Following a healthy diet is an all-day affair. Beginning at breakfast, you can make nutritious choices that support your health goals, opting for foods like lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, veggies, and good-for-you fats. Unfortunately, if fast-food restaurants regularly supply your first meal of the day, you might not be getting such stellar nutrition. And that’s certainly true if you’re ordering any of the following unhealthy fast-food breakfasts.
The epic portions, sky-high sodium, and excess fats that fast food provides at lunch and dinner don’t ease up at breakfast. Some popular chains’ breakfasts are worse than others, with four-figure calorie counts and enough sodium to last you all day.
While a drive-thru breakfast here or there certainly won’t make or break your health, my advice as a nutritionist is to keep the morning pit stops few and far between—especially when it comes to these 12 meals. For better options, we recommend these 14 Healthiest Fast-Food Breakfasts, According to a Dietitian.
Taco Bell Breakfast Crunchwrap with Sausage
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 750
Fat: 49 g (Saturated Fat: 17 g)
Sodium: 1,210 mg
Carbs: 53 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 3 g)
Protein: 21 g
Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap isn’t just for lunch or dinner (or the so-called “fourthmeal” of the chain’s mid-2010s ad campaign). This handheld menu item is also available in breakfast form as a crispy tortilla wrapped around a hash brown, sausage patty, and cheesy eggs.
With 750 calories and 21 grams of protein, the Breakfast Crunchwrap with Sausage will likely fill you up—but that’s about the only positive here. It contains 85% of the Daily Value of saturated fat, much of it from hydrogenated soybean and hydrogenated cottonseed oil. These oils are known for their trans fats (the kind associated with adverse effects on heart health).
Dairy Queen Country Platter with Ham
Nutrition (Per 1 platter serving):
Calories: 860
Fat: 32 g (Saturated Fat: 14 g)
Sodium: 2,350 mg
Carbs: 60 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 2 g)
Protein: 28 g
Just say no to this monster of a breakfast at DQ. Its large slabs of ham and pile of cheesy-topped eggs supply more than an entire day’s worth of sodium. And at 860 calories, it’s got 43% of what you need on a 2,000 calorie diet. Do you really want to take in that many calories at breakfast?
Wendy’s Sausage Breakfast Burrito
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 830
Fat: 53 g (Saturated Fat: 20 g)
Sodium: 2,130 mg
Carbs: 56 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 4 g)
Protein: 31 g
If you see sausage in a fast food breakfast, it’s a pretty clear sign to steer clear. That’s certainly true of Wendy’s Sausage Breakfast Burrito. Its sausage chunks (plus American cheese, eggs, and seasoned potatoes) ramp up sodium and saturated fat to an alarming degree. And here’s a not-so-fun fact: the tortilla that wraps this burrito contains L-cysteine, a food additive often sourced from human hair, duck feathers, or cow horns.
McDonald’s Big Breakfast with Hotcakes
Nutrition (Per order):
Calories: 1,340
Fat: 63 g (Saturated Fat: 24 g)
Sodium: 2,070 mg
Carbs: 158 g (Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 48 g)
Protein: 36 g
They don’t call it the Big Breakfast for nothing! McDonald’s mega-platter of hotcakes, hash browns, biscuit, sausage, and eggs has more than enough food for two. Not only is it loaded with calories, it’s totally devoid of nutritious elements like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, or dairy (except for a pat of butter). If you order this one at Mickey D’s, split it with a friend.
Panera Cinnamon Crunch Bagel
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 430
Fat: 7 g (Saturated Fat: 5 g)
Sodium: 380 mg
Carbs: 82 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 32 g)
Protein: 9 g
I personally feel the pain on this one! Once upon a time, the Cinnamon Crunch Bagel was my go-to item on Panera’s menu. But since discovering its 430 calories and 32 grams of sugar (before any flavored cream cheese), I’ve decided to make it a very infrequent order. For a carb-olicious breakfast at Panera, a couple of pieces of whole wheat toast with butter and a schmear of jam is a lower-calorie, higher-fiber choice.
