The 12 Most Unhealthy Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches

You'll have heard time and time again how crucial breakfast is, and that it is the most important meal of the day. That's not untrue, but, what is really important is that you're doing breakfast right. Finding a quick fix for breakfast is ideal for fast paced mornings, but the breakfast label doesn't automatically mean what you're putting in your body is healthy. In fact, some of the most breakfast-centric foods that you eat often may be some of the worst food for your health. When you put convenience into the mix, quality can take quite a hit.

We sifted through some of the most popular fast food spots' nutrition pages. We found the most calorie laden, fat infused, and sodium saturated sandwiches on their breakfast menus. From the greasy stacks of sausages to buttery blocks of trans fat, some of your favorite breakfast go-tos may be more unhealthy than you thought. While a good-for-you breakfast sandwich is attainable, these on the go breakfast sandwiches from fast food restaurants are some of the most unhealthy around.

Southerners hold their chicken and biscuits near and dear to their hearts, but there is one biscuit sandwich at Bojangles that can weigh pretty heavily on the heart. This fast food restaurant is heavily concentrated in the South and is famous for its chicken and biscuits, but it's the country fried steak sandwich that you really need to watch out for. Simply titled the steak biscuit, this slab of fried beefsteak in between a biscuit has 620 calories and 40 grams of fat. For reference, this is over 200 calories more than the standard bacon, egg, and cheese at Bojangles.

Calories and fat are not the main concerns for this steak biscuit sandwich, though. There is 1.5 grams of trans fat in this country fried steak breakfast sandwich. This is a big number, considering you should be eating less than 2 grams a day based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Foods with less than .5 grams can advertise as having zero grams. So, it's generally best to stick to consuming an apparent 0 grams since you never really know how much you're eating in a day. Trans fat can lead to heart disease and does a number on your cholesterol. It's best to stick to bacon or sausage when "it's Bo time."

As one of the biggest coffee chains in the United States, it makes sense that Dunkin' would have an extensive all day breakfast menu. Some of the items on their menu are low calorie and could be a good option for on-the-go nourishment. There are some, like the sausage, egg, and cheese croissant however, that should be avoided if you want a light breakfast.

As delicious as the flaky pastries are, anything on a croissant is going to be relatively unhealthy. The buttery crescents may seem light and airy, but they've got a sleeper build of calories. This, mixed with a greasy slab of sausage, is a marriage made of calories and fat. 720 calories and 52 grams of fat make up this Dunkin' sandwich. If you're aiming for a 2,000 calorie day, this one small sandwich will take up over a third of your allotted calories. This will likely leave you pretty hungry for the rest of the day, and won't fill you up for long.

If you are watching what you eat, McDonald's typically isn't the place to go for a balanced, wholesome meal. Even though McDonald's has a handful of items on their menu that aren't the worst fast food options, unhealthy choices can be found on their breakfast menu as well. Despite its small size, the sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddle is one of the worst sandwiches you can order from the breakfast menu.

This sandwich, which comes on two grilled pancakes, is stacked with egg, cheese, and one greasy sausage patty. The handheld is 550 calories, which isn't too bad for a full breakfast. If you're not filled up by this not-so-large sandwich, though, you may be adding another 140 for a hashbrown and even more for a beverage. The sandwich alone is packed with 33 grams of fat, but the real issue here is the sodium content. With 1,290 milligrams of sodium, this McGriddle contains over half of the recommended sodium for daily consumption.

Swapping the McGriddle out for a McMuffin is a better option as it has roughly 20% less sodium. The McMuffin does contain a half-gram more trans fat, though, so you may want to skip McDonald's for breakfast altogether.

If the idea of spending $6 everyday on a coffee makes you cringe, you're likely not upping your Starbucks bill by adding on a breakfast sandwich. Sometimes, though, the convenience of grabbing your morning meal and coffee together is just too good to pass up. If you're looking to spend wisely and get a healthy breakfast sandwich for your money, you'll have to choose your meal here carefully. Starbucks' double-smoked bacon, cheddar, and egg sandwich is one you should steer clear of.

