McDonald's Vs Burger King: Which Chain Makes The Best Breakfast Sandwich?

Red Sox versus the Yankees. Coke versus Pepsi. Edison versus Tesla. Whatever the field, nothing beats a rivalry because it pushes both sides to excel. The competitive world of fast food restaurants is no exception, and Burger King versus McDonald's may be one of the best-known. The Egg McMuffin came on the scene in 1972, and a national McDonald's breakfast menu followed in 1977. It was one of the very first national fast food breakfast menus. In response, Burger King released an almost identical menu in 1979. To differentiate itself, however, in 1983 it released the Croissan'wich, a croissant egg sandwich that remains its signature breakfast item to this day.

So after all these years of fierce competition, it's time for the breakfast sandwich gauntlet. I've never had a breakfast sandwich from either establishment — I know, I know — making me the perfect candidate for an unbiased evaluation. I got breakfast sandwiches of all kinds from both McDonald's and Burger King and got to tasting. I wanted to see which fast food giant had the most to offer in terms of flavor, value, and variety. In the end, only one was truly worth waking up early for.

In comparing the two chains' breakfast sandwich offerings, I was immediately faced with a dilemma: Almost every breakfast sandwich from Burger King's regular breakfast menu is a Croissan'wich, meaning that the only variation between the sandwiches I tried would be the choice of meat. So I paired each sandwich with a McDonald's breakfast sandwich that I thought worked best as a comparable option.

I evaluated each sandwich individually based on flavor, texture, ingredient ratio, and general enjoyability. After tasting each sandwich, I asked whether I'd have it again, since I consider reliability and repeatability key concerns for a fast-food menu. I looked at each chain's breakfast sandwich offerings holistically. I considered how the quality of the individual menu items contributed to an overall picture. I also considered the variety of offerings from both chains and how reliably that variety could meet a given customer's needs.

As soon as I unwrapped this, I had a bad feeling. It wasn't necessarily its sadly crushed appearance that had me nervous; it had been packed up with other sandwiches, so some of that was to be expected. No, it was the biscuit's strangely dark color and thinness. Still, surely everyone can agree that if appearance were everything, fast food joints would be out of business.

Unfortunately, in this case, my instincts were right. The word I would use to describe the experience of eating this sandwich is "punishing." The bacon was almost flavorless, flabby yet dry. And that dryness was nothing compared to the moisture-sucking dryness of this biscuit. It, too, had very little flavor, with none of the rich butteriness that a biscuit should have. It certainly lacked a biscuit's requisite tenderness; this thing was about as tender as a saltine. No amount of cheese could have brought enough moisture back to this bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, though there should definitely have been more. 

I made sure not to look into it until I'd done my own tasting, but sure enough, it ranked last in our Burger King breakfast item ranking. It's an exceptionally bland sandwich, and it was hard to eat without a cup of water. Never again.

After my harrowing Burger King biscuit experience, the McDonald's version was a sight for sore eyes. The eggs looked fluffy, the bacon looked crispy, and the biscuit was golden and practically towered over its Burger King counterpart. All promising stuff.

All that being said, this biscuit sandwich still exceeded my expectations. The bacon was smoky and savory, and it retained some bite after travel. The cheese-to-egg-to-bacon ratio was spot-on, and the eggs were tender and well-seasoned. The real key to the sandwich's success, however, was the biscuit. It was plenty moist and tender, with a deeply satisfying buttery, salty flavor. It was thick enough to hold up to the other ingredients and maintain structural integrity, while not being so big that it overwhelmed. It certainly would give any chain restaurant biscuit a run for its money. This was one of my favorite sandwiches of the bunch, and one I will probably have again soon.

Outside of special limited-time menu offerings, the biscuit and the Croissan'wich are the only breakfast sandwich types available at Burger King. So, I knew that it was all Croissan'wich from here on out. I hoped the ham, egg, and cheese Croissan'wich would be much better than the biscuit sandwich.

Luckily, this sandwich was solid. The layer of Black Forest ham wasn't skimpy and was a nice savory option besides breakfast sausage or bacon. It has the smokiness of bacon but with a more pronounced "meaty" taste. Plus, croissants, ham, and cheese are an iconic combination for a reason. The folded eggs were tasty, if a little bland, and could have some salt. As for the titular croissant? It isn't exactly the stuff of a French patisserie, but it was buttery, flaky, and the right size. It was a little sweet, a little salty, and rich. Burger King was making a comeback in the matchup.

The McDonald's Egg McMuffin: the one that started it all. Its simplicity is downright elegant: a round English muffin, a round slice of Canadian bacon, a round fried egg. Each piece fits together perfectly, with the cheese as the glue between them. But of course, that never guaranteed the Egg McMuffin would actually be good. That came down to tasting it.

The simple elegance of this sandwich, it turns out, makes for a very good breakfast sandwich. The Canadian bacon had a substantial chew and sweet-salty flavor. The fresh egg was well seasoned, and a whole, unscrambled egg adds to the McMuffin's rustic charm. The cheese was melty and uniform throughout the sandwich. 

