Not everyone feels up to making a breakfast every morning, and you may not always have grab-and-go food items on hand. In these situations, you may find yourself Googling the closest drive-thru and wondering what the healthiest fast food breakfast options are.
Plenty of fast food restaurants serve healthy breakfasts, especially if you’re comparing the nutritional value to their more traditional fare. Here, dietitians share their go-to healthy fast food breakfasts.
What’s the healthiest fast food breakfast?
TODAY.com nutrition editor and registered dietitian Natalie Rizzo is a fan of some of Starbucks’ breakfast menu items. Her No. 1 pick for a healthy fast food breakfast is the Starbucks rolled and steel cut oatmeal.
“Add fresh blueberries, nuts, dried fruit and as little or as much added sugar as you want,” she says. “I like that it’s a quick and easy whole-grain meal with fiber that you can customize.”
Here are some other healthy fast food breakfasts, also chosen by dietitians.
Chick-Fil-A
Berry parfait
The berry parfait comes with either granola or cookie crumbs, which have similar nutritional values. The granola offers slightly more protein, but it also has more sugar, fat and calories overall. The parfait is made with fresh fruit, where most of the health benefit comes from.
Egg white grill
If you’re after a breakfast that’s packed with protein, pick up the egg white grill for a whopping 27 grams. Inside the English muffin, you’ll find grilled chicken, egg whites and melted cheese. It has 7 grams of fat and 300 calories. To lower that number, you can always get it without the bread.
Dunkin’
Wake-up wrap
You can easily customize this breakfast wrap, which comes with egg and cheese. You can also add meat, though that makes it a tad less healthy. The wrap contains 180 calories and 7 grams of protein, as well as some calcium, vitamin D and potassium. Rizzo recommends pairing it with some fruit to add some fiber or some yogurt for protein to help keep you full longer.
McDonald’s
Egg McMuffin
“(McDonald’s) breakfast entrées are generally served on an English muffin with one egg, a slice of American cheese, and ham or sausage, but can be requested without the bun,” registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix tells TODAY.com. Though this trick changes the hand-held sandwich into a meal you might need to eat with a knife and fork, it can be a game changer for someone watching their carbs when there aren’t many options around. An Egg McMuffin without the bread has 160 calories, 3 grams of carbs, 11 grams of fat and 12 grams of protein.
Fruit and maple oatmeal
For 320 calories, this oatmeal comes with two servings of whole-grain oats, made a little tastier with cream and brown sugar. The apples, raisins and cranberries add some extra sweetness, fiber and nutrients. All in all, this meal gives you 6 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and only 150 milligrams of sodium and 5 milligrams of cholesterol.
Panera
Garden avo and egg white sandwich
This breakfast sandwich from Panera comes recommended by Rizzo. Thanks to its egg whites and whole-grain bagel, it’s got 5 grams of fiber and 19 grams of protein. The avocado also packs an extra punch of healthy fats and the tomatoes provide lycopene, an immune-boosting antioxidant that helps lower bad “LDL” cholesterol.
Garden avo toast
This avocado toast option from Panera contains avocado, tomatoes, a savory garlic aoli and everything-but-the-bagel season to thrill all your taste buds. For just 320 calories, you can start your day satisfied thanks to the 4 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein and lower sodium content than you’d expect from most fast food breakfasts.
Peet’s coffee
Simply oatmeal
Peet’s oatmeal is a great way to help meet your daily fiber requirements. Plus it’s low in fat and sugar (if you steer clear of the extras like brown sugar and a lot of fruit). It’s made from steel-cut oats and flax seed, and it has 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber for just 170 calories. Consider adding something on the side, like a hard-boiled egg, since the calorie count is low.
Starbucks
Spinach feta and egg white wrap
Rizzo’s second pick at Starbucks is the spinach, feta and egg white wrap. It’s tasty, but a bit higher in sodium than other options — 840 milligrams — so just be aware when planning your other meals for the day.
Egg white and red pepper sous vide egg bites
Prepared with egg whites, spinach, fire-roasted red peppers and a touch of feta, cottage cheese and Monterey Jack, these bites are a satisfying option if you’re avoiding bread. For just 170 calories, you get 12 grams of protein to tide you over until lunch. “The calories are low enough to pair this meal with some whole-grain crackers or a slice of whole-grain toast,” Taub-Dix suggests.