The Fancy McDonald's Breakfast Item You've Probably Forgotten About

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Does the name "Eggs Benedict McMuffin" ring a bell? If not, you're not alone. This sandwich premiered way back in the summer of 2001 as part of McDonald's New Tastes Menu, which promoted the Disney movie "Atlantis: The Lost Empire." The new McMuffin was supposed to become part of the permanent breakfast menu, but McDonald's discontinued it that same year. Since it launched in June, it was available for a maximum of six months. Unless you were a diehard fan of McDonald's breakfast at the time, you probably never knew it existed.

When McDonald's franchise owner and operator Herb Peterson invented the McMuffin in 1971, he was inspired by his favorite breakfast dish, eggs Benedict. However, when he tried brushing packaged hollandaise sauce on the sandwich, it didn't live up to his hopes. Peterson swapped the sauce for American cheese, added a slice of Canadian bacon, and the rest was history — at least until 2001, when McDonald's gave hollandaise another chance with its Eggs Benedict McMuffin.

While the official reason behind this item's discontinuation is lost to time, Peterson's instincts were seemingly spot-on. A 2025 forum comment remembers the sauce as "a shelf-stable imitation hollandaise that looked like melted margarine and tasted like industrial despair." But could real hollandaise have made this McMuffin a winner?

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Unless you happen to own a time machine, you can't just walk into a McDonald's and order an Eggs Benedict McMuffin. You can always order a regular Egg McMuffin and add your own sauce, but bringing a Tupperware container full of hollandaise might garner some odd looks. Your best bet is attempting an at-home version. The good news? It's quite easy.

The Eggs Benedict McMuffin consisted of Canadian bacon, egg, special breakfast sauce (aka that hollandaise knockoff), and American cheese on a toasted English muffin. If you want to make your sandwich truly authentic, former McDonald's corporate chef and TikTok creator Mike Haracz revealed in a 2023 video that Bays Original English Muffins are the closest match to McDonald's — especially if you broil only one side and brush it with butter. In another TikTok video, Haracz recommended using Walmart's Great Value Deluxe American Cheese Slices as part of your McDonald's dupe. Use an egg ring to achieve that signature round shape, add a slice of Canadian bacon, and voilà! You have a McMuffin.

But wait! An Eggs Benedict McMuffin needs hollandaise sauce. If you're feeling ambitious, gather some unsalted butter, egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper, and Dijon mustard to make our easy hollandaise sauce recipe. If you lack the patience or inclination to make your own, however, you can always go the store-bought route. Whatever your choice, brush some hollandaise on your McMuffin, rent "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," and pretend it's 2001 all over again. Bon appétit!