9 Egg McMuffin Ordering Hacks Every McDonald's Fan Should Know

The McDonald's Egg McMuffin is considered a classic breakfast sandwich for a reason. It consists of a round fried egg, the breakfast meat of your choice, and a melty slice of American cheese, all sandwiched in a toasted English muffin. Since it first hit the market in 1972, the sandwich has been the blueprint for a quick, easy, travel-friendly morning meal.

That said, even the best dishes can benefit from a little doctoring up. The Egg McMuffin, available with Canadian bacon or a sausage patty, is easy to customize with off-menu ingredient swaps and additions. Whether you are a loyal McDonald's fan looking to shake up your usual breakfast, or you are just curious about how far the bounds of the Egg McMuffin can be stretched, you've come to the right place. We've rounded up nine of the best Egg McMuffin ordering hacks that any McDonald's loyalist or newbie should know. 

It is no secret that McDonald's is making some of the crispiest and most satisfying hash browns in the fast-food breakfast game. Like the Egg McMuffin, it is a breakfast staple — so why not combine the two for the ultimate bite?

While you can't add a hash brown to your Egg McMuffin when ordering online, this hack is easy to pull off: order the McMuffin of your choice and add hash browns on the side. Then, crack that sandwich open and place the hash browns between the egg and the meat. This trick truly integrates them into your sandwich without disrupting the layer of melty cheese. The result is an added layer of crispy, salty flavor that harmonizes with the Egg McMuffin's existing ingredients.

The Egg McMuffin is also available as a meal combo, which comes with the sandwich, a hash brown, and a small McCafé premium roast coffee. This combo gives you everything you need to assemble this Egg McMuffin hack, plus a hot drink to wash it down.

Looking to give your McDonald's Egg McMuffin a flavor boost? A dash of one of the chain's special seasoning mixes, typically used on McDonald's lunch and dinner menus, can help take your breakfast sandwich to the next level.

One of the not-so-secret ingredients that make McDonald's burgers so tasty is a dash of grill seasoning — a combination of salt and pepper. Unsurprisingly, grill seasoning also works on an Egg McMuffin (after all, who doesn't love salt and pepper on their eggs). Extra salt complements breakfast meats and melted cheese, while pepper seasons the meat and cuts through the mild sulfurous flavor often present in steamed eggs. It might not be the most exciting seasoning mix out there, but you will be surprised by what a difference it can make.

It is worth noting that there isn't an option to order this Egg McMuffin hack online or through a delivery or pickup platform. This one will require an in-person or drive-thru order. 

McDonald's is known for its vast selection of sauces, traditionally used to dip fries and McNuggets and as condiments for the chain's other sandwiches. But most McDonald's fans do not even consider how well they also complement items on the breakfast menu, including the Egg McMuffin.

When it comes to adding sauce to your Egg McMuffin, you have plenty of options. McDonald's Spicy Buffalo Sauce adds a hint of heat and an acidic tang to the tasty sandwich (and, of course, is a tried-and-true complement to a second side of Creamy Ranch Sauce); Tangy Barbecue and Sweet 'N Sour Sauces each act like leveled-up versions of ketchup; and Honey Mustard Sauce goes especially well with thick slabs of Canadian bacon and sausage patties. You can always combine multiple for the ultimate flavorful breakfast bite. If you want it extra saucy, specify how many packets you want — as you may know, McDonald's can be a little stingy with its sauces.

If you have a big day ahead of you, sometimes the portion of a standard Egg McMuffin can feel a bit meager. Thankfully, whether you are ordering online or in person, McDonald's makes it easy to double up on your favorite sandwich ingredients.

Want it extra gooey? Tack on an extra slice of cheese. Craving a bit more protein? Turn your Egg McMuffin into a double by adding an extra piece of the Canadian bacon or sausage patty that comes with your sandwich. If you're feeling truly adventurous, you can double up on cheese, meat, and eggs — but good luck getting your mouth around the entire thing at once. 

While this hack is easy to order online and in-store, keep in mind that doubling up on each ingredient will cost extra. Prices vary by region and location, so check your local McDonald's menu for the most up-to-date information.

