Forget McDonald's: This Jimmy Dean Breakfast Find Rivals The McGriddle

Fast food breakfast-loving foodies, rejoice. There's no longer any need to wake up early to meet the 10:30 a.m. cutoff. Skip the drive-thru and spare your wallet with one unexpected savior from the grocery store freezer aisle: Jimmy Dean Frozen Sausage, Egg and Cheese Maple Griddle Cakes. These store-bought frozen breakfast sandwiches are a solid dupe for the McDonald's McGriddle, capturing the same sweet-savory start to the day in seconds (and on a dime).

Jimmy Dean's Frozen Sausage, Egg and Cheese Maple Griddle Cake sandwiches feature the brand's signature seasoned sausage patties, topped with a scrambled egg and American cheese between two pancakes. Those fluffy pancakes are dotted with pockets of maple syrup, which burst with maple flavor in each bite. By comparison, Mickey D's iconic Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddle features a sausage patty, a folded scrambled-style egg, and melted American cheese between two soft signature McGriddle cakes (also dotted with maple syrup pockets). The resemblance is uncanny, and the payoff is delish.

We've also created a copycat McGriddle recipe, so diehard fans can get a taste of the real deal at home. But, on chaotic weekdays when going the homemade route simply isn't in the cards, Jimmy Dean's convenient, cost-effective frozen offering gets the job done in style. To heat 'em up, Jimmy Dean's frozen version can be baked in the oven or microwaved for just 80 to 90 seconds on a busy morning – a lot quicker than waiting in the drive-thru line.

We aren't the only ones digging this frozen breakfast sandwich, either. Over 14,000 Walmart customer ratings of Jimmy Dean Frozen Sausage, Egg and Cheese Maple Griddle Cakes give the product an impressive average of 4.7 out of 5 stars. "The individual sandwiches make portioning simple, and the four-count package is convenient for keeping a few quick breakfasts ready in the freezer," writes one review. Elsewhere online, Target customers echo similar praise, writing, "the best breakfast sandwich ever," and "Delicious! I love that it tastes the same as the ones from McDs but I can get 4 in this box versus the price of just 1 when ordered at McDs." 

Indeed, the average price of an à la carte Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddle from McDonald's currently sits around $7.78. At Walmart, an 18.8-ounce box of four Jimmy Dean Frozen Sausage, Egg and Cheese Maple Griddle Cake sandwiches runs for $6.82 (less than the cost of a single McGriddle), or about $1.70 per sandwich. We also appreciate the 13 grams of protein per serving.

Have we piqued a scorching breakfast sammy craving? Word to the wise: Jimmy Dean also makes a Blueberry Griddle Cake version of its Sausage, Egg and Cheese breakfast sandwich, which we awarded high marks during a taste test of Jimmy Dean frozen breakfast foods. Feel free to stock up the freezer with a box of each flavor on your next grocery run.