What To Know About The Wawa Breakfast Menu
Wawa, Sheetz, and Buc-ees are all convenience store chains with cult followings in their respective U.S. regions. In Wawa's region (the Mid-Atlantic), the gas station chain is as beloved as the Philadelphia cheesesteak. Since 1964, Pennsylvania residents have been patronizing Wawa locations, seeking to refill their tanks — as well as their bellies. Over time, popularity boomed, likely due in part to the brand's famous hoagies. The company has now expanded outside of the East Coast, putting Wawa stores in Florida, with additional locations planned for states such as North Carolina.
With Wawa coming to more parts of the country, you may find yourself encountering a store for the first time. Why not try it? Each location of Wawa has so many options in terms of refreshment, anyone in your car will find something they like during any road trip or travel. Also, since Wawa is open 24 hours a day, drivers can stop to refuel whenever the need strikes.
While the customizable hoagies may be Wawa's most iconic food, breakfast is the can't-miss meal. Everyone knows that the coffee drinks at Wawa are second only to the sandwiches (even the ones served at breakfast), and what better time to get a coffee than the first meal of the day? To learn more about Wawa's breakfast menu — from the hours to the highlights to the meals to avoid — read on.
Breakfast is not served all day
Before heading to Wawa for breakfast, you should be prepared. Get there late and you'll miss it. Breakfast is not served all day, but only between the hours of 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. Lunch is served between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Dinner begins at 4 p.m. Since Wawa is open all night, dinner presumably lasts until 5 a.m. — when breakfast officially begins. For each meal, different menus (offering different selections) are available to customers.
However, some breakfast foods may also be accessible during additional times of the day. Per one Wawa employee on Reddit, "Official breakfast hours are 5-11 a.m. We can extend this at our discretion based on demand." According to this Wawa worker, sides like sausage or scrambled eggs are not usually available outside of the official breakfast hours. But Sizzlis — Wawa's pre-packaged breakfast sandwiches — can be made by request. If you're lucky, you will be able to get your hands on a Sizzli after 11 a.m. If the mood strikes at 11 p.m., you might be in luck.
The chain makes its own coffee
Having road-weary drivers as a customer base isn't the only reason why Wawa's coffee is popular. The chain also has its own coffee company. Since the 1970s, Wawa has sold coffee. That coffee is a proprietary blend of coffee beans only available in Wawa stores. According to Billy Penn, around 195 million cups of coffee are sold by the gas station chain annually. Over time, Wawa has tried to raise the bar of the coffee itself. As Inc. reports, the chain even introduced Wawa Reserve, featuring small-batch coffee from specially-sourced beans.
If you want to order a hot coffee during breakfast, you'll have a few options in terms of roasts. Wawa's lightest roast comes in French vanilla, hazelnut, regular, or decaf options. The medium roast is made entirely of Columbian coffee, which is a common bean of choice for mild brews. Wawa's darkest option, the "bold roast," comes with two choices. Customers can choose the Cuban roast, with smooth and savory notes, or the dark roast, with a smoky and full-bodied flavor. These black coffee options are just the beginning of what drinks are on the breakfast menu.
Wawa's coffee also comes with certain sustainability guarantees. Per the company, Wawa partners with the Rainforest Alliance to ensure that coffee is being sourced from farmers employing certain eco-friendly practices. The Rainforest Alliance helps to build up these coffee farmers by providing them with education access, thus ensuring their continued place in the coffee industry.
Plant-based and gluten-conscious options are available
Wawa isn't known as a place for healthy food, but there are a few nutritious options available. On the website, Wawa Your Way menus provide an explanation of which breakfast menu items cater to certain diets. These menus highlight products that are suitable to those seeking gluten-free, plant-based, lower sodium, lower sugar, or high-protein meals.
Plant-based options refer to menu items that are vegetarian. For breakfast, the toasted everything bagel or the frozen banana cold brew oat smoothie are some plant-based choices. Gluten-conscious offerings are a list of products and meal ideas sold at Wawa that do not contain gluten –- but are not certified gluten-free. Gluten-conscious items are prepared alongside gluten-containing food items at Wawa. However, if you're looking to cut down on gluten, and ingesting trace amounts of gluten would not be not life-threatening to you, you may appreciate these offerings. For breakfast, we recommend the scrambled egg breakfast bowl, the cinnamon brown sugar oatmeal dish, or the chicken, steak, and egg white omelet bowl.
There's also balanced fare on the breakfast menu — meals with fewer than 500 calories — such as the roasted veggie egg white omelet Shorti. Among the lower sodium items offered during the first meal of the day, there's the egg omelet breakfast bowl. Lower sugar drink ideas could be paired with any of these food items, creating a wholesome breakfast. Such beverage options include a hot cappuccino with whipped cream or a caramel sugar-free almond milk latte.
Sizzlis are Wawa's popular breakfast sandwiches
Sizzlis are a core component of Wawa's breakfast menu. These grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches come prepared, already wrapped in their own packaging. Wawa added them to the menu in 1996. Since then, Sizzlis have become an iconic part of Wawa breakfast.
