7 McDonald's Breakfast Sandwiches, Ranked

There is much debate over whether McDonald's is the true origin of the first fast-food breakfast sandwich. Chains like Jack in the Box claim to have debuted a breakfast sandwich years before McDonald's, but one thing is for sure: McDonald's serves up one of the most iconic fast-food breakfasts on the market. It began with the Egg McMuffin, which debuted on the menu nationally in 1975, and quickly spiraled beyond that, with the McDonald's breakfast items expanding to breakfast classics like pancakes (called Hotcakes at the chain) and hash browns. Then, the breakfast offerings expanded even further, including more unique items like McGriddles branded with the golden arches on the outside. 

Now, McDonald's breakfast menu consists of over 20 items, varying by location, and around 14 of those are variations on breakfast sandwiches. There are bagels, McMuffins, McGriddles, and biscuits, and in many locations, you only have until 10:30 a.m. to grab breakfast. This means there is limited time to try the various sandwiches McDonald's has to offer. How do you know which sandwiches are worth the purchase, and which you can probably skip?

I taste-tested several McDonald's breakfast sandwiches to find out. I tried a range of sandwiches, including McMuffins and bagels, to get a good idea of what sandwiches stand out. The sandwiches that made it high on this list were well balanced in flavors and not too indulgent that they'd leave you feeling heavy for the rest of the day. Let's see where the sandwiches rank.

Steak is probably an item you should avoid ordering at a fast food restaurant. Admittedly, going into this, I was not excited about trying it. This sandwich felt like it would be the most indulgent, and that proved to be true. 

The Steak, Egg, and Cheese Bagel is heavy and greasy. Just by looking at it, the bagel doesn't look very appetizing — it looks chewy — and it was covered in oil when I unwrapped it from the packaging. This is likely from the butter used after the bagel is toasted and also from the grilled onions that top the steak patty. The initial smell was instantly of caramelized onions, which I would normally enjoy, but which here was overpowering and too much for a breakfast sandwich. 

Plus, the sandwich certainly smelled more seasoned than it tasted, with the onion flavor not actually showing up on my palate as much as it did in the aroma. Overall, the sandwich is very wet, between the steak grease, the onion grease, and the butter. It is just too much oil. Unfortunately, it tastes mostly like onions and is otherwise bland. It is exactly what I would expect fast-food steak to taste like, and that is just not good. 

The Egg McMuffin has a long history at McDonald's, and for that reason, I really wanted to like it. In 1971, a McDonald's owner and operator in California wanted to create the Egg McMuffin as a way to make a portable eggs Benedict. He nixed the Hollandaise sauce but otherwise stayed true to an eggs Benedict, including by using Canadian bacon. For me, this intentional choice is the downfall of the Egg McMuffin. 

I had never had the classic Egg McMuffin before, and I think it is safe to say I never will again. The sandwich smells prominently (and uncomfortably) like deli meat in a way I do not find appetizing. The slice of Canadian bacon was thicker than it needed to be, and though Canadian bacon is typically meant to taste mild, I felt that it overpowered the entire sandwich. It tasted very artificial, overly salty, and cured. 

It might just be that I do not like Canadian bacon. If you do, this might be the perfect breakfast sandwich for you. However, I could barely get past the first bite. There is no chance for the egg or cheese to shine here, and even the obvious texture and flavor of the English muffin is lost in a way it is not in the other sandwiches.

The McChicken Biscuit was probably the least appetizing-looking sandwich. It looked like a piece of chicken slapped between two halves of a biscuit. In theory, this sandwich just feels like an excuse to eat some form of a McDonald's chicken nugget before 10 a.m., and McDonald's makes good chicken, so I expected it to be good.

The McChicken Biscuit just fell short, and that is mostly because of the texture. I actually enjoy a dry biscuit, as McDonald's biscuits tend to be — we will get into this more later — but the problem with this sandwich is the combination of the dry biscuit and the breading on the chicken. This pair makes for a thick bite that does not go down smoothly at all. It is hard to swallow because of the doughiness.

This McChicken Biscuit could benefit from additions, like cheese or some sort of sauce. The online menu claims that there is butter on top, but I'm not sure that actually does anything to improve the texture or taste here. It is regrettable because the chicken is well-seasoned. But as a whole, this sandwich is just not remarkable.

