The Egg McMuffin, created by Herb Peterson, became McDonald’s signature breakfast sandwich.
Peterson, a McDonald’s franchisee in Santa Barbara, California, developed the sandwich in the early 1970s. It combined a cooked egg, Canadian bacon, and cheese in an English muffin, creating a portable breakfast format.
The product was initially tested before expanding across McDonald’s restaurants. Its success helped establish breakfast as an important part of the McDonald’s brand identity and menu strategy.
The Egg McMuffin is often confused with the later Sausage McMuffin, which uses sausage instead of Canadian bacon. The McGriddle is also a breakfast sandwich, but it was introduced much later and uses griddle cakes rather than an English muffin.