8 Discontinued Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches That Deserve A Second Chance

We've already looked at some forgotten fast food breakfast items that deserve a revival, but there were very few sandwiches on the list. And now, we are going to rectify that oversight. From chains that still have plenty of breakfast sandwiches on their menus to ones that have all but abandoned breakfast entirely, these sandwiches are no longer available for one reason or another — which, as far as we're concerned, is a tragedy.

On the whole, fast food breakfast offerings just aren't as substantial or as varied as lunch/dinner options. That is part of why it feels like such a loss when a tasty fast-food breakfast sandwich is permanently removed from a menu. Honestly, even among fast food chains that focus on breakfast, the selection of actual sandwiches is often lacking.

It's kind of strange, if you think about it, given that the fast-food industry is built around sandwiches. But unless you're talking about one of the handful of legacy sandwiches like the Egg McMuffin or the Breakfast Jack, you can never be sure that a fast food breakfast sandwich you enjoyed today will still be available tomorrow.

Its breakfast burrito is already one of the better McDonald's breakfast items, but that shouldn't be the only way you can get Mexican-inspired flavors from the Golden Arches in the morning. And in 1999, for a glorious but unfortunately short span of time, McDonald's fans could get a sausage patty, a slice of American cheese, a slice of pepper jack cheese, and a folded egg with diced green peppers and onions, all between two bagel halves. 

The Spanish Omelet Bagel Sandwich was part of McDonald's original wave of bagel sandwiches, and it was arguably the most distinctive one — especially for having its own bespoke egg. Unfortunately, it was gone within a year. McDonald's abandoned bagels entirely in 2020 but started bringing them back in 2024, though only the Bacon, Egg & Cheese; Sausage, Egg & Cheese; and Steak, Egg & Cheese Bagels are on the current menu.

Here's hoping McDonald's listens to its fans and also brings the Spanish Omelet Bagel back someday. Or, at the very least, bring back the option to get eggs diced with peppers and onions on any breakfast sandwich for a nice hit of flavor and heat.  

There are some great foods at Dunkin' besides donuts, including some delightful sandwiches. But there is one that we lost in 2019 that was one of the best sandwiches the chain ever offered: the Big 'N Toasted, sometimes erroneously referred to by fans as the Big 'N Toasty. No matter what people actually call it, the consensus is that they miss it, with some calling it the best menu item Dunkin' ever had.

The original Big 'N Toasted had bacon, cheese, and peppery fried eggs between two thick slices of buttery Texas toast. It was greasy bliss, paired perfectly with a cup of that signature Dunkin' coffee and a side of those bite-sized hash browns. In 2013, two years after the OG Big 'N Toasted was launched, a version that swapped the bacon for a burger-esque patty of Angus steak was introduced. Steak and eggs between two slices of toast on a sandwich — what else could you want? 

But 2018 saw the temporary removal of both Big 'N Toasted sandwiches, only for them to attempt a meager comeback in 2019 before disappearing entirely. It was definitely on the heavier side, not the kind of breakfast sandwich you could eat every day, and perhaps that was its downfall. These days, Dunkin' seems to focus more on quicker, lighter bites for its breakfast fare. 

Not nearly enough fast-food chains offer chorizo sausage as it is, let alone ones that include it as a component of a breakfast sandwich. But Starbucks, of all places, did exactly that in 2016 when it got on that year's spiciness bandwagon and introduced the Chorizo Breakfast Sandwich. Some Starbucks workers claim it sold poorly, while others say the sandwiches flew out the door. Either way, corporate seemed to feel the former was more the case, as the sandwich was dropped from Starbucks menus between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020.

You know a defunct menu item is missed when an online petition is started to bring it back, and the Starbucks Chorizo Breakfast Sandwich has one that brought in over 600 signatures. One Redditor called it the best fast food breakfast sandwich on the market. But given that nothing on the current Starbucks breakfast menu comes close to spicy, it's clear the chain isn't pursuing heat these days. All we can do is hope that spicy gets hot again (pun intended) so that Starbucks might be inspired to bring the Chorizo Sandwich back. 

The murky origins of fast-food breakfast sandwiches see McDonald's Egg McMuffin and Jack in the Box's Breakfast Jack battling for the distinction of being the first to market. Either way, it shows that Jack in the Box has been in the breakfast game as long as McDonald's has — and in the process, we've seen a lot of Jack in the Box breakfast sandwiches come and go. Including, unfortunately, the mighty Big Waffle Stack.

