• by Todd Wasserman , Staff Writer, April 18, 2023

McDonald’s is updating its burgers with a softer bun, more melted cheese, white onions on the patties and more Big Mac sauce, the company announced on Monday.

After launching in Australia, Canada and Belgium, the updated burgers are making their way to the U.S. this year. McDonald’s has already introduced them in such West Coast U.S cities as Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Denver.

The new burgers will be in all McDonald’s in the U.S. by 2024. “We found that small changes, like tweaking our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, added up to a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever," said chef Chad Schafer, senior director of culinary innovation, McDonald’s USA, in a the announcement.

Reaction on social media has been mixed. “It’s about time? McDonald’s is UPGRADING ITS BIG MAC, DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER AND CHICKEN SANDWICHES. first in some cities then nationally by 2024!" one user on Twitter wrote.

Another tweeted that, "McDonald’s making tweaks to its classic burgers Good luck with this. You can’t get the shake machines to work on the south side.”

The changes follow other  upgrades at McDonald’s. In 2018, it announced it had switched to fresh beef for its Quarter Pounders. In 2021, it launched a crispy chicken sandwich, replacing previous versions.

The move comes as the sales at stores open at least 13 months in the U.S. jumped 5.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022, rising 10.3% for the whole year.