And the English muffin? It's a totally underrated breakfast sandwich bread choice. Sure, it's humble. But this buttered, toasted English muffin had crispy, toasty edges and a soft interior. Its slightly tangy flavor works in the background of the sandwich to elevate the other salty, rich ingredients. The Egg McMuffin definitely punches above its weight.

The next Croissan'wich in the lineup swapped sliced ham for a breakfast sausage patty. I'm a big fan of sausage as a breakfast sandwich option, since I think it presents fewer potential texture issues than bacon (rubbery, chewy bacon is the stuff of my nightmares). Plus, with the Croissan'wich, I figured the strong seasoning in breakfast sausage might pair nicely with the slightly sweet croissant.

The main problem with my calculation was that assumption I made about the seasoning. This breakfast sausage patty was ... fine. Not too dry, not too greasy, no weird gristly bits. But I detected very little of the classic breakfast sausage seasoning, typically a blend of sage, pepper, and garlic and onion powder (among other things). It wasn't nonexistent, but it was definitely mild.

The rest of the ingredients in this sandwich were the same as the last Burger King Croissan'wich, and they were consistent in quality. Basically, it's good, but it's not the best sausage croissant breakfast sandwich I've had from a fast food joint, and I probably wouldn't opt for it again.

The McGriddle may not be quite as iconic as the McMuffin, but it's pretty close: egg, cheese, and a protein of your choice, sandwiched between two maple-infused mini pancakes. It's a sandwich that seeks to strike that same tantalizing balance of sweet and savory as chicken and waffles. But I'd never had a McGriddle; would the sandwich pull off that balance? And a lot would depend on those mini pancakes. Would they be dry, or a sticky mess? Would they be sickly-sweet or bland? I liked the look of this sandwich, but it still had a lot to prove.

Like the Sausage Croissan'wich, I was looking for a tasty flavor contrast between the syrupy pancakes and the spiced sausage. Right away, I noticed that this breakfast sausage was far more heavily seasoned than the Burger King version, and much tastier. It was also fairly moist and free of gristly bits. But it was also salty, garlicky, and savory, with a little kick of heat. I tasted both chains' sausage patties side by side afterward, without the other ingredients; flavor-wise, there was no comparison.

And the savory sausage met its sweet match in the pancakes, which were tender and buttery. The pancakes somehow taste and feel saturated with maple syrup while staying structurally sound; they're not overly wet or sticky. If I had a complaint about this sandwich, it might just be that the cheese is unnecessary and borderline undetectable. Still, I didn't want to put this McGriddle down.

While McDonald's lets customers upgrade breakfast sandwiches by doubling up on meat, only Burger King offers a breakfast sandwich that automatically comes with three meats. The Loaded Croissan'wich is basically the choice for the ultimate meat-lover, or the ultimate decision-avoider. It comes with Black Forest ham, bacon, and a breakfast sausage patty, making it a medley of all the possible breakfast protein offerings. I was worried that this would be too much for one sandwich —either in flavor, ingredient ratio, or sheer sodium level.

For some reason, this was actually the best Croissan'wich I tried. The mildness of the Burger King breakfast sausage works well here when paired with the salty ham and bacon. Each ingredient's textural differences make for a surprisingly interesting bite for a breakfast sandwich, and the meat wasn't stacked so high that the egg and cheese got lost in the balance. I would definitely get this again, and I can't say I feel that way about most "more is more" style dishes.

I may not have ever had a McDonald's breakfast sandwich before this ranking, but I had certainly heard about them. The McMuffin and McGriddle weren't new concepts to me. But when I looked at the menu and saw McDonald's offered a steak and egg McMuffin, I was taken aback. Steak? McDonald's? I had to have it. When it came time to actually try it, my doubts crept in. Was I about to make the biggest gastrointestinal mistake of my life? The meat looked gray, almost boiled. The onions looked tasty enough, which lifted my spirits and gave me the courage to dive in.

Look. This is McDonald's. Was this a really good steak? No. But it was well-seasoned, and while I wouldn't in any universe call it tender, it wasn't dry or chewy. The grilled onions were a lovely addition that offered a homestyle feel and a deep savoriness. Steak and eggs are a classic combo, and I think it's nice that McDonald's offers that combo at a low price. I probably would not get this again.

The Croissan'wich is solid, but McDonald's blew this thing out of the water. In essentially every way, McDonald's wins out here. Overall, I thought the sandwiches and their components tasted better. It's not that every sandwich was a 10/10 item; it's that the sandwiches were more consistently tasty across the board. Meanwhile, the low lows of the Burger King breakfast menu aren't counterbalanced by particularly high highs.

The McDonald's breakfast sandwiches also offer more variety. The McMuffin, biscuit sandwich, and McGriddle are all distinct products. Burger King has basically bet the farm on the Croissan'wich, and while I wouldn't say any of them were bad, I wouldn't say they were great, either. In my opinion, any person walking into a McDonald's is more likely to find something that caters to their specific breakfast sandwich desires than someone walking into a Burger King. 

Historically, a fierce rivalry seems to have made both fast-food chains better. I hope Burger King starts to really take on the breakfast menu competition head-on; the potential is there, but right now, McDonald's has it in the (paper) bag.