How to Reheat McDonalds Burger (Air Fryer)

Can you reheat McDonalds burger? You sure can! Learn how to reheat McDonalds burgers in the air fryer- it only takes 4 minutes! Air frying is the best way to reheat burger without a microwave. Learn all of my tips and tricks on how to reheat a burger without drying it out! Use this guide on reheating beef burgers to warm up any of your favorite fast food burgers.

I’ve been sharing how to reheat fast food this week in an effort to help reduce food waste. I feel like I’ve saved the best until last with these directions for how to reheat burger in an air fryer.

You can use what you learn here to warm up any of your favorite burger patties. That could be a Burger King Whopper, Wendy’s, In-N-Out, White Castle, Sonic, Five Guys, or Red Robin burger.

You could even reheat Maccas burger. (Psst... Macca’s is just the nickname for McDonald’s in Australia, so of course you can reheat those. Ha)

Sliders, like Krystal burgers, can also be reheated. Since the patties are smaller, they need a little less air frying time.

Cold hamburger patties aren’t the best in regards to taste. When you heat up leftover burgers the right way, they’ll be piping hot while still being moist inside.

After air frying the patties, you can reassemble your hamburger, Big Mac, or double cheeseburger. Alternatively, the patties alone make a nutritious low carb main dish.

Jump to:

• 📋 Calories, Net Carbs, Protein
• ⭐ Benefits
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 How to Reheat McDonalds Burger in an Air Fryer
• ️⏲️ Cooking Time and Temperature
• 🍔 What to Do with Leftover Hamburgers
• 💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
• FAQs
• 👨‍🍳 Other Recipes for Reheating Fast Food Leftovers
• The Disclaimer…
• 📖 Recipe

📋 Calories, Net Carbs, Protein

One McDonald’s hamburger patty has 90 calories, 0 grams net carbs, and 7 grams protein. This is for the meat only, without the hamburger bun, ketchup, mustard, onions, and pickle slices. One McDonald’s hamburger has 250 calories, 30 grams net carbs, and 12 grams protein.

⭐ Benefits

This may be surprising to you, but I consider McDonald’s burger patties to be one of the healthiest options on the McDonald’s menu. (This is especially true since the salads were removed from US McDonalds menus.) Here are some more specific benefits of McDonald’s burgers:

• Whole food: McDonald’s burgers are 100% ground beef with no fillers. (Some salt and pepper is added.) It’s currently one of the only nutritious whole food options on the menu.
• High-quality protein: Each tiny McDonald’s hamburger patty contains less than 2 ounces (57g) of cooked meat. Despite being so very small and thin, they provide 7 grams of high-quality protein each. I recommend ordering a few (2-4) if they’ll be your entrée.
• Essential vitamins and minerals: Beef is a rich source of a variety of B vitamins, including vitamin B12, as well as essential minerals such as iron and zinc. Unlike many plant sources of these minerals, the iron and zinc in beef are highly bioavailable.
• Low calorie and filling: Each McDonald’s burger patty is only 90 calories, but is packed with filling protein. If you add some veggies on the side, you can create a hearty meal that will keep you full.
• Low carb: If you’re using a low carb or keto diet for weight loss or blood sugar control in diabetes, hamburger is one of the few options for you at McDs. The burgers are also naturally gluten-free (but cross-contact issues are a potential concern).
• Delicious: Folks don’t tend to choose burgers because of their health value. Most of us love them because they’re so tasty. (And that’s a super reason to eat a food in my book!)

🥘 Ingredients

What do you need to reheat McDonald’s burgers in the air fryer? Here’s what I used:

• Mcdonalds burger patty

You’ll be able to fit 1-4 patties at a time in the air fryer. We’re only heating the patties in this recipe. We don’t want hot condiments and a soggy bun messing up our meal.

You can do what I did, and order a bunless burger, or remove McDonald’s hamburger bun and toppings at home. Scrape the condiments and cheese off with a butter knife. You can add them back after the burger is warmed up, if you choose.

I guess I should say here that I *tried* to order burger patties with nothing on them. I said I wanted no bun and no condiments, and this is what I got in my drive-thru order...

Whoops!

If I ever try this again, I might ask for the hamburger meat only, with nothing else. Or maybe I should try “no bun, no pickle, no ketchup, no onion, no mustard.”