I am a big fan of McDonald's biscuits (and most fast-food chain biscuits). The smell of the Egg and Cheese Biscuit was inviting, though the sandwich did look dry. Personally, I do not mind a dry biscuit, but this is a controversial topic — if you know you do not like a dry biscuit, I would not recommend any of McDonald's biscuit sandwiches. 

Though dry, the biscuit has hints of butter and is salty. The biscuit is the star here, rather than the egg or the cheese. The American cheese gives the sandwich a little bit more moisture, but overall, the sandwich tends to lean toward being doughy. It gets a little bit clumpy in the mouth, which is not ideal. Still, where it falls short in texture, the bread shines in flavor — more than the McChicken Biscuit did. 

The egg, though, is not very noticeable. It does not shine through in the taste, and it gets overpowered by the biscuit. Being one of the few no-meat variations McDonald's offers, the egg and cheese biscuit is not quite perfect, and that is why it lands in the middle of this list. 

Now, this is my go-to order at a McDonald's drive-through. To me, this is the quintessential breakfast sandwich, which is why it makes the top three on this list. It has a greasy bacon smell that clearly sets it apart from the Egg and Cheese Biscuit, but there is not a lot of actual grease on the sandwich, which is good. 

The bacon is crispy and salty. My main critique is that I wish there was more of it. The biscuit is thick and so is the folded egg, so the meat almost gets lost in the bite. Still, the saltiness of the bacon works well with the saltiness of the biscuit, and the bacon gives the cheese something to melt onto. What's left is a slice of bacon coated in American cheese.

While eating, I could not help but think about how much sodium was in it (1,330 milligrams). You can certainly taste that, and, unfortunately, that is part of what makes this sandwich so good. It's definitely a sandwich I would only eat once in a blue moon — and it will be worth the wait in between. 

I am not usually a sausage, egg, and cheese person, so the fact that a sausage sandwich scored so highly on this list is surprising. The Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle smells like syrupy sweetness, just like a pancake — which makes sense because the griddle cakes have maple flavoring baked into them. Plus, this was one of the best-looking sandwiches. It was neatly piled and wrapped, which made it look appetizing. 

The griddle cake is soft and spongy, and it leans toward greasy because of the butter in the sandwich. It is not overly greasy like some of the other sandwiches on this list, though. The sausage is well-seasoned, which counters the sweet, syrupy taste of the griddle cakes. Overall, McDonald's seems to do sausage better than bacon because it uses a patty specifically. The patty covers the entirety of the sandwich, whereas the strips of bacon mean that not every bite has meat in it.

An important note here is that there is no texture variance in this sandwich; it is pretty much all soft and spongy. The McGriddle — which has inspired copycat recipes on the internet — presents a combination of sweet and spicy flavors that is pleasant, and it works for a breakfast sandwich because of the griddle cakes.

It is quite surprising to me that this sandwich ended up so high on this list, but I will tell you why it did. The McMuffins are the only ones that use what looks like a fried egg rather than folded scrambled eggs, which I appreciate. The proportions looked well-balanced when I unwrapped it, too.

The English muffin itself smelled starchy, and it is grainy and textured, which I actually think helps add some texture variance to the sandwich, which not many other sandwiches on this list have. The flavor ranges too, and the seasoning on the sausage shines more than it did on the McGriddle because the maple flavoring is not overpowering it. The egg tastes more prominently like egg than in any of the other sandwiches, where it was hidden and bland. 

Further, this sandwich lacks the sweetness of a McGriddle, so if you are someone who prefers a savory breakfast, this should be your pick. And for sausage lovers, this is the perfect order. The sausage is the star, as it should be on a Sausage McMuffin. This sandwich hits the marks for texture, flavor, and balance.

I tried to select a range of McDonald's breakfast sandwiches — including meat and non-meat options and different bread bases — to cover the broad menu it offers. When tasting, I considered the flavor and texture of each sandwich and ranked sandwiches with more balanced and better textures higher. Textural preference can vary, so I noted where some readers may disagree with my opinions.

Another key factor was whether I thought each sandwich would actually be good for breakfast. Sandwiches that were too heavy or greasy were ranked lower because eating them first thing in the morning would probably lessen my energy for the day, making for a poor breakfast experience.