What Happens When You Microwave A McDonald's Breakfast Tray?

Whether you go for the Egg McMuffin or those buttery hotcakes with sausage, McDonald's breakfast is always a treat. We're still sad over why McDonald's stopped serving breakfast all day, but you bet we'll book it to beat that 10:30 a.m. cutoff when we get the chance.

While an egg sandwich or hash brown will come in classic paper packaging, the hotcakes and Big Breakfast (scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, and a biscuit, with or without hotcakes) come in a plastic tray with a removable lid. If you're an OG fan of the fast food chain, you might know some coveted McDonald's breakfast facts, and you probably remember that yellow-ish styrofoam container the breakfasts used to come in. It kept them warm and reduced sogginess, but McDonald's got rid of all styrofoam back in 2018. 

In its efforts to keep packaging environmentally friendly, McDonald's claims to be using recycled packaging with less virgin fossil fuel-based plastics. This is a fancy way of saying that the current breakfast tray is made of plastic, which is typically okay to microwave for short periods of time.

While there are everyday items you should think twice about before microwaving, a plastic food container isn't typically too dangerous if it doesn't show signs of warping or melting in the microwave. So, yes — the newer McDonald's plastic breakfast trays appear to be technically microwave-safe, and you can reheat food in them. We'd suggest reheating the eggs and hotcakes in the microwavable tray with the cover off, since the thin plastic lid is more likely to melt, but try transferring the hash browns to an oven or air fryer if you want to keep them crispy. Add some extra butter on top of the hotcakes after to keep them tasting fresh.

However, food safety experts often recommend transferring all fast food to ceramic or glass dishes, especially if you're heating it for more than a minute. Reheating plastic repeatedly or at high temperatures can sometimes cause chemicals to leach into the food.  For better results and peace of mind, especially with regular reheating, it's worth washing that extra dish. But if you're just nuking it once and moving on? The tray should hold up fine — just don't overcook it!