How many calories are in a Shamrock Shake? Let's compare it to a Big Mac

We certainly don’t want to scare you away from enjoying a Shamrock Shake this season. But for those of you who are at least semi-health conscious, knowing the Shamrock Shake calorie count might interest you. And yeah, as you’d probably expect, the numbers aren’t great. But it’s not like we’re going to be drinking several of these a day, right? Right…?

The drink is made with vanilla soft serve ice cream, so that alone might give you a good idea of the Shamrock Shake’s “nutrition” value. No hate, Shammy. We’re just here to report the facts.

McDonald’s has actually done customers a solid by listing the calorie count alongside other nutrition facts on their Shamrock Shake webpage. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and start small. A small-sized Shamrock Shake will set you back 460 calories. 120 of those calories are calories from fat.

The small serving also has 13g of total fat (21% of your Daily Value), 8g of which is saturated fats (42% DV). But there’s also 10g of protein, which is nothing to be mad at.

A medium Shamrock Shake has 560 calories, 140 of which are calories from fat. There’s 16g of total fat (25% DV), 10g of which is saturated (51% DV). And a medium serving has 12g of protein.

Finally, a large Shamrock Shake weighs in at a whopping 800 calories, 200 of which are calories from fat. It has 22g of total fat (34% DV) and almost a day’s worth of saturated fat (70% DV).

For comparison, a McDonald’s Big Mac has 560 calories and 49% DV of saturated fat. And a large order of McDonald’s World Famous Fries packs 510 calories. The fries only have 17% DV of saturated fat though, so we’re okay with gorging on them.

We say treat yourself to a Shamrock Shake no matter the calorie count. It’s arrival is pretty much a holiday, so you might as well celebrate and pick up some luck with each sip.