Seeming to be Jack in the Box's attempt to replicate the success of McDonald's McGriddles, the Big Waffle Stack followed the chain's previous Waffle Sandwich but cranked everything up to 11. Rather than make customers choose between sausage, ham, or bacon, the Big Waffle Stack had all three. And that was in addition to double the eggs and double the cheese. It all came sandwiched between maple syrup-flavored waffles, which needed a decent squeeze to get the sandwich down to bite-size. 

The Big Waffle Stack arrived around the beginning of 2013, a few months after the original Waffle Sandwich. Both were removed with little fanfare in 2014, leaving those that were lucky enough to have them during their short lives longing for their return. 

Not to be left out, Burger King also threw its hat into the maple-flavored breakfast sandwich ring, though it was a bit late to the party by not doing so until 2019. Following Jack in the Box's lead, rather than McDonald's, Burger King's trio of Maple Waffle Sandwiches were sandwiched between syrup-tinged waffles instead of griddle cakes. It does seem to be the smarter option — but then again, we're talking about another waffle sandwich that came and went while the McGriddle has lived on for over 20 years now.

Anyway, the types of Maple Waffle Sandwiches on offer from Burger King were the expected varieties: all with egg and cheese, with the only difference being sausage, bacon, or ham. However, despite some positive press and customer buzz, all three Maple Waffle Sandwiches didn't survive into 2020. At least not on Burger King menus in the U.S. — Burger King in the Philippines still has a BK Waffle Sausage King on its all-day breakfast menu, available with either cheese or egg, along with a variety of meals featuring different types of waffles with various sides and toppings. 

In addition to a handful of fun twists on the classic chicken and waffles, Chick-fil-A's breakfast menu is otherwise full of surprisingly standard options — Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit; Breakfast Burrito; Hash Browns; and so on. Other than the menu items featuring the restaurant's signature chicken patties, there seemingly isn't much to entice people to choose Chick-fil-A breakfast over another fast-food joint. But that wasn't always the case, such as when the chain had those deliciously earthy Sunflower Multigrain Bagels.

The Sunflower Multigrain Bagels were the star of the sandwich and the focus of an online petition with over 1,000 signatures asking for them to be brought back. But the bagels really shone as the bun for a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and a Chick-fil-A chicken patty. It was a unique combination of flavors and textures unlike any other fast-food chain's bagel sandwich offering, and its being axed entirely as part of streamlining efforts makes the sandwich's demise especially disheartening. 

Plant-based meats are still far too rare an option for fast-food burgers. But among fast-food breakfast options, they are almost nonexistent. That makes the death of Hardee's Beyond Sausage Biscuit Sandwich all the more frustrating. Introduced in 2019 in partnership with Beyond Meat, which also included a Beyond Thickburger, the Beyond Sausage Biscuit was exactly what it sounds like: a Beyond Meat sausage patty sandwiched between two of Hardee's iconic Made From Scratch Biscuits, made fresh on location throughout breakfast hours. You could also add egg and cheese if you so chose.

The Beyond Sausage Biscuit wasn't just special for being meatless; it was a legitimately tasty breakfast sandwich. One reviewer made a point of having the patty by itself to see if it held up without the biscuits or any other toppings, and reported that it was, in fact, delicious on its own. Sadly, both of Hardee's Beyond sandwiches disappeared from menus sometime in 2020. And with that, the already short list of fast food chains offering plant-based beef and pork got even shorter. 

Yes, Subway still has breakfast flatbreads on the menu, with a variety of toppings. They are rather good, in fact, with Subway being a fast-food place that we feel a lot of people sleep on as a legitimate fast-food breakfast contender. But the chain used to have an Egg White & Cheese Mornin' Flatbread that was so delicious, it bested even the McDonald's Egg McMuffin in a Consumer Reports taste test.

It was a deceptively simple sandwich, containing just egg whites and cheese in a folded-over flatbread. Sure, you could add more toppings if you liked, but just the eggs and cheese were perfectly fine on their own, especially if you were looking for a lighter breakfast sandwich that still brought the flavor. Nutrition doesn't seem to be an especially important component of fast-food breakfast sandwiches, with most opting to be as meaty, cheesy, greasy, and otherwise decadent as possible.

So, Subway's Egg White & Cheese Mornin' Flatbread disappeared when the chain first phased out flatbreads, but didn't come back when flatbreads returned, which constitutes a major blind spot for health-conscious fast-food breakfast eaters.