Egg McMuffin is the McDonald’s breakfast sandwich that debuted in 1972.
Herb Peterson, a McDonald’s franchisee in California, developed the sandwich with an English muffin, a round egg, Canadian bacon, and cheese. The format made breakfast convenient for customers and fit McDonald’s standardized preparation model.
The product became a major part of McDonald’s breakfast branding and helped establish the company as a breakfast destination. Its name used the “Mc” prefix, linking the new meal to the wider McDonald’s product family.
The Egg McMuffin is sometimes dated to 1971 because testing and early sales began before the broader 1972 debut. The 1972 date refers to its introduction as a McDonald’s menu item.