The full McDonald’s breakfast menu, ranked

“Steak” is a very loosely used term here, as the beef patty that comes in this combo meal is more like an oblong hamburger than anything resembling a New York strip. If this were only an issue of processed beef nomenclature, we might have a pretty solid menu item. Sadly, this dish’s issues run much deeper: the meat I got still had some bone fragments. Hard to recover from something like that, and the frozen-quality hot cakes don’t do much to help. The onions are probably the highlight, far better than the little ones you get on burgers.

Price: $7.09

Calories: 900

Time Out tip: Slather the whole thing in syrup and it’s a little more edible. Though your better move is ordering a different protein and hot cakes à la carte.

Another example of why fast food joints should stay in their lane is the McDonald’s breakfast burrito—a sad, sad take on the overstuffed breakfast classic. This is not Mickey D’s forte, as the little snack-sized item is more tortilla than anything else, with a token amount of egg and sausage inside. It’s fine if you want something quick, but if you love breakfast burritos, look elsewhere.

Price: $2.99

Calories: 290

Time Out tip: Order it with a packet of picante sauce. It’ll cost you an extra dollar, but it's the only way to inject anything resembling flavor into the burrito.

As we get into the nuanced flavors of McDonald’s breakfast biscuit selection, the steak, egg and cheese ranks lowest. This is thanks in large part to the low-quality “steak” used here, which lacks the flavor of the bacon or sausage options. This is kind of like a cheeseburger thrown on a biscuit with an egg on top, a concept that would probably cost you $20 at a restaurant that serves water in mason jars. Considerably cheaper under the Golden Arches, but you get what you pay for.

Price: $7.09

Calories: 550

Time Out tip: Load this thing with butter and honey, and it goes from savory to sweet, effectively saving the dish.

Bacon, egg, and cheese on a biscuit is a fine choice,  and the creamy/salty/tangy mix works atop the flaky southern biscuit. That said, the combination does much better on a bagel, as you’ll see further down this list. And since you abandoned carb counting as soon as the word “biscuit” came out of your mouth, you may as well go all in.

Price: $5.19

Calories: 460

Time Out tip: Butter and honey make every biscuit better, and this one is no exception.

The best of the traditional breakfast biscuit bunch is the sausage and cheese. Note, I didn’t add the egg to this one, because among McDonald’s breakfast meats, the sausage packs the most flavor. It’s also the fattiest, and adding the egg almost makes this sandwich too rich when ensconced in the buttery biscuit. 

Price: $5.09

Calories: 530

Time Out tip: There’s a limited-time hot honey version of this that is tempting, but stick with the original instead. The hot honey flavors don’t work as well with sausage as they do with fried chicken.

If you like your breakfast sandwiches rich, decadent, and dripping with so much grease they have to wrap it twice, this is your sandwich. The juices from all three toppings soak into the McMuffin, which holds up surprisingly well and delivers a nice crunch to counter the soft meat and dairy. Those who love ordering outlandish burgers with devil-may-care calories will flock to this thing, and if your day needs to start by coating your stomach in animal fat, the steak, egg, and cheese McMuffin is your daily ritual.

Price: $7.09

Calories: 450

Time Out tip: Get it with ketchup and it tastes like a full steak-n-eggs breakfast on a muffin.

If you’re expecting the kind of hot honey sensory experience you get at gourmet pizza shops, you’ll be sorely disappointed. McDonald’s hot honey is aggressively saccharine and not spicy at all, and does little more than add sweetness to the experience. This chicken patty is McDonald’s classic chunked-and-formed, like you’d find on the McChicken, and lovers of other fast food chicken biscuits will find this one inferior.

Price: $4.49

Calories: 470

Time Out tip: Grab about 15 pepper packets from the counter, and sprinkle all of them on top. It’s the only way to make this even remotely “hot.” Hot—and sneezy.

There are those who eat their breakfasts. And there are those who enjoy breakfast through a straw from a clear plastic cup. For that second set, may we suggest the McCafé iced mocha latte, the standout on McDonald's gourmet coffee menu. This thing is more like a milkshake than a coffee drink, with chocolate syrup on the bottom and whipped cream on top. If you’re more into sweets than coffee, McDonald’s iced mocha latte is a dream, and will make you look a little more avant-garde than all the sheep sipping their Starbucks.

Price: $3.19

Calories: 270

Time Out tip: Not so much a tip but a reinforcement: Make sure you order it iced. The regular mocha latte is a significant step down.