This sandwich will put 500 calories in your belly, but won't necessarily fill it up. The sandwich itself is relatively small, and isn't even that good –– in fact, it landed in the bottom half of our Starbucks breakfast menu rankings. On top of the calories, this handheld has 27 grams of fat and almost half of the daily recommendation of sodium.

This croissant sandwich isn't even close to being made in-house. Most of Starbucks' food comes packaged and processed, and is just unwrapped and heated before being placed in a Starbucks bag. Between the less-than-savory ingredients and lackluster preparation, this sandwich is one of the worst you can pick up for breakfast.

Burger King has some of the most noticeably unhealthy sandwiches on the fast food market, and that extends to their breakfast menu. A number of their breakfast sandwich options have heavy doses of trans fat, which we know is hard on the heart and should be largely avoided. In addition to its 2.3 grams of trans fat, Burger King's double sausage, egg, and cheese croissan'wich has three other glaring strikes against it.

Not only does it have one helping of sausage, but two grease-laden sausage patties contribute to this sandwich's whopping 65 grams of fat. The other strike is the croissant that sandwiches these sausage patties. These flaky pastries may give a sandwich depth, but the steep calorie and fat tradeoff makes this sandwich the most unhealthy on Burger King's breakfast menu. This croissan'wich has 883 calories and is the highest in fat on our list. Swapping the croissant for a biscuit at BK and opting for just one sausage patty will cut out a large amount of calories and fats — trans or otherwise.

We've looked at some of the best and worst of Burger King's breakfast menu, and it is so full of calories and fats that it is not surprising to find the fast food giant on this list twice. The croissan'wich makes another appearance here, this time the fully loaded version. This breakfast sandwich comes topped with egg, cheese, bacon, sausage, and sliced ham. Though it has more meat piled on, the fully loaded croissan'wich is actually lower in almost everything than its double sausage counterpart, but that doesn't make it a healthy choice.

This sandwich has over a gram of trans fat, which may be an improvement over the double sausage croissan'wich, but it is still more than the recommended amount. The calorie count comes to 714 with 49 grams of fat. Where the fully loaded croissan'wich comes out on top –– in not such a good way –– is the sodium levels. With over 2,200 milligram of sodium packed into this breakfast sandwich, your daily dose of salt will be just about shot before your day even gets started.

It is so satisfying when a menu item is aptly named, and Hardee's monster biscuit certainly lived up to the name. Though it technically hasn't been on the official menu in a while, Hardee's fans still order it and the fast food place is still able to make it. This biscuit is stacked high with egg, cheese, sausage, ham, and bacon. With 790 calories, 52 grams of fat, and a wild 2,370 milligrams of sodium, this sandwich is one of the very worst you can sate your hunger with in the morning. 

The only redeeming factor this sandwich has, other than being a whole lot of breakfast proteins, is that it contains 0 grams of trans fat. This can't be said for all of Hardee's breakfast sandwiches, so you'll need to choose wisely here. Steer clear of anything with gravy –– the only thing not piled atop the monster biscuit –– if you're wanting to stay away from trans fats.

There are not very many safe options for the thoughtful eater at Hardee's. Your best bet is to grab a country ham biscuit, but you'll still be walking away with quite a lot of salt first thing in the morning. 

Two slices of Texas toast does not a breakfast make, but they're certainly the base of one mighty sandwich. Sonic's sausage breakfast toaster is made up of egg, cheese, and sausage all smushed between two giant slices of Texas toast. Despite sounding like a buttery and greasy breakfast, this sandwich is on the lower side of high in calories, coming in at 570. What really makes this sandwich a no-go for those opting for healthier options is the high sodium content. This toaster contains 1,960 milligrams of sodium, which is close to the recommended daily cap.

Admittedly, Sonic isn't the best place to go for a healthy breakfast. However, opting for a breakfast wrap over one of the toaster sandwiches will be a slightly better-for-you option. Both calories and sodium will decrease, and you won't be consuming quite as much fat compared to the sausage toaster's 34 grams. Steer clear from the SuperSonic breakfast wrap, though, or you'll run into the same kind of calories and macros as the toasters.

At first glance, Panera Bread's menu looks pretty healthy. Looks can be deceiving, though, and some of the items on the menu are high in calories and macros. The Asiago sausage and egg sandwich is one such item, coming in at 820 calories. Considering this sandwich is relatively small for the high calorie count, don't expect it to fill up your belly for a large part of your day.

