Loyal fast food fans know: When the clock turns a mere minute past the end of breakfast hours, you’re often out of luck. While we love a crispy chicken sandwich, cheeseburger, and fries as much as the next diner, sometimes only a breakfast sandwich or crispy hash brown patty will do.
On the days we’re in the mood for spuds, we’re all set to DIY after our recent discovery of a McDonald’s hash brown copycat in the freezer aisle at Trader Joe’s or our just-like-the-real-deal Homemade McDonald’s Hash Brown recipe. The quest for a quick and easy breakfast sandwich that scratches our itch for the ultimate SEC (a little deli lingo for sausage, egg, and cheese) has been a bit more elusive, however. That is, until we scrolled right to the solution on social media.
Posted online March 21 by Shay Spence, a traveling food writer and Next Level Chef contestant, Mini Sausage McGriddles are among the latest in the recipe developer’s stream of muffin tin recipes. While he shares larger-format meal ideas and restaurant menu taste tests too (don’t miss his Dairy Queen Churro Dip Ice Cream Cone recap!), Spence has a real knack for making meal time magic in his trusty muffin tin.
The former food editor at our sister brand PEOPLE has also created viral recipes using the pan for Spicy Chicken and Waffle Sliders, Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuits, Hot Honey Butter Ham and Cheese Biscuits and Spicy Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits. And now, he’s taking over TikTok with a creative, semi-homemade McDonald’s McGriddle copycat recipe.
How to Make Make Mini Copycat McGriddles
Whether you’re seeking a snack beyond breakfast hours, aren’t in the mood to place an order, or don’t have time for the drive-through or for at-home delivery, turn to this speedy solution for Spence’s Mini Sausage McGriddles.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or softened butter. In a liquid measuring cup with a spout, use a fork or whisk to beat 6 eggs with salt and pepper until combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly into the 12 muffin cups, and bake until barely set, about 8 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, allow the eggs to cool slightly, then allow the egg cups to rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Use a butter knife or thin spatula to gently slide the cooked eggs out of the pan.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon cooking spray, oil, or butter. Cook 12 small breakfast sausage patties (or a plant-based alternative) until browned, or for about 4 minutes per side.
- Using a clean dish towel or paper towel, wipe each muffin tin well and coat it with another round of nonstick cooking spray or butter. Add one frozen mini pancake to each cup, then top with one egg cup and one sausage patty. Cut 3 slices of cheddar cheese into quarters, then add a quarter-slice of cheese on top of the sausage. Finish with another mini pancake, then use a pastry brush to coat the top with maple syrup.
- Return the muffin tin to the oven and back for 8 minutes, then enjoy with more maple syrup for dipping.
How to Make Allrecipes’ Mini Copycat McGriddles
Don’t want to fuss with the double bake process and prefer to skip the skillet? Try this Allrecipes Test Kitchen trick to make the restaurant copycat recipe even easier.
- Press the sausage patties into well-greased muffin tin cups, then top with the seasoned, beaten eggs. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.
- While that bakes, cook 24 frozen mini pancakes according to package instructions. When the egg mixture is done to your liking, remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow the sausage-egg cups to rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Use a butter knife or thin spatula to gently slide the cooked egg cups out of the pan.
- Cut 3 slices of cheddar cheese into quarters, then sandwich one sausage-egg patty and one quarter-slice of cheese between two warm mini pancakes. Use a pastry brush to coat the exterior of the pancakes in maple syrup, and/or serve with a cup of syrup on the side for dunking.
Whichever method you choose to recreate this popular fast food breakfast menu item, you’ll be just minutes away from a cravings cure that tastes just like the real thing. We’re lovin’ it.
