McDonald's Spicy McMuffin Brings The Heat But Not The Flavor

Those looking for a capsaicin kick to their morning routine will want to swing by their local McDonald's because the Spicy McMuffin is officially live. Though it's not the first time the fast food restaurant has attempted to crank up the heat on its popular breakfast sandwiches, this seasonal change is a bit more streamlined than the Cheesy Jalapeño McMuffin. Instead of a nacho-adjacent combination of cheese sauce and sliced jalapeños, the Spicy McMuffin applies a liberal dose of Spicy Pepper Sauce to its classic sandwiches and lets the sparks fly.

The Spicy McMuffin variation can be applied to all of McDonald's McMuffins — the classic Egg McMuffin, the Sausage McMuffin with Egg, and the Sausage McMuffin. The Spicy Pepper Sauce itself is a vinegary, habanero-infused condiment that packs a decently spicy kick. With the permanent presence of the Spicy McChicken sandwich on the McDonald's value menu, it feels a bit like the fast food giant has been flirting with the market's love of spicy eats as of late. I had a chance to swing by my local McDonald's to try a few of these fiery new additions, and here are all the spicy details.

McDonald's McMuffins are among the best breakfast items you can get at the restaurant because their price-to-flavor ratio is spot on, and the Spicy McMuffins continue that tradition. The addition of the Spicy Pepper Sauce adds around $0.20 to the price of an original — my local McDonald's was selling the Spicy Egg McMuffin at $4.19, the Spicy Sausage McMuffin with Egg at $3.29, and the Spicy Sausage McMuffin at $2.19. The sandwiches are also available in the traditional combo meals with Hash Browns and a drink.

The Spicy McMuffins are live on most McDonald's menus, though the "participation may vary" caveats are in full effect. This usually means that, while the seasonal item is a part of McDonald's menu, franchise owners or locations in areas where the seasonal item cannot be prepared may opt out of participation. I checked out the online availability of these items at the McDonald's locations that were within 20 miles of me, and all of them were participating — if you can't find the sandwich at one location, there's a good bet others nearby will feature the Spicy McMuffin.

Adding McDonald's Spicy Pepper Sauce to the classic McMuffins doesn't do a whole lot to impact the sandwiches from a nutritional standpoint. The basis of the sauce is soybean oil, water, distilled vinegar, egg yolk, and habanero pepper, so it's a riff on a spicy mayo. As the sauce contains egg yolks, the Spicy McMuffins will have a slight increase in cholesterol levels. Anyone looking to torpedo this particular macro will want to stick with the Spicy Sausage McMuffin which only has 60mg of cholesterol.

Those who are just after a low calorie count will want to stick with the Spicy Egg McMuffin as it nets 360 calories compared to its meaty cousins. The Spicy Sausage McMuffin has 460 calories and the Spicy Sausage McMuffin with Egg contains 530 calories. All three sandwiches remain good sources of protein, but you're always going to be taking on around 30 grams of net carbs because of that buttery English muffin. Despite its use of fresh eggs for its McMuffins, the McDonald's breakfast menu is never really top of mind when it comes to a healthy alternative. That said, the Spicy Pepper Sauce doesn't do a whole lot to make or break these sandwiches nutritionally.

I tried the Spicy Egg McMuffin and the Spicy Sausage McMuffin with Egg, and the first thing I noticed was that both sandwiches were slathered in the Spicy Pepper Sauce. A seasonal menu item should look like a seasonal menu item, and you could definitely tell that these were angrier than the original variations. After only a few bites, the sauce's heat level was front and center. It's not the kind of eye-watering, dread-inducing heat that you expect from habaneros, but it's definitely not pulling its punches, either.

Once the initial capsaicin kick deadens a bit, the only thing left on your tongue is a sharp, vinegar-heavy aftertaste. It's a dead ringer for the super acidic sauce typically found on Buffalo wings, which made me think it was just a repurposed version of the restaurant's Spicy Buffalo Sauce. Though both sauces contain vinegar, the Spicy Buffalo Sauce doesn't have egg yolks. It gets its heat from cayenne pepper instead of habanero, so there are some subtle differences. Anyone who falls in love with the Spicy McMuffins could easily recreate them with strategic use of the Spicy Buffalo Sauce.

Overall, the Spicy McMuffin is a decent sandwich and it will be a favorite for anyone who enjoys a bit of heat on their fast food favorites. However, I was hoping the Spicy Pepper Sauce would have a little bit more punch when it came to overall flavor. I've never been a fan of spicy food that is hot without tasting like anything, and that's what is going on in this sandwich. Outside of adding a good amount of heat, the sauce isn't elevating the existing ingredients to any new heights.

Of the Spicy McMuffin trio, I'd say that the Spicy Sausage McMuffin with Egg is the best of the bunch. Having the sausage and egg to push back against the often overwhelming heat and acid of the Spicy Pepper Sauce made the sandwich feel more balanced. The ham in the Egg McMuffin is completely lost in the sauce, but the egg works pretty well with the spicy condiment — anyone who reaches for Tabasco as their breakfast hot sauce of choice will know what I'm talking about.