Can you order normal food at mcdonalds during breakfast

McDonald’s breakfast often beats out other fast-food restaurants as the favorite fast-food breakfast option.

Unfortunately, not all of us can get to McDonald’s during typical breakfast hours.

Sure, afternoon and evening eaters can opt for lunch and dinner options, but sometimes nothing but a McGriddle will do.

Can you get breakfast all day at McDonald’s?

McDonald’s does offer a large portion of its breakfast menu all day thanks to high customer demand.

However, you can’t get all items all day.

Some markets only offer McMuffins or biscuits all day, while other markets offer both.

Hash browns are sometimes only offered during breakfast hours.

However, for people who visit restaurants that offer breakfast sandwiches but not hashbrowns, you can always get the sandwich by itself or get fries as a side

McDonald’s also serves their extensive café items all day.

Café menu items were designed to compete with Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and other popular chain cafes with plenty of high-end options and a lot of variety, including espresso options.

In some cases, you can find low-calorie options that use sugar-free options instead of full-flavor syrups.

Traditional McDonald’s Breakfast Hours

While you can get most menu items, if you want to enjoy the full breakfast menu, you may want to make it to McDonald’s during their breakfast hours.

Most McDonald’s offer breakfast from 5:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on weekdays and 11:00 a.m. on weekends.

It’s important to note that McDonald’s restaurants may not follow the same hours as most of the other McDonald’s as restaurant owners do have some autonomy when it comes to hours.

Some locations adjust the hours slightly based on local demand.

Check with your local restaurant if you live in an area that may have different hours, such as rural areas.

During breakfast hours, you cannot order most lunch menu items.

However, you can ask your McDonald’s if they can make lunch for you if you’re absolutely craving a burger.

McDonald’s All-Day Breakfast And Covid

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 affected all restaurants, including McDonald’s.

For a time, McDonald’s decided to temporarily cancel all-day breakfast to reduce operational costs as the demand lowered while people opted to stay at home.

Luckily, at this time, most McDonald’s restaurants have returned to normal operations.

With that being said, some are slower than others when it comes to getting back to normal.

If you read articles online about McDonald’s canceling all-day breakfast, pay attention to the date.

The article may refer to the reaction after COVID-19 and may not still apply today.

Call your local restaurant to learn more.

The Cost Of Offering Breakfast All Day

Why didn’t McDonald’s just offer breakfast all the time—even during the pandemic?

Well, it costs significantly more to offer both breakfast and lunch than to simply offer lunch after 11:00 a.m.

When hashbrowns get dropped in one fryer, the fryer won’t have room to accommodate the demand for fries.

McDonald’s makes money by serving as many people as quickly as possible.

Waiting for the fryer can encourage customers to go somewhere else.

To prevent slow operations, McDonald’s may need to spend more on extra fryers and warmers.

They also need to spend money on training staff to offer both, even those who don’t usually work in the morning.

McDonald’s has found that the benefits tend to outweigh the cost, as all-day breakfast brings more customers into the restaurant.

What Fast Food Chains Offer Breakfast?

Most fast-food chains have stepped up to the plate to offer breakfast in an effort to compete with McDonald’s.

Other fast-food restaurants that offer breakfast include:

• Burger King: some items offered all day long but unremarkable taste and options.
• Wendy’s: still in experimental phase, possibly too hardy, and no breakfast potatoes.
• Subway: not known as the tastiest but healthy compared to many other options.
• Sonic: limited menu offered all day.
• White Castle: unhealthy but sometimes tasty.
• Taco Bell: as tasty as McDonald’s and a strong competitor but not if you need coffee in the morning.
• Panera: unique options but more expensive than most other options.
• Whataburger: tasty (in some opinions) competition to McDonald’s but not available in all states.
• Jack in the Box: unimaginative options that taste good and are offered all day.
• Chick-fil-a: chicken biscuit tastes great but is not available on Sunday.

Is McDonald’s The Best Fast-Food Breakfast?

While taste is completely subjective, McDonald’s tends to lead the pack when it comes to breakfast.

Not only do people like many of the unique menu items, such as the sweet and savory McGriddle, but they also enjoy the reasonable prices of the menu items.

McDonald’s also objectively has the most café options for people who want more than a simple cup of coffee.

Finally, McDonald’s is the only one that offers breakfast all day.

On the downside, some people find the biscuits dry and the taste of the bacon unimpressive.

Other All-Day Breakfast Options

If you have a taste for breakfast but don’t want to go to McDonald’s, you can opt for Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.

Both also serve breakfast sandwiches and coffee all day.

You can also visit Denny’s or IHOP or other regional chains that also offer breakfast menu items all day but don’t have drive-through windows.

History Of McDonald’s Breakfast

The history of McDonald’s breakfast has an interesting back story.

It all started when one franchise owner asked for permission to sell sweets, such as donuts, during breakfast hours in 1970.

McDonald’s very quickly saw the possibilities, and in 1971, a different franchise owner introduced the Egg McMuffin.

It was innovative thanks to the circular egg patty still used in the sandwiches today.

By 1975, the Egg McMuffin became a staple all around the country.

In 1986, McDonald’s added biscuits to the breakfast menu.

