McDonald’s is joining the fall coffee rush without a drop of pumpkin. The chain’s new seasonal McCafe flavor, Caramel Apple Pie, rolled out nationwide on August 18 for a limited time, in Frappes, hot and iced lattes, and iced coffee.
Part of our Fall Food and Drinks 2026 guide.
“Step aside pumpkin spice, there’s a new flavor in town,” McDonald’s says in announcing the drink.
What’s in It
The Caramel Apple Pie coffees blend apple and caramel flavors with McDonald’s coffee, then finish with salted caramel flavored whipped cream and crumbled apple pie bits on top. The limited-time lineup comes as a blended Caramel Apple Pie Frappe, a hot latte, an iced latte, and an iced coffee, with the lattes available in any size.
The Anti-Pumpkin Corner of Fall
McDonald’s is not the only brand steering around pumpkin this season. Philz Coffee skipped it entirely for apple cinnamon and pecan pie cold brews, and Paris Baguette built a whole caramel apple collection alongside its pumpkin one. Caramel apple is shaping up as the season’s main pumpkin alternative, even as the pumpkin wave rolls on at Starbucks and Einstein Bros.
How to Get It
The Caramel Apple Pie lineup is on the McCafe menu at participating McDonald’s nationwide for a limited time. McDonald’s has not said how long it will stick around, so the window is open now.
