Is it Cheaper to Make or Buy an Egg McMuffin?
My husband is a huge fan of the McDonald’s Egg McMuffins and routinely picks up 1 or 2 sandwiches on his way to work or to run errands. The cost of this simple breakfast sandwich can really add up when you stop multiple times a week.
This made me wonder if making my own homemade version of the Egg McMuffin would work and if it would save us money as well. Let’s find out!
How much does a homemade Egg McMuffin cost?
For our homemade version of a classic Egg McMuffin, we will be using a recipe from CopyKat. For the full recipe, click here.
| Homemade McMuffin Ingredients | Total Cost | Cost for this Recipe |
| 4 tbsp butter | Great Value 16oz pack= $3.98 | $0.49 |
| 4 English Muffins | Great Value 6 ct= $1.50 | $1.00 |
| 4 slices of Canadian Bacon | Jones Dairy 6oz pack (9 slices)= $4.18 | $1.85 |
| 4 eggs | Great Value 12ct white large eggs=$2.63 | $0.87 |
| 1/2 cup of water | From Home | $0.00 |
| 4 slices of American Cheese | Great Value 24ct= $2.48 | $0.41 |
| Total Cost: $14.77 | Total Cost for this Recipe: $4.62 | Cost per Homemade Egg McMuffin: $1.15 |
I priced all the ingredients for a standard Homemade Egg McMuffin at my local Walmart because their prices tend to be the lowest in my area. This means your costs may vary depending on which store you shop buy groceries at locally.
These were regular prices, and nothing was on sale, so if I had to buy all the ingredients, it would cost $14.77 initially.
The amount actually used for this CopyKat Egg McMuffin recipe would only be $4.62. This makes each homemade Egg McMuffin cost about $1.15.
How much does an Egg McMuffin cost at McDonald’s?
At my local McDonald’s the basic Egg McMuffin cost about $2.79. This is just for the sandwich and not the meal or a drink.
Depending on where you live, the Egg McMuffin can cost more, and some places reported that it costs closer to $5.00 for just the sandwich.
Is it worth making your own Egg McMuffin?
If you are basing your decision solely on cost, then making your own Egg McMuffin is a huge money saver. At my local prices, the homemade version only cost $1.15 each, so that is a savings of about 58% rather than buying it at McDonald’s.
The other great benefits besides cost of making your own Egg McMuffins at home come down to ingredients and making it healthier.
When making Egg McMuffins at home not only do you get to control the quality of the ingredients, but you also get to decide what you want to use. This means you can switch out the Canadian bacon for other meats like sliced ham, bacon, sausage, or any other meat you chose.
You can also look at your local sales flyers and pick your breakfast meat based on what is the cheapest or that is currently on sale.
Other substitutions would be using egg whites instead of regular eggs. You can also change up the cheese from American to a sliced cheddar or even Swiss cheese. I personally like to add a slice of tomato and fresh spinach to my homemade Egg McMuffins.
Even without the money savings element, I would still make these breakfast muffins at home because the fast-food version has a huge amount of sodium and a ton of preservatives to extend the shelf life.
We are constantly trying to eat healthy and lower our sodium intake, so making them at home is a whole lot healthier than the restaurant version.
Overall, I will definitely making our own version of the Egg McMuffin at home from now on. I plan to make a large batch and freeze them, so whenever we feel like having one for breakfast, we can reheat it in the microwave for a super quick breakfast!
For more cost breakdowns of making versus buying, check out “Is it Cheaper to make your own Italian Seasoning?” and “Is it Cheaper to Make or Buy Egg Rolls?“
