Rating: 5
Author: Bill Kuchman

Oh boy, do I have an exciting one for you today. Snackology is heading into the weekend with the news that the Shamrock Shake — and its newer sibling, the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry — are back for 2026.

And there’s a chance you can find them early.

The seasonal duo don’t officially hit McDonald’s until next week, with the fast food chain bringing the frozen treats back on Tuesday, exactly one month before St. Patrick’s Day. I was doing what any normal person might be doing on a Thursday evening last night, and I happened to see in the McDonald’s app that one location near me had both the Shamrock Shake and the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry available.

I punched in an order, abandoned my family and drove to McDonald’s and secured this precious St. Patrick’s Day cargo. Uncle O’Grimacey would be proud.

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What they cost

I paid $4.19 for a medium Shamrock Shake and $4.59 for a regular-sized Oreo Shamrock McFlurry.

My thoughts

I’m not going to tell you how much of the Shamrock Shake and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry I consumed for this review. Let’s just say it was enough. Look, you’re not my doctor. That’s none of your business.

Shamrock Shake

I’ve been enjoying Shamrock Shakes long enough to remember a time when I’m pretty sure they weren’t actually minty, instead just being a green vanilla milkshake. Am I making that up? That was real, right?

But now the Shamrock Shake is fancy. They put whipped cream on it like you’re not just sucking down a green milkshake. (A delicious green milkshake.) I feel like I even once got a Shamrock Shake that had a cherry on top of it, which felt way too prestigious.

The Shamrock Shake is a tried and true member of the fast food dessert pantheon. There’s a reason McDonald’s brings it back every year, heralding its return with a promotional fanfare that most menu items can only dream of getting. (There’s a reason competitors like Wendy’s have dreamed up their own minty desserts for this time of year too.) There’s no way I’d ever give the Shamrock Shake anything but a perfect Snack Score.

Snack Score

Shamrock Shake

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 (5 out of 5)

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Oreo Shamrock McFlurry

The Oreo Shamrock McFlurry has been a part of McDonald’s St. Patrick's Day lineup since 2020. It’s a pretty obvious addition to the menu when you think about it. (True story: I once tried to get a McDonald’s to add Shamrock syrup to an M&M’s McFlurry. It didn’t go well.)

Unlike the Shamrock Shake, though, the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry has a lot of moving pieces. The ice cream base. The Oreo crumbles. The Shamrock syrup. It’s very easy for the ratios to be off. Or — if you’re like me last year — to get a McFlurry that McDonald’s didn’t even both McFlurry-ing.

That thankfully wasn’t an issue for me this season. My Oreo Shamrock McFlurry was perfect. All the right ingredients. Thoroughly McFlurry’d. It was so well done that it didn’t even occur to me that it possibly might not have been. My full compliments to the McFlurry technicians working at my McDonald’s last night. Fantastic job all around.