As much as I would like to be one of those girls who has time to make a full breakfast each morning, complete with a French press and fresh croissant, many days I am flying out the door and just try to make time to stop for a quick breakfast on my way to work. But a daily trip to Panera for a breakfast sandwich can be expensive, and with so many options in the grocery store aisle, it can feel overwhelming or it all might just look the same. So if you're looking for a speedy breakfast that won't eat up all your time on those hectic weekday mornings, I've got you covered. I tried sandwiches from 10 popular brands, and here are the best breakfast sandwiches that I think are worth trying out for yourself.
Methodology
To make sure that I experienced each product as intended, I prepared each sandwich in the microwave per the package instructions and did not add any additional condiments (sorry Chalula). I based this list on which sandwiches I thought had the best taste, texture, and quality of ingredients. In my search for the best breakfast sandwiches, I wanted to find something convenient and quick that would get me out the door fast, but my main goal was to find a frozen breakfast sandwich from the grocery store that tasted as good as homemade while still saving time in the morning.
9. Mason Dixie Sweet Maple Pancake Sandwich with Sausage & Egg
This was a new brand for me that I hadn’t noticed in the freezer section until recently, but it is now one of my favorites. The sandwiches I tried from this brand all tasted homemade, and the restaurant quality of the ingredients the brand boasts and no preservatives is another exciting trait among the rest of the frozen breakfast sandwich aisle. I thought this pancake sandwich was less sweet than the other pancake-breaded breakfast sandwiches I tried, which I appreciated because the sweet and savory flavors were well-balanced.
8. Odom’s Tennessee Pride Sausage & Buttermilk Biscuits
For anyone looking for a good country biscuit, look no further than Odom’s Tennessee Pride Sausage and Buttermilk Biscuits. Unlike all the rest of the items on our list, these sandwiches have no egg or cheese, but it stands out as the best biscuit by far, and tastes great even with only two ingredients. The bread stayed soft, chewy, and buttery, unlike many microwave biscuit sandwiches that tend to get a bit hard, and the sausage patty itself was well-seasoned and had great texture. These are available in both full-size sandwiches or in a mini-size that comes in a 2-pack, so you can pick which size works best for you.
7. Jimmy Dean Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Croissant
Another great contender on this list is the Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissant from Jimmy Dean. While I normally go for bacon as my breakfast sandwich protein, Jimmy Dean does sausage better than most other brands when it comes to the patty tasting less processed and having a more meaty texture. I didn’t go into this ranking thinking I would have so many sausage breakfast sandwiches come out on top, but this buttery croissant breakfast sandwich with pillowy egg and cheese is a great at-home substitute for some other fast-food breakfast sandwiches.
6. Cloud’wich Cinnamon Waffle Breakfast Sandwich
Available at Jewel-Osco, the gluten-free Cinnamon Waffle Breakfast Sandwich with Sausage, Egg, and Cheese is another sweet and savory option for your morning grab-and-go breakfast. I’m a bit picky when it comes to waffle-breaded sandwiches because I prefer a crispy waffle exterior to contrast the pillowy and cheesy eggs, and even though I warmed it in the microwave, the waffle had great texture and the cinnamon flavor was a welcome contrast to the maple-heavy lineup in the alternative-bread frozen breakfast sandwiches.
5. Mason Dixie Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Croissant
Another great sandwich from Mason Dixie on our list, the croissant on this sandwich stayed thick and fluffy even after being microwaved, when many others I tried fell flat after warming. The flakey layers also made me feel like I was eating a fresh croissant sandwich, another surprise from a frozen breakfast item. This sandwich sports 18 grams of protein on top of using clean ingredients with no preservatives, so it is another great option for a healthier frozen breakfast that is still quick and easy to prepare.
4. Rudi’s Egg & Cheese Frittata with Bacon Breakfast Sandwich
This was by far the overall best bacon sandwich I tried, and the seasoning of the egg frittata set it apart from some of the other bacon, egg, and cheese English muffin sandwiches I tried. I think that bacon is a hard protein to nail when it comes to frozen breakfast sandwiches, usually either too floppy and chewy with no crispiness, but Rudi’s does a great job with their bacon in taste and texture. The bakery-fresh taste of the English muffin was also a surprise for a frozen breakfast sandwich, and this sandwich scored high on our list for its homemade taste.
3. Odom’s Tennessee Pride Chicken Buttermilk Biscuit
These cute mini-breakfast sandwiches are another simple but delicious breakfast option. The two-ingredient sandwich has a soft and buttery biscuit and breaded chicken patty and comes in a 2-pack that will fit adorably into your breakfast bento box. In the future, I would add a bit of maple syrup to give it more of a chicken and waffle county-breakfast vibe, but even without, the biscuit is so soft and buttery and tastes amazing with what is essentially a chicken nugget.
2. Jimmy Dean Plant-Based Patty, Egg & Cheese Croissant Sandwiches
I really wanted to include at least one vegetarian breakfast option that wasn’t just egg and cheese, so I was excited to try a plant-based version of Jimmy Dean’s famous breakfast sausage. The soy-based protein patty was seasoned so well that I found it to be almost indistinguishable from their normal pork sausage. I definitely recommend giving this one a try if you are looking for a fast plant-based protein breakfast that will still fill you up in the morning.
1. Jimmy Dean Maple Griddle Cake with Sausage, Egg, and Cheese
There’s a reason why Jimmy Dean is on so many people’s grocery lists and a champion in the at-home breakfast industry. This sandwich was perfectly balanced between sweet and savory and was by far the best in taste and texture. The creamy egg and cheese paired with the sausage patty are perfect with the sweet pancake bread, and I loved the small pockets of maple dabbled across the cake to avoid a sticky, messy breakfast. This sandwich won the top spot on our list of sandwiches because I felt that it gave the perfect bite, combining all the best breakfast flavors into one quick and easy frozen breakfast sandwich.