The Egg McMuffin is a protein-packed fast food breakfast item that’s become synonymous with the morning menu at McDonald’s. It made the top of our taste-tested ranking of breakfast sandwiches at the franchise for its well-balanced construction and comforting flavors. With all the hype around this classic, you might guess that there’s a good story behind its creation. Before there was the McMuffin, there was “McNuthin” — as in, McDonald’s didn’t have a nationwide breakfast menu before 1977.
The story begins with Herb Peterson in 1971. As a retired WWII Marine veteran who became a prominent advertiser for McDonald’s, he went on to own and operate a McDonald’s location in Santa Barbara, California. This is where he decided to test out selling his eggs Benedict recipe for the first time, but there was a glaring issue: Pre-made and packaged Hollandaise wasn’t very appetizing. Hollandaise tasted its best when made fresh, but it would’ve taken more money and effort than it’s worth to make tubs of the stuff for a fast food restaurant. Instead, Peterson switched the sauce out for cheese and Canadian bacon — and the McMuffin as we know it today was created.
How the Egg McMuffin evolved from eggs Benedict
After Herb Peterson found success with his Egg McMuffin, McDonald’s established it as part of its menu in 1975, and it was a staple of the nationwide-implemented breakfast menu in 1977. Multiple commercials aired with catchy songs and taglines such as “Breakfast, we do it all for you.” Faces of happy families enjoying original hotcakes, Danish pastries, and Egg McMuffins played on TVs across the country. Customers were lovin’ it.
The beauty of the Egg McMuffin is that not much has changed. It’s the only McDonald’s breakfast sandwich prepared with a fresh-cracked egg, and the shape has been the same since the 1970s. It was even Peterson’s idea to make every component of the McMuffin round by developing the Teflon rings to cook the eggs inside. Sure, eggs Benedict might be fancier, earning a place on the menu of fancy brunch restaurants all over the world — but there’s only one restaurant franchise where you can find the exclusive Egg McMuffin.