McDonald's offers four types of egg products at breakfast: fried round eggs for Egg McMuffins; folded eggs for biscuits, McGriddles, and bagels; scrambled eggs for breakfast plates; and a mix of scrambled egg, sausage, and vegetables for the Sausage Burrito. After learning how McDonald's really makes each of its types of eggs, you might be curious about trying something other than the classic fried round egg that comes on the McMuffin.

While you can't execute this ordering hack online, many customers report success when asking in person for this swap. Whether you go for the folded or scrambled eggs is completely up to you. Since they are optimized for a sandwich, folded eggs may be a bit less messy and keep your Egg McMuffin more structurally sound; however, scrambled eggs add a degree of airy fluffiness you will not get with round or folded eggs. The choice just depends on your preference and what your local McDonald's has available.

Given the success of McDonald's McGriddles, which combine a folded egg, cheese, the breakfast meat of your choice, and maple-flavored Griddle Cakes as the sandwich bread, it is no surprise that adding McDonald's hotcake syrup to your Egg McMuffin is a slam dunk. The syrup was originally designed for hotcakes, but if you order a few sides of it online or in person, you can easily create this mash-up yourself.

Whether you dip, drizzle, or drench your Egg McMuffin in hotcake syrup is completely up to you. However you pull off this hack, you are bound to enjoy the balance of smoky, savory flavors from the breakfast meat with the sticky, sweet addition of sugary syrup. It even goes well with some of the aforementioned hacks on this list — especially the Egg McMuffin with added hash browns.

If your Egg McMuffin is beginning to taste a little one-note, there are few better ways to keep things interesting than by adding another one (or two) of the other McDonald's breakfast meat options. Between the Canadian bacon, sausage patty, and applewood smoked bacon traditionally used on several other non-McMuffin breakfast sandwiches at the chain, you're sure to find a combination that will spice up your classic sandwich. 

Depending on which meat you want to add to your McMuffin, there are several ways to pull off this ordering hack, and you can do it both online and in person. To combine the Canadian bacon and sausage patty, order a classic Egg McMuffin with Canadian bacon and a side order of the sausage patty, since you cannot order a side of Canadian bacon. Alternatively, you can order a Sausage McMuffin with Egg and add Canadian bacon. You can also order either McMuffin sandwich and add on two half-strips of applewood smoked bacon.

This hack doesn't just add another sweet note to a savory breakfast sandwich — it also pays homage to the surprising breakfast condiments that used to come with McDonald's Egg McMuffin. Back in the '70s, McDonald's served the Egg McMuffin with honey and jam. With both items still available, you can taste firsthand what all that initial fuss was about.

As with hotcake syrup, dipping or drizzling your Egg McMuffin with honey creates a tantalizing salty-sweet contrast that makes the sandwich hard to put down. For a more pronounced flavor, the chain currently offers two fruit-based spreads: grape jam and strawberry preserves. Grape jam adds a new dimension of deep, sweet richness with a slight tang, while strawberry preserves add fragrance and tartness that pair well with a buttered English muffin. 

Although you cannot order these sauces and spreads directly on your Egg McMuffin, you can order packets of honey and jam online and in person. We suggest picking up packets of all three and seeing which ones best complement your favorite McMuffin order.

This final ordering hack may delight those who are following the keto diet, but it's not just for McDonald's fans avoiding carbs. Whether you don't like the traditional English muffin or want something lighter to fuel your morning, replacing the Egg McMuffin's bread with eggs is another satisfying take on the sandwich. 

Without an English muffin to soak up extra cheese or breakfast-meat juices, an Egg McMuffin ordered this way has a completely different texture than the original. You can better enjoy the melted cheese, which coats the sandwich toppings and often drips down to the bottom layer of egg. The breakfast meats also taste slightly juicier without any crusty bread to detract from them.

As you can likely imagine, there is no way to get your hands on this Egg McMuffin hack without ordering at the counter or drive-thru. Available ingredients (and staff willingness to pull off this slightly messy hack) may vary by location.