14 Unhealthiest Breakfast Foods You Can Buy

Many people will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After all, it's the first food you put into your body after fasting for several hours. A good breakfast will give you nutrients and energy to get through your morning. In addition, a 2021 study published in Medicine suggests that eating breakfast regularly can even reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, those health benefits go out the window if you're eating unhealthy breakfast foods.

When it comes to breakfast, many of us choose convenience over quality. That's why there are so many ready-made breakfast foods on the market that are designed to be quick, easy, and tasty. Unfortunately, not all of them are healthy breakfasts that will start your day off right. Some are absolute calorie bombs that are loaded with sugar, saturated fat, or sodium. From greasy breakfast sandwiches to sugary cereals, there are several store-bought breakfast items you should think twice about buying. If you're trying to avoid loading up on empty calories first thing in the morning, we scoured nutrition labels to uncover some of the unhealthiest breakfast foods on the market. 

Breakfast bowls can be a great start to the day, especially if they're filled with healthy proteins and veggies. On the flip side, they can also be greasy, heavy, and loaded with carbs, saturated fat, and sodium. That's pretty much what you get with the Great Value Meat Lovers Breakfast Bowl. Each microwaveable bowl contains eggs, cheese, potatoes, bacon, and sausage. Check out the ingredients list, though, and you'll also find extra additives and preservatives thrown into the mix.

The Great Value Meat Lovers Breakfast Bowl clocks in at a hefty 440 calories, which is pretty substantial considering the FDA recommends consuming about 2,000 calories per day depending on your age, height, weight, sex, and level of physical activity. The breakfast bowl also contains 14 grams of saturated fat and 440 calories per serving — the former takes 70% of the recommended daily value. With 980 milligrams of sodium, the bowl also goes heavy on the salt. It also has 235 milligrams of cholesterol, which works out to a staggering 78% of the daily recommended intake.

When it comes to things you should and shouldn't eat for breakfast, sugary cereals fall in the category of "avoid at all costs." Sure, they may taste good and give you an instant boost of energy, but pretty soon, that sugar rush will wear off, potentially causing you to crash into a state of lethargy. There's also a good chance you'll feel ravenously hungry (and hangry) later because your body is craving real nutrients. That's because many of those sugary cereals lack good stuff like fiber and protein.

Obviously, the lowest quality cereals are those that contain sugar-packed ingredients like marshmallows and chocolate. Then there are the sneaky "healthy" looking cereals that have tons of added sugar to amp up the taste. For example, Honey Nut Cheerios may look innocent enough, but a single serving contains 12 grams of added sugar. It pays to take a look at the ingredient list to see just how much sugar a cereal is packing. If sugar is listed as one of the first ingredients, you might want to skip it.

Since 1983, Hot Pockets has been providing busy people with easy microwaveable snacks and meals that are ready in just minutes. The Bacon Egg n' Cheese Hot Pockets are one of the brand's breakfast offerings and they look pretty straightforward with bacon, egg, and cheddar cheese in a croissant crust. The company even states that it uses real cheese right on the box. However, you might be surprised what ingredients are really in your Hot Pockets.

Have a read through the ingredient list of the Bacon Egg n' Cheese Hot Pockets, and you'll come across several items that may be completely alien to most home cooks. Additives include sodium caseinate (a thickener), methylcellulose ( another thickener), and disodium phosphate (a preservative). If that doesn't turn you off, consider that just one of these sandwiches contains 5 grams of saturated fat and 620 milligrams of sodium. That's 25% and 27% of the daily recommended values, respectively. To their credit, the sandwiches contain 10 grams of protein each. However, you can also get 10 grams of protein from ½  cup of Greek yogurt. 

If you were born any time after 1964, there's a good chance you had Pop-Tarts for breakfast at some point in your life. The OG Pop-Tart flavors were strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and apple currant. (Side note: We ranked Pop-Tart flavors from worst to best.) In 1967, the company added frosting that miraculously didn't melt in the toaster, and the sugary snacks were a huge hit. Now you can get Pop-Tarts in a wide range of flavors, few of which can be considered even remotely healthy. Take, for example, the Frosted Cookies & Creme Pop-Tarts.

Pop-Tarts makes no qualms about the nutritional value of the Frosted Cookies & Creme Pop-Tarts. It says right on the box that the pastries are artificially flavored. Not surprisingly, the ingredient list reveals some less-than-ideal additives like caramel color, sodium stearoyl lactylate (an emulsifier), and sodium acid pyrophosphate (a leavening chemical). One serving (2 pastries) contains a whopping 38 grams of sugar or 76% of the daily recommended intake. With that in mind, you might be better off eating actual cookies for breakfast. 

