11 Absolute Best Fast Food Breakfast Sandwich Upgrades

Fast food chains have pretty much cracked the code on what comprises the perfect breakfast sandwich. The ingredients? Fluffy eggs, crispy bacon, savory sausage, and melty cheese. The buns? Warm buttermilk biscuits, croissants, bagels, or toast. Now, if we're being real, nothing will ever top this assemblage of breakfast sandwich perfection. But just because that's true, that doesn't mean you should let it keep you from trying new things.

Fortunately, one of the best parts about fast food is the ability to customize your breakfast sandwich however you like. This freedom of flavorful expression allows for all sorts of tasty upgrades that, when used, keep the experience fresh.

Say you happen to dream about swapping regular buns for hash browns — you can easily make that dream a reality. Or, say you suddenly crave French toast on your sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich — well, all you have to do is order it. If you've never stepped outside of your usual breakfast sandwich go-to, today's the day. And, to help you get started, here are the absolute best fast food breakfast sandwich upgrades.

If you're of the belief that butter makes everything taste better, then you'll love this simple breakfast sandwich upgrade. Egg McMuffin lovers, lend us your ears. Next time you open up the McDonald's app to get your morning going, click on the customize button, tap butter, and select extra. This simple addition will take the texture of your English muffins to new, mouth-melty heights. The extra moist consistency of butter-filled muffin nooks is a nice contrast to the toasted, crispy-edged exterior. 

On top of that, the added butter gives Egg McMuffins a richer flavor, which, of course, complements the other ingredients. The best part is that this buttery upgrade is free and isn't exclusive to the Egg McMuffin. You can apply it to any breakfast sandwich. 

The marriage of fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, and honey is a match made in heaven, and at Wendy's, this matrimonial bliss goes by the name: Honey Buddy Chicken Biscuit. In this case, however, it swaps regular honey with maple honey butter, resulting in what we consider to be Wendy's best breakfast sandwich. Now, when faced with such perfection, we'd normally take the "if it isn't broken, then why fix it" approach. However, this viral upgrade looked way too tasty not to share.

It involves swapping the biscuits on the Honey Buddy Chicken sandwich with the chain's homestyle French toast sticks. You'll have to order both menu items separately to experience it, though. Assembling it is pretty straightforward from there. What's great about this upgrade is that it still offers what the Honey Buddy Chicken Biscuit does. You still get to enjoy a sweet and savory mash-up, the fluffy consistency of French toast, and the crispy texture of fried chicken. And, for a final saccharine touch, you get to drizzle it with maple syrup.

Unlike most fast food chains, Whataburger offers late-night breakfast, which means that you can experience this Ranchero-style upgrade anytime between 11 p.m. and 11 a.m. We recommend trying it with the chain's hamburger bun breakfast sandwiches, like, for example, the popular Breakfast on a Bun sandwich, which includes a sausage patty, egg, and American cheese. After selecting your sandwich, all you have to do is pay a little extra for add-ons to bring it to life. On the Whataburger website, simply check the box next to the fresh jalapeños and picante sauce, or you can ask to have them added in person.

The chain's picante sauce already includes jalapeño peppers, so if spice is your thing, this upgrade is definitely worthwhile. For no additional charge, you can also swap the hamburger bun for a potato bun, or add an extra egg for around a dollar more.

If you've never thought to put hash browns on your breakfast sandwich, here's your chance to give your Dunkin' breakfast sandwich an upgrade. The hack can be applied to any of its four breakfast handhelds; simply order hash browns on the side and slip them under your bun. We recommend going with the croissant, English muffin, or sourdough, which aren't as dense as bagel buns. Dunkin's lightly seasoned hash browns have a nice crunch that pairs well with the airy texture of croissants, the moist consistency of English muffins, and the toasted chewiness of sourdough bread. 

That said, don't let us talk you out of trying it on a bagel. Dunkin' is pretty liberal with its customizable options, which include five bagel varieties, fried and non-fried eggs, two cheese types, extra bacon, and the option of having your sandwich toasted. That leaves room for a lot of fun experimentation, and the best part is that Dunkin' serves breakfast all day.

Chick-fil-A recently added chicken and waffle sandwiches to its breakfast lineup, and fans have wasted no time putting their own twist on it. From an air-fryer hack that yields extra crispiness to swapping the chicken with a sausage patty, maple-flavored waffle buns clearly get the creative wheels spinning. Our favorite approach, however, is to make it more filling with a simple protein upgrade. In this case, we're referring to eggs and cheese. And luckily, you don't have to order a completely different sandwich to build it yourself; you can simply include them as add-ons for a little more than a dollar.

With the sandwich's usual ingredients, which, along with chicken and waffles, include three strips of Applewood-smoked bacon, honey butter spread, and a warm side of syrup, choose between regular eggs or egg whites, and three cheese types: American, pepper jack, or Colby Jack. Also, there are 11 sauces to swap the syrup for if you're looking for extra savoriness.

