Fast food burritos are… pretty rough. Save for a few restaurants, it’s hard to justify hitting a drive-thru instead of a local taqueria if you’re hit with a burrito craving come lunch or dinner time. But breakfast burritos? That’s a whole different story.
Breakfast burritos are at worst “solid” and at best delicious. And that’s from just about every fast food restaurant. Now granted, that’s because it’s pretty hard to f*ck up a breakfast burrito. You’re good as long as you’ve got decent eggs, some salty protein, and cheese — it’s a simple but incredibly effective combination of flavors.
Still… if you’re rolling out of bed, getting dressed, jumping in the car, and waiting in a drive-thru, solid isn’t quite enough to suffice, right? These days fast food is too expensive not to be delicious. And we want you to have only the best. So to help separate the good from the great, we’ve rounded up as many fast food breakfast burritos as we could find, taste-tested them, and ranked them.
Here are the best fast food breakfast burritos your money can buy.
10. McDonald’s — Sausage Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Okay, forget all the stuff I said about breakfast burritos being solid at worst and tough to mess up. McDonald’s is the exception. This isn’t just the worst breakfast burrito I’ve ever had, it may be the worst burrito on Earth.
The eggs are dry, with a very off-putting texture that reminds me of spider webs. Seriously, these eggs are weird. McDonald’s says it puts “green chilies,” in this burrito, but these peppers are devoid of any heat or flavor. Instead what you get is the crunch of bell pepper. The sausage is fine, it’s peppery, meaty — no notes there. But we have to talk about the cheese.
It has this plastic texture that I find particularly off-putting. If the cheese wasn’t offensive enough I’m pretty sure this tortilla is microwaved or something, it has this weird under-toasted texture and flavor.
If McDonald’s threw the peppers, onions, and tortilla on the griddle for just a few seconds, it would do a lot to improve this burrito.
The Bottom Line:
The exception to every rule about breakfast burritos always being pretty good.
Find your nearest McDonald’s here.
9. Carl’s Jr. — Loaded Breakfast Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
This burrito looks good, and the build is solid, it features sausage, ham, bacon bits, egg, hashbrowns, cheddar cheese, and pico de gallo. It doesn’t quite deliver though.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, but it leaves a lot to be desired. What works is the meat trio, the combination of sausage, ham, and bacon bits gives off a smokey, herbal, and slightly sweet flavor. The cheddar cheese, while sparse, adds a nice sharp and salty top note that pairs perfectly with the mix of meats. All the joy in this burrito is in the meat and cheese.
The eggs are just fine, they come across more like filler than anything else. The pico de gallo is a big disappointment. One of the things that makes this salsa work so well is how the flavors compound into something greater than the sum of their parts, that’s not the case here though. It never really comes together, it just makes your burrito wet.
Ultimately, it’s a good burrito that could be made significantly better by simply changing from pico de gallo to salsa (or making better pico de gallo) and switching out the bacon bits to full strips of bacon.
The Bottom Line:
A good burrito that falls short in a few key areas.
Find your nearest Carl’s Jr. here.
8. Jack in the Box — Meat Lover’s Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Jack in the Box’s Meat Lover’s Burrito features a chopped-up sausage patty, ham, bacon, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese, all wrapped in a suspiciously lukewarm tortilla. The meat combo gives a savory and salty combination of flavors, but for being called the “Meat Lovers,” there isn’t really enough meat here to satisfy.
The burrito is mostly egg, and that’s a problem. You end up wanting more than this burrito can give, which is a shame because what is here, is really good. If JiB could increase the meat by just 25%, we’d be able to rank this much higher.
The burrito is served with a side of salsa which doesn’t give off heat as much as it adds a smokey counterpart to the burrito. I appreciate that, but I would’ve preferred more of a kick.
The Bottom Line:
Not the meat monster its name would suggest.
Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.
