When looking to start the day off right with a nutritious breakfast, many people opt for a quick and easy fast food breakfast sandwich. One popular choice at many fast food chains is a biscuit breakfast sandwich with sausage. But with so many quick breakfast options available, it can be challenging to make a healthy choice that aligns with your nutrition goals.
This article specifically examines the calorie and nutrition information in a Hardee’s biscuit breakfast sandwich with sausage to help you determine if it fits into your recommended daily calorie intake and nutritional needs.
Quick Answer: Calories in a Hardee’s Biscuit and Sausage
A Hardee’s Made from Scratch Sausage Biscuit contains 370 calories.
This provides 18% of the recommended daily calorie intake for the average adult.
Breakdown of Calories and Nutrients
To better understand the calorie content of this menu item, let’s look at the complete nutrition facts for a Hardee’s Made from Scratch Sausage Biscuit:
- Calories: 370
- Total Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0.5g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
- Sodium: 910mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 33g
- Dietary Fiber: 0g
- Sugar: 2g
- Protein: 12g
As you can see, while the biscuit sandwich provides a decent hit of protein, it is quite high in total fat, saturated fat, sodium and carbohydrates with minimal fiber.
Calculating Percent Daily Values
Looking at the percent daily value (%DV) of each nutrient can give you a better sense of how this Hardee’s menu item fits into your overall daily diet:
| Nutrient | % Daily Value |
|---|---|
| Total Fat | 32% |
| Saturated Fat | 35% |
| Cholesterol | 10% |
| Sodium | 38% |
| Total Carbohydrates | 11% |
| Dietary Fiber | 0% |
| Protein | 24% |
As you can see from the %DVs, the Hardee’s sausage biscuit provides high amounts of total fat, saturated fat and sodium compared to your overall daily needs. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to 5-6% of total calories, sodium to 1500mg per day and total fat to 25-35% of calories.
Calories from Each Ingredient
To get a more detailed view, we can break down the calories from each component of the Hardee’s Made from Scratch Sausage Biscuit:
- Biscuit: 220 calories
- Sausage patty: 150 calories
This shows that over half the calories come directly from the buttery biscuit itself.
Comparing Biscuit & Sausage Calories at Other Chains
For comparison, here are the calories for a sausage biscuit sandwich at some other popular fast food chains:
- McDonald’s Sausage Biscuit with Egg: 450 calories
- Bojangles Sausage Biscuit: 460 calories
- Sonic Sausage & Cheese Biscuit: 510 calories
- Whataburger Sausage Biscuit: 400 calories
- Burger King Sausage Biscuit: 360 calories
The Hardee’s biscuit and sausage comes in on the lower end of the calorie range compared to other chains. However, all of these breakfast sandwiches provide between 18-25% of your daily caloric allowance and are high in fat, sodium and carbs while being low in fiber and nutrients.
Healthier Lower Calorie Options
If you’re looking for a lighter breakfast sandwich option, some lower calorie alternatives include:
- Egg white only biscuit – 150 calories
- English muffin sandwich – 300 calories
- Biscuit with egg and Canadian bacon – 310 calories
You can also customize your sandwich and reduce the calories by:
- Ordering your sandwich without sausage
- Choosing a thin, toasted biscuit
- Selecting a whole grain English muffin
- Limiting high-calorie spreads like butter or mayo
- Adding veggies like tomato, spinach or avocado
Healthy Homemade Breakfast Sandwich
An even healthier option is to prepare your own breakfast sandwich at home where you can better control the ingredients. Here is a delicious 190 calorie recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 whole wheat English muffin (100 calories)
- 1 egg (70 calories)
- 2 slices tomato
- 1 slice low-fat cheddar cheese (50 calories)
- 1 slice Canadian bacon (30 calories)
Instructions:
- Toast English muffin until golden brown
- Prepare 1 fried egg or egg white omelet with tomato
- Top muffin half with cheese, Canadian bacon, egg and tomato
- Add salt, pepper and hot sauce if desired
This sandwich provides protein, fiber and nutrients for a balanced breakfast under 200 calories. Change up the fillings and spreads for endless delicious options.
Conclusion
A Hardee’s Made from Scratch Sausage Biscuit contains 370 calories, with high amounts of fat, saturated fat and sodium. While convenient, frequently eating biscuit breakfast sandwiches can lead to excess calories and poor nutrition.
To align with a healthy diet, enjoy biscuit sandwiches only occasionally and customize your order. Or better yet – find time to make a fresh, wholesome homemade breakfast sandwich instead.
