Best and worst breakfast sandwiches (2024)

Breakfast is important: it energizes your morning and can help keep hunger at bay so you don't overdo it at lunch. While eating breakfast at home is ideal (you have more control over the ingredients and can provide a healthy, balanced meal), there are times when you need or want to get breakfast on the go.

Many popular fast food restaurants now offer breakfast sandwiches, which prompted me to research the healthiest (and least healthy) options.

The bottom line: It's possible to make a smart choice at any of these fast food restaurants. For the healthiest choice (lowest in calories, sodium, and saturated fat), skip the sausage and opt for a lighter bread option (choose an English muffin, wrap, or toast on a bagel, croissant, pancake, or cracker) to save calories – and buy whole grains if you can for extra fiber. And if you're feeling really virtuous, skip the cheese. And if you're in a place where you can customize something, ask them to add veggies! Broccoli, tomato and avocado are all great additions to breakfast sandwiches.

Here's what I found out about some of the healthiest breakfast sandwich choices and the worst ones to skip:

McDonald's
Best:OfMcDonald's Egg McMuffin®has 300 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of fiber, 18 grams of protein and 820 mg of sodium. This simple breakfast sandwich has fewer calories and less saturated fat than any of McDonald's options with sausage, bacon or served on crackers or McGriddles®.

The worst:OfMcDonald's Worst, No No Kaas McGriddle®has 560 calories, 12 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of fiber, 20 grams of protein and 1,360 mg of sodium. By choosing a breakfast sandwich with sausage and served on a pancake roll, called a McGriddle®, you're adding extra calories, saturated fat and sodium.

burger King
Best:OfBK® Breakfast Muffin Sandwich with Egg and Cheesehas only 220 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of protein and 650 mg of sodium, making it the leanest breakfast sandwich at Burger King.

The worst:OfBurger King Double Croissan'wich with sausage, egg and cheesehas 660 calories, 18 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of fiber, 29 grams of protein and 1,420 mg of sodium. Getting a double portion, adding sausage and putting the items on a croissant all adds up in terms of calories, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium... without adding more fiber. This sandwich contains more than half the daily sodium limit (2,300 mg) recommended by the USDA.

Panera-brood
Best:OfPanera bread breakfast with ham on whole grainhas 340 calories, 7 grams of saturated fat, 4 grams of fiber, 23 grams of protein and 820 mg of sodium. If you want to cut back on some saturated fat and sodium, consider ordering it without the cheese, which reduces the saturated fat to 2 grams and the sodium to 570 mg. The whole wheat bread adds extra fiber, which should give this sandwich staying power.

The worst:OfPanera bread French toast bagel with sausage, egg and cheesehas 670 calories, 14 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of fiber, 29 grams of protein and 1,280 mg of sodium. The combination of sausage and cheese really delivers both saturated fat and sodium. Placing it on a bagel increases the calories and sodium content (350 calories and 620 mg of sodium in the bagel alone).

Dunkin Donuts
Best:OfDunkin' Donuts Egg & Cheese in English Muffinhas 320 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of protein and 820 mg of sodium.Dunkin' Donuts heeft ook "Egg White Wake-Up Wraps"-a lighter option, but with only 150 calories and 10-11 grams of protein in the vegetarian and turkey sausages, I'm skeptical they'll last until lunchtime.

The worst:OfDunkin' Donuts Worst, Egg & Cheese Up Croissanthas 710 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 2 grams of fiber, 25 grams of protein and 1,370 mg of sodium. Not only is this high in calories, it also packs a heart-healthy punch due to the combination of saturated fat and trans fat. For a 2,000-calorie diet, the recommended limit of saturated fat is 16 grams per day. The 20 grams in this sandwich is equivalent to the saturated fat in 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter.

Au Bon Pain
Best:OfAu Bon Pain Breakfast sandwich with egg white and cheddarhas 250 calories, 6 grams of saturated fat, 6 grams of fiber, 20 grams of protein and 550 mg of sodium. This sandwich is low in calories and has a whopping 6 grams of fiber, making it a great option. For just a few extra calories, you can get this avocado sandwich – with 310 calories, 6 grams of saturated fat, 9 grams of fiber, 20 grams of protein and 940 mg of sodium, giving you some extra fiber and health. monounsaturated fat from the avocado.

The worst: ThatAu Bon Pain-worst, egg and cheddar on Asiago Bagelhas 810 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of fiber, 41 grams of protein and 1,340 mg of sodium. This tops the charts in calories and competes with Dunkin' Donuts Sausage, Egg & Cheese on Croissant for the most saturated fat and sodium. Although everyone has different calorie needs, 810 calories is high for a meal for most people. To put those calories in perspective, for 810 calories you would have 2 slices of toast, 2 eggs, a stick of butter, a 16 oz. fat-free latte, a banana, an orange and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Or a Big Mac and small fries with 40 calories left.

Making breakfast at home? Try these fat-fighting breakfasts