Fast-Food Chains That Serve Real Whole Eggs

While some of us believe that an egg served at a fast-food chain is just that — an egg — this is sometimes far from the truth. Rather than using real whole eggs in their dishes, some restaurants take shortcuts. For instance, many fast-food chains use pre-cooked frozen egg patties or even liquid or powdered egg mixes loaded with a lineup of mystery ingredients. While this lets chains streamline their food preparation processes and reduce costs, it also leaves consumers clueless about what they are actually eating.

To shed some light on the subject, we spent hours delving into the sourcing and food preparation practices of various fast-food chains. While many came up short, some showed surprising levels of care when it came to their eggy food offerings. As more consumers become concerned about their dietary choices, this seems timely. With this in mind, here is our list of fast-food chain restaurants that use freshly-cracked eggs in all or some of their dishes.

Back in 2015, White Castle delighted many customers with the introduction of its "Anything, Anytime" fast food breakfast menu. The chain also took this opportunity to highlight that its offerings contain real whole eggs, hot off the griddle. John Howeth, the senior vice president of foodservice at the American Egg Board, has praised the chain's commitment to serving shell eggs, explaining, "White Castle has always made its breakfast with fresh cracked eggs, and that's something we at the American Egg Board value and support. When consumers have the option to eat one of the most popular forms of breakfast protein, it's a great opportunity for everyone" (via White Castle). While we can't be sure if all the eggs used in White Castle's kitchens are cage-free, in 2023, the chain stated that it was working to achieve this by the end of the year (via White Castle Naturally Focused Report).

White Castle offers several breakfast items with real whole eggs. The chain's Original Slider with Egg and Cheese comes with a beef patty, egg, onions, and a choice of smoked cheddar, American, or jalapeño cheese. White Castle also offers a Breakfast Slider, Belgian Waffle Slider, and Breakfast Toast Sandwich, all of which contain the same ingredients sandwiched between two buns, waffles, or slices of bread. Aside from a freshly-cracked egg, the breakfast items come with a choice of cheese and either hickory-smoked bacon or sausage.

In 2018, Panera Bread sparked interest in the fast food industry by petitioning the FDA to define what constitutes an egg. More specifically, the restaurant complained that other fast food chains serve egg patties made from a medley of ingredients. "Responsible companies will be transparent about the food items they serve, even if regulation does not require them to do so," Panera's CEO Blaine Hurst said in a statement at the time. 

According to Panera, the chain serves "100% real eggs," which are freshly-cracked and prepared without any additives. In addition, the restaurant has committed to serving 100% cage-free eggs by 2025. While the chain was well on the way to achieving this goal in 2022, we haven't seen any updates since then. To improve the flavor and texture of its food, Panera also started changing how it prepares its eggs in 2017, from hard-frying them on a grill in an egg ring to cracking them on a flattop and serving them over-easy. 

Panera serves a range of egg sandwiches, many of which contain scrambled or folded eggs. Upon further investigation, it turns out that the egg scramble the chain uses in its sandwiches is made with liquid whole eggs, canola oil, and citric acid to preserve color. While this substance is generally considered a safe addition to food products, it may raise concerns for some customers who prefer their food to come with completely natural ingredients. 

Wendy's is proud of its commitment to using freshly-cracked Grade A eggs from suppliers who undergo annual evaluations by auditors certified by the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization. In addition, the chain states that it cares about animal welfare and strives to make its menu items with cage-free eggs. However, upon further inspection, we discovered that as of July 2024, only 6% of the eggs served at Wendy's restaurants in the U.S. come from cage-free chickens. Nevertheless, the restaurant chain is adamant that it's making ongoing efforts to boost this percentage.

Wendy's only launched its breakfast menu in the U.S. in 2020, making it a relative newcomer to the fast-food breakfast game. The good news is that the majority of Wendys' menu items are indeed made with real whole eggs. According to the chain, "Once it's on the grill, we break the yolk and fry, flip, and fry some more until the yolk is fully cooked and ready for a sandwich." The only addition to the eggs is soy lecithin, which is a pan spray. When it comes to fresh eggs, the only exception to Wendys' high standard is the Sausage & Egg Burrito, which the chain states isn't "made to order with a freshly-cracked egg."