Calories are only one concern with this Panera sandwich, as pretty much all its macros are riding high against the standard daily allowance. At almost 1,500 milligrams of sodium, this sandwich is a salt bomb. 51 grams of fat and .5 grams of trans fat don't look great on any breakfast meal, either.

Luckily, Panera has plenty of other options for a more macro friendly breakfast. The garden avo and egg white sandwich is the way to go for a low calorie sandwich that won't break your macros for the day.

Au Bon Pain typically lives up to its name. The real meaning of Au Bon Pain is "from good bread," which generally holds up health wise. This quick food bakery has breakfast sandwiches that lean toward the lower calorie ranges, with a couple of exceptions. The highest calorie sandwich Au Bon Pain has is the two eggs, sausage, and cheddar sandwich on an Asiago bagel. This relatively standard sandwich has 670 calories and 34 grams of fat. At over 1,000 milligrams of sodium, the salt content in this sandwich is nothing to scoff at, either.

If you're actively attempting to eat healthy, Au Bon Pain luckily has plenty of ways to do this. You can sub out the eggs for egg whites and choose a lighter bread option, for starters. The bakery also offers turkey sausage, which is another substitution that will lower your overall calories and fat intake. You can get away with grabbing a breakfast sandwich for under 300 calories at Au Bon Pain, but this sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich is proof it's not all low-cal here.

Located in 17 states across the country, Corner Bakery is like a less widespread and mainstream version of Panera. The bakery offers some similar food items, some of which may surprise you with how unhealthy they can be. The bakery's commuter croissant may be designed with those on the go in mind, but the calorie and fat packed sandwich could actually slow you right down.

Corner Bakery's croissants are on the large size, and the commuter croissant sandwich is likewise a sizable sandwich. Bacon, eggs, cheddar cheese, and tomato are all stuffed between a sliced croissant, all of which add up to around 680 calories. Consuming this sandwich will see you add 47 grams of fat to your morning and .5 grams of trans fat. In fact, all of Corner Bakery's croissants will carry .5 grams of trans fat. It's best to opt for an alternative bread, like white bread or a bagel, for whichever sandwich you choose at this breakfast joint.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest calorie counters on the list is from Corner Bakery, which is typically held in a higher regard than most fast food restaurants. This higher standard is due to the drive-thru bakery baking many of its items in-house or made-to-order. As such, Corner Bakery can have a bit longer of a wait than most fast food joints, and you'd expect a bit healthier of food. Their BBLT & Egg Sandwich, though, comes with so much bacon that it's in the name twice.

This breakfast sandwich may be ranked as one of the best things on the Corner Bakery menu and comes with extra bacon, but it also contains 860 calories and 50 grams of fat. The salt content of this bacon-centric sandwich is also sky high, coming in with 2,730 milligram of sodium. This, of course, means that one BBLT & egg sandwich from Corner Bakery is going to fill up over 40% of your daily calorie intake and take you over the recommended sodium intake. That doesn't leave much — if anything — for lunch and dinner if you're counting macros.

"Healthy" and "unhealthy" can be subjective. Just because a food has a lot of calories or fat, does not mean it is bad for you or a "bad" food necessarily. When it comes to fast food however, it can be hard to know exactly what you are consuming in terms of calorie and overall content. To determine whether a menu item was unhealthy, we looked at the same qualifiers for each fast food establishment. We also referenced the standard 2,000 calorie intake for all our percentages and generalizations, but keep in mind that recommended daily calorie intake is dependent on a number of other factors. 

Calorie and fat content were two focuses on this list. This is because calories and fat tend to be two things most people look at when considering if they want to eat a product. Sodium content sometimes went into the decision making as well, as products can easily take up a large portion of your daily recommended amount without the consumer ever knowing. Special attention was given to sandwiches with any amount of trans fat.

Certain themes were noticed in our research, like croissants and sausage making the top of the list for most establishments. Items with sausage and croissants were weighed against other items on the list to determine if they were truly the most unhealthy, or just had a higher calorie count. By weighing all of these factors for each fast food restaurant, we were able to curate an unbiased list of overly bad-for-you breakfast sandwiches.