Looking for easy ways to serve your family a warm breakfast without adding more stress to your morning? These simple breakfast ideas will help you get everyone fed and out the door without spending hours in the kitchen!
There’s something comforting about starting the day with a warm breakfast. Whether it’s a stack of pancakes, a bowl of hot cereal, or a freshly baked muffin, a hot breakfast can be a simple way to fill up your family and send everyone off feeling well-fed and ready to face the day ahead.
But making a hot breakfast doesn’t have to mean getting up extra early or spending a lot of time in the kitchen. There are plenty of easy options that come together quickly, use simple ingredients you probably already have on hand, and can even be prepped the night before to make busy mornings a little easier.
If you’re looking for some simple ways to change up your morning routine, here are five easy hot breakfast ideas your whole family will enjoy!
Pancakes:
Pancakes are quick, easy, and usually don’t get many complaints from kids!
It only takes a few minutes to mix up a batch of pancake batter, but you can mix it up the night before if you’re short on time. Simply fire up the griddle when you wake up, and hot pancakes are only minutes away!
Note: This is the XL griddle we’ve used and loved for years.
Pancake Recipe Ideas:
- Light and Fluffy Pancakes (a classic recipe)
- Whole Grain Oat Pancakes
- Sourdough Starter Pancakes
- Puff Pancakes (these are in the oven)
- Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes (grain-free)
Waffles:
Belgian waffles are a close second for favorite hot breakfast foods in our house. I often use the same batter for either pancakes or waffles — sometimes letting the kids choose which one they want.
It’s very easy to mix up the batter the night before, and any leftover batter keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days too.
The biggest downfall of homemade Belgian waffles is that we could only make one at a time — until I found this “double decker” Belgian waffle maker!
Waffle Recipe Ideas:
French Toast:
The third most popular breakfast food in our home is French Toast — and this one really is super simple (my kids make it for themselves all the time).
We love using sourdough or cinnamon bread for French toast as it’s very sturdy and holds up well to being dipped in eggs. However, almost any bread will work. Baked French toast is also a great way to use up slightly stale or freezer-burned bread, rolls, buns, etc.
I keep a large zip-top bag of bread crusts and leftover bread chunks in our freezer at all times. I use this bread whenever I make baked French toast, croutons, or sausage stuffing. It’s an easy way to reduce wasted bread.
French Toast Recipe Ideas:
Eggs:
At this point in our lives, we go through roughly one dozen eggs every day (often more). However, they are relatively frugal and fairly nutritious, so I’m OK with that.
Plus, there are so many ways to enjoy eggs for breakfast (and throughout the day).
Egg Recipe Ideas:
- Easy Cottage Cheese Scrambled Eggs (these are the best!)
- Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Fried Eggs
- Omlettes
- Hearty Egg Casserole
- Egg Sandwiches (like an Egg McMuffin, only better)
- Breakfast Burritos with Egg and Sausage
Hot Cereal:
My kids will occasionally have a bowl of cold cereal as a snack, but in general, we are not a cold cereal family (I never liked it as a kid either).
For the record: Dave loves Cheerios ☺️
Hot cereal, however, is a different story. It’s so hearty and filling, and I love serving it with a “buffet” of toppings so people can pick and choose what flavors they like best.
Hot Cereal Recipe Ideas:
- Traditional Oatmeal
- Baked Oatmeal
- Slow Cooker Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal
- Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
- Homemade Cream of Wheat (I make it with freshly milled wheat)
Meat:
One of my favorite quick and easy hot breakfast foods that I make nearly every morning is the pre-cooked sausages from the freezer section at Costco.
They only take a few minutes to cook in my cast iron skillet and the kids love them. They are also really easy to keep on hand in the freezer.
When I have a bit more time, I’ll fry up a couple of pounds of bacon and keep it in the fridge. I also have a couple of recipes (see below) for fun ways to serve breakfast meats
Meat Recipe Ideas:
- Bacon
- Sausage (patties or links)
- Omelettes (we love putting cooked meat in our omelettes)
- Cheesy Sausage Quinoa Bites
- Bacon-Wrapped Sausage Bites
Muffins:
Muffins are one of my personal favorite hot breakfasts because I make the batter the night before, bake them in the morning, and I can do other things while they bake (instead of flipping pancakes or stirring eggs).