While Tim Hortons is a Canadian chain at heart, it also features hundreds of restaurants in the U.S. In fact, the chain has more than 650 Tim Hortons locations in the northeastern part of the country, with around 270 coffee shops in New York alone. Tim Hortons updated its egg policy in Canada in 2021, proclaiming that it started to serve 100% Canadian Grade A large eggs. While Tim Hortons also serves fresh cracked eggs at its U.S. locations, according to Marketing Scoop these may be coming from regional suppliers rather than Canada. Unfortunately, Tim Hortons has been criticized for pushing back its commitment to serving 100% cage-free eggs from 2025 to 2030, as per CBC.

Interestingly, the change to real whole eggs didn't go down well with some Canadians. A Change.org petition was even launched in 2020 urging Tim Hortons to switch back to its egg patties (we assume these were made from liquid eggs). "Our country is on the verge of losing everything that makes us good and just. Tim Hortons has removed our beloved egg patty so it could be replaced with some freshly cracked mutiny," the appeal stated. Over 8,000 egg patty enthusiasts signed the petition, with one dissatisfied customer saying, "The real eggs are absolutely disgusting, I loved the breakfast sandwiches for years and years but now I can't get them because the taste and texture is horrendous. Can we please have the liquid eggs back?"

McDonald's is an interesting case in that the chain uses both real whole eggs and liquid eggs, depending on the menu item. Diners wishing to ensure that their meal contains a freshly-cracked egg should stay away from the chain's folded and scrambled eggs. Instead, they may wish to try one of the restaurant's Egg McMuffins, which all contain freshly-cracked USDA Grade A eggs prepared in an egg ring. In addition, McDonald's has been serving cage-free eggs at its U.S. locations since 2023.

While you're likely to find real whole eggs in McDonalds' kitchens, these don't go into menu items that call for folded or scrambled eggs. For folded eggs, which appear in items such as the Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Biscuits, the chain uses liquid eggs that have been pre-cooked, folded, and flash frozen. These contain modified food starch, nonfat milk, and citric acid. McDonald's also makes scrambled eggs by grilling liquid eggs with butter, although it doesn't seem that these are pre-frozen or contain modified food starch and nonfat milk.

Perhaps the worst egg-based item at McDonald's is the Sausage Burrito. This handheld contains liquid eggs that have been pre-cooked with ingredients such as sausage, onions, tomatoes, and green chilies, and later flash frozen. Unfortunately, this mix also contains unnatural-sounding ingredients like dextrose, xanthan gum, and calcium chloride. As if this wasn't enough, when the item is ordered, the egg mix is simply thrown into the microwave in the chain's kitchen.

Whataburger is committed to its farm-to-table supply chain. This includes serving never frozen North American beef, as well as fresh veggies and eggs. A case in point is the chain's Breakfast Burger with a real whole egg, beef patty, American cheese, hash brown sticks, bacon, and a creamy pepper sauce. According to the menu item's nutritional information, the handheld contains a "USDA grade AA ex-large whole shell egg." One diner confirms this, saying, "Whataburger cracks fresh eggs. [...] I didn't even know that myself until a couple of years ago. I was in there at 6 a.m. and they had a TON of eggs just cracking them on the grill for their breakfast menu." While Whataburger committed to phasing out cage eggs in 2011, Queen Creek Sun Times has reported that the chain hasn't made any significant progress towards achieving this goal.

If eating real whole eggs is important to you, it might be a good idea to steer clear of Whataburger's taquitos. Unlike some of its other menu items, the chain's taquitos (which are one of the reasons Whataburger is superior to In-N-Out) feature scrambled eggs, which consist of whole eggs, nonfat milk, and citric acid. It's likely that at most locations this concoction comes in the form of liquid eggs, as confirmed by a former Whataburger employee who says: "They used real eggs when I started working there but switched to liquid from a carton before I left. They still have fresh eggs for the bobs tho so u can always ask for them."

In 2015, Jack in the Box made a public commitment to switch to cage-free eggs by 2025. By 2023, around 84% of the chain's eggs came from cage-free chickens, putting the chain right on track to achieving its ambitious goal (via Jack in the Box). While we can't be sure about the current status of the restaurant's mission, it's very likely that Jack in the Box has continued to make progress towards its goal.

While we support the chain's lofty objective, we have to point out that only some of the offerings at Jack in the Box come with real whole eggs. Those wishing to err on the side of caution should opt for a menu item that contains fried egg. These are prepared using fresh USDA Grade AA medium eggs and butter-flavored vegetable oil. Unfortunately, the scrambled eggs at Jack in the Box are a whole other story, containing not just butter-flavored vegetable oil but also ingredients such as xanthan gum, citric acid, butter flavor, and annatto for coloring.