7. Burger King — Egg-Normous Breakfast Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Burger King’s Egg-Normous burrito is… pretty f*cking big. Seriously, this thing has some weight to it and that’s probably because BK opts to put whole sausage patties in the burrito rather than just chopping them up. Weird move BK, but hey, at least this burrito isn’t lacking in meat, so who am I to complain?
In addition to the sausage patty, you’ve got strips of bacon, hash rounds, a whole lot of scrambled eggs, and a decent serving of cheddar cheese. There is also a “picante sauce,” included in the burrito, but there isn’t a palate on this planet where the flavor would register as spicy. It’s mostly tomato-forward, which isn’t a bad thing, but “picante” literally means “spicy,” so at the very least, this is false advertising.
The burrito as a whole is smokey, meaty, salty, and has a whole lot of crunch. It’s pretty damn good.
But be warned — breakfast food is supposed to give you energy to get through the day, but this one is so massive, so salty, and so indulgent, that it weighs you down. It’s the sort of burrito that makes you want to take a nap afterward.
The Bottom Line:
A big, tasty, food-coma-inducing breakfast burrito. One of BK’s best breakfast options.
Find your nearest Burger King here.
6. Sonic — SuperSONIC Breakfast Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Sonic has a pretty solid lineup of burritos but the best is the simply titled “SuperSONIC Breakfast Burrito.” The burrito features very fluffy scrambled
eggs, fried tater tots, cheddar cheese, tomato, jalapeño, onions, and sausage all wrapped up in warm tortilla. It doesn’t fall short in its build or ingredients.
The sausage and jalapeño combo provides a mix of sweet meaty and mild vegetal notes that pair nicely with the eggs. The hashbrowns provide just the right amount of crunch to keep this burrito from coming across like mush in the mouth. This is a very solid breakfast burrito, but it feels a bit tame in comparison to what landed in our top five.
The Bottom Line:
A very good but ultimately unimaginative breakfast burrito.
Find your nearest Sonic here.
5. Qdoba — Breakfast Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Because Qdoba is a sort of off-brand Chipotle with way better salsa, I had high hopes for this breakfast burrito, but it didn’t quite hit the heights I
expected of it. Let’s talk about what works.
The eggs are a perfect 10/10. They’re fluffy, but still have some moisture to them. The tortilla dunks on every other tortilla on this list. It’s pliable, with a hint of sweetness and a depth of character that tastes akin to what you’d find at your local taqueria. All of the salsa options are wonderful and complex, and actually deliver on the heat. My favorite is the fiery habanero.
And there is guacamole here, and it’s good! But the protein options miss the mark.
Your protein options include a choice between chicken, chorizo, steak, or potato and I’d like to suggest one over the other, but they all fall flat. There is a lack of flavor in all of these protein options, they come across like filler and protein in a breakfast burrito should never be filler, it should be the star of the show.
There is just something that is lacking here. All of these ingredients should combine to make something great, but for whatever reason they don’t. You can taste the lack of love put into this burrito. There is a general soulless vibe to everything Qdoba makes, and this breakfast burrito is no different.
It has no holding power. It’s not crave-able, and that’s what keeps it from being truly great.
The Bottom Line:
The burrito has some truly great components to it that never really come together like they should.
Find your nearest Qdoba here.
4. Taco Bell — Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito (Sausage)
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Taco Bell’s Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito with sausage is the polar opposite of Qdoba’s breakfast burrito. There isn’t a single ingredient in this burrito that I would describe as great. The steak is chewy and lacks the sort of char carne asada needs to be delicious. The three-cheese blend is powdery. The tomatoes are bland and watery. The hashbrowns are just fine, and the eggs are a bit dry.
Yet some kind of magic happens when all of these ingredients combine together. This burrito exudes character. It tastes like Taco Bell. It’s indulgent, salty, and incredibly satisfying and the grilled tortilla provides a nice crunch to the whole thing that is satisfying both on the palate and audibly.