I make 2 dozen at a time, and the kids usually take any leftovers as school snacks.
These are my favorite muffin tins — nothing sticks. However, I do love using these cute muffin liners when I give muffins as a gift or bring them to an event.
Muffin Recipe Ideas:
Sample Weekly Breakfast Menu
The thing about hot breakfast is you usually need to plan ahead. Along with planning my dinners every week, I also plan our breakfast menu (and put it on our calendar so the kids know what to expect).
Here’s what a sample breakfast might look like for u:
- MONDAY = pancakes, fried eggs, sausage, fruit
- TUESDAY = waffles, bacon, fruit
- WEDNESDAY = breakfast burritos, fruit
- THURSDAY = French toast, scrambled eggs, fruit
- FRIDAY = muffins, ham and cheese omelets, fruit
- SATURDAY = oatmeal, smoothies
- SUNDAY = waffles, fried eggs, sausage, fruit
We literally just repeat some version of these 6 basic hot breakfast foods day after day, week after week.
Sometimes I throw canned pumpkin puree or smashed bananas into the pancake or waffle mix. Sometimes I add blueberries or chocolate chips. It’s the same recipe, just with a few tweaks to make it feel new.
Same thing with muffins, omelets, and breakfast burritos. I just use a basic recipe and mix in whatever we have in the house so we aren’t eating exactly the same thing every morning.
Once you get the hang of it, you’ll likely find that many of the recipes linked above can be ready to go in 15 minutes — or made the night before!
I love sitting around the table every morning and enjoying breakfast together before we all go our separate ways… and a nice hot breakfast makes this much more likely to happen!
Do you have a favorite hot breakfast?
Leave it in the comments — bonus points if you have a link to a recipe!
Meghan says
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! Our schedule hasn’t allowed for “good” breakfast for awhile. We need to have a breakfast for dinner! If you really want to up your waffle game, this waffle maker makes 4 large waffles at a time. It’s our family’s favorite small appliance and worth every penny!
Andrea says
ok, good to know. Maybe I’ll keep an eye on it and see if it goes on sale! Are the waffles nice and crispy? We don’t like “soggy” or soft waffles!
Meghan says
Yes, it makes them crispy!
Andrea says
OK, I’ll keep it on my Amazon list 🙂 Thanks for the reccomendation!
Trisha G says
My family doesn’t really like boiled oatmeal like Simon, but all 5 of us LOVE this baked oatmeal recipe, even my husband! http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/06/freezer-friendly-baked-oatmeal-recipe.html I like to make a double batch the night before, freeze one for later, and put the other in the fridge for the following morning. I usually have it on Sunday, and I stick it in the oven just before I jump in the shower. By the time I am dressed and ready and wake the kids up, it’s ready to come out. So easy and I don’t load up the kids with sugary cereals right before church (and I have noticed a big difference in their behavior since nixing those). I like to top it with raisins, nuts, bananas, or berries. And my favorite part is the crunchy bite it has compared to mushy stove-top oatmeal. Perhaps that’s why Simon has a hard time eating it? I’m curious to know if he would prefer the crunchy one like we do!
Andrea says
yum… thanks for this recipe! I’ve always thought about baked oatmeal — but usually in the morning so it’s too late. I’ll have to give this one a try!
Kristen says
We LOVE your pancake recipe. It’s so easy and yummy! I was buying a mix for a while and I got so sick of them. While a little easier than homemade, they just don’t taste the same!
My kids are very routinely cereal and yogurt kids but with my youngest going to preschool in the fall, I think I’m going to start getting hot breakfast around more often. There’s just something about a “hot” breakfast that seems more filling and satisfying!
Andrea says
yay! Glad to hear you like my recipe (and that you’re making more hot breakfasts!)
Tina says
Andrea, what waffle maker do you use? I’ve been wanting to get one for a while.