There are nine Sizzli varieties in total: the bacon, egg, and cheese bagel; the Sizzli burrito; the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant; the waffle Sizzli; the sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit; the Sizzli veggie burrito; the sausage, egg, and cheese bagel; the sausage, egg, and cheese croissant; and the turkey sausage, egg white, and cheese bagel (via Wawa).
Wawa regulars have their own favorite Sizzlis, but those with sausage seem to be the most popular with customers. "I like their sausage egg and cheese on a croissant," said one person on Reddit. "You can't go wrong with any of them, but my go-to is either a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel, or a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant," wrote another person addressing their preferred Sizzlis. Other people favored different carbohydrate options. "Biscuit sizzli til I die," said another Reddit poster. Overall, the consensus is that these sandwiches are reliable. Get one, and you might need to get another. "I crush Sizzlis, they're awesome," said a Wawa fan.
Batman would include a Sizzli in his order, in theory
Wawa's breakfast sandwiches are so famous that they've started to fuse with comic book theory. At least, according to one viral TikTok, they have. It all started with a video addressing the lore of the Batman comics, which places Gotham in real-life South Jersey, not New York City. Since New Jersey is home to many Wawas, this inspired one social media user. A TikTok was created asking audiences, "So if Gotham City is in South Jersey ... What's Batman's Wawa order?"
Soon, Wawa caught wind of the TikTok. Using the company's official account, the gas station chain posted, "We think it's a black coffee and a waffle Sizzli," as a TikTok comment. To us, at least part of this makes sense. Due to Bruce Wayne's dark and gloomy aesthetic, it makes sense that he'd opt for black coffee. But a waffle Sizzli? This part of the order is a little off. Wawa seems to have brought up this particular Sizzli due to it being reintroduced to the menu earlier this year — when the video went viral (via FastFoodPost). But who are we to judge a fictional character's fictional Wawa order? We like the idea of Batman going to Wawa as well.
This wasn't the only amusing comment that placed Wawa within the DC universe. "Wawa stands for waynes waynes. He owns the company," ventured another TikTok user. "Can you imagine the batmobile in a wawa drive-thru," suggested another creative TikTok-er.
All milk comes from the company-owned Wawa Dairy
All of Wawa's milk comes from its dairy company. This aspect of the business existed long before any of Wawa's convenience stores. Although the brand initially began as a New Jersey-based iron foundry in 1803, 100 years later, Wawa owner George Wood turned to milk. In 1902, Wood opened a dairy processing plant in the town of Wawa, Pennsylvania. The city's name stuck, as did the business. For a time, the Wawa Dairy was delivery-based, bringing milk to the homes of the Philadelphia area. Half a century later, the first physical market opened. Eventually, these stores evolved from selling just dairy products.
The Wawa Dairy produces over 100 million quarts of liquid. All of it comes from cows that are not treated with rBST, a growth hormone that's meant to increase milk production (via AlbertaMilk). This hormone has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in milk drinkers. While illegal in the European Union and Canada, rBST is legal in the United States (via Breast Cancer Prevention Partners). Luckily, the Wawa Diary keeps this potentially harmful ingredient out of its milk.
The Wawa Dairy sells various milk and dairy products. Two percent milk, chocolate milk, heavy cream, buttermilk, and similar products are sold by the chain. Various juices, yogurts, teas, and non-dairy creamers are as well. The company has a partnership with over 1,000 institutions, meaning you may find Wawa's various milk products in places other than its convenience stores.
You can get donuts from the in-store bakery
During breakfast, there are more than just savory options for customers to choose from. Every Wawa comes with a bakery case that's freshly stocked with pastries every morning. Don't miss out on the donuts, in particular. Unless your local Wawa location runs out, there should be a Boston cream donut, an old-fashioned donut, and a glazed donut inside that bakery case. Customers seem to appreciate these glazed goodies. "The donuts are always fresh!" wrote one person in a Tripadvisor review. "How are their donuts always so soft and gooey? Wawa is the place," said another reviewer.
There are also muffins and other common sweets. In addition to donuts, you should be able to find a chocolate chip muffin, a chocolate croissant, a blueberry muffin, an apple fritter, and a coffee roll on offer. "Everything looked unbelievably good!" said one Yelp user, describing the pastry-filled bakery case.
Wawa's iced matcha lattes are worth trying
If you like matcha, a type of Japanese green tea, you can now get beverages made with it at all Wawa locations. These matcha drinks come in both hot and cold varieties. On the hot drink side, matcha lattes are available. As for cold beverages, you can get a foam iced matcha or a lemonade iced matcha. Customers can also personalize their hot or cold matcha drinks with additional flavors: chai, vanilla, or mint.
Although you might not believe Wawa could make an artisanal drink like matcha well, customers are loyal to the convenience store chain's beverages. Blogger Rosie Culture thought Wawa's matcha was better than similar products made by Dunkin' or Starbucks. The blogger appreciated the green tea flavor, the balanced sweetness, and the authentic feel of the matcha drinks made by Wawa. On Yelp, another customer thought Wawa's matcha was better than similar coffee chains as well. The reviewer remarked that Wawa makes matcha and chai "better than any Starbucks I have tried."
