The Hits and Misses on the Starbucks Breakfast Menu

Mornings can be high anxiety for families. Getting ready for work and getting kids ready for school can be pure chaos.

Parents will ensure their kids have a decent breakfast but typically let it slide for themselves. Luckily, there’s always a coffee shop nearby to grab a cup before heading to work, but many skip breakfast altogether. Health-conscious people may dismiss buying breakfast because coffee shops are generally associated with donuts and other sugary treats. But some places, like Starbucks, offer more than just coffee and donuts.

Starbucks has a wide range of breakfast options for people on the go or who want to enjoy a quick and warm breakfast. Of course, not every Starbucks menu item is tasty or offers value for money.

Overview of Starbucks Breakfast Menu

Starbucks offers a variety of breakfasts to suit different dietary needs and preferences. The menu includes breakfast sandwiches, wraps, sous vide egg bites, and a selection of pastries and bakery items such as bagels, croissants, muffins, coffee cakes, loaves, danishes, and scones.

For a lighter breakfast option, Starbucks offers a variety of oatmeal bowls, yogurt parfaits, and fruit cups. The menu also includes options for vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free customers.

Starbucks Breakfast Sandwiches

Starbucks offers a variety of breakfast sandwiches for those looking for a heartier, higher-protein breakfast. But keep in mind, these sandwiches are not made fresh. They are pre-made sandwiches that are packaged, frozen, and then thawed. The employees then heat them in high-powered ovens for less than 30 seconds. The following is a list of breakfast sandwiches available on the Starbucks menu.

Bacon, Gouda & Egg Sandwich 

One of the most popular items on the Starbucks breakfast menu is the Bacon, Gouda & Egg Breakfast Sandwich. This sandwich consists of thick-cut smoked bacon, a fluffy egg patty, and aged gouda cheese, all on an artisan roll. 

The Bacon, Gouda & Egg sandwich is often compared to the Double-Smoked Bacon, Cheddar & Egg Sandwich. On the subreddit r/starbucksbaristas, one customer commented, “DSB is far superior for the bacon. It’s thicker and meatier. Bacon on the Bacon Gouda is a flimsy fatty sad squish of nothing.”

One reader who is a Starbucks employee says, “Double-Smoked Bacon always. We have several customers and clerks (the Starbucks is located in a grocery store) that let us know when they’ll be here that day so we can pull an extra sandwich or two for them.” The employee also believed that the croissant bun gave the DSB the edge over the Bacon Gouda. 

Try this burger eggs Benedict for a heartier homemade breakfast sandwich.

Chicken, Maple Butter & Egg Sandwich

The Chicken, Maple Butter & Egg Sandwich is a sweet and savory combo sandwich that consists of breaded white meat chicken, eggs, and maple butter spread on a toasted oat biscuit roll. 

This sandwich returned to the Starbucks Breakfast menu after being abruptly yanked only a week after its launch. It had given people diarrhea, and complaints came from both customers and baristas. Some also bit into chicken bones or claimed that the center of the sandwich was ice cold.

A barista from the r/starbucks subreddit didn’t have kind words for the sandwich: “It’s truly not good anyway. Dry, unseasoned chicken and a frozen egg patty. Bland and weird.”

Like chicken for breakfast? We love these chicken sausage breakfast tostadas.

Spinach, Feta & Cage-Free Egg White Wrap

Another popular choice is the Spinach, Feta, and Egg White wrap. This wrap is made with cage-free egg whites, spinach, crumbled feta cheese, and sun-dried tomato cream cheese inside a whole-wheat wrap.

In the r/starbucks subreddit, a customer raved about the Spinach, Feta & Egg White Wrap. “I’ve never had a bad one (how can you have a bad mass-produced, frozen/reheated food item?). It’s filling with a decent amount of protein, it’s not a calorie bomb first thing at 7 am (I believe it’s less than 300 calories), and it’s delicious with or without the Sriracha (but why wouldn’t you, you monster). That’s pretty much it. Just wanted to sing the egg white, spinach, and feta wrap’s greatness to the masses.”

This spinach frittata is light, fluffy and easy to meal prep to take on the go.

Bacon, Sausage & Egg Wrap

This sandwich consists of double-smoked bacon, pork sausage, cage-free scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, and potatoes wrapped in a flour tortilla. 

A Starbucks customer commented in the r/starbucks subreddit about their disappointment with the Bacon, Sausage, and Egg wrap. “Zero flavor. Not worth the 650 calories it packs. I doused it with a bunch of hot sauce after the first bite, and it didn’t help at all. The 290-calorie turkey and egg white sandwich has way more flavor. I should have known better than to order a breakfast burrito/wrap from Starbucks. In the future, I’ll stick with their breakfast sandwiches and egg bites.”

Double-Smoked Bacon, Cheddar & Egg Sandwich

Starbucks claims the bacon is smoked for six hours over hickory wood chips before being stacked in this sandwich along with a cage-free fried egg. It’s then topped with a melted slice of sharp cheddar cheese and placed within Starbucks’ signature croissant bun. 

