The Best Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches from 10 Popular Chains, Ranked & Reviewed

• What’s On It: Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese and honey mustard spread on King’s Hawaiian pretzel slider buns
• Price: $5

Full disclosure: I’m an egg and cheese Wake-Up Wrap kind of girl. (I’ve been known to inhale an order of Dunkin’ hash browns in about five seconds flat, too.) Having grown up surrounded by stellar bagel shops, I’m not a fan of Dunkin’s. I also find their croissants to be pretty greasy and messily flaky. So, it’s no surprise that I preferred the sweet-and-salty, soft pretzel bread. I appreciated the snackable size of the sliders as well. These breakfast sandwiches weren’t the most appetizing of the bunch, but they made up for it in uniqueness. The mustard spread brightened up the sweet ham and the mild cheese just right.

• What’s On It: spicy breaded chicken breast on a buttermilk biscuit
• Price: $4

Yes, you can get a standard BEC (or SEC) here, but Chick-fil-A is known for its chicken. So, I went for signature items you can’t find elsewhere. The biscuit was buttery, fresh and tender, but it was also slightly greasy, very crumbly and messy to eat. That said, I much preferred it to the English muffin. (I tried that with the Egg White Grill—a grilled chicken, egg and cheese—and found the entire handheld to be bland, despite its tasty appearance.) The spicy chicken was well seasoned and boasted medium heat, but it was a touch dry and not as crispy as I’d hoped.

• What’s On It: egg, hickory smoked bacon and American cheese on a slider bun
• Price: $2

I don’t live near a White Castle, but I would be remiss not to include them in this fast food breakfast sandwich roundup. So, I enlisted PureWow VP of Editorial Candace Davison to try some on my behalf, and this was the clear winner. “It’s simple, it’s delightful, and it’s what made me understand why Harold and Kumar went to all that trouble years ago,” she explains. “Everything’s made fresh to order, and the pillowy bun is just the right foil for the salty eggs, cheese and bacon. It’s not too greasy (maybe due to the bun sopping up any), and even better with a packet of Texas Pete.” (She recommends passing on the overly sweet waffle sammies, as tempting as they may be.)

• What’s On It: breaded white meat chicken topped with maple honey butter on a buttermilk biscuit
• Price: $4

I never thought this would be my Wendy’s winner, but here we are. The honey chicken biscuit was very balanced between sweet and savory. The chicken was basically a jumbo nugget, while the biscuit was fluffy and tender without being too salty. If you like chicken and waffles, it won’t disappoint (especially if you drizzle it with hot sauce). I thought the sausage, egg and cheese croissant was excessively soggy, however, I enjoyed the Hollandaise-like sauce. I also tried a bacon, egg and cheese on an English muffin, but the bottom was completely saturated in grease, so there was no contest.

• What’s On It: egg, sausage and American cheese on a buttermilk biscuit
• Price: $5

The SEC was less flavorful than the one from McDonald’s (more on that later), but I was impressed by the biscuit. It was fresh, salty and buttery, with an aroma that reminded me of Country Crock spread. The cheese and egg were both moist, and I was surprised how cheap some of the breakfast foods were compared to McD’s. I also tried a BEC croissant and wasn’t a fan; the bread was really messy, fragile and soggy.

• What’s On It: seasoned eggs and American cheese in lavash
• Price: $10

While you debate whether or not a wrap counts as a sandwich, let me tell you about this pick. The first notable difference between it and other fast food breakfast sandwiches on this list is its size. The wrap is very substantial and big enough to share (hence the $10 price tag). The eggs tasted surprisingly fresh, like a scramble I’d make at home, with plenty of black pepper. The cheese was creamy and thoroughly melted. But the pillowy, delightfully chewy lavash was what stole the show for me.

• What’s On It: sausage, eggs and American cheese on Texas toast
• Price: $4

Sonic continues to impress whenever I have it back-to-back with its competitors. The sausage was very herbaceous and boldly seasoned, while the cheese was rich and well-melted. I also appreciated that the egg appeared to be freshly cooked, rather than a microwavable patty. The toast was a touch soggy and very soft on the inside, but tough and chewy on the edges. I also tried the bacon, egg and cheese on brioche, but it was a pass for me. The bacon was very chewy and sort of bland, and the bread was almost too soft.

• What’s On It: cage-free egg frittata, mozzarella and kale-basil pesto on a toasted cheddar and onion bun
• Price: $5

As a former Starbucks barista, I’ve had too many sausage, cheddar and egg sammies on English muffins to count (not to mention the turkey bacon, cheddar and egg white sandwiches, since no one ever ordered them). I didn’t expect to dethrone my own go-to, but this herbaceous, meatless pick took the crown. The pesto was very fragrant, bright and savory with a salty, acidic high note that brought the sandwich to life. The egg was tender, and the bread was cheesy and soft. I much preferred it to the popular double-smoked bacon, cheddar and egg variety, which I thought was soggy and underwhelming.

• What’s On It: egg, sausage and American cheese on maple-flavored griddle cakes
• Price: $6

I don’t have the stats to back it, but I’d argue McDonald’s is the most beloved fast food breakfast spot. Whether you go for the nostalgic hot cakes, iconic hash browns or timeless egg McMuffin, its A.M. offerings hit every time. For me, it’s always been the SEC McGriddles. I never get tired of the sweet-and-savory contrast between the pillowy, pancake-y buns, the herb-kissed sausage and that plasticky-in-a-good-way, creamy cheese that McDonald’s is famous for. The egg is usually the one variable—it’s stacked high and occasionally dry—but this time around, it was pretty moist.

That said, I also need to give the steak, egg and cheese bagel some love, too. It was my first time having it, and I was conflicted choosing between it and my go-to. The steak was textured like a McRib or chicken patty, but tasted like burger meat. It was super oniony and savory, kind of like meatloaf, and I adored the tangy sauce, despite its slightly off-putting yellow color.

• What’s On It: scrambled egg, sausage, American cheese, salt, pepper and garlic aioli on an Asiago bagel
• Price: $7

I’m no stranger to Panera Bread’s oh-so cheesy Asiago bagel. But this was my first time having it with anything but cream cheese, and all I can say is wow. The bagel itself was delicious—crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, encrusted with salty, savory cheese all around. It didn’t get soggy like many other chains’ rolls or croissants, and it wasn’t too hard like some of Panera’s baguette sandwiches. I also felt the sandwich was flawlessly constructed, so every bite had an even ratio of meat, cheese and egg. (It’s harder to get that with bacon strips than with a round sausage patty, IMO.) Its flavor was bold, herbaceous, thanks to the sausage, and deeply savory.