The Worst Restaurant Breakfasts in America

Studies show that people who take time for a morning meal consume fewer calories over the course of the day, have stronger cognitive skills, and are 30 percent less likely to be overweight.

But when food marketers get their hands on it, “a hearty breakfast” turns into something more like “a heart-unhealthy breakfast.” Because an unhealthy heart is exactly what many of the country’s most popular breakfast joints are setting you up for, by peddling fatty scrambles, misguided muffin missiles, and pancakes that look like manhole covers.

#6: Worst Breakfast Beverage

Starbucks Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream (venti, 24 oz)
720 calories
27 g fat (17 g saturated)
103 g sugars

There's a big difference between an untainted cup of joe and the souped-up, sugar-loaded blends (this particular drink contains 26 scoops of sugar) that list coffee as one of the ingredients. And this Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha is the definition of caffeinated indulgence.

 #5: Worst Pastry Breakfast

Cinnabon Regular Caramel Pecanbun
1,100 calories
56 g fat (10 g saturated, 5 g trans)
47 g sugars

The only speck of nutrition to be found in the bun comes from the nuts. Too bad they’re coated in sugar. This dangerously bloated bun contains nearly an entire day’s worth of fat and more than half of your daily allotment of calories. That’s as much as you’ll find in 8 White Castle hamburgers.

 

#4: Worst Scrambled Eggs Breakfast

Bob Evans Border Scramble Biscuit Bowl
1,028 calories
57 g fat (25 g saturated)
3,055 mg sodium

The difference in is the bowl itself (several hundred calories of carbohydrate-loaded dough) and the cheese sauce—this biscuit bowl boasts a Queso sauce that no one in his or her right mind would consider a healthy topping.

#3: Worst Breakfast Sandwich

Denny’s Grand Slamwich
1,320 calories
90 g fat (42 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,070 mg sodium

This ginormous breakfast sandwich comes with a day and a half worth of sodium, as much saturated fat as you’ll find in 42 strips of bacon, and the caloric equivalent of four and a half cheeseburgers from McDonald’s.  

#2: Worst Pancakes

Friendly’s Apple Caramel Walnut Pancakes
1,540 calories
30 g fat (11 g saturated)
2,290 mg sodium

No matter what you’ve ordered, you’re guaranteed at least 900 calories. And that’s before you get to the sides. For the best breakfast meal, choose protein-rich foods, like eggs, and skip all sugar- and carbohydrate-laden sides, like toast, muffins, or pancakes.

#1: The Worst Breakfast in America

Cheesecake Factory French Toast Napoleon
2,460 calories
61 g saturated fat
1,769 mg sodium
246 g carbohydrates

This outrageous restaurant consistently earns the title of “Worst” on nearly every list we create. Their French Toast Napoleon is no exception—it contains well over a day’s worth of calories (that’s about the equivalent of 19 bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, to give you some idea). It also has 61 grams of saturated fat (three times your daily limit).