Business
Top 10 McDonald’s Breakfast Items Ranked Worst to Best
If you were alive in 1971 and went into a McDonald’s to get some breakfast, the employees would have stared at you with a confused look on their faces. Why, you ask? Well, that’s because the great golden Arches didn’t introduce a breakfast menu until 1972! It began rather small, but today has grown to include a rather large assortment of options. Not only that, but in 2015 they took the next step and introduced all-day breakfast. So now you can get these, top 10 McDonald’s breakfast items ranked from best to worst, anytime you want!
10. Fruit And Maple Oatmeal
Like the Yogurt Parfait, Fruit and Maple Oatmeal probably isn’t what you think of when you think about breakfast at McDonald’s. But not only is it an item on their menu, it’s a pretty good one at that. It’s simple, tasty and warm and if you skip the brown sugar you are looking at about 260 calories. It won’t fill you up like many of the other listed items here, but not everyone needs or wants a big breakfast. A cup of oatmeal and a coffee is a great – and healthy – way to start your day. And if you go light and healthy in the morning then you won’t feel bad splurging on extra calories at lunch – while your coworkers, who started the day with a heavy breakfast, are poking sadly at their boring salads. And for all you boys and girls whose spidey-senses are tingling, thinking that Starbucks also has oatmeal… You are right again! The coffee super-chain introduced oatmeal back in 2008 and it didn’t take long for it to become their best-selling breakfast food. If they can do it, why can’t McDonald’s right? Which they did just a few years later in January of 2011 – and the fact that it’s still on the menu means it must be doing well enough for them.
9. Big Breakfast With Hotcakes
Can’t decide what you want, well with the McDonald’s Big Breakfast with Hotcakes, you can get a taste of almost everything. This belly-filling item comes with a biscuit, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns and hotcakes (McDonald pancakes). Pour the provided syrup all over it and you have got yourself one hunger-satisfying start to your day – although you will probably need a nap soon afterwards so maybe pick a day where your morning work schedule isn’t super busy. Or, given that they now serve breakfast all day, do breakfast for dinner and fall right into bed afterwards. Obviously, unlike every other item on the list, the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes isn’t an on-the-go breakfast item. You definitely can’t eat this while you are driving. You can try to chow down in the passenger seat, but if your driver is anything like Leonard from The Big Bang Theory, eating food with sticky maple syrup is strictly not allowed in his car. So, know the rules of the car you are in. Or just leave a little early and instead of doing drive-thru, sit in the restaurant and enjoy your breakfast, jump around in the ball pit to work off a few of the just ingested calories and get to work ready to rock and roll!
8. Coffee
Ok, so it might not be as spectacular as the coffee you can get at your local shop that roasts their own beans and uses multiple hipster brewing methods to bring out the most perfect and aromatic cup of coffee you have ever had. But McDonald’s coffee is actually good – even better than good – and since you’re already there getting breakfast, adding a cup of java to your order makes sense and the coffee standard is at a level where you won’t be disappointed. McDonald’s has had coffee on their menu since the very beginning. And back then you could get a cup for just 10 cents. Although, these days, they run $1 coffee promotions so often it’s still one of the best places (price to quality ratio) to get your cup of joe. Most of you are probably familiar with the McCafe brand. The first McCafe opened up in Australia back in 1993 and it was with the introduction of said brand that McDonald’s really started taking their coffee seriously. And in 2009 they introduced the whole line of McCafe coffee drinks in an effort to directly compete with Starbucks. And, as of 2016, the McCafe line was generating $4 billion dollars annually for the golden Arches compared to the $25 billion that Starbucks reported in 2018. While McCafe hasn’t brought down Starbucks as some crazy analysts had predicted at the time, coffee is doing very well for the fast food giant and the McCafe offshoot was definitely a great move by the company all those years ago.
7. Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bagel
Is a biscuit better than a bagel? That is an argument that could get very heated, very quickly. Just like trying to convince a New Yorker that bagels are better in any other city. Putting the Bacon, Egg and Cheese bagel at such a low spot on this list may look to be implying that the biscuit vs. bagel debate has been decided with the biscuit winning. But don’t jump to any conclusions just yet please. The reason this tasty breakfast item is sitting where it’s at is two-fold. The first is that while the bagels are good, they aren’t the top-notch bagels you get from your local bakery. You know the kind that are so fresh and delicious that they aren’t just a vessel for your sandwich, they are possibly the best part of any sandwich. And the second reason is originality. You aren’t going to find McGriddle and Biscuit sandwiches everywhere, but most fast food places, coffee shops and corner stores have breakfast bagel sandwiches on offer. We wonder if McDonald’s locations in the Big Apple are serving this breakfast sandwich on real New York style bagels. Only one way to find out.
6. Steak, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
As with a few of these Items, the order in which they get ranked comes down to only one specific thing. In some cases it may only come down to bacon over sausage. And the reason why the Steak, Egg & Cheese biscuit is sitting in this spot is because of the biscuit. Not that the biscuit isn’t a yummy item to stack your breakfast food between, but it just isn’t as yummy as the other options that have preceded it. It’s still well worth your hard-earned breakfast dollars though. The steak, grilled onions, egg and cheese obviously all go together (who hasn’t had a steak and eggs breakfast, and loved it, at some point in their lives?). And more so than a sausage, the steak is much heartier and, of all the Mcdonald’s breakfast sandwiches, this one might be the most filling. And for anyone wondering, the “steak” isn’t a filet mignon or a ribeye. It is ground beef made into a patty. But still delicious and it is the only meat option that isn’t pork on the breakfast menu. So, if you, like Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction) “don’t dig on swine” but still want some morning meat, this would be a great way to go!
