Whataburger’s hamburger.

McDonald's hamburger with summary list of nutrients.

Fat, Sodium, Cholesterol

Each serving of the hamburger has 9 grams of total fat, including 3.5 grams of saturated fat.

Saturated fat contributes approximately 35 calories (13% of total calories per serving).

McDonald’s hamburgers are made with zero trans fat.

Sodium

One hamburger contains 510 milligrams of sodium, 22% of the recommended limit per day.

According to the U.S. FDA, consumers can use the % daily value to determine whether the food item contains a low, moderate, or high level of specific nutrients.

As general guidance, a daily value of 20% or greater is considered high.

Dietary Cholesterol

There are 30 milligrams of dietary cholesterol in one hamburger. That’s a 9% daily value.

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving: 1 Hamburger

Red indicates %DV is high.

Calories

250

		%DV
Total Fat	9g	11%
Saturated Fat	3.5g	17%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	30mg	9%
Sodium	510mg	22%
Carbohydrates	30g	11%
Dietary Fiber	1g	5%
Total Sugars	5g
Added Sugars	5g	9%
Protein	12g

%DV based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calorie needs vary and your %DV may be higher or lower. Provided for informational purposes only. Consult with your physician for dietary or healthcare advice.

Check McDonald’s menu with prices and nutrition

Hamburger Ingredients and Allergens

McDonald’s pickles contain potassium sorbate, an artificial preservative.
Hamburger bun is made with pea protein.

What’s on a McDonald’s Hamburger?

McDonald’s classic hamburger is made with a 100% pure beef patty seasoned with salt and pepper. The beef burger includes a tangy pickle, chopped onions, ketchup, and mustard.

If you would like a slice of melty American cheese, order a McDonald’s cheeseburger.

Here is the complete list of ingredients in McDonald’s Hamburger. We present the list of ingredients for the hamburger bun, beef patty, ketchup, mustard, and pickles.

Ingredients

Beef Patty

100% Pure USDA inspected Beef prepared with Salt and Black Pepper

Hamburger Bun

Enriched Flour, Water, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Salt, Dextrose, Corn Starch, Modified Food Starch, Wheat Gluten, Vinegar, Vegetable Proteins (pea, potato, rice, and/or faba), Sunflower and/or Canola Oil, Maltodextrin, Natural Flavors, and Dough Conditioners.

Enriched Flour includes wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid.
Dough Conditioners include one or more of the following: enzymes, ascorbic acid, and monoglycerides.

Ketchup

Tomato Concentrate From Red Ripe Tomatoes, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water, Salt, and Natural Flavors.

Mustard

Distilled Vinegar, Water, Mustard Seed, Salt, Turmeric, Paprika, and Spice Extractive.

Food

Cucumbers, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Alum, Potassium Sorbate (preservative), Natural Flavors, Polysorbate 80, and Extractives of Turmeric (color).

Check the ingredients in a Steak ‘n Shake Bacon & Cheese Steakburger.

Potassium Sorbate is an inorganic, chemical additive used as a preservative in foods and drinks. It’s an odorless salt that is manufactured from sorbic acid and potassium hydroxide.

The purpose of using potassium sorbate is to inhibit the growth of molds, yeast, and fungi to increase the shelf life of processed foods.

This additive is used in the production of juices, cheese, pickles, ice cream, wine, and yogurt, as well as many other food products and pet food..

Allergens

The hamburger is made with ingredients that contain soy and wheat. The bun may also contain sesame.

Check the allergen guide for McDonald’s menu

McDonald's cheeseburger with text listing ingredients. — Learn more about the ingredients in a single cheeseburger.

Nutrition facts, prices, and ingredients are based on available information as of the date of publication. Restaurants and food manufacturers may change recipes or formulations without notice. Check package labels and ask the product manufacturer or restaurant for the most up-to-date information. Unless otherwise stated, %DV is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. All reports and reviews published on this site are for informational purposes only. NutritionandIngredients.com does not provide healthcare advice or dietary recommendations. Always consult your licensed physician for any healthcare or dietary advice.

Nutrition facts and ingredients source: McDonald’s. Burger product image courtesy of McDonald’s fast food restaurant. MCDi46.

McDonald’s Classic Hamburger