Think Twice Before Ordering This Popular McDonald's Breakfast Item

Big breakfasts have been popular for years, and it has become a tradition in some places to indulge in the largest, most filling meals you can imagine. Just look at a full English breakfast or the typical farmer's or lumberjack breakfast options available at diners across the country. McDonald's has been famous for its breakfast ever since the invention of the Egg McMuffin in the early 1970s. However, its version of a big breakfast, literally called the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes, is something you might want to leave behind.

Tasting Table recently put together a list of McDonald's menu items to avoid ordering, and the Big Breakfast was a big flop for us. It's not that it's bad in theory, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. If it were only one thing, it might be easy to overlook, but the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes has big problems. No one eats at McDonald's to be health-conscious, but the Big Breakfast is really over the top. At 1,340 calories, with 90% of the daily requirement for salt, 82% of the daily limits on sugar, and 122% of the saturated fat you need in a day, it's hard to justify starting the day out with this meal. Maybe it would be worth it if it were tasty and well-prepared, but these hotcakes are chewy and microwaved. It's just not worth the indulgence.

There are plenty of posts across Reddit that confirm McDonald's receives its hotcakes premade and heats them in a microwave. There's a whole Reddit thread dedicated to answering whether the hotcakes are made fresh daily. Some replied that the hotcakes were made fresh more than 20 years ago, but that hasn't been the case in decades. One Tripadvisor review complains that the hotcakes were "cold and soggy," and Business Insider called them "chewy." There have also been complaints about the plain-tasting eggs.

The other components of a McDonald's Big Breakfast are often hit-and-miss as well. For instance, the biscuits are loved by some while others avoid them specifically because of how dry and crumbly they can be. "I always found the biscuit to be a bit too crumbly and sometimes dry," explained one Redditor. Even those who enjoy them sometimes admit that it's important to get a freshly made biscuit; otherwise, it's not worth your time. When Tasting Table reviewed McDonald's breakfasts, our taste tester also agreed that the biscuit was dry (and the eggs were boring).

One saving grace of a McDonald's Big Breakfast is the hash brown. Unfortunately, the hash brown has made waves lately for the outrageous price increase. The average price in America is over $3 for a single hash brown, and even over $4 in some cities. Former McDonald's corporate chef Mike Haracz also explained in a TikTok that the hash browns will never be crispy and well done at McDonald's because they rush them through cooking. In the end, there are much better breakfast options at McDonald's, like the Deluxe Bacon and Egg Biscuit. It's easier on your wallet, healthier, and tastes better as well.