McDonald’s Canada World Taste Tour promotion is now on featuring 5 new limited-time menu items. The new items take on Chinese, Italian, Australian, French and Mexican influences and include breakfast, lunch/dinner and dessert items. I recently reviewed the McDonald’s Chinese Szechuan Burger and this time I try the Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich (available July 2 to July 15). Here’s are my thoughts on this feature sandwich.
Note: This is NOT a sponsored post. The food was not complimentary. This review is done anonymously.
Description
According to the company, the Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich is made with breaded seasoned chicken raised on Canadian farms. The chicken patty is topped with a pesto aioli sauce, shaved parmesan, fresh arugula, a slice of tomato and then sandwiched between a toasted focaccia bun sprinkled with rosemary.
Appearance
The actual sandwich I received looked reasonably similar to the promotional photo of the sandwich. It was definitely less far off than the McDonald’s Chinese Szechuan Burger.
Taste Test
To start, the rosemary focaccia bun was acceptably rich, chewy and crisp. The bun could be better with more toasting. The rosemary was subtle and not too overpowering. The chicken patty used in Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich is the same one used for the McChicken. I determined this as McDonald’s had noted the chicken as “McChicken Portion” in the ingredients list for this sandwich on their website. You can expect the usual processed chicken taste as the McChicken. The Pesto Aioli Sauce was pretty good but I thought that the sandwich could use more of it. Although the sandwich has arugula, I could not taste much of the sharp, bitter flavour. I think this could be made better at the sandwich shops near me, to be honest.
Nutrition
The McDonald’s Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich has 590 calories, 33 grams of fat, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 21 grams of protein and 1010 mg of sodium. From the nutrition standpoint, it is quite similar to the McDonald’s Chinese Szechuan Burger.
Price
The sandwich is $5.99 on its own or you can make it a meal for $9.48.
Verdict on McDonald’s Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich
I thought the Pesto Chicken Sandwich was pretty good in general and I liked it more than the McDonald’s Chinese Szechuan Burger. If it were on the regular menu, I wouldn’t mind ordering it once in a while if I feel like a more jazzed up version of a McChicken. Rating: 3.75/5
Related: McDonald’s Chinese Szechuan Burger