These 11 Forgotten Fast Food Breakfast Items Deserve A Revival

There's nothing like stopping by your favorite fast food joint before a busy day. Maybe you're just going to work, or perhaps you're in the car headed on vacation, and you pick up a hot, steaming breakfast from your favorite fast food restaurant. It's an undeniable treat, and it can brighten your whole morning, no matter where you're off to after your meal. But unfortunately, over the years, a lot of the best fast food breakfast items have been discontinued, long forgotten in the history of breakfast sandwiches and sweet pastries.

Even though many of these menu items have been gone for a while, we're taking a walk down memory lane to revisit some of our fondest fast food breakfast memories. From egg white breakfast sandwiches to full-on breakfast tacos, these menu items once played starring roles on their respective menus (before 11 a.m., at least) before they were axed to make way for other offerings. If you ever had one of these dishes yourself, count yourself among the lucky ones — some of us never got the chance to indulge in these a.m. offerings. We think they all deserve a revival, but ultimately, we have no way of knowing if or when they might reappear.

If there was one year when we saw massive changes to the entire restaurant landscape, it was 2020. The COVID pandemic rocked the industry, from the highest-end places serving up prix fixe tasting menus to the most basic of fast food chains. So it doesn't come as any big surprise that Taco Bell wiped 12 items off of its menu in July of that year — the Mini Skillet Bowl among them. This decision was partly because Taco Bell was looking to make room for more plant-based menu items.

But Taco Bell's Mini Skillet Bowl was one of the best items on the menu, especially if you love a light, fresher-tasting breakfast than you'll find at most fast food places. This dish started off with a base of crispy potatoes, which were adorned with scrambled eggs and cheese sauce. It's the addition of pico de gallo, though, that really made this stuff taste like a Taco Bell item (and that added a fresh pop of flavor).

One Instagram user loved the dish so much that they made a whole Instagram account based around it, repeatedly posting the same promotional picture of the dish. The bio read: "the best deal in fast food breakfast history." A Reddit user expressed their frustration when it left the menu, sad that the reportedly $1 product would no longer be available.

McDonald's isn't exactly known as a place to grab a healthy meal, but that doesn't mean that its menu hasn't offered some slightly better-for-you options from time to time. You can get sliced apples as a side, for example, in place of the usual fries. But by far the best of McDonald's healthier-feeling options was the Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait, which made for a fresher, more fruit-forward way to start one's day. Of course, this sweet treat tasted its best when preceded by one of McDonald's notoriously indulgent breakfast sandwiches, but it's all about balance, right?

The yogurt itself was quite sweet, and the addition of fruit enhanced its sweetness even more. One Redditor mentioned that the fruit's texture was a bit soft, but that was all part of the appeal — that sogginess allowed the juices from the fruit to mingle with the yogurt in the most delicious way. It was finished off with a sprinkling of granola on the top, which didn't really add much in the way of flavor but provided a much-needed crunch to create a pleasant textural contrast.

Unfortunately, though, this is another breakfast treat that was discontinued in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company attempted to streamline its operations so it could get customers in and out the door more quickly, and this dish was apparently a bit too time-consuming and labor-intensive to keep on the menu.

We love a good frozen breakfast burrito when we're in a rush, but fast food breakfast burritos are even better, since they don't randomly have those icy spots in the middle that you have to suffer through before you make it to the hot, steaming ends. These days, though, you can't find a decent-sized breakfast burrito at McDonald's; the sausage burrito it still features on the breakfast menu is tiny. The chain's larger, more substantial, and arguably more delicious McSkillet Burrito left the menu, and there aren't any signs that it's coming back anytime soon.

When you still had the chance to order this burrito, you could get it with sausage or chicken, the latter of which isn't always a common option on fast food breakfast menus. It also came with veggies, potatoes, cheese, and salsa to make for a well-rounded meal.

Rumor has it that it wasn't popular enough to keep on the menu, especially considering that the ingredients were apparently relatively expensive. However, it was popular enough for someone to start a Change.org petition to try to get the company to bring it back and popular enough for over 1,100 people to sign it to boot.