In 1991, McDonald’s added the breakfast burrito to the menu.

In 2003, McDonald’s added hotcakes and McGriddles to the menu.

The latest innovations include healthier menu items, such as egg whites and oatmeal.

At this time, breakfast makes up about 24% of McDonald’s profits, making it a very important part of its business model.

Breakfast Menu Items No Longer Available

McDonald’s works hard to bring new menu items to the menu, but not all of them work.

Today, you will not find bagel sandwiches, breakfast wraps, or the fruit parfait on the menu.

Eating A Healthy McDonald’s Breakfast

While not necessarily known for offering healthy breakfast options, you can find ways to eat healthy when you order McDonald’s breakfast.

Start by going into your order with the mindset that you want to eat healthier.

Generally speaking, you’re going to want to avoid fatty meats, like bacon and sausage, and fried options, like the hashbrowns.

What’s left?

For people on a diet, consider ordering oatmeal. Just don’t get fooled into believing that it’s entirely healthy, though.

It contains a lot of sugar.

You can also order the egg-white McMuffin specifically designed to accommodate a low-calorie low-fat diet.

It uses egg whites instead of traditional eggs, low-fat cheese, and Canadian bacon instead of sausage or bacon.

Not only does the egg white McMuffin use egg whites instead of whole eggs, but you can substitute egg whites on any of your other sandwiches as well.

Avoid ordering hashbrowns if you want to watch your weight. You can always order sandwiches by themselves.

Finally, don’t forget to include the calories from your drink in your daily calorie count.

Some of the more decadent drinks can add up in fat and calories.

HowTo Order McDonald’s Breakfast

There are numerous ways to order McDonald’s breakfast:

• In-store
• Drive-thru
• Pickup
• Delivery

Even at restaurants that stay open 24 hours, you will only be able to order McDonald’s breakfast in-store when the lobby is open (most lobbies open at 5 a.m.).

You can order McDonald’s pick-up through the McDonald’s app.

You will only have access to breakfast menu items when they are available.

Once you select the menu items you want, you must pay at that time to complete the order.

You can’t pay once you arrive at the restaurant.

You get the option to select whether you want curbside pickup or pickup through the delivery service.

For pickup orders, you must order through the app.

When you order through the app, you get the additional benefits of exclusive deals and earning rewards that can lead to free menu items.

Pickup offers a great option when you don’t have a lot of time in the morning to wait in line.

While you can’t order McDonald’s delivery through the McDonald’s app, you can order McDonald’s delivery through various third-party apps, such as Door Dash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats.

You cannot accumulate rewards when you order McDonald’s through third-party delivery services.

However, they may have their own rewards programs that you can take advantage of.

Saving Money On McDonald’s Breakfast

McDonald’s doesn’t charge very much for breakfast items.

In fact, you can even find many items on their discount menu.

However, the cost adds up over time.

It can be helpful to know how to save a little bit of money on McDonald’s breakfast when possible.

Follow these simple tips on how to save money at McDonald’s:

1. Take Advantage Of The Value Menu

McDonald’s offers value menus that provide certain items at reduced prices ($1 and $2).

Not all restaurants offer the same deals.

For example, restaurants in airports or major points of interest in a major city may have higher prices.

Some of the breakfast items on the value menu include:

• Sausage McMuffin
• Sausage McGriddle
• Sausage Biscuit
• Hashbrown
• Mocha
• Caramel mocha
• Latte
• Caramel latte
• French vanilla latte

If you plan properly, you can get a decent breakfast for $3.

2. Earn Rewards

McDonald’s knows that a lot of customers visit McDonald’s over and over again.

To reward regular customers, McDonald’s recently established a rewards program.

To take advantage of the rewards program, order pickup through the app.

You cannot accumulate rewards if you don’t order through the app, as that’s how McDonald’s tracks your orders and payments.

You can also earn rewards through your credit card or your third-party delivery service.

If you earn rewards through your credit card, ensure that you pay everything off before you pay more in interest.

McDonald’s Breakfast Items Around The World

McDonald’s established a name for itself outside of the United States.

However, they don’t offer the same menu items at restaurants in different countries.

Many customers get a kick out of seeing the different menu options available in other countries.

Here are some of the interesting McDonald’s breakfast menu items from around the world:

• Queijo Quente Do Chef (Brazil): cream cheese, melted Emmental, tomato, and oregano on a soft hamburger bun.
• Halloumi Muffin (Saudi Arabia): vegetarian and halal version of the Egg McMuffin.
• Veg Supreme McMuffin (India): veggie patty with mint mayonnaise.
• Georgie pie bacon ’n egg (New Zealand): personal pot pie filled with bacon and egg offered all day.
• McFalafal (Egypt): falafel wrap with Tahini sauce.
• Pork porridge (Thailand): porridge with shredded pork on top.

Don’t forget to try these unique menu items if you find yourself in a different part of the world!

Conclusion

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

If you have a taste for McDonald’s breakfast, you may find yourself a little confused about breakfast hours after the recent pandemic.

To ensure you get the meal you want, try to order during traditional breakfast hours.

If that doesn’t work for you, there are still many restaurants that offer all-day breakfast.

If worse comes to worst, you may have to stick to lunch (but is that really so bad?).