I Tried And Ranked 8 Wendy's Breakfast Sandwiches

Fast food chains are prevalent, meaning you can likely spin around and find a restaurant — like Wendy's — relatively close by. The well-known chain has a vast menu including juicy burgers, freshly-made salads, and the iconic Frosty (the best of which is the Oreo brownie twist chocolate Frosty Fusion, according to a previous Tasting Table taste test of Frosty flavors). Of course, the chain also has a fairly solid breakfast menu with a range of sandwiches.

With that in mind, I tasted each one to see how they stack up against each other, then declared one the winner. I ultimately judged these Wendy's breakfast sandwiched on the ingredients, and how well everything worked together in terms of both texture and taste. I was looking for the best-tasting and most filling option, since these are only available in the morning — when you're likely there to feed your belly to start the day. If you want to break your morning fast at a fast food eatery, I think Wendy's can certainly hit the spot. And the next time you head to Wendy's for brekkie, I have just the sandwich for you (and a couple of fallbacks, too).

I enjoy the neverending crumbs of a good homemade croissant; it is indeed one of life's best things. However, the Wendy's Bacon, Egg & Swiss Croissant version doesn't offer the same sensory experience, and it lands in last place.

First, the croissant has a middle-of-the-road texture. It's not that it's dense, but it's nowhere near as fluffy and flaky as I would anticipate a croissant to be. There's very little lamination, and it doesn't seem croissant-like at all. There's a hint of butteriness, particularly on the inner portion of the croissant. Meanwhile, the Swiss cheese is technically a sauce, but doesn't offer much creaminess or flavor. The sauce contains various iterations of dairy — Neuchâtel cheese, cream, milk, whey protein concentrate, Swiss cheese, cheddar, butter, and sour cream — along with many other ingredients. Yet it somehow gets muddled and is hardly noticeable underneath the bacon. Perhaps this could be somewhat rectified with a more liberal slather of Swiss sauce, but as it is? I'm not too impressed with the flavors or the execution in this sandwich.

At least the applewood-smoked bacon adds a hint of salty smokiness that makes it a little more interesting. But the croissant and the Swiss cheese sauce remain disappointing, keeping this breakfast sandwich at the bottom.

If you're looking for simplicity or a classic combination, Wendy's Egg & Cheese Biscuit is certainly a familiar choice. It's a simple combination of a buttermilk biscuit, an egg, and American cheese. It's nothing riveting, but it works. There's nothing egregious about it either, so I don't have much negative to say. But it's clearly not the most complex offering, and the upcoming sandwiches contain some meat or additional ingredients for extra flavor, so this comes in second-to-last.

On the plus side, the biscuit is buttery and flaky. It's quite crumbly, but I fear that's because I ordered it to go. The melted cheese adds a nice gooey richness that complements the eggs and makes a more flavorful mouthful. The ingredients create a cohesive, solid sandwich. Despite its plainness, it delivers on all its elements, giving it a slight lead over the Bacon, Egg & Swiss Croissant. It could be made better with a dash of hot sauce, though.

In this bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, Wendy's uses a biscuit as the breading of choice. This is a familiar combination that you've probably had many times before. I can't tell whether the crumbliness is due to it being a to-go order or the biscuit's nature, so I can't judge it on that — though I must say it makes it very difficult to eat.

Still, the biscuit at least looks and tastes like a biscuit, compared to the underwhelming croissant-inspired option. The biscuit is crumbly, buttery, and it gets the job done better by living up to its name. Not only that, but the amount of egg and bacon seems more appropriate and proportionate compared to the grandness of the croissant. There, it seemed like a lot of breading compared with little filling.

Compared to some of the higher-ranking meats, the bacon is a little chewy and hard to eat. I found myself attempting to take a bite when a full slice completely slid out of the sandwich. It's good, but there are some more flavorful options coming up.

I love a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich. I think sausage feels so much more satisfying compared to a couple measly strips of bacon. It provides a much more dynamic taste with a hint of fattiness rounded out with peppery spices — not to mention you get a firmer bite. And that is absolutely the case in this Wendy's offering. The Sausage, Egg & Swiss Croissant is everything its name suggests: a flat sausage patty, a cooked egg, and Swiss cheese spread (not my personal fave).

The croissant and the Swiss cheese spread are not the most fascinating, but at least the egg and sausage deliver enough intrigue. They offer a heavier mouthfeel and a more filling result than the previous bacon sandwich. I'd rather have more flavorful meat that serves as the foundation of the flavor profile. The sausage is needed to balance the sheer amount of croissant bread, too. I doubt I'd be compelled to get this again, as there are several better options to come, but it's good enough to come in the middle of the pack.

The classic Baconator came in the middle of a ranking of Wendy's burgers, so it's quite interesting that the breakfast version fares pretty similarly — definitely not the worst of the bunch, but it also doesn't exactly make you want to scream its name from the rooftops with joy. The Breakfast Baconator is really hearty, with a sausage patty, applewood bacon, egg, American cheese, and the Swiss cheese sauce on a potato bun. If you are going for sheer fillingness, this is one of your best options because of the double-stacked bacon and the grilled sausage.