Country music singer and TV host Jimmy Dean took a career turn later in life when he created his now-famous sausage company. That was back in 1969, and today, the company produces a wide range of ready-made breakfast dishes like sausages, biscuits, gravy, and frozen breakfast sandwiches. The Sausage Egg & Cheese Croissant Sandwich is one of the heartier options. It consists of a pork and chicken sausage patty, eggs, and American cheese on a croissant bun.

The company claims to use real ingredients. While that may be true, there are also some not-so-natural ingredients in the breakfast sandwich. Preservatives include sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, both of which can cause allergic reactions in some people. Other additives include caramel color and something listed simply as "flavor." In terms of nutritional value, each sandwich contains 400 calories and 10 grams of saturated fat, which is 50% of the daily recommended value. The sandwiches are also high in cholesterol, with 120 milligrams each, which is 40% of the daily recommended intake.

Pillsbury is renowned for its baked products and cutesy mascot, the Pillsbury Doughboy. The company has created many wildly successful products over the years, including its Toaster Strudels, which hit the market in 1985. The flaky pastries with fruit filling are designed to be popped into the toaster and drizzled with frosting. None of the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel flavors are particularly healthy, but one that stands out more than the rest for its saturated fat and sugar content is the Cream Cheese & Strawberry Toaster Strudel.

One Pillsbury Cream Cheese & Strawberry Toaster Strudel contains 6 grams of saturated fat and 20 grams of sugar. For a sweet treat, the strudels also contain a substantial amount of sodium at 290 milligrams. When you look at the list of vitamins and minerals, there's nothing except for a small amount of iron. The ingredient list is just as sad, with very little resembling natural foods. Instead, the strudels are packed with ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated palm oil, and wheat starch.

Pancakes are a classic breakfast treat, but not everyone has the time to whip up a batch before work or school. De Wafelbakkers solves that problem by offering pre-made frozen waffles that you can pop in the microwave. The Chocolate Chip Pancakes are one of its more popular products. Unfortunately, these pancakes won't do you any favors in the health department. Throw on some unhealthy pancake toppings like butter, whipped cream, or syrup and you could have a pretty calorific meal.

Sugar and sodium are the main culprits in these ready-made frozen pancakes. The ingredients list a few different types of sugar including high fructose corn syrup, regular sugar, and dextrose. It all adds up to 15 grams of sugar per serving, which is about 3 pancakes. One serving also contains 540 milligrams of sodium, which is 24% of the recommended daily value. The pancakes also contain leavening ingredients like sodium acid pyrophosphate and monocalcium phosphate, neither of which are necessarily dangerous, but they're not exactly nutritious either.

If you have a Costco membership, you're probably aware of Costco's in-house Kirkland brand. There are tons of products in the Kirkland collection, many of which are similar to other big brand products but much cheaper. One of those is the Kirkland Signature Breakfast Sandwich. This delectable-looking breakfast dish features applewood smoked bacon, eggs, and cheese on a butter croissant bun. The company states that it uses cage-free eggs, which is a great selling point. However, take a look at the nutritional values, and you may not be sold on these breakfast sandwiches.

Just one Kirkland Signature Breakfast Sandwich packs a whopping 12 grams of saturated fat. Scarf one of the sammies down, and you'll consume 75 milligrams of cholesterol, which is 25% of the daily recommended amount and 33% of the suggested sodium intake (it contains 760 milligrams). To be fair, there are some natural ingredients in there, like egg whites and bacon. But like many pre-made frozen breakfast foods, there are also preservatives like calcium propionate and sorbic acid.

Little Debbie is famous for its snack cakes and other baked goods like the Swiss Rolls, Nutty Buddy Wafer Bars, and Chocolate Cupcakes with the signature white icing swirl on top. There are several Little Debbie products that could be considered breakfast, like muffins, honey buns, and donuts. One product that will quickly rack up your sugar, saturated fat, and calorie intake is the Glazed Donut Sticks.

Little Debbie describes the Glazed Donut Sticks as "cake style donut sticks coated with a sweet glaze." This right here should alert you to the fact that these treats are nothing if not sugary. In fact, sugar is listed as the first ingredient. One donut stick contains a substantial 16 grams of sugar. Each stick also clocks in at 220 calories and contains 7 grams of saturated fat, which eats into the daily recommended value. They may taste good, but these sweet treats are probably better as a once-in-a-while snack rather than a regular breakfast dish.

Yogurt can be a quick, easy, and highly nutritious breakfast. Unfortunately, not all yogurt is created equal. With so many offerings on the market, it can be tricky to determine high-quality and low-quality yogurt brands. Yoplait is one brand that tends to dominate the shelves at supermarkets with a wide array of products and flavors. Go-Gurt is Yopliat's line of yogurt products designed for kids. The company claims the products are nutritious. While they do contain some vitamins and protein, they're also significantly high in sugar.