In the fast food breakfast game, most of the options available are on the savory end of the spectrum. But when you want to start off your day with a pastry, Starbucks is the fast food joint for you. In addition to a variety of breakfast sandwiches (which you can elevate in so many ways) and other savory menu options, it also offers a wide variety of baked goods. But one sweet selection you'll no longer find at your local Starbucks is the now-defunct Almond Croissant.

That doesn't mean that croissants are off the menu altogether. If you're craving something savory, you can still snag a Ham and Swiss Croissant from the brand, or you can opt for something a little simpler with the Butter Croissant. But that subtle, nutty flavor has gone by the wayside to the dismay of all the nut fans out there.

One person on Reddit said that the pastry was the highlight of their morning and that their life would never be the same if it were discontinued. We wonder how their life is going now ... Yet another Redditor said it was their favorite order at Starbucks and wondered why the company decided to discontinue it. And still another outlined their grieving process until they finally realized that this iconic pastry probably wasn't coming back. A commenter on this same post even said that they were heartbroken about the decision.

Most fast food restaurants have fries, right? Sure, most of them do, but not all. And one fast food joint you probably wouldn't expect to find fries at is Dunkin'. After all, it's a chain known for its coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and namesake donuts, not savory lunch and dinner items like burgers and fries. But that doesn't mean Dunkin' never tried to get in on the fry game — the company just did it in a super unconventional way. For a period of time in 2018, the chain attempted to roll out Donut Fries. These churro-like breakfast treats were basically just sugar and cinnamon-sprinkled donuts formed into strips to look like fries.

Apparently, not everyone agreed that the fries were particularly good, and the limited-time offering didn't last on the menu for long at all. However, we like the idea of a new donut shape — and an excuse to eat "fries" for breakfast. And at least some customers were on board. One Redditor said that the combo of cinnamon and sugar was good, while another person who claimed to have worked at Dunkin' during the golden age of the Donut Fries said that they were obsessed with the product. And the fact that they were actually served in a traditional fast food fry sleeve makes us hope that they'll come back even more.

You know those mornings you wake up feeling absolutely starving, ready to stuff your face with the biggest possible breakfast? In those moments, there was nothing more glorious than Burger King's Enormous Omelet Sandwich. It wasn't very omelet-forward in any way, other than the omelet-like texture of the eggs. Sausage, bacon, cheese, and eggs were all stacked on top of each other, held together by a hoagie roll. The sandwich had over 700 calories and was arguably a top-notch choice for an extra-filling breakfast. It was originally rolled out in 2005, but it's been quite some time since it's been seen on a Burger King breakfast menu in the U.S. However, it looks like similar breakfast menu items are still being sold in other countries, like the Bahamas and Canada.

Not everyone was a fan of this Burger King menu item, but others still remember it fondly and ostensibly wish it would come back at some point. Until then, if you want a breakfast this indulgent, you'll probably be better off making it at home. Luckily, we have plenty of breakfast sandwich recipes to choose from, but you may want to increase their size if you're looking for a sandwich as over the top as this former BK selection.

Wendy's has seemingly always had a complicated relationship with breakfast. The chain has tried to launch the meal multiple times over the decades. In 2020, the chain made its most recent attempt to find its way into the fast food breakfast scene, but by 2026, many franchisees had decided to pull back from breakfast to better focus on their lunch and dinner offerings. Around 2012, during one of Wendy's attempts at breaking into breakfast, the chain released its Mornin' Melt Panini. You don't always run into breakfast paninis at fast food joints, so the premise seemed promising.

This sandwich was stacked with eggs, tomato, two kinds of cheese, and the customer's choice of either sausage or bacon. The addition of fresh tomato feels like a nice upgrade here from standard fast food breakfast sandwiches, which usually lack fresh ingredients entirely. It was held together by two slices of sourdough bread, another premium-feeling ingredient, especially for 2012. Reviewers found the dish to be an enjoyable breakfast option, a nice alternative to the standard fast food selections on the market at the time. Customers seem to remember the sandwich fondly as well.

