Who Makes the Best Fast-Food Breakfast Sandwich?

When a breakfast emergency strikes, sometimes it's necessary to grab a quick Egg McMuffin to start the day from the on Arnold Drive in Martinez. But with a vast range of egg-centric sammies available from practically every fast food joint, is there a better choice than the big M?

Consumer Reports tackled the topic by looking at the calories, fats, sodium, sugars, and fiber of 106 egg sarnies to determine the most nutritious fast-food breakfast sandwich. Five chain restaurants were put to the test for nutrition and flavor combined, including Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Subway.

The conclusion? None scored an "excellent" rating, and the only place to get a "very good" egg sandwich is Subway. The Egg White and Cheese on Mornin’ Flatbread won on both flavor and nutritional content, with 170 calories and 5 grams of fat. The Egg White Turkey Sausage Wrap from Dunkin's Donuts is technically "healthier" — with less sodium, 5 grams of fat and 150 calories — but lacked flavor, according to testers.

No breakfast sandwiches from Burger King or McDonald’s rated better than "fair" in the Consumer Reports challenge.

To bump up flavor and cut calories, the testers recommend asking for sandwiches well toasted to blend the flavors, skipping cheese or meat, opting for egg whites instead of whole eggs, and avoiding "footlong" and other large-sized portions. 

What kind of fast-food breakfast do you grab in a pinch? Or do you avoid the concept entirely? Do you know of a recipe for a healthy and flavorful breakfast sarnie? Let us know in the comments.