Ordering lone burger patties is a popular fast food hack for low carbers. However, my local McD’s seemed rather confused by the whole thing.

Also, I was charged the price of a whole burger ($1.99) for each patty. That means I spent about $4 for what amounted to less than 4 ounces (113g) of cooked ground beef. It was quite expensive compared to what I pay for ground beef at the grocery store.

I’m thinking you might be able to strike a deal on the hamburger patties at one of your local fastfood joints if you ask around. It may be worth asking about if you are on a low carb diet and need the convenience of being to order fast food.

🍽 Equipment

The kitchen equipment you need to air fry leftover McDonalds burger is an air fryer. The Ninja Foodi, Philips, Instant Pot Vortex, Cosori, Nuwave, Breville, or whatever air fryer you have can reheat leftover burgers. I use (and love!) the 10-Quart Kalorik Digital Air Fryer Oven.

🔪 How to Reheat McDonalds Burger in an Air Fryer

Let’s learn how to reheat McD burgers! Remove the buns from the burgers and scrape off any toppings with a knife.

Want to know how to reheat McDonalds cheeseburger? You can follow these directions for reheating McDonalds hamburger, but you’ll need to scrape off the cheese too. (Put the cheese back on the burger before the last minute of air frying so it melts.)

It’s OK if you can’t get the condiments completely off the burger. Just do the best that you can.

Put the burger patties in a single layer on your air fryer tray or air fryer basket. If you use an air fryer oven, put the tray in the top rack position.

️⏲️ Cooking Time and Temperature

How long to reheat a burger in an air fryer? What temp to reheat a burger in an air fryer? It takes 4 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177C) to air fry leftover McDonald’s burger. There’s no need to flip the burger.

How to reheat McDonalds quarter pounder? McDonalds Quarter Pounders take slightly longer to air fry than their regular burgers. Air fry McDonalds Quarter Pounder for 5-6 minutes at 350F (177C).

How long does a fast food burger last in the fridge? Refrigerated McDonalds burgers are best eaten the same day or the next day. If you want to keep them longer, I’d put the burger patties in freezer bags and freeze them.

🍔 What to Do with Leftover Hamburgers

Looking for leftover cooked hamburger recipes? Crumble those cooked McDonald’s burgers up and use them in one of these recipes:

• Air Fryer Nachos
• Taco Bell Beefy 5-Layer Burrito Copycat
• Low Carb Keto Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Low Carb Keto Big Mac Salad Bowl

💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian

This is a level 1 recipe (may help support fat loss). Burger patties are one of the only options at McDonald’s that are not ultra-processed. They’re under 100 calories, relatively high in protein, and packed with vitamins and minerals. It is perfectly healthy for most of us to include some nutritious red meat in our diet.

One of the biggest downsides of McDonalds burgers is how small they are. When you order the patty alone, you really see what you’re getting: under 2 ounces (57 grams) of cooked beef. Most adults should order a couple patties to get adequate protein in their meal.

And if you’re reheating burgers at home, why not add some veggies to your meal? A garden salad or some air fryer frozen veggies would add fiber and vitamin C.

Having the burger with the bun and toppings almost triples the calories, largely from white flour and added sugar. Unlike the burger patty, McDonald’s burger bun does count as an ultra-processed food.

So, if burger patties are one of the best options, what is the unhealthiest thing at McDonalds? McDonald’s changes up their menu often. However, I can name an item that is consistently on menus and offers little in the way of nutrition.

That item is sugary soda pop. Soda is what is often referred to as “empty calories.” It is basically just calories from sugar.

It’s very easy to consume hundreds (or even thousands) of excess calories per day drinking soda. A soda habit is not great for your teeth either. Interestingly, the day I visited our McDonalds, they did not have soda available, and people were ordering water.

I wonder how much of a health impact it would have if all the fastfood restaurants suddenly stopped serving soda?

FAQs

👨‍🍳 Other Recipes for Reheating Fast Food Leftovers

Are you looking for more tips on reheating leftover fast food in air fryer? Here are some other articles to check out:

• Reheat McDonalds Nuggets
• Reheat McDonalds Fries
• and (for another fastfood option) Reheat Pizza in Air Fryer

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The Disclaimer…

All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.

The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.

For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to my overnight oats no sugar post. Let's get cooking!

📖 Recipe