These days, it doesn't seem like you get the same focus on quality and premium ingredients as you once did at fast food restaurants like Wendy's. This breakfast panini reminds us of better, tastier days in the annals of fast food history.

Many people may question why Taco Bell even tried to roll out a breakfast menu in the first place. After all, you might not think of a fast food Tex-Mex spot as the ideal restaurant for seeking out a decent, quick breakfast. But in reality, Taco Bell has offered some of the most innovative fast food breakfast dishes around. One excellent example is the chain's Waffle Taco, which made its appearance on the U.S. fast food stage in 2014. The shell of the taco was the waffle, of course, while the filling was made with eggs, cheese, and the choice of sausage or bacon.

But by 2015, the iconic breakfast item was already off the menu. It had been replaced by a biscuit taco, which sounds significantly less fun than the original. But while it was around, it seemed like it was a pretty beloved menu option, with one fan even creating a petition to try to bring it back. Others took to Reddit to ask the company to bring it back, saying that they had good memories of eating the meal in high school. And other posters have said that they're disappointed that they never got a chance to try it for themselves. It's been off the menu for so long that we'd be surprised if the chain ever decided to bring it back. Still, though, we hold out hope that we can experience the Waffle Taco once again.

Just because you're getting fast food for breakfast doesn't necessarily mean that you want something too heavy or intense as you start your day. There are times when you stop by your local McDonald's, for example, for convenience, and you may not want to indulge in the fattiest, greasiest thing there. That's perhaps why McDonald's once featured an Egg White Delight McMuffin on its breakfast menu, originally rolled out in 2013. At only 250 calories, this sandwich was just like the classic McMuffin, but it had egg white instead of a regular egg with a yolk. This resulted in a milder flavor along with a lighter overall feel for the sandwich. However, in the chain's attempt to streamline its operations in 2020, it was sadly removed from the menu.

A Redditor went to the forum to claim that nobody noticed when this item was wiped from the menu at McDonald's, but many posters disagreed. One even said it was their favorite. We love the idea of lighter, arguably healthier options at fast food restaurants, so it's a bummer that McDonald's took this option away — we think that it's time this McD's item finally got a revival.

When you think of breakfast protein, your mind probably doesn't first go to prime rib. After all, this cut of meat feels kind of elevated and fancy, something that you'd usually save for special occasion dinners. But Jack in the Box apparently felt like customers should be able to enjoy this decadent cut of beef first thing in the morning, as evidenced by the chain's Prime Rib Steak and Egg Breakfast Burrito, which made its debut on the menu in 2018. In addition to that prime rib and egg, you'd also find hash browns in this burrito, which, if you ask us, brought it to a whole different level of deliciousness. However, it was discontinued the next year in 2019, apparently because it was too expensive for the restaurant to continue to produce.

A Reddit reviewer gave the burrito a seven out of 10, saying that it lost points partially because it was so heavy on the hash browns, and the tortilla was pretty thin. The poster also said it could be improved with a salsa or sauce to lighten things up a bit and add more flavor. Still, though, they recommended it to other Jack in the Box fans, which makes us feel like we're missing out now that this upscale breakfast burrito is gone.

A good breakfast sandwich is ultimately all about the bread. Most have similar fillings: eggs, cheese, sausage or bacon, depending on one's preference. But the bread is where a fast food breakfast sandwich can really shine. At least, that was the case when it came to Sonic's French Toaster Breakfast Sandwich, which came out in 2015. Yes, it's just what you're thinking: a sandwich made with slices of sweet French toast instead of boring old bread or a crumbly biscuit. Predictably, it housed a combination of eggs, sausage, and cheese. But when those salty and sweet flavors came together, it was a glorious example of just how tasty a fast food breakfast can be.

Unfortunately, you won't find this breakfast sandwich at Sonic anymore, although the chain does offer a wide variety of other breakfast options. When it was still out, though, some Redditors said it tasted amazing, so we think it still deserves a comeback.