5. Fruit N’ Yogurt Parfait
Yes, this is a list about McDonald’s best breakfast items and fruit and yogurt doesn’t just make the list, it finds itself rather high up on the list. The Fruit N’ Yogurt Parfait is a cup of low-fat vanilla-yogurt, fresh blueberries and strawberries and they even give you a little packet of granola to pour on top for an added crunch. So, why is this so high on the list? For starters it tastes good. Fruit, yogurt and granola is a classic combination – one that most people have probably made for themselves at home on multiple occasions. Also, sometimes you just want a little something and aren’t hungry enough for a breakfast sandwich. Or maybe you’re trying to eat healthier but your carpool always stops at McDonald’s in the morning. Well, this Parfait is the perfect choice for you. If you’re thinking, “hey, doesn’t Starbucks also sell a yogurt parfait?” Well, yes they do. In fact, while McDonald’s has been selling the parfait since 2002, Starbucks rolled out their version of the healthy breakfast item four years later in 2006 to compete directly with the home of the Big Mac. The nutrition stats are pretty similar, although, the Starbucks version is bigger, so it does, obviously, have a few more calories. This wouldn’t be the first or last time the two companies went at each other to gain new morning customers.
4. Sausage, Egg and Cheese McGriddle
Did you know that the McGriddle has been around since 2003? Has it been that long already? For those of you who have unfortunately never tried this item and are wondering – what is a McGriddle? Well, McDonald’s describes it as, “soft, warm griddle cakes with the taste of sweet maple.” You can wipe the drool from your face now. And don’t worry, you aren’t the only person who thinks of a McGriddle and ends up looking like Homer Simpson thinking about donuts. While most people would take bacon over sausage at McDonald’s (and pretty much everywhere else they are given the choice). for those sausage first folks (you know who you are), it’s as simple as a quick switch and all will be right with the world again. For those who are so in love with the sausage and don’t want anything else cluttering up the sandwich, there is a simple sausage McGriddle which is just one sausage patty between two McGriddle cakes. It’s sure to be tasty, but without the egg and cheese it doesn’t bring enough to the flavor table to make it much higher on the list. And sure, this sausage, egg and cheese item is rocking over 500 calories. But you are also getting 20 grams of protein. And if you really want to take a less caloric route with your breakfast, you will find a couple great items on this list to help you out.
3. Bacon, Egg and Cheese McGriddle
Those yummy, maple-flavored pancake griddle cakes are considered by many to be the perfect bun vehicle in between which to place breakfast items. And between these griddle cakes are egg, cheese and, of course, bacon. Everyone knows that everything tastes better with bacon and the McGriddle breakfast sandwich is no exception. And if you are wondering about that maple-taste goodness, just like the sausage version of the sandwich, the McGriddle pancake buns are actually injected with maple syrup (or something similar). What this does is it provides the wonderful sweet, maple flavor you want, without having to actually pour maple syrup in the sandwich (which would make it much stickier, messier and definitely less conducive to eating on the go). This is definitely one of Mickey D’s most popular breakfast items and worthy of its position on this list – and it’s all thanks to the bacon.
2. Egg McMuffin
The Granddaddy and the OG of McDonald’s breakfast items… The Egg McMuffin! Remember back in 1972 when McDonald’s decided to change the world of fast food and start serving breakfast? Well, it was the Egg McMuffin that was that first ever breakfast item. Prior to that, Pittsburgh-area franchisee Jim Delligatti had been – with permission from McDonald’s President Ray Kroc – selling donuts and sweets at his location during breakfast hours. But that isn’t really breakfast is it? The Egg McMuffin is definitely breakfast and it is the oldest item on the Mickey D’s breakfast menu. It’s the best-selling item as well. Breakfast accounts for about 15% of McDonald’s sales and the majority of that 15% is still coming from the Egg McMuffin. The Egg McMuffin was invented in 1972 by a couple guys, Herb Peterson – the operator of a MCDonald’s franchise in Santa Barbara, California – and his assistant, Donald Greadel. What they showed McDonald’s President Ray Kroc was actually an open faced sandwich on a half an english muffin: the egg formed in a circle with the yolk broken with a slice of cheese and a slice of grilled ham. It was thought of as an eggs benedict on the go. Kroc obviously liked what he saw because the first corporate-approved, what became the Egg McMuffin as we know it, was sold later that year in a McD’s restaurant in Belleville, New Jersey. Fun Fact: Franchise owner Jim Delligatti is also the man credited with inventing the Big Mac!
1. Hash Browns
Technically, these could be considered a side-dish, but they are definitely a breakfast item and they are the best things on McDonald’s rather impressive breakfast menu. A yummy, crispy outer layer surrounding the soft, fluffy potato goodness with a little salt to accentuate the flavor! Sure, you can dip them in ketchup or something else, but they are perfectly delicious all on their own. If you are with a group of people and you all order a bag full of breakfast items from McDonald’s, you better make sure you get your hand in that bag and grab a hash brown right away, because they are always the first to go! And with the handy little bag they come in you can enjoy them without getting your hands all greasy. Sounds like a win-win to me. Hash browns have been on the menu since 1977 when McDonald’s took breakfast national and introduced it into every one of its restaurants. You could also find a danish, hot cakes, a toasted English muffin, scrambled eggs and sausage on that first national breakfast menu, which was highlighted by the Egg McMuffin. And If you hadn’t thought of it already, with breakfast being available all day now at McDonald’s you can get the hash browns as a side to go with anything. Sure, they go great with any of the breakfast Items. But what about with a Big Mac? Or a McChicken sandwich or how about as a special treat on the side when you order a salad. Or if you are having a major potato craving, why not get an order of fries and an order of hash browns. You can thank us later.