No other fast food joint does mornings quite like McDonalds. For more than 40 years, their breakfast menu has served greasy foods like hash browns, hot cakes, and grilled breakfast sandwiches, along with a steady flow of black coffee. But when we talk about McDonald’s breakfast, we usually talk about new items like the Sausage McMuffin or the McGriddle. What we don’t pay as much attention to is the McDonald’s breakfast sausage that’s between the buns.
There are a lot of tasty foods that people love that start with these little meat patties, but most people probably don’t give them much thought. Theres so much more to the sausage than whats on the surface. The history of McDonald’s breakfast sausage is linked to the history of the Golden Arches. The meat is tasty, and it’s surprising how healthy it is. Like the old saying goes, “seeing how the sausage is made” can make you think of gross things you’d rather not know. But we think these facts will make you enjoy the most important meal of the day (fast food) even more. Heres the sizzling truth about McDonalds breakfast sausage.
McDonald’s is one of the most popular fast food chains known for its burgers fries, and breakfast sandwiches. The sausage patties and sausage McMuffins are breakfast favorites for many. But there are often questions around what exactly is in McDonald’s sausage, including whether or not it contains nitrates.
Here, we’ll take a close look at McDonald’s sausage ingredients, nutrition facts, and cooking methods to see if their sausage really does have nitrates or other questionable ingredients.
Overview of McDonald’s Sausage Options
McDonald’s offers two main types of sausage on their breakfast menu:
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Sausage patties – These are round, flat sausage patties that are served on sandwiches like the Sausage McMuffin with Egg.
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Sausage crumbles – Pre-cooked, diced sausage used in menu items like the Sausage Burrito.
Both the sausage patties and crumbles are fully cooked and just need to be quickly reheated prior to serving McDonald’s uses pork and chicken in their sausage.
For this article we’ll focus specifically on the ingredients and nutrition of the regular pork sausage patties that McDonald’s uses in sandwiches like the Sausage McMuffin.
Ingredients in McDonald’s Sausage Patties
Here are the basic ingredients found in a McDonald’s sausage patty:
- Pork
- Water
- Salt
- Spices
- Sugar
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- Soy protein concentrate
- Caramel color
- Extractives of paprika
The sausage contains pork as the first and main ingredient. The other ingredients help add flavor, texture, color, and help keep the patties moist.
Soy protein concentrate is added to help bind the sausage. The caramel color and paprika extractives provide visual appeal.
Do McDonald’s Sausages Contain Nitrates?
After reviewing the ingredients list, nitrates are not present in McDonald’s regular pork sausage patties.
Nitrates and nitrites are sometimes used as preservatives in cured, processed meats to prevent bacterial growth and add color. However, McDonald’s regular sausage patties do not contain these added nitrates or nitrites.
They are fully cooked fresh with a relatively short shelf life and do not require nitrate preservatives. The caramel color and paprika extract likely help provide some natural color without nitrates.
Other Controversial Ingredients
While McDonald’s sausage doesn’t contain nitrates, here are some other ingredients that are sometimes considered controversial:
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MSG – Monosodium glutamate is added for flavor. Some claim adverse reactions to large doses of MSG.
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Soy protein – Soy ingredients are avoided by some due to soy allergies or preferences.
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Caramel color – Artificial coloring derived from treated sugars. Thought by some to be unhealthy.
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Sugar – The patties contain 1g of added sugar per serving. Could be a concern for those limiting sugar intake.
So while nitrates are not present, those wishing to avoid the above ingredients may want to choose menu options without sausage.
Nutrition Facts for McDonald’s Sausage
Here is the basic nutrition information per McDonald’s sausage patty:
- Calories: 230
- Fat: 18g
- Carbs: 2g
- Protein: 12g
- Sodium: 480mg
Each 2.4 oz patty packs a hefty 230 calories, with most coming from 18g of fat. Half the calories are from fat.
The 12g of protein provides a decent hit of this nutrient. But the 480mg of sodium is also high, equal to about 20% of the daily recommended value.
So while the sausages provide protein, they are high in calories, fat, and sodium. Those watching their health and diet may want to consume McDonald’s sausages in moderation.
How McDonald’s Prepares Their Sausage
To ensure safety and consistency, McDonald’s uses the following processes for preparing sausage in their restaurants:
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Sausage patties arrive at restaurants pre-cooked and frozen.
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Patties are stored frozen until ready to use.
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When needed, patties are placed on the grill to reheat until hot and sizzling. This takes 1-2 minutes.
