The McDonald’s breakfast menu is one of the best menus in the entire fast-food universe. No one is waxing poetic about the BK Croissanwich in late 2020. Part of the charm of the McDonald’s lineup is that they keep their breakfast sandwich game relatively simple. English muffins, griddles (pancake-muffin hybrids), and biscuits are simple delivery devices for sausage, ham, bacon, egg, and/or cheese (for the most part).
That means that you don’t really have to overthink which breakfast sandwich you order from McDonald’s. That’s a good thing — we all have plenty of other stuff to overthink right now.
The eleven sandwiches ranked below are all of the entries on the national menu — meaning they should be available at every McDonald’s. Of course, there are hacks and regional specialties but we’re sticking to what everyone can get right now, no questions asked. Our metric is simple: What tastes the best?
Let’s dive in!
11. Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel
Average Price: $3.29
Calories: 590
Toppings:
Toasted bagel with folded scrambled egg, two slices of American cheese, applewood smoked bacon, breakfast sauce, salted butter, and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
Look, I’m not a bagel purist but this is a one-star-out-of-five bagel. It’s not so much chewy as it’s springy. But with no flavor. Then there’s the bacon, perhaps the biggest culinary Achilles’ heel of McDonald’s menu. It’s rubbery and a pain to eat on a sandwich.
Add in the extra breakfast sauce and cheese, and this sandwich will eventually slide apart as you try and eat it.
Bottom Line:
This sandwich always seems like a good idea on paper. A BEC on a toasted bagel is a classic way to start a morning. But, here it is in the last position.
10. Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
Average Price: $4.49
Calories: 460
Toppings:
Buttermilk biscuit with folded scrambled egg, applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, salted butter, and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
McDonald’s buttermilk biscuits aren’t bad. Or, let’s put it this way, they have no business being this “meh.” With the addition of a little melty cheese, folded egg, and protein, this is an easy off-menu win.
Bottom Line:
Let’s face it, having to bite extra hard through rubbery bacon means this biscuit crumbles more easily than it should. Lose the bacon and add some Canadian bacon and this will be a winning breakfast sandwich.
9. Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles
Average Price: $4.29
Calories: 430
Toppings:
Two Griddle cakes with folded scrambled egg, applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
The McGriddle has really grown on me over the years. It’s a bit big, but you don’t really need a second sandwich if you’re ordering this. It’s hearty and satisfying, albeit on the expensive side of the price scale.
Bottom Line:
Fix your f*cking bacon, McDonald’s.
8. Sausage Biscuit with Egg
Average Price: $3.99
Calories: 530
Toppings:
Buttermilk biscuit with folded scrambled egg, sausage patty, salted butter, and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
This is a perfectly serviceable sandwich with a folded egg adding to the heft of the bite. Yet, the egg almost feels like too much for some reason.
Bottom Line:
That folded egg does really feel more like an afterthought that ends up costing you $2.30 more than a regular Sauage Biscuit. Also… where’s the cheese?
7. Sausage McGriddles
Average Price: $3.59
Calories: 430
Toppings:
Two Griddle cakes with a sausage patty and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
This is that little step up from an almost identical sandwich — the biscuit version above — that somehow gets the edge. It’s probably the note of “maple syrup” in the griddles that works nicely with the mildly spicy and very savory sausage patty, creating a bit more depth of flavor.
Bottom Line:
Do McGriddles really cost that much more to make than buttermilk biscuits? This costing $1.90 more than a Sausage Biscuit puts it below that sandwich in our book. No amount of syrup sweetness in the McGriddles can change that.
6. Sausage Biscuit
Average Price: $1.69
Calories: 460
Toppings:
Buttermilk biscuit with a sausage patty and salted butter.
Sandwich:
This is where simplicity really starts to pay off. A warm buttermilk biscuit with a single sausage patty shouldn’t be this enticing. That’s really it. Plus, the price is always right at the “under $2 per sandwich” mark.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those orders that you end up saying, “Yeah, give me a sausage biscuit too…” every single time you’re famished at the drive-thru. Still, that means it’s an add-on and not the star of the show.
And again, let’s get some damn cheese in the mix.
5. Hot ‘n Spicy McChicken Biscuit
Average Price: $3.89
Calories: 420
Toppings:
Buttermilk biscuit with spicy chicken filet and salted butter.
Sandwich:
This one sort of came out of nowhere and isn’t terrible (trust us, it could have been). It’s also brazenly simple — with just a buttered biscuit and a spicy, breaded chicken filet.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty solid but It doesn’t quite reach the heights of a Whataburger Chicken Biscuit because it’s missing that crucial dollop of honey. Still, it’s a nice change-up from all the sausage, bacon, and eggs options on this list.
4. Sausage McMuffin
Average Price: $1.49
Calories: 400
Toppings:
Toasted English muffin with a sausage patty, American cheese, and salted butter.
Sandwich:
It’s hard to argue with McDonald’s English muffin game. The toasted and buttered bread is the perfect delivery system for their breakfast sandwiches. That’s evidenced by the fact that with a sausage patty and melty American cheese it makes a perfectly serviceable one-hander.
Bottom Line:
This coming in at $1.49 makes it a very easy addition to any order. Two of these (like two McDonald’s cheeseburgers) definitely hit the spot.
3. Egg McMuffin
Average Price: $3.89
Calories: 310
Toppings:
Toasted English muffin with a fried egg, Canadian bacon, American cheese, salted butter, and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
This is a classic for a reason. It’s simple, for sure, but hits that right spot with the addition of Canadian bacon. That makes it a bit lighter than the sausage counterparts on the list but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Bottom Line:
Two Egg McMuffins and two hash browns are a solid go-to after a night out. Still, the fact that this sandwich is made (much) better by adding hash browns is what keeps it from the top spot.
2. Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles
Average Price: $4.39
Calories: 550
Toppings:
Two Griddle cakes with folded scrambled egg, sausage patty, American cheese, and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
This is probably the most filling breakfast sandwich on this list by far. The egg, sausage, cheese, and two basically mini pancakes just work together (salty and savory, who’d have thought?) and will leave you actually full, maybe a little regretful, but full nonetheless.
Bottom Line:
McDonald’s folded egg is far inferior to their fried egg. Switch them out the next time you order. It really does make this a better sandwich and would likely have propelled it to number one.
1. Sausage McMuffin with Egg
Average Price: $3.89
Calories: 480
Toppings:
Toasted English muffin with a fried egg, sausage patty, American cheese, salted butter, and clarified butter.
Sandwich:
This English muffin-based sandwich hits all the marks exactly. It’s filling yet not overblown. The right egg is used. The sausage patty still shines. There’s just enough cheese.
Bottom Line:
This is well-priced. You only need one, really. And it doesn’t need anything added or taken away. It’s a winner.