The nutritional values of the Go-Gurt products vary slightly depending on the flavor, but most contain roughly 18 grams of added sugar. In comparison, that's the same as one Pillsbury Cream Cheese & Strawberry Toaster Strudel. Eighteen grams of added sugar contributes to 36% of the daily recommended sugar intake. In addition, many of the fruit-flavored Go-Gurt products don't actually contain fruit except for maybe a bit of fruit concentrate to add color. If you're looking for a balanced breakfast for kids, a squeeze tube of Go-Gurt isn't the best way to go.

A breakfast burrito can be a great way to cover many nutritional bases with proteins like eggs and meat, vitamin-packed veggies, and fiber. But who has time to prep, cook, and roll all those ingredients every morning? That's where Red's steps in. The company specializes in burritos for all times of day. The Meat Lovers Breakfast Burrito was designed for those craving a carnivorous meal in the morning. It features pork sausage, bacon, eggs, green chilies, cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper jack cheese.

Red's calls itself a "Clean Label" company and aims to use ingredients that are better for you, like antibiotic-free meats, cage-free eggs, and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. On those points, the brand delivers with its Meat Lovers Breakfast Burrito. However, the combo of salty meats and cheeses makes the burrito high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium. One burrito contains 5 grams of saturated fat, which is 25% of the recommended daily intake, 690 milligrams of sodium, which is 30% of the recommended daily consumption, and 85 milligrams of cholesterol, which is 28% of the recommended daily intake. The ingredients may be good, but they add up to make a pretty unhealthy breakfast.

Part of the fun of going to Trader Joe's is discovering unique food items that you won't find anywhere else. The company partners with big food manufacturers to create products that are on par with some of the bigger brands in terms of quality but are offered at lower prices. As any Trader Joe's shopper knows, many of those products are delicious but downright unhealthy. Think Speculoos Cookie Butter and Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds. One of the unhealthiest Trader Joe's products you can buy for breakfast is the Cheddar Cheese & Uncured Bacon Egg Bites.

These microwaveable egg bites do have a few things going for them. First, they're made with cage-free eggs. They also contain other real ingredients like cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, and uncured bacon. However, they're also packed with saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. One serving (two egg bites) contains 8 grams of saturated fat, 235 milligrams of cholesterol, and 690 milligrams of sodium. To put that in terms of the daily recommended values, that's 40% for saturated fat, 78% for cholesterol, and 30% for sodium.

Granola is one of those breakfast dishes that seems like it should be super healthy. How can you go wrong with healthy grains, nuts, and fruit? Sadly, there are many granola products on the market that are incredibly high in calories and sugar. Many include oats that are mixed with some form of sweetener and oil before being baked. Then you have the nuts, which can amp up the fat content and calories. That's exactly what you get with Post's Honey Bunches of Oats French Vanilla Almond Granola.

Take a look at the ingredient list for the Honey Bunches of Oats French Vanilla Almond Granola, and you'll find that cane sugar is the second ingredient, followed by canola oil. Honey is also listed, which combines with cane sugar to provide 24 grams of sugar for every 53-gram serving (about ½ cup). That gives you 24% of your daily intake. One serving of the granola also contains 230 calories, which is not insane but still pretty substantial for a small bowl of granola.

Entenmann's got its start in 1898 when a German baker by the name of William Entenmann opened a bakery in Brooklyn, New York. Since then, the company has been providing baked goods like cakes, pastries, and cookies to the masses. The Little Bites Chocolate Chip Muffins make for an easy grab-and-go breakfast when you're in a hurry. However, they're not the healthiest things you can grab when you're dashing out the door.

The first ingredient you see on the ingredients list is sugar, followed by wheat flour, water, and soybean oil. Then you have the chocolate chips, which contain more sugar. All up, there are 17 grams of sugar per serving (5 mini muffins). Although the package claims there are no artificial colors, there are artificial flavors and several other additives. You have sodium acid pyrophosphate and monocalcium phosphate as leavening agents, potassium sorbate as a preservative, and xanthan gum and cellulose gum as thickeners. If it's wholesome, natural ingredients you're after, these muffins will leave you sorely disappointed.

To determine the unhealthiest breakfast foods you can buy, we scoured nutrition labels and ingredient lists of popular ready-made breakfast products currently available on the market. We looked for products that are high in calories, saturated fat, sugar, cholesterol, and sodium. While some of the items on this list deserve kudos for containing natural ingredients and decent amounts of protein, they still earned a place here for being high in other areas like saturated fat content and calories. If you're looking for wholesome, nutritious breakfast foods that won't wreak havoc on your health, these products are best left as an occasional treat or even avoided altogether.