A Starbucks barista commented, “I will say that the Double-Smoked Bacon is probably our most ordered sandwich.”

In the same subreddit, a night shift worker complained that the DSB sandwich was always gone when his shift started. Another barista confirmed they sell out quickly: “Yeah, sadly we run out of breakfast sandwiches pretty fast. We usually start the day with two trays of double smoke and run out around 3 pm.”

How about a waffle breakfast sandwich with eggs, sausage and cheddar?

Turkey Bacon, Cheddar & Egg White Sandwich

This sandwich features turkey bacon, cage-free egg whites, and melted reduced-fat white cheddar cheese on a wheat English muffin.

One customer on the subreddit said, “Why is nobody saying the real MVP, the turkey bacon/cheddar/egg white sandwich, is the best one around?” 

Sausage, Cheddar & Egg Sandwich

This breakfast sandwich resembles a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin. It consists of a sausage patty, a layer of cage-free eggs, and aged cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin.

A barista says, “Sausage cheddar is pretty good, but sometimes you’ll get a bad one that’s just inexplicably soggy.”

Impossible Breakfast Sandwich

The Impossible sandwich consists of a plant-based sausage, cage-free eggs, and aged cheddar cheese on an artisan sesame ciabatta bun. 

Many customers looking for meat alternatives are thrilled with the Impossible breakfast sandwich. One satisfied customer posted: “The best one I’ve tried! It made my tummy very happy. If Starbucks ever decides to make a vegan version or at least one with fake cheese, that would be awesome for us lactose intolerant folks and vegans.”

A barista also felt the spices in the impossible sandwiches were “flawless.” 

Starbucks Bakery Items 

Starbucks offers a wide range of bakery items for breakfast. Like the breakfast sandwiches, the bakery items come prepackaged and frozen, not baked fresh in stores. The most popular bakery items at Starbucks include:

• Blueberry muffin
• Banana nut bread
• Chocolate croissant

Other Starbucks Breakfast Options

Another popular breakfast is the Sous Vide Egg Bites. This option is made with cage-free eggs, Monterey Jack cheese, and a blend of spinach and fire-roasted red peppers. It’s also a good vegetarian option, along with the Impossible breakfast sandwich and the Spinach, Feta, and Egg White wrap. 

These bacon egg cups are so easy to make. Save a few bucks and make these instead!

The egg bites and the classic or blueberry oatmeal are also good for gluten-free customers. 

Vegan customers have some options as well. The cinnamon raisin, everything, plain and sprouted grain bagels are all vegan. You can also add Starbucks’ avocado spread to kick up the protein. There’s also the Chickpea Bites & Avocado Protein Box, oatmeal when you request non-dairy milk, and Strawberry Overnight Grains, again with non-dairy milk options. 

There are also some fruit and yogurt options; the Berry Trio Parfait is a popular one. 

Complaints about the Starbucks Breakfast Menu

Shrinkflation

There has been some outrage about the ‘shrinkflation’ on such items as the yogurt parfait.

“I can’t believe how much smaller these are now. I haven’t ordered one in years, but they used to be gigantic.”

Some customers were upset that Starbucks changed the shape of the plastic cup from a straight cup to a funnel shape with a narrow base and wide brim to trick customers into thinking it was bigger than it was. 

Items Not Properly Heated

Some customers are completely unaware that nothing at Starbucks is actually baked fresh in stores. They are shipped frozen and prepackaged to all of the stores.

“Throwback to the girl who ordered a “fresh croissant” and was disappointed when she bit into it. She comes back up to the register and says, ‘Hey, I was wondering what time y’all bake the croissants here? I just love them when they’re fresh, but I can’t seem to ever get here when they’re right out of the oven!’ I told her straight up we take them out of a plastic bag after they’ve been shipped to us completely frozen, and I don’t know how she might have ever gotten a fresh croissant from Starbucks.”

Price

Price likely isn’t a surprising complaint about the Starbucks breakfast menu. Even a supervisor for a Starbucks store complained on the r/starbucks subreddit.

“The bacon gouda price is insane. Any of the sandwich prices are insane. You can get a box of Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, where each will come out to be about $1.20. $6 for a bacon gouda is insane.”

A coffee master also commented on the breakfast sandwiches. “I have no idea why people buy them. They’re totally unhealthy, don’t taste good, and are incredibly expensive for previously frozen mass-produced food that we’re just reheating.”

The Starbucks Breakfast Menu Has Options, But Not all are Worth it

Overall, Starbucks’ breakfast menu is convenient and has some tasty options for people on the go or who want to enjoy a quick meal with their coffee. There are definitely some hits and misses when it comes to taste, and you aren’t always getting value for the cost. But these are better options for some than a donut or skipping breakfast altogether.

This article originally appeared on Pink When.