What was McDonald’s first nationally released breakfast sandwich?

The Egg McMuffin was McDonald’s first nationally released breakfast sandwich.

Herb Peterson, a McDonald’s franchise owner in Santa Barbara, California, created the sandwich in 1971. It used an English muffin, a round egg, Canadian bacon, and cheese, creating a portable breakfast item with a distinctive standardized shape.

The Egg McMuffin first appeared locally before McDonald’s expanded it nationwide in 1975. Its success helped establish breakfast as a major part of the McDonald’s brand and encouraged the chain to build a broader morning menu.

The sandwich is sometimes confused with the launch of McDonald’s entire breakfast menu. The Egg McMuffin was the signature breakfast sandwich, while other breakfast products were introduced as the morning offering developed. Its branding also reinforced McDonald’s use of concise product names beginning with “Mc.”