McRib Returns Oct. 27, 2026: Cities, Dates and Calories

The McRib is back, at least in some places. McDonald's is bringing its boneless barbecue pork sandwich back for a limited time starting Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, the chain told USA Today. But this is not a nationwide release: the McRib is returning at select restaurants in select cities, and McDonald's is telling customers to check its app. "McRib" passed 200,000 U.S. searches on Google Trends in the past two days, with fans searching "McRib returns" and "McDonald's McRib." Here is where to find it and what to know.

What we know

McDonald's confirmed to USA Today that the McRib would start appearing regionally on Oct. 27 in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas. The chain also confirmed St. Louis, Seattle and Cleveland, the New York Post reported. McDonald's teased the news on X on Oct. 22 with the post: "are u a McRib bc ur really playing hard to get."

Sources: USA Today; New York Post; Delish.

Early sightings

Some areas were getting the McRib even before Oct. 27. Columbus, Ohio, and the Pittsburgh area were expected to get it on Monday, Oct. 26, according to The Columbus Dispatch and KDKA Radio, as cited by USA Today.

Fans also track the sandwich on the McRib Locator website. As of Oct. 26, users had reported buying a McRib in more than a dozen places, USA Today said, including Bakersfield and San Diego in California, Corpus Christi and San Antonio in Texas, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon. The New York Post also listed reports from Charlotte, North Carolina, Scottsdale, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas. Earlier in the week, USA Today's Oct. 22 report listed purchases reported on the site in Kearney, Nebraska; Overland Park, Kansas; Oxford, Mississippi; Acworth, Georgia; and Bonita and Clovis, California. People have also reported seeing the sandwich in other cities without submitting receipts, USA Today noted. Those are crowd-sourced reports, so check the app before you go.

Also returning in the U.K.

The McRib is not only coming back in the U.S. The New York Post, citing The Independent, reported that the sandwich is due to return to McDonald's restaurants in the United Kingdom at the end of October after a nearly decade-long absence.

Earlier than usual

This year's return comes sooner than usual. In 2025, the McRib returned to some markets in mid-November, and in 2024 McDonald's brought it back nationwide in late November, USA Today reported.

What is the McRib?

The McRib is a seasoned boneless pork patty shaped to look like a rack of ribs, topped with barbecue sauce, slivered onions and dill pickles on a long bun. According to USA Today, the patty is made from pork, water, salt, dextrose and rosemary extract.

McRib calories and nutrition

McDonald's lists these figures, as reported by USA Today (percent daily values based on a 2,000-calorie diet):

• Calories: 520 (26% of daily value)
• Total fat: 28 g (35%)
• Total carbohydrates: 46 g (17%)
• Protein: 24 g (48%)

A short history of the McRib

The McRib was created by McDonald's executive chef René Arend, who also developed Chicken McNuggets in 1979, with help from meat-restructuring research by University of Nebraska professor Roger Mandigo, USA Today reported. It debuted in Kansas City in 1981 and went nationwide in 1982.

Arend said in a 2010 Maxim interview, quoted by the New York Post, that the sandwich came about because McNuggets were so popular that there was not enough chicken to supply every franchise. "So the McRib came about because of the shortage of chickens," he said, adding that pulled pork sandwiches he ate in Charleston, South Carolina, inspired the flavor.

The sandwich left the menu in 1985 because of low sales, came back in 1989 and stayed until 2005, the Post reported. It returned on a limited basis from 2007 to 2012, and has made brief annual appearances since 2014. In 2022, McDonald's announced a "Farewell Tour" for the McRib, complete with commemorative merchandise, but the sandwich came back in 2023, 2024 and 2025, Delish noted. This year's return is its fourth since that announcement.

Tips for finding a McRib

• Use the app. McDonald's says the app shows whether a nearby restaurant has the McRib on the menu.
• Check more than one location. Because the release is regional and restaurant by restaurant, one location may have it while another nearby does not.
• Look at the fan tracker. The McRib Locator site collects purchase reports, but they are crowd-sourced, not official.
• Know the fan favorites. One Instagram commenter quoted by Delish said they always ask for extra onions and extra sauce.

What's next

1. More cities. Delish reported that additional locations may join the lineup. The McDonald's app is the most reliable way to check.
2. How long it lasts. McDonald's has not said when this run ends. It is billed as a limited-time offer, so availability could change quickly at individual restaurants.
3. Fall food news. Planning a Halloween party? See our Halloween 2026 spending and safety guide, and check the Kayem hot dog and bacon recall before your next cookout.

The bottom line

The McRib returns on Oct. 27, 2026, earlier than in recent years but only at select restaurants. Check the McDonald's app, and expect the usual barbecue sauce, onions and pickles at 520 calories.