This Meal Prep Egg and Sausage McMuffin is a healthier copycat version of the McDonald's Sausage Egg McMuffin® – it's a delicious weekday breakfast with fewer calories!
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Is the Sausage McMuffin with Egg healthy?
It probably goes without saying that very few breakfast sandwiches from fast food restaurants are healthy. Even if the restaurant's website claims that the Sausage McMuffin is a good source of protein, that doesn't make it a healthy choice.
There is nothing wrong with the occasional splurge of the comfort foods we love, but it's a good idea to be aware of what your body will have to digest. 😉
Here are some quick nutritional facts for you to digest (pun intended).
Sausage Egg McMuffin Calories
This information, taken from the McDonald's website, is for nutrition on their McMuffin sandwich with egg, sausage, and cheese.
Calories: 480
Calories from fat: 270 – That's more than 50% fat, and 12% of that is unhealthy saturated fat!
Sodium: 830mg – That's 35% of the sodium we should be eating in an entire day. Not horrible, but definitely not awesome, either.
Keep in mind, this information is just for the McMuffin sandwich, without hashbrowns, french fries, or anything else on the side.
So the challenge is on! Let us show you to create a healthier version of McDonald's Egg and Sausage McMuffin breakfast sandwich.
Ingredients & substitutions
So how is our copycat Sausage McMuffin healthier than the McDonald's version? Let's take a look!
- Sausage Patty – McDonald's sausage patty is made with pork, salt, sugar (Dextrose), “spices”, and rosemary extract.
To make our copycat McMuffin healthier, we use homemade sausage patties, made with either lean ground turkey or chicken. Oh, and there isn't any added sugar in our sausage patties.
- Cheese – The restaurant uses pasteurized processed cheese slices on their McMuffin. Do you know that processed cheese is only 51% actual cheese? The remaining 49% is fillers, artificial colors, water, and other non-food items. Tasty, right?
To keep things healthier, in our copycat McMuffin, we suggest using 100% real cheddar cheese, or for an even healthier option, choose a lower fat cheese, like Provolone.
- English Muffin – You won't really lose calories this way, but to make our meal prep sausage McMuffin healthier, you can use whole wheat English muffins instead of white.
Want to take it a step further? Make a low carb McMuffin, using a lettuce wrap instead of an English muffin!
How to meal prep them
To make the breakfast sandwiches easy for meal prep during the week:
- Cook a large batch of sausage patties up at one time. Then, either freeze or refrigerate them for use later.
- Do the same thing with the fried eggs. In case you are wondering, YES, you can freeze cooked eggs!
- Pre-slice the English muffins so they are ready to go right into meal prep containers when you need them.
- Cut slices of cheese off the block ahead of time, or if you are using processed cheese, unwrap the slices.
If all of this is done ahead, putting the Egg and Sausage McMuffin sandwiches together takes just a couple of minutes in the morning!
Storing & reheating
You can store these breakfast sandwiches in the fridge up to 5 days. You can reheat in the microwave for a couple of minutes, or you can toast them in the oven for 10-15 minutes in a 350 F oven.
Freezing the Mcmuffins
You can freeze these Mcmuffins for up to 3 months. Store the sandwiches whole in a freezer bag, then freeze them lying flat and right side up. You can reheat right from frozen in a 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes, or you can let them defrost in the fridge overnight and then either microwave or reheat in the oven as directed in the heading above.
Other healthy meal prep breakfast ideas
Do you need more make-ahead breakfast ideas? Here are some of my faves!
- Freezer-Friendly Meal Prep Breakfast Taquitos
- Meal Prep Whole 30 Sweet Potato Hash
- 5-Ingredient Meal Prep Egg White Frittata
Meal prep tools
- These Non-Stick Egg Rings are perfect for making these Sausage Egg McMuffins.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing these Egg McMuffins up for grab & go breakfasts.
- And of course, I get all my free-range ground chicken from Butcher Box!
Meal Prep Egg and Sausage McMuffin
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lb Ground chicken or turkey
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 6 eggs
- 6 cheddar cheese slices
- 6 English muffins
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together ground turkey, fennel, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Form 6 patties.
- Preheat 1 tbsp olive oil over med-high heat and then add patties to skillet, cooking for 5 minutes per side until sausage patties are cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, lightly toast English muffins in a toaster, then add cheese slices to bottom of muffins. Remove sausages from heat and add them on top of cheese slices on muffins.
- Wipe frying pan clean with a paper towel, then spray with cooking spray and turn heat to med-low. Crack eggs into egg rings, ensuring that the rings are firmly touching bottom of skillet so eggs maintain a round shape (see link above for egg rings), then break yolk.
- Cover skillet with lid and cook eggs for about 4-5 minutes or until eggs are firm, then add on top of sausages and top with remaining English muffin buns. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Wendy says
I used fresh minced garlic and fresh minced sage leaves and thyme from my garden, sent the sausage OVER the top. I grow a ridiculous amount of every fresh herbs imaginable, and use them in literally everything! Thank you Taylor for your time and efforts here!
Taylor Stinson says
Ooooooh sage is such a great addition! So happy you are loving all the recipes Wendy, it really makes my day! 🙂
Debriana Brazzanovich says
This sounds awesome! Just wandering how you heat it up in the morn if it’s refrigerated or frozen? I’ve bought the store made version of these can I microwave these the same or should I leave the muffin out? Or can I freeze the whole sandwich then reheat?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Debriana thank you so much! I’m not familiar with the store bought version so would be unable to advise there, but my version can be microwaved for 2 minutes or so. Frozen, you should be able to microwave for 5-6 minutes. You may lose some crunch but the flavour will be there 🙂
Reena Bansal says
I often have to eat lunch in my car between appointments. This sounds like a great grab and go option for me. What would happen if the muffins were toasted before freezing? I love the toasted part of the muffin and don’t want to miss that
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Reena – you could definitely do a light toast on the muffins before freezing if you’d like 🙂
Whitney says
Can you heat these up in the oven? I live in a small apartment and we don’t have room for a microwave. If I heated it up in an oven how long would it take?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Whitney! You can reheat them in a 350 F oven for about 10-15 minutes, that should do the trick.
Borg Kimberly says
Hi, thanks for sharing this great recipe!! May I ask if everything can be freezed all together or all the items should be freezed separately please? And also can you advise in what these are best freezed? Thanks again 🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Borg! You can freeze the Mcmuffins in one freezer bag together – hope that helps!