An open box of McDonald's chicken McNuggets on a wooden table.

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For Valentine's Day 2026, McDonald's announced a limited-edition freebie that took folks by surprise: a kit that paired its ridiculously well-selling Chicken McNuggets with caviar. The bundle, which included a 1-ounce tin of McNugget Caviar, crème fraîche, a mother-of-pearl spoon, and a $25 Arch card to buy nuggets with, was available for free at McNuggetCaviar.com while supplies lasted.

While the caviar-nugget combo might have seemed unconventional at first, reviews were largely positive. Tai Gooden of Nerdist said of the experience, "I ended up eating seven of them topped with McNugget caviar and feeling incredibly fancy in my dining room. There was the immense joy of trying something so novel, paired with the heartache of knowing that this will not be on the menu because it would probably be $120." On YouTube, content creator snachwithzach enjoyed how the saltiness of the caviar and the creaminess of the crème fraîche complemented the nuggets, and even invited his dad to try them out onscreen.

Upgrading fried chicken (and by extension, chicken nuggets) with caviar isn't a brand-new idea. In 2013, Chef David Chang shared his recipe for fried chicken and caviar with Vogue. Briny caviar provides an appealing counterpoint to the richness of fried foods, creating a delicious contrast while also adding little pops of texture. What made the McDonald's combo so amusing wasn't the pairing itself, but the fact that the fast food chain went much bougier than expected for Valentine's Day.

How to replicate McDonald's caviar and nuggets pairing at home

The problem with McDonald's caviar-and-nuggets combo is that few people got to try it. The promo was limited to only 750 kits, and McNuggetCaviar.com crashed moments after the offer became available. Thankfully, it isn't too difficult to get the exact same ingredients McDonald's used for the combo, but they are no longer free.

The kit came with a tin of Paramount Baerii caviar, which retails around $95 dollars for a single ounce, and crème fraîche from Vermont Creamery, costing around $6.65 for an 8-ounce tub. With a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets going for roughly $7.50 depending on the location, you're looking at spending close to $110 dollars on the components, excluding delivery costs.

If budget isn't an issue, you might want to experiment with other types of caviar instead. The taste of caviar varies depending on the type, and you may want a flavor profile that differs from the subtle, mild notes of Baerii caviar. New York City-based restaurant COQODAQ, for example, serves its Golden Nugget with Golden Daurenki caviar, which is known to have notes of dried fruit and butter. If you want something rich, nutty, and significantly more upscale, consider Marky's beluga caviar. Marky's is a high-end label sourced from a sustainable aquafarm in Florida, and the only legal beluga caviar sold in the U.S.