McDonald's brings back unexpected breakfast items after 5 years

The two sandwiches will be available in select markets until July 21.

Jun 27, 2025 - 16:44

McDonald's brings back unexpected breakfast items after 5 years

While the first McDonald's (MCD) restaurant opened its doors in 1940 as a California barbecue restaurant, the world's most iconic burger chain did not start serving breakfast items until the 1970s.

In 1971, Pittsburgh franchise owner Jim Delligatti received corporate's permission to start selling donuts and pastries during early hours. After observing a strong flow of previously underestimated breakfast customers, McDonald's began testing different versions of a "Continental Breakfast" in the same year, while California franchisee Herb Peterson presented what would eventually become known as the Egg McMuffin.

By 1975, the sandwich created by placing a fried egg and slices of American cheese and Canadian bacon on an English muffin was rolled out at McDonald's locations across the country. Its instant popularity prompted a gradual expansion to the breakfast menu customers know today.

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Two chicken breakfast sandwiches make brief summer return

While many of the breakfast items launched over the decades eventually get cut to make room for other dishes, some will also make periodic comebacks.

Offering a piece of fried chicken on either a buttermilk biscuit or the chain's maple griddle cake, the McChicken Biscuit and Chicken McGriddle were launched nationwide in 2020 but quietly cut a few years later as the country emerged from a pandemic. An identical version of the latter sandwich was previously also marketed as the Southern Style Chicken Biscuit in the late 2000s.

After trial runs in Florida, Kansas, and parts of Canada last year, the two sandwiches are now available at McDonald's locations in Michigan through July 21. Each will sell for $2.50 and may see limited availability at different locations as the summer progresses (the existing supply is meant to gauge interest and demand for a wider rollout).

"Our customers told us they wanted more chicken, more often — and especially at breakfast," local owner/operator Mike Rodewald said in a statement to Michigan press. "We're excited to bring two bold, flavorful choices that satisfy that craving in a big way."

The McChicken Biscuit and Chicken McGriddle were initially rolled out in 2020.
Image source: McDonald's

McDonald's, other fast-food chains lean heavily into chicken

Both items are part of a wider "Chicken For Breakfast" campaign rolled out in the state for the first part of the summer. Although the nationwide breakfast menu only has the regular sausage versions, McDonald's has spent the last five years leaning into what it sees as higher customer demand for poultry.

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The Crispy Chicken Sandwich was added to the permanent menu in 2021, while the McCrispy Strips followed four years later in May 2025. Chains such as Wendy's (WEN) and Yum! Brands (YUM) -owned Taco Bell have used similar strategies with a range of new chicken items like the latter's chicken nuggets and Crispy Chicken and Cantina menus.

"We're excited about the significant opportunity we see within our chicken portfolio and see the potential to add another point of chicken market share by the end of 2026," McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told investors during the latest earnings call in April 2025. "We continue to roll out McCrispy, which is now in over 70 markets and will be available in nearly all markets by the end of 2025."