In New York, people line up in sub-freezing temperatures for hours for bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwiches. And there is no way those sandwiches are better enough than McDonald’s to justify waiting in that line. Mickey D’s bagels are low-key some of the best things on the menu, easily top among fast-food options (including Dunkin' and Panera), and even better than some lesser local bagel shops. The BEC is a standard that McDonald’s does surprisingly well, and if you’re considering wasting your Saturday waiting queuing up at a bagel shop, I implore you to try McDonald’s first.

Price: $6.29

Calories: 590

Time Out tip: Ask for the bagel extra toasted; it gives the sandwich a delightful crunch.

A place that makes French fries with the classical brilliance of McDonald’s must also make good hash browns. And these little golden gems in a paper sleeve deliver. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and piping hot with greasy, starchy goodness, they’re perfect as a quick, to-go snack or unobtrusive breakfast side. Douse them in enough salt and pepper, and you could almost forget about McDonald’s famous fries.

Price: $1

Calories: 150

Time Out tip: Get a packet of hot sauce, not picante, and a plate. Mash it all together and you’ve got the best $1 breakfast on franchise row.

I had really high hopes for this McGriddle chicken sandwich after trying the McGriddles on their own. They were quickly dashed when I found this whole fried chicken between mini-hot cakes had its soul microwaved out during the re-heating process, rendering the McGriddles stale and crispy and the meat upsettingly chewy. It’s still the best breakfast option for chicken lovers, but it rates a mild disappointment.

Price: $4.29

Calories: 360

Time Out tip: Order the chicken breast and the McGriddles á la carte then put them together. It avoids microwaving and helps this sandwich reach its potential.

The one spot where the steak outshines the rest is in McDonald’s bagel sandwiches, where the saltiness of the bagel and the meat combine to create something surprisingly wonderful.  The thick bagel also holds up the steak, egg and cheese better than other vehicles, and the sandwich is the closest thing to a hamburger that you’re finding on McDonald’s breakfast menu.

Price: $7.89

Calories: 680

Time Out tip: Get this without the breakfast sauce. It complicates the flavors and makes it so rich that you don’t want to finish it.

The Egg McMuffin has been the stalwart of the pre-10:30 am McDonald’s menu for a reason. Much like the bagels, McDonald’s McMuffins stand strong on their own, and the addition of a puffy egg, ham, and cheese was a major milestone in the world of fast-food breakfast.

Price: $5.09

Calories: 310

Time Out tip: Get a side of sausage and add it to the mix for the ultimate breakfast meat sandwich.

When we ranked fast food breakfasts across all national franchises, we chose the Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McMuffin to represent the Golden Arches. Not because it’s the best thing on the breakfast menu, necessarily, but because it best represents what McDonald’s does in the morning. It’s a slightly elevated version of the classic McMuffin, one that brings back nearly as much Proustian nostalgia as the classic hamburger. It’s a big, juicy patty where sweet and sour mix beautifully, and reigns supreme among McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches.

Price: $6.59

Calories: 480

Time Out tip: If you’re throwing calories to the wind, order a couple of hash brown patties and put them on either side of the muffin.

Nobody’s going to McDonald’s for breakfast because they want something healthy. But, if you’re not about upping your cholesterol 10 points before noon, the oatmeal is a delicious play. The oatmeal has texture and heft, far more complex and satisfying than most instant oatmeals. It’s sweet and cinnamony, and with the apples and cranberries mixed in gives you a nice dose of fiber and vitamins to start the day. McDonald’s oatmeal isn’t just a good, healthy breakfast option; it could make a case as the best breakfast option, period.

Price: $2.50

Calories: 320

Time Out tip: Get an order of McGriddles and make a little oatmeal sandwich. 

Why are McDonald’s pancakes so much better when they’re silver-dollar-sized, with a McDonald’s logo baked in? Tough to say, but it probably has something to do with the saturation of butter and maple syrup. Just a hunch. They’re chewy, warm, and stop just short of being aggressively sweet, perfect for a devourable breakfast on the go. The sugar crash can be awful, and it’s not as healthy as the oatmeal. But for my money, it’s the best thing on the menu.

Price: $3.50–$5

Calories: Varies

The Out tip: The McGriddles make perfect bookends to any meat on the McDonald’s breakfast menu, and give you a whole new line of sandwiches if you order each à la carte.