SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

TOP

» Japan
» McDonald’s Japan hack: What happens when you put an apple pie inside a Big Mac?

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

McDonald’s Japan hack: What happens when you put an apple pie inside a Big Mac?

Oona McGee Feb 11, 2026
Tweet

This could be the best idea in the world…or the worst.

Our reporters are always looking for new ways to spice up their lives, so when our McDonald’s-loving reporter P.K. Sanjun found himself browsing the usual menu items at the chain for the umpteenth time, a thought suddenly struck him like lightning: what if he stuffed an apple pie inside a Big Mac?

▼ Always keen to put his ideas to the test, P.K. ordered one of each and then took them back to the office for a taste test.

Though it might sound like a wacky idea, there was some logic behind his thinking. Firstly, in recent years, burgers with fried, crunchy elements have been appearing at fast food joints in Japan, with French fries, croquettes and tempura being some of the most recent examples.

▼ McDonald’s even released a burger with a hash brown inside it, as part of its Dragon Quest collaboration.

Secondly, aren’t all things that combine sweetness with salt delicious? Japan’s traditional mitarashi dango sweet and Happy Turn snacks are just two such salty-sweet combos that instantly come to mind, and when you stop and think about it, there are many more examples too, like the sweet and salty McGriddle on the McDonald’s breakfast menu.

▼ Sweet, salty, and oh so delicious.

An apple pie contains both the sweetness of apples and a fantastic crunchy texture that should make it a good burger component, so P.K. felt confident that he was about to uncover a whole new realm of deliciousness with this ingenious Macca’s hack.

▼ All you have to do is remove the top bun from the Big Mac…

▼ …place the apple pie on top….

▼…and you’re done!

The prep time takes five seconds so this hack already wins points for ease and speed. Plus, it looks fantastic too, with the sweet apple filling oozing out of the pastry and over the patties like some type of sweet cheese.

▼ The big question though, was: How does it taste?

As we waited for the verdict with bated breath, we half expected P.K.’s eyes to open wide with delight as an exclamation of “Umaiiii” (“Yummmm”) escaped from his lips. However, the result was quite different, as he remained silent while staring intently at the concoction he’d just eaten.

▼ “Hmm….It’s not bad, in fact it’s delicious”, he eventually said. After a short pause, he went on to say, “But it’s not super delicious”.

P.K. is renowned for being one of our team’s most discerning food critics, so he has a high bar for taste. What might not be super delicious for him might be exactly that for someone else, so after questioning him further, he had this to say:

“Well, starting with the positives, the crunchy texture was on point, definitely as good as I’d hoped it would be, with the edges of the pie being especially nice. However, the thinner part of the pastry left a little to be desired, as the moisture made it seem as if it might’ve disappeared into the bun. I was hoping it would be crunchy all over.”

“The combination of the sweet apple and the saltiness of the Big Mac wasn’t bad either, but it just didn’t have enough of an impact to make it worthy of an “Umaiiii”! for me.”

Judging from those comments, the Apple Pie Big Mac hack wasn’t a total failure, so it’s worth trying to see how the combination sits with your palate. As for P.K., he now thinks it might be worth stuffing two apple pies in there for added crunch and sweetness, and perhaps even trying it with a saltier burger to get the best balance between flavours. After this protoype though, he’s now keen to fine-tune the hack with new burgers until he hits upon that perfect combination that makes him shout “Umaiiii”.

Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]