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Sausage patties are held in a warming cabinet until served.
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Cooked sausage patties not served within 10 minutes are discarded.
The quick grilling step just heats up the pre-cooked frozen sausage. Proper storage, cooking, and holding procedures are followed.
Is McDonald’s Sausage Healthy?
At the end of the day, is McDonald’s sausage a healthy choice compared to other options? Here are some key points:
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It provides protein, but also relatively high in fat and sodium.
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No nitrates, but contains other controversial ingredients like MSG, soy, caramel color.
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Fine in moderation, but those watching health or ingredients may want to limit intake.
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Other menu options like egg white sandwiches are lower in fat and sodium.
While convenient and tasty, McDonald’s sausage is quite high in fat and sodium. It’s best treated as an occasional indulgence rather than an everyday breakfast choice for a balanced diet. Choosing lower fat proteins, vegetables, and whole grains can provide healthier and more nutrient-dense alternatives when eating breakfast at McDonald’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some other common questions about McDonald’s sausage and what’s in it:
Does McDonald’s sausage contain pork?
Yes, pork is the first and main ingredient in McDonald’s sausage patties.
What parts of the pig are used in McDonald’s sausage?
McDonald’s does not provide specifics on which pork cuts are used. It likely contains both prime lean cuts and trimmings.
Is McDonald’s sausage fully cooked?
Yes, the frozen sausage patties arrive at restaurants pre-cooked so they just need to be quickly reheated on the grill.
Are McDonald’s sausage and egg sandwiches healthy?
While convenient, these sandwiches can be high in fat, sodium, and calories due to ingredients like sausage, cheese, buttery biscuits or muffins. In moderation, they make for an occasional treat.
Can you request no sausage in a sausage McMuffin?
Yes, you can order an egg McMuffin without the sausage to lower fat, sodium, and calories.
Does McDonald’s sausage contain gluten?
No, regular pork sausage at McDonald’s does not contain gluten ingredients. But sandwiches containing biscuits or muffins do contain gluten.
Is McDonald’s sausage vegan or vegetarian?
No, all McDonald’s sausage contains pork, so it is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians.
What is in the spicy sausage at McDonald’s?
Spicy sausage contains the same basic ingredients with addition of spices like black pepper. Nutrition is similar.
You can’t buy it from the store
You could probably make a good Sausage McMuffin at home if you had English muffins on hand and Jimmy Dean patties in the freezer, right? Maybe, but only to a certain point. For starters, McDonalds breakfast sausage is not commercially available to the public. Its exclusively produced for the restaurant, meaning you cant buy it directly from the store. The website for McDonald’s says that Lopez-Dorada Foods provides the chain with meats, such as the ground beef in Big Macs and the sausage crumbles that go inside breakfast burritos. Over a quarter of pork products found at McDonalds come straight from Lopez-Dorada Foods (per High Plains Journal).
It is based in Oklahoma and has ties to Walmart and Tyson Foods. Since 1968, it has provided meat to McDonald’s. As we already knew, McDonald’s wouldn’t start serving breakfast for another ten years. This gives the processor a big advantage as the chain changes its menu. Because they’ve had this partnership for so long, the quality of the product is probably going to be really good. Making your favorite fast food breakfast from scratch sounds like a great idea—it’s cheaper and you won’t have to wait in line. And it turns out that the average home cook can only do so much to copy a Mickey D’s sausage patty.
Breakfast sausage wasn’t always on the menu
It’s true that McDonald’s tried breakfast for a few years before the official launch of the morning menu in 1977. But during this time, there was a big hole in the menu: there was no breakfast sausage. Thats right, for a hot minute in Mickey Ds breakfast history, sausage was not on the menu. McDonald’s company timeline shows that for a short time, the Egg McMuffin was the only breakfast item customers could get. It didn’t come out in restaurants until 1975 (via Foodbeast). Two years is a long time, and the McDonald’s drive-thru didn’t offer many other options for busy people who needed a quick bite before work.
But good things come for those who wait, so when breakfast was finally served nationally, ground pork patties finally made their first appearance. A vintage TV commercial from the 1970s shows customers could snag a side of breakfast sausage in two entrees that are still around today, the Big Breakfast and Hot Cakes and Sausage. Additionally, the sausage could also be ordered a la carte, letting consumers customize their own morning meal on the go. Even then, it still took another few years before the breakfast sandwich took off, starting with the Sausage Biscuit in 1986 and McGriddle in 2003.