On the made-to-order menu, stay away from the burritos
Most of Wawa's food is especially beloved — but not the burritos. On the breakfast menu, Wawa customers can build any sort of sandwich they want using the built-to-order option. In this part of the menu, there are 24 different varieties of breakfast burritos available. Although there is plenty of variety, people don't seem to appreciate any of these options very much.
On Reddit, several Wawa customers expressed their hate of the chain's breakfast burritos. "I've come to expect awful food from Wawa, but the breakfast burrito is an all-new low," read one post. Another user directed their hate at the veggie burrito. "I ate it because it tasted decent enough and I needed breakfast, but what veggies? ... It's literally 99% egg and wrap," said the reviewer.
Even some employees dislike making them. "I hate the bean burritos with a passion," said one Wawa worker on a thread discussing some of the most irritating items to make. Another employee agreed. "As someone who sometimes makes the burritos at Wawa, it's not something I'm terribly good at," they explained. If you want to avoid making an employee do something they dislike — or possibly end up with something sloppily-made — don't get a built-to-order breakfast burrito from Wawa.
In a hurry? There are multiple ways to order breakfast
There are now additional ways to get your Wawa fix. There are three different ways to do so — all of which involve the Wawa mobile app. Once downloaded through the Apple app store or Google Play store, Wawa app users can start planning their order in advance.
If you can still go into the store — but already know your desired purchases — go with the Order Ahead option. This could save you a bit of time. You won't have to wait around for your Built-To-Order breakfast sandwich to be made. You can skip the time that it takes to make your salted caramel macchiato. Unlike the other two options, part of the agency is still with the customer — you don't have to wait for the food to come to you. If you're on the way to work, ordering ahead could be the most useful option.
Wawa also offers customers a curbside pickup option. This is ideal for those on the go still seeking food options that somewhat enable social distancing. If you can't drive to Wawa at all for your order, you can have it delivered straight to you. Finally, there are now a couple of Wawa locations equipped with drive-thrus. Those who live near Wawas located in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and Mount Holly, New Jersey may be able to experience these new drive-thru locations.
Smoothies are among the chain's most underrated drinks
Sometimes, all you need for breakfast is a smoothie. If you're going to Wawa, you can satisfy that smoothie craving in the frozen beverage section. This menu portion can be accessed all the time, even during breakfast. There are so many smoothies available at Wawa that the drinks are divided into categories.
First, Wawa sells fruit smoothies. This menu category includes nearly ten different drinks. Customers can choose from core flavors, such as banana, strawberry, mango, or blueberry. Blogs such as Philly Views appreciate Wawa's fruit smoothies. The website called these beverages one of the five most underrated menu items sold by the chain.
The gas station company also serves up cream smoothies. These drinks aren't your typical fruit-filled blended beverages. Instead, the cream smoothies come in flavors like matcha, chocolate cheesecake, or caramel chocolate chip. On Reddit, posters applauded cream smoothies such as the chocolate banana. "Chocolate Banana is the bomb," said one person. "New to Wawa and it is rad. I've bought the chocolate banana 3 nights in a row!" replied another user. If neither fruit nor cream smoothies sound right, customers can purchase other blended drinks, such as a frozen chai, a milkshake, or a hurricane (a type of Wawa drink made from ice cream with chocolate chips, candy, or cookies blended into each drink).
Free coffee is available to educators in September
Multiple times per year, Wawa tends to give away free coffee. One of those times is this September. Any day of the month, teachers and school administrators are allowed to get one free coffee. That drink can be a black coffee of any size. According to the chain, it's very easy to get access to this promotion. All that you have to do is tell the register employee that you work at a school.
According to a press release, participating locations include all Wawas in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Florida. The free coffee program is titled Cheers to Classrooms. It's intended to show appreciation for educators during the return of the school year. "Wawa is excited to bring back its Cheers to Classrooms initiative to put a smile on the faces of teachers and administration that work so hard to do the same for children in our community," said a Wawa representative in the press release.
Wawa's breakfast makes it superior to Sheetz, some say
If you live in Wawa's region, you've probably heard of Sheetz. Like Wawa, the company services the Mid-Atlantic area of the U.S. Pennsylvania — where Wawa is based — is also home to the most Sheetz stores (via World Wire). Location is not the only thing that fuels this rivalry. Both Sheetz and Wawa are convenience stores (or usually gas stations) that specialize in quick eats, such as sandwiches or mac and cheese bowls. There is even a documentary in the works covering this feud.
According to some, Wawa's breakfast menu is giving it a leg up on its competitor. Business Insider called the chain superior to Sheetz, giving special attention to Wawa's breakfast. The outlet appreciated the selections within Wawa's bakery case, in particular, calling out the large variety of baked goods, as well as the fair prices. Overall, the website said Wawa's food offerings were generally better than Sheetz's. We're not saying you have to agree with them, but getting something off Wawa's breakfast menu — for example, a delicious donut — isn't the worst idea in the world.