It’s often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It also happens to be one of the most popular. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 85% of adults ages 20 and over eat at least one item for breakfast daily. That prevalence has led fast food chains to invest heavily in breakfast menus. Wendy’s, for example, is investing $55 million in advertising for breakfast to gain more market share – a market currently dominated by McDonald’s, which accounted for a third of breakfast sales in 2023 (per Yahoo! Finance).
While breakfast can be a healthy start to the day, it can be the opposite if not careful. Like their lunch and dinner counterparts, fast-food breakfast items are not the most nutritious options one can choose from in the early morning hours. However, some fast-food breakfasts are worse for you than others, with some even surprising consumers. Nutrition metrics like calories, sodium, and carbohydrates are important factors to consider when choosing your first meal of the day. Take note of the following fast-food breakfasts if you want to exercise more discretion when ordering out.
Taco Bell’s Breakfast Crunchwrap with Sausage
Nutrition: Breakfast Crunchwrap with Sausage (Per Serving)
Calories: 750
Fat: 49 g (Saturated Fat: 17 g)
Sodium: 1,210 mg
Carbs: 53 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 3 g)
Protein: 21 g
Taco Bell’s popular Crunchwrap is available in the morning hours as the Breakfast Crunchwrap with Sausage. This packs in a ton of sodium at 1,210 milligrams as well as a hefty dosage of carbohydrates with 53 grams per serving. The Breakfast Crunchwrap comes with a flour tortilla filled with a hash brown, eggs, sausage, jalapeño sauce, and shredded cheddar cheese folded into Taco Bell’s signature Crunchwrap form. Be aware of add-ons like sour cream and guacamole, which add even more calories to this dish.
Sonic’s Ultimate Meat & Cheese Breakfast Burrito
Nutrition: Ultimate Meat & Cheese Breakfast Burrito (Per Serving)
Calories: 820
Fat: 56 g (Saturated Fat: 18 g)
Sodium: 2,190 mg
Carbs: 47 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 29 g
You can enjoy Sonic’s Ultimate Meat & Cheese Breakfast Burrito without even leaving your car, thanks to the fast-food chain’s unique carport ordering system. The breakfast burrito is made with a double dose of protein with bacon and sausage along with tater tots, scrambled eggs, and a zesty cheese sauce. A burrito might seem like the healthier choice of breakfast compared to a traditional breakfast sandwich, given the thinness of a tortilla. However, this breakfast packs a punch with 820 calories and over 2,000 milligrams of sodium.
McDonald’s Big Breakfast with Hotcakes
Nutrition: Big Breakfast with Hotcakes (Per Serving)
Calories: 1,340
Fat: 63 g (Saturated Fat: 24 g)
Sodium: 2,070 mg
Carbs: 158 g (Fiber: 48 g, Sugar: 41 g)
Protein: 36 g
McDonald’s Big Breakfast with Hotcakes delivers on multiple fronts when it comes to fast-food breakfasts that are unhealthier than you think. One of these Big Breakfasts includes a biscuit, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and hotcakes. Those components add up to a dish that’s high in not only calories, but also fat, sodium, and carbohydrates.
Whataburger’s Breakfast Burger
Nutrition: Breakfast Burger (Per Serving)
Calories: 670
Fat: 38 g (Saturated Fat: 14 g)
Sodium: 1,540 mg
Carbs: 51 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 6 g)
Protein: 28 g
Texas-based fast-food chain Whataburger has a fan-favorite breakfast menu that includes many tasty dishes, including the Breakfast Burger. The A.M. twist on the chain’s signature menu item comes with a small beef patty, one egg, hash brown sticks, American cheese, and bacon. It’s those sneaky hash brown sticks that bump the carbohydrates up to 51 grams.
Subway’s Steak, Egg & Cheese Sandwich
Nutrition: Steak, Egg & Cheese Footlong (Per Serving):
Calories: 870
Fat: 46 g (Saturated Fat: 11 g)
Sodium: 1,840 mg
Carbs: 56 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 6 g)
Protein: 52 g
You can “eat fresh” all day long at Subway, thanks to its breakfast menu that includes multiple sandwich options like the Steak, Egg, and Cheese. This comes with shaved steak, eggs, and melted American cheese on a flatbread. The sandwich offers big flavor as well as big numbers when it comes to sodium at 1,840 milligrams and carbohydrates at 56 grams. This sandwich is also available in a 6″ variety, which will slash all of those nutrition figures in half.
Carl’s Jr. Monster Biscuit
Nutrition: Monster Biscuit (Per Serving)
Calories: 850
Fat: 56 g (Saturated Fat: 25 g)
Sodium: 2,420 mg
Carbs: 47 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 5 g)
Protein: 34 g
Breakfast sandwiches just feel right when they come served on a flaky buttermilk biscuit. That’s exactly what customers can expect when ordering a Monster Biscuit from Carl’s Jr., which comes with bacon, a sausage patty, two eggs, Swiss cheese, and American cheese. They can also expect a decent chunk of the daily recommended value of certain nutrients, like sodium, which comes in at a whopping 2,420 milligrams in one serving. It also clocks in at 47 grams of carbohydrates and 850 calories, not too far from half the daily recommended caloric recommendations for many adults.
Wendy’s Breakfast Baconator
Nutrition: Breakfast Baconator (Per Serving):
Calories: 710
Fat: 48 g (Saturated Fat: 19 g)
Sodium: 1,740 mg
Carbs: 37 g (Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 7 g)
Protein: 33 g
Wendy’s breakfast menu is filled with many hits, including one of our favorites, the Breakfast Baconator. This highly-ranked breakfast sandwich comes with grilled sausage, American cheese, Applewood smoked bacon, and a fresh-cracked free-range egg. Covered in Wendy’s signature cheese sauce, it’s no wonder this single sandwich contains 1,740 milligrams of sodium. It’s also high in saturated fat at 19 grams per serving.
Dunkin Sourdough Breakfast Sandwich
Nutrition: Sourdough Breakfast Sandwich (Per Serving):
Calories: 650
Fat: 32 g (Saturated Fat: 11 g)
Sodium: 1,360 mg
Carbs: 58 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 2 g)
Protein: 31 g
Dunkin is known for its famous donuts and tasty coffee drinks, but the fast-food chain also has several savory breakfast sandwich options to round out your early morning meal. If you’re looking to switch up your everyday bagel sandwich, try Dunkin’s Sourdough Breakfast Sandwich. It comes with the usual suspects – eggs, bacon, and white cheddar cheese, but on two slices of sourdough toast. This hefty sandwich comes with an eye-popping 58 grams of carbohydrates, though it has relatively less sodium than other sandwiches in this roundup – 1,360 milligrams.
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