McDonald's Hershey's S'mores McFlurry Is Basically A Cereal McFlurry

When I was little, my very first McFlurry came from a school gathering. A classmate of mine had parents who owned a McDonald's in the area and would frequently make donations to the school. On one occasion, they brought in McFlurries for the whole class. While the exact flavor escapes me, I remember loving that the sweet treat had ice cream mixed with candies. Suffice it to say, I've always had a soft place in my heart for this sweet treat — so when the chain came out with a McFlurry flavor reminiscent of a campfire classic perfect for the summertime heat, I was eager to try it.

One evening for dinner, my family got our typical McDonald's order, plus a couple of McFlurries. Thankfully, the ice cream machine wasn't down. As part of this meal, I sampled the newest McFlurry to determine if it's better than current offerings, and if s'mores lovers need to make it a priority, even if ice cream isn't one of the top contenders for secret ingredients you should be using in your s'mores.

The Hershey's s'mores McFlurry is a mix of McDonald's smooth vanilla ice cream and a concoction of items making up something like a s'mores cereal. There are large chocolate chunks, what appear to be graham crackers, and marshmallows that reminded me of the kind of marshmallows you would get in Lucky Charms type cereal. The graham crackers had crumbled into smaller pieces, so there was texture throughout the treat.

In the ingredients listing, McDonald's specifically calls out Hershey chocolate chunks, and a few bites revealed that they tasted exactly like other Hershey's chocolate you might have had. Interestingly, the brand of grahams or marshmallows aren't listed on the menu.

These McFlurries came in paper containers with a paper closure. I remember them served in something more substantial with a spoon — the container was quite a bit different from what I received on this visit. Apparently, a lot has changed since my last McFlurry.

The s'mores regular-size McFlurry has 460 calories. It'll give you 10 grams of protein, and there's a total of 15 grams of fat. In terms of ingredients, the two basic aspects are the vanilla ice cream and s'mores mixture. Interestingly, the vanilla ice cream is labeled as vanilla reduced-fat ice cream. The s'mores mixture contains Hershey milk chocolate, graham crumbs, s'mores seasoning, and dehydrated mini marshmallows. The only brand on that list is Hershey, but honey appears under the graham crumbs, so it's reasonable to assume that those graham crumbs might actually be honey graham pieces.

For the sake of comparison, an M&M McFlurry has 570 calories, 11 grams of protein, and 19 grams of fat, so if you're looking for a lighter option that still includes chocolate candy, the small McFlurry may be a great alternative. That said, the Oreo McFlurry is the lightest of the current three flavors. It has 410 calories, 10 grams of protein, and 13 grams of fat.

Like a campfire that eventually smolders into nearly nothing, the Hershey's s'mores McFlurry is only around until August 11, just in time for back to school shopping and for buses to begin making their rounds through neighborhoods. I ordered mine in person at a kiosk at my closest McDonald's, but it can also be ordered through the app for curbside or in-store pickup.

If the s'mores McFlurry goes viral, I can imagine it becoming more difficult to get your hands on it. So if you're super set on trying all s'mores treats you can get your hands on, it's better to go in the beginning of the summer than at the end. With the August end date, it's curious the chain chose to begin the phase for the dessert before the summer technically begins (June 20) and ends far before the changing of the seasons (September 22). For something like a summer treat, ending just before the middle of August seems quick. On the other hand, you'll still be able to nab a s'mores Mcflurry when McDonald's brings back the almighty Snack Wrap on July 10, so I shouldn't complain too much.

To make sure I was getting an accurate reading, I calibrated my comparison of this McFlurry to other McFlurries by trying the M&M variety. It was exactly as I remember. Smooth vanilla ice cream with M&Ms that leave colored streaks in the ice cream, and a nice pop-up texture with each bite. It was mixed well, and had only the occasional textured bite with M&Ms, but was overall enjoyable.

The s'mores McFlurry, on the other hand, had a much more intense texture. With three different pieces mixed throughout the vanilla, there was plenty more opportunity for crunchiness. The graham cracker alone was throughout the entire treat, and the chocolate chunks — though the best part of the mixture — were more infrequent. The odd texture, though, came from the freeze-dried marshmallows. These were oddly crunchy, and not at all what I expected marshmallows to be. The texture balance was quite a bit different in the s'mores McFlurry when compared directly to the M&M one.

The part that was most surprising about this McFlurry? It was the texture of the marshmallows. Normally, marshmallows are supposed to be puffy, squishy, and have something of a slightly melty, or soon to be melted, feel. In this McFlurry, though, the marshmallows were crispy. And while the texture didn't match the idea of a marshmallow, the flavor was there. I understand trying to get the concept down, but it reminded me of when I've had s'mores flavored cereal before, and it just didn't translate. In general, it felt like a grab at the time of year in the same way that pumpkin-spice-everything shows up in the fall.

One of the best parts about a s'more is that it has a cohesive bite with all parts working in synchrony. But with the s'mores McFlurry, I quickly learned that the individual bites of the chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow weren't necessarily going to come together in the same spoonful. In more than one bite, I got one or two pieces, but rarely all three. Perhaps with more mix-ins, it would have been better, but all the flavor elements working together just wasn't present for me. Admittedly, 2024's summer special of the Kit Kat Banana Split McFlurry was a much better union of flavors.

S'mores lovers needn't rush out to try this one. Even being around for a short amount of time, I can't imagine it being terribly popular (though anything can go viral, of course). The texture was just so off, and I would've liked to have seen McDonald's add a marshmallow fluff to this rather than simply going for a freeze dried marshmallow situation. It seems like a better option would've been using a chocolate soft serve, mixing in some marshmallow fluff, and adding in graham cracker pieces as the mix-in. Instead, the vanilla ice cream takes over a majority of the flavor with the add-ins too widely dispersed.

To be honest, it feels like a halfhearted attempt at bringing s'mores flavors out for s'mores lovers. Those who have enjoyed this treat around the campfire will find little resemblance to this ice cream treat from their local McDonald's — and it's disappointing because there's so much flavor potential here.

As part of a meal with my family, I tried both an M&M McFlurry and the s'mores McFlurry. To decide whether this was a McFlurry you need to try, I based my verdict on both flavor and texture. 

The flavor needed to replicate the taste of a s'more, and the texture needed to be something that was enjoyable to eat. The texture didn't necessarily have to get into s'more territory — because that would be impossible for an ice cream treat to do — but it should be at least pleasant.