Ordering this burrito with a side of green sauce really takes it to the next level, infusing each bite with a mild kick of spice and some earthy notes. I’d order this a million times before bothering with Qdoba, despite Qdoba’s vastly superior ingredients.
The Bottom Line:
An undeniably tasty breakfast burrito. The flavors probably won’t blow you away, but there isn’t a single bite of this thing that disappoints. Especially
if you’re already a massive fan of Taco Bell.
Find your nearest Taco Bell here.
3. Del Taco — Carne Asada Breakfast Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Two years back when I first ranked breakfast burritos, I gave Del Taco’s Epic Scrambler Burrito the top spot. Unfortunately, that burrito has been discontinued and all that’s left is the Del Taco Breakfast Burrito, which comes with your choice of carne asada, bacon, or no meat.
The burrito is very good, but it’s a far cry from the Epic Scrambler. What you’ve got here is a simple combination of carne asada, eggs, and freshly grated cheddar cheese. The tortilla is perfectly cooked, the eggs are fluffy and taste freshly made, and the carne asada is meaty and beefy.
It’s a solid, very tasty, no frills breakfast burrito.
The Bottom Line:
All of the components of this burrito just work, but the build is a bit unimaginative. Still, this doesn’t disappoint. Delicious, but it could be better.
Find your nearest Del Taco here.
2. Chick-fil-A — Chicken Hashbrown Scrambler
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Chick-fil-A Chicken Hashbrown Scrambler has won me over in recent years. I once wrote this burrito off but it’s now my go-to Chick-fil-A breakfast order. The burrito consists of Chick-fil-A nuggets, aka the best nuggets in the game (you can also get it with sausage, but why would you?), hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, and a side of jalapeño salsa.
Everything here tastes remarkably fresh. The nuggets are warm, juicy, and crunchy, the eggs are buttery and salty, the cheese provides a nice combination of sharp and creamy flavors, and the hashbrowns add a nice sense of texture. The jalapeño salsa does leave a bit to be desired, it’s not hot and its very tomato-forward, but it pairs nicely with eggs.
Everything about this burrito tastes great and it comes across as fresh and made to order. Still, I wouldn’t call it the “best breakfast burrito” because it feels like it’s part of its own category. I never think “I want a breakfast burrito” and then hit up a Chick-fil-A. You have to specifically be in the mood for this burrito because it has a unique flavor and vibe.
The Bottom Line:
A great breakfast burrito, but not the greatest.
Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.
1. Wendy’s — Bacon Breakfast Burrito
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
This is the newest breakfast burrito in fast food so maybe I’m being hit with a bit of recency bias. But hey, it is what it is, this is the best breakfast burrito right now. The burrito is a bit tiny, you’re going to want two, but in the small package is a whole lot of flavor.
The burrito features bacon, American cheese, seasoned potatoes, Swiss cheese sauce and fried egg in a warm flour tortilla. Already, the burrito has a lot going for it because Wendy’s bacon is the best in all of fast food. Pair that with the potato wedges, which are some of the best fried potatoes in all of fast food (try them if you haven’t), and you’ve already got an unbeatable one-two punch of smokey, peppery flavors with a whole lot of crunch.
The egg is fried on-site to order, and it makes all the difference. This egg comes across as homemade, hot, buttery, and creamy. My only gripe with this burrito is the use of American cheese, but since it’s paired with a Swiss cheese sauce, it’s not all that noticeable. The Swiss adds a creamy element that enhances the one-note saltiness of American cheese.
Biting into this burrito is addicting in the best way. I can’t get enough of this one. The burrito is served with a side of Cholula Hot Sauce, which isn’t my favorite, but it gets the job done and adds a dose of heat to this near-perfect morning meal.
The Bottom Line:
A medley of palate-pleasing flavors and textures. Hands down the greatest breakfast burrito in all of fast food… For now.
As good as this is, there are a few burritos on this list that could surpass it with a few effective tweaks. But if you’re looking for the best breakfast burrito in 2024 — it’s this one, no question.
Find your nearest Wendy’s here.