McDonald's offers lots of tasty ways to hack breakfast sandwiches, but this one takes the literal cake, and it's a delicious replacement for biscuits, bagels, and English muffins. On your next morning visit to Mickey D's, instead of ordering your go-to breakfast sandwich, order a Big Breakfast with Hotcakes meal, which includes a biscuit, a sausage patty, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and two pancakes with a side of butter and maple syrup. If you're wondering how you'll make a sandwich without buns, worry not, because you'll be using pancakes instead.

From here, the order of ingredients is up to you. Either way, you'll have everything you need to build the most amazing breakfast sandwich. That said, if golden-brown pancake buns sound too indulgent, you can always use them to make breakfast tacos. Whichever way you go, don't forget to drizzle it with maple syrup.

At Sonic Drive-In, all-day breakfast awaits, which means that this upgrade is available whenever you need a sweet fix. Rather than settling for a standard sausage, egg, and cheese CroisSONIC sandwich, stuff it with French toast sticks and dip the whole thing into maple-flavored syrup. Unfortunately, Sonic Drive-In doesn't offer them as an add-on option, so you'll have to order them separately. A side order of four French toast sticks is under $4, depending on where you reside, which still keeps this upgrade within an affordable range.

It's worth noting that the CroisSONIC sandwiches are only available in certain states. The chain offers both national and regional breakfast sandwiches, so while you might find its BREAKFAST TOASTER sandwiches at all locations, at others, you'll find its brioche bun sandwiches in place of the CroisSONIC ones. Not to worry, though, because this is an upgrade that'll level them all up.

Of all the bun-swaps, from pancakes and French toast to waffles, eggs are arguably the tastiest. What's more, if you're looking for a Burger King breakfast sandwich upgrade, it's a lower-carb alternative to biscuits and croissants. Double the flavor without the carb-load? Sign us up! Thankfully, since BK lets you "Have it your way," it's pretty easy to experience this eggy upgrade. 

One way is to simply ask your server to hold the buns and to order an extra folded egg. As far as how that will affect the price, it depends on where you're located. For example, Burger King's website charges $1.50 for an extra egg in one store in Los Angeles. But, if you go the online or BK app route, you'll have to remove the buns yourself. Either way, you should definitely add this extra savory low-carb hack to your must-try list.

In August 2026, Bojangles released the Carolina Crunch sandwich, a mouthwatering handheld composed of crispy Applewood-smoked bacon, eggs, and American cheese, served between two super-sized Bo-Tato Rounds. Unfortunately, the menu item that we've dubbed the best fast food breakfast sandwich of 2026 was only given a limited run, and to make matters worse, it was only made available in certain markets. So at this point, we're not even sure if it's still available.

Luckily, there's still a way to experience the Carolina Crunch sandwich, but you'll have to settle for regular Bo-Tato Rounds, which are a little more than about ⅓ the size. That said, according to those lucky enough to try the Carolina Crunch sandwich, the extra-large Bo-Tato Rounds tend to fall apart as you bite into them. So, in a way, the experience doesn't seem much different than if you used regular Bo-Tato Rounds.  

Bojangles serves breakfast all day, so you can give this upgrade a try at any time. You really only need four Bo-Tato Rounds to pull it off — two for the top bun and two for the bottom. Simply order them on the side with a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich, swap the buns, and get ready for savory satisfaction.

Many of the upgrades we've covered involve bun-swapping or adding extra toppings, but at Wendy's, the breakfast sandwich upgrade that you'll wish you tried sooner is to just order a side of gravy. It's a simple addition to your morning go-to that'll get your day off to an even tastier start. This upgrade requires you to make two separate orders, of course. But once you experience it, you'll probably want to try it with other menu items. 

Wendy's doesn't offer gravy as a standalone option, so you'll need to order the Sausage Gravy & Biscuit, which features a white pepper gravy filled with chunks of sausage. Once you have your breakfast sandwich in one hand and the gravy in the other, nothing's stopping you from dipping to your heart's delight. This upgrade isn't exclusive to breakfast sandwiches, either. You can whip the dip out for breakfast burritos, french fries, and even classic menu items like the Baconator or Dave's Single.

We'll be surprised if this upgrade has never crossed your mind, because it's almost a no-brainer. But just in case it hasn't, consider this our polite nudge to give it a try next time you start your day at Burger King. You can have any of the chain's breakfast sandwiches made your way, so instead of going with a regular sausage patty, ask the employee to swap it for a flame-grilled beef patty for some deeper, umami-rich smokiness.

You also get to experience BK's signature patty on a croissant or a biscuit, which is a welcome change from the sesame seed bun. What's more, just imagine biting into the savory layers of flame-grilled beef patty, egg, cheese, and ham or bacon. Drooling yet? Yup, that's exactly why we call this upgrade a no-brainer.