Love it or loathe it, there's no denying that McDonald's is fast food royalty. For decades now, it's fed millions of customers every single day with its iconic lineup of burgers and superbly salty fries. While Ronald McDonald's empire today stretches as far as China, Brazil, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia, the U.
S. remains its biggest market, with over 85% of American households dropping by McDonald's at least once per year. But what are we actually eating when we visit the golden arches? The McDonald's menu has changed a fair amount over the years.
For one thing, the inaugural McDonald's sold barbecue for nearly a decade before it underwent a refresh and became the burger joint that brought businessman Ray Croc into the fold. New items have come and gone since, with its best-sellers becoming some of the most famous dishes in the fast food game. It's easy to assume that the likes of the Big Mac and french fries are the most popular food items at McDonald's, given the fact that they've become almost synonymous with the business.
McDonald's doesn't release the exact sales data for each individual menu item, but we've dug into the facts and statistics available to figure out which items have racked up the highest numbers over the years. From Happy Meals to the McRib and every tasty, carbohydrate-laden morsel in between, here are some of the best-selling food items in McDonald's history. Fries Was there ever any doubt whether fries would appear in a list of McDonald's best-sellin.