Dunkin Bismark
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 480
Fat: 22 g (Saturated Fat: 9 g)
Sodium: 470 mg
Carbs: 63 g (Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 34 g)
Protein: 6 g
Sometimes called a Berliner, a Bismark is named after Germany’s famed 19th century chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Interesting history aside, what you really need to know about this jelly donut is that it’s a major sugar bomb. Dunkin’s version comes with 34 grams of sugar—all of them added. Taking in this much sugar first thing in the morning could send your blood glucose soaring.
Jack in the Box Steak and Egg Burrito with Salsa
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 800
Fat: 50 g (Saturated Fat: 14 g)
Sodium: 1,700 mg
Carbs: 58 g (Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 4 g)
Protein: 33 g
Depending on the cut, steak can be a lean source of protein. But Jack in the Box’s Steak and Egg Burrito with Salsa is anything but lean. Just look at its 50 grams of fat (14 of them saturated) and 800 calories. Even its sizable boost of fiber isn’t enough to salvage its unhealthfulness.
Starbucks Glazed Donut
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 440
Fat: 19 g (Saturated Fat: 9 g)
Sodium: 430 mg
Carbs: 60 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 34 g)
Protein: 5 g
If you want to pair some food with your morning Starbucks coffee, don’t make it the glazed donut. This pastry has low nutritional value across the board. Plus, its ingredient list is about a mile long—a sure sign of a high degree of processing. A diet high in ultra-processed foods has been linked to all sorts of health issues, from weight gain to cardiovascular disease.
Dairy Queen Breakfast Bowl with Gravy
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 830
Fat: 59 g (Saturated Fat: 19 g)
Sodium: 1,690 mg
Carbs: 42 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 2 g)
Protein: 30 g
Gravy-topped hash browns and sausage don’t exactly scream “healthy breakfast.” Not surprisingly, Dairy Queen’s Breakfast Bowl with Gravy is among the worst A.M. choices at any fast food restaurant. High-fat, high-sodium ingredients spell trouble for heart health, while the 830 calories in this bowl are nowhere near moderate for breakfast.
Chick Fil-A Hash Brown Scramble Burrito with Sausage
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 720
Fat: 40 g (Saturated Fat: 12 g)
Sodium: 1,450 mg
Carbs: 46 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 28 g
Chick Fil-A is known for plenty of better-for-you menu options like lean chicken sandwiches and nuggets. But the Hash Brown Scramble Burrito with Sausage a different story, with calories and sodium galore. Fortunately, the burrito is customizable. Make a better choice by ordering it without meat. You’ll shave off 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 250 milligrams of sodium.
Wendy’s Breakfast Baconator
Nutrition (Per 1 sandwich):
Calories: 710
Fat: 48 g (Saturated Fat: 19 g)
Sodium: 1,670 mg
Carbs: 36 g (Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 7 g)
Protein: 33 g
With a name like “Baconator,” no one is expecting this Wendy’s breakfast to be light. But be prepared—this breakfast sammie might be even heavier than you expect. Besides its 710 calories and 48 grams of fat, the Breakfast Baconator’s various elements (bun, American cheese, bacon, eggs, and a Swiss cheese sauce) contain over 100 total ingredients. It doesn’t get much more processed than that.
Dunkin Glazed Jelly Stick
Nutrition (Per 1 serving):
Calories: 540
Fat: 30 g (Saturated Fat: 15 g)
Sodium: 430 mg
Carbs: 66 g (Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 37 g)
Protein: 4 g
The highest-calorie donut at Dunkin is—drumroll, please—the Glazed Jelly Stick. A whopping 540 calories lie within its rectangular shape. Add 37 grams of sugar and a measly 1 gram of fiber and you’ve got the picture of dessert for breakfast. Skip this one in favor of a classic sugar donut, which has just 210 calories and 5 grams of sugar.