The potato bun is okay — another reason it falls toward the middle. It has a unique taste of wheat and potato, but it's particularly dry. I can appreciate the meats and cheeses, which helped give it a boost over the previous options. It's creamy, fatty, and meaty all in one sandwich, and I really like Wendy's eggs; they are fresh-cracked and taste like it.

In fact, although I ordered ahead in the app, I had to wait a few minutes for them to finish preparing everything. By the time I got it home 20 minutes later, I could still taste the quality of the eggs in all of the breakfast options, which is nothing to scoff at for fast food.

Much to my surprise, placing in the top three is as far as sausage can make it in my ranking. Then again, it still fares better than most other sandwiches on this list thanks to an iconic combination that needs no introduction (the name says it all).

The sausage patty creates an enticing textural contrast with the delicate biscuit, providing some resistance compared to the fragile buttery breading. The eggs are good quality, and American cheese ties it all together. This is salty, creamy, and fatty, which makes it memorable. It's filling and flavorful, and that is about all I can ask of a fast food breakfast sandwich. Additionally, I can appreciate the foundational seasoning; the egg has sea salt. The sausage patty has salt, sugar, and spices, so it doesn't come across as bland.

While this isn't the most riveting breakfast sandwich on the Wendy's menu, it delivers on all its promises, and tastes good enough to beat most of the competition. The Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit is a truly satisfying option that's enjoyed by many. Another Tasting Table writer ranked it fairly high among fast food breakfast sandwiches, after all. The patty and all three elements extend over the edge of the biscuit, so it doesn't feel disproportionate or overly bready.

As you can gather by now, I'm not the biggest fan of the Wendy's croissant. But I had to let it go because the Maple Bacon Chicken Croissant really drives the sandwich to new heights. It's rich and flavorful when you want a sweet-and-salty combination, with added smokiness from the bacon. It's surprisingly multidimensional and a pretty good deal for fast food prices.

The chicken patty is thick with a substantial breading that sticks to the meat without falling off. It adds some texture and mouthfeel, which makes it interesting. As I chewed it, I didn't need any kind of cheese because the sweet maple butter flavor brings in multi-dimensional flavors with sugary and creamy notes. The ingredients include sugar, canola oil, butter, honey, soybean oil, maple syrup, and other additions, giving it a unique flavor and texture. Although it's not as minimal as homemade maple butter, it still provides the advertised flavor that makes it leagues more interesting than everything else.

Although this sandwich fared fairly low in a ranking of Wendy's chicken products, I have mostly the same feedback — that the croissant is subpar. But I think the overall taste is interesting, and feel it makes for a fantastic breakfast that's worth the wait at the drive-thru. The chicken patty here was fresh, juicy, and not chewy (like the other writer experienced), and might be better on a biscuit, too.

My number one choice is another simple combination of honey butter, biscuit, and chicken. On paper, it seems like the simplest behind the egg and cheese. But the Honey Buddy chicken biscuit perfectly combines classic elements to create a thoughtful, interesting option — one I would never have guessed came from Wendy's. When eaten fresh, the chicken is supple and has a flavorful balance. It contains some baseline seasoning and breading to keep it from being boring.

I think the crunchiness of the breading works wonderfully with the soft biscuit. Then there are layers of buttery flavor, from the biscuit base to the liberal amount of butter maple spread. If you're craving something Chick-fil-A-adjacent but don't have one near you, this Wendy's option could be a good choice (though I know some people are extremely loyal to Chick-fil-A).

This Wendy's breakfast sandwich feels and tastes rich and indulgent, yet doesn't leave you feeling too heavy; the biscuit isn't too big and the chicken offers some satisfying protein. I kept going in for that sweet, buttery base and the well-made chicken. I didn't find it chewy or gristly, although it got harder the longer I left it out. Of course, that's easy to rectify: simply eat it when you receive it. This really hits the spot and offers a perfect balance of sweet and savory.

I bought all the sandwiches in one morning and ordered them to go, as the dining area at this particular Wendy's wasn't open at the time of purchase. I took photos and bites of each, which is how I typically start taste tests to gather initial thoughts on flavors and textures. After that, I took bites of them all again.

I must say that I would have preferred to order them in-store and try them right away to get the freshest results. Fast food breakfast sandwiches don't usually hold up well if you wait to eat them; condensation makes them soft and soggy, and makes the appearance messier. Therefore, I didn't judge the bites on their looks, and I didn't expect them to be picture-perfect. Instead, I was looking for a flavorful, enticing sandwich to serve as a go-to among the many breakfast items available at Wendy's.

It was important for a sandwich to deliver the promised flavors and elements. Certain textures, and how filling it was, played a role, too. A sandwich ranked higher if it had more complex flavors, a compelling texture, and a hearty nature. The lower-ranked options were blander, less dimensional, or didn't seem to offer as much satiety.