The McDonald's Menu Hack For A Savory Veggie Big Mac

Abiding by a meat-free lifestyle does not mean you must give up your love of McDonald's. In fact, one industrious TikTok user has found a way to score a meatless feast while also ensuring the meal is as fulfilling and tasty as possible. According to the short clip, customers can indulge in a veggie Big Mac by ordering the sandwich sans meat, then replacing the burger patties with two hash browns.

One commenter was taken by the meat-free hack, exclaiming, "That looks amazing!!!" The combination of classic Big Mac ingredients (sesame seed-accented buns, special sauce, lettuce, onion, pickles, and American cheese) with crisp hash browns is quite intriguing, much like throwing some wayward French fries on your burger. As for logistical concerns related to this hack, a caption on the video recommends ordering your veggie meal at 10:55 a.m. to ensure that all menu items are available. Keep in mind that breakfast hours vary at McDonald's locations, so you'll have to be a bit crafty when attempting the veggie Big Mac hack.

While you should check with your nearest McDonald's location for its exact breakfast hours, Today offers some insight. Most establishments begin serving breakfast at opening, which is generally 5 a.m. That means customers can start ordering breakfast foods, including hash browns, as soon as the restaurant unlocks its doors. As for breakfast end times, most locations stop serving breakfast between 10:30 and 11 a.m., at which point the lunch menu becomes available.

@mcdonaldschirpfoods

Vegetarian Menu hack! Note: hashbrowns are only served till 11am so you will have to be strategic to get this!Secret time of the day to get this order is 10:55am! #mcdonaldsmenuhack #mcdonaldsecrets #mcdonaldssecrectmenu #mcdonalds #mcdonaldsmenu #mcdonaldscanada #yyccalgary #fyp #foryoupage #fypシ #fypage #yycrestaurants #calgaryalberta #bigmac #vegetarianmcdonalds #mcdonaldsmanager

♬ I Think I Like When It Rains – WILLIS

Which brings you to the second part of the puzzle: when can you officially begin ordering from the lunch menu? As with breakfast times, the rules vary from location to location. On a Reddit thread discussing the chain's lunch hours, conflicting information abounds. One commenter claims that the official changeover happens at 10:30 a.m. at their McDonald's, but that a customer was once able to snag an order of McNuggets as early as 10 a.m. Another person claims their McDonald's was "firm" about offering lunch only after the official start time.

If you happen to miss the cutoff and are unable to score a veggie Big Mac for lunch, you may be wondering what other meatless menu items you can enjoy. In this case, your options may be limited due to McDonald's lack of a vegetarian/vegan menu.

An FAQ page on the McDonald's site references the lack of a vegetarian breakfast menu, but the chain lists its fruit and maple oatmeal as one possibility. It also recommends requesting a breakfast sandwich without meat, but keep in mind that virtually all sandwiches at the chain contain some combination of meat, eggs, and cheese. It's true that some vegetarians allow for certain dairy products in their diets, but for those who abstain, the vegetarian breakfast sandwich will be little more than toasty bread.

The vegetarian lunch and dinner options are even bleaker at the chain. Unlike Burger King and its Impossible Whopper, McDonald's does not offer a plant-based burger option, at least in the U.S. (diners in the U.K. can order a McPlant, which features a patty made from Beyond Meat). The chain doesn't even offer salads, which were stricken from the menu along with other healthy offerings in response to the pandemic, as explained by Fortune. In terms of sides, fries and apple slices are safe options for people on plant-based diets, but they hardly make up a filling meal. Based on these factors, fast food lovers in search of meat and dairy-free menu items may want to expand their horizons beyond the Golden Arches.