McDonald's Entire Breakfast Menu—Ranked For Nutrition!
McDonald's all started with Dick and Mac Mcdonald who moved to California to seek opportunities they thought were unavailable in New England. In 1948 they introduced their Speedee Service System featuring 15 cent hamburgers. It was so successful that the brothers began franchising their concept. Although McDonald's was well known for its burgers and fries, in 2015 they launched all-day breakfast, while that was suspended in many locations during the pandemic, we have seen it return in some. Today the menu offers 17 items, some of which are certainly healthier than others. Below are the best and worst options from the entire breakfast menu to help you choose wisely the next time you visit McDonald's. Plus, don't miss We Tried Every Burger at McDonald's & This Is the Best!
Big Breakfast with Hotcakes
This breakfast option includes a warm biscuit, savory hot sausage, scrambled eggs, crispy hash browns, and golden brown hotcakes with a side of butter and syrup. It provides 123 percent the daily recommended maximum of saturated fat, 91 percent of the daily recommended maximum of sodium, and 56 percent the daily recommended amount of carbs. And let's not forget it contains 67 percent the calories for the average American (based on 2,000).
Hot Cakes and Sausage
This breakfast order comes with three hotcakes with a side of butter and syrup, plus a savory hot sausage. The carbs in this bad boy are equivalent to close to 7 slices of bread. In addition, it contains 64 percent the recommended daily maximum of artery-clogging saturated fat and 37 percent the daily recommended maximum of sodium.
Big Breakfast
This option comes with a warm biscuit, scrambled eggs, savory hot sausage, and hash browns. The contribution of all these ingredients makes this meal provide 90 percent of the recommended daily amount of artery-clogging saturated fat. If you have a history of heart disease, have high cholesterol, or trying to minimize your risk, certainly skip this breakfast item.
Hotcakes
This McDonald's breakfast menu item comes with three hotcakes and a side of butter and syrup. Imagine instead of hotcakes you had 7 slices of bread piled on your plate—because that is how many carbs are on that plate!
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McGriddles
This sandwich has sausage, egg, and American cheese in between two warm griddle cakes. It provides 65 percent of the recommended daily maximum of saturated fat and over 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Although you do get a healthy dose of protein, the overconsumed nutrients (saturated fat and sodium) outweigh the healthy nutrients making this option a not very healthy one.
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel
Applewood smoked bacon, an egg, and two slices of American cheese sit on top of this toasted bagel with butter. It has a similar amount of calories as Burger King's Bacon King Jr which also has only 2 grams more saturated fat than this breakfast item.
Sausage Biscuit with Egg
With an enormous 34 grams of fat and half a day's worth of sodium in one small breakfast sandwich, the 17 grams of protein you'd get by ordering this meal aren't worth it.
Sausage McMuffin with Egg
McDonald's cooks brush the biscuit in this breakfast option with butter and top it off with hot sausage and egg. There are certainly better options that offer whole grains, fewer calories, and fewer grams of artery-clogging saturated fat and sodium.
Hash Browns
Although this McDonald's breakfast menu is made of potatoes, don't let that fool you. Because the restaurant deep-fries them, these fried hashbrowns on their own are not a good option. Adding them to any option will just add unnecessary calories as most of the options on the menu already have a ton of sodium and saturated fat.
Sausage McGriddles
Soft, warm, sweet griddle cakes sandwich a hot sausage patty in this menu item. The saturated fat and sodium are on the higher side. If you do choose this option, make it a once-in-a-while choice.
Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles
This sandwich is with warm griddle cakes with the sweet taste of maple topped with thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, an egg, and a slice of American cheese. It's certainly not the worst choice on the menu, but it shouldn't be a regular item ordered off the menu given the amount of sodium, saturated fat, and sugar it contains.
Sausage McMuffin
A savory hot sausage, a slice of melted American cheese, a toasted English muffin, and a perfectly cooked egg makes a great breakfast. Pair with a cup of coffee with a splash of milk (not a fancy cup of Joe!) for a reasonable breakfast.
Sausage Burrito
This portion-controlled soft tortilla is filled with a scrambled egg, sausage, melted cheese, green chiles, and onions. It does contain 33 percent of the daily recommended maximum of sodium, so if that is of concern opt for the top two best choices listed.
Egg McMuffin
This breakfast sandwich is made with a Grade A egg on a toasted English muffin topped with real butter, plus lean Canadian bacon and American cheese. It has the lowest amount of saturated fat of all breakfast items, except the Sausage Burrito—both contain 30 percent of the daily recommended maximum.
Fruit & Maple Oatmeal
You'll get two full servings of whole-grain oats in this warm bowl of oatmeal. It also contains red and green apples, cranberries, and two varieties of raisins. This breakfast option has two healthy food groups, specifically fruit and whole grains that most Americans don't get enough of. You can order it with or without brown sugar.
Fruit 'N Yogurt Parfait
This parfait is made with low-fat creamy vanilla yogurt, layers of blueberries and strawberries, and a crunchy granola topping. You'll be getting three food groups in for breakfast for a very reasonable amount of calories. It's also the only breakfast menu option that has a reasonable amount of sodium! While this item was discontinued during the pandemic, we hope it comes back eventually.
Read more about the best and worst at McDonald's:
The Worst Menu Items McDonald's Employees Would Never Eat Themselves
The Best Secret Menu Options at McDonald's
McDonald's Just Confirmed It's Not Bringing Back This Beloved Menu Item