Andrea says
Tina, here’s the link to our waffle maker — we got it for $5 after rebate from Kohl’s many years ago 🙂
JJ says
Banana muffins with fruit are a favorite! Along with pancakes(or pancake muffins!), peanut butter oatmeal, waffles, and eggs for one. Two of my kids have food allergies, which has been tough. And I don’t sell Pampered Chef, BUT. I had bought their brownie pan a couple months ago. It is literally nonstick(as in you legit don’t have to spray it, and clean up is soooo easy). I used it three days in a row just recently. One day for the muffins (it’s more than a brownie pan!!!), one day for pancake muffins, and the last day for cupcakes. You can make eggs in it, too! So it’s one of my new favorites to make breakfast!
Andrea says
do you put chocolate chips in your banana muffins? If not, you should try it some time (the mini ones). It’s SOOOOOOOO good!
Tina says
I second that! The mini ones are so good!
JJ says
Yesss! I actually have a recipe with the minis that tastes as good as Starbucks (they used to have banana bread with chocolate chips!). But. My 3 year old daughter was appauled that I dared to add chocolate chips to “her” banana muffins. So, since everyone eats them without the chocolate chips, I make them that way more often. We are dairy-free in our house(2 kids with milk allergies), but we LOVE the EnjoyLife mini and regular sized chocolate chips.
Jo says
Instant oatmeal, toasted bagels w/cream cheese, eggs(just crack into bowl and pop in microwave for 1 minute and add to toast or eat plain), every now and then omelettes on weekends. And sometimes waffles and sausage now because you inspire me! I used to do fancy bfast burritos with bacon and onions and peppers, not sure why I stopped, I’ll have to make those again…I love breakfast food! We eat croissants regularly too because it’s “grab n go”
Andrea says
sounds yummy! and yes, you should definitely start making the breakfast burritos again!!
Karen says
My youngest wasn’t always a cereal lover. I started by giving her some dry in baggies and then eventually moved on to a bowl with milk. I mix a healthier box with something fun that she picks out. She mainly eats it for an afternoon snack now. Maybe try it this way first and then move it to your morning rotation if they start to like it. I love sneaking in some extra vitamins and fiber since my girls is not a huge fruit eater.
Andrea says
yes, my kids will eat a little DRY cereal in their snack cups… but that’s it. They don’t like milk at all — so there’s probably not a huge chance I’ll get them to be eating cereal with milk any time soon!
Jill says
Do your kids like yogurt? I’ll put the cereal on top of yogurt sometimes to switch it up, plus it’s easier for kids to eat since the yogurt stays on the spoon better than liquid milk.
Andrea says
yes, they like yogurt, but not with cereal on top 🙂 I’ve tried that already!
Brittany says
Our typical breakfast is a piece of wheat toast with butter, homemade jam, and 2 eggs (over hard) on top.
Christine from The (mostly) Simple Life says
My husband eats the same thing for breakfast every day, whole wheat frozen waffles (from Aldi) and a hard boiled egg. I always have my high fiber cereal. 🙂
We eat breakfast for dinner quite often so that we can have things like pancakes, bacon, and breakfast burritos too. My family always sautes veggies (onion, green pepper, mushroom…) and then adds in eggs to make scrambled eggs with veggies. We’ve been eating a ton of eggs lately since they’ve been so inexpensive.
Andrea says
yeah, I often buy 4-6 dozen eggs at a time and it’s crazy how quickly we go through them. Just the kids and I go through 5-7 every morning, and then there’s hard boiled eggs, baking with eggs, breakfast for dinner, etc. etc.
Jen says
I always thought hot breakfast was SUCH a chore so it was mainly reserved for weekends in our house when the kids were little. However, my boys LOVE hot breakfast, and I decided for our older son’s senior year in high school, I would make the effort to make a hot breakfast at least three out of five school days. He was thrilled, and I was actually really surprised at how little prep and time it takes. He’ll be a junior in college next year, but my younger son wouldn’t let me skip hot breakfast so it continues!
We do the same basic rotation as you–waffles, pancakes (always with chocolate chips in our house!), eggs. I also add super easy crepes (Swedish pancakes). My boys slather them with homemade strawberry jam and whipped creme. And I do breakfast sandwiches. I usually get mini-croissants (they are super cheap and yummy from Aldi), but you can do biscuits or bagels too and add eggs (I make a large portion of scrambled eggs in a jelly roll pan in the oven so I can cut them into smaller portions.) and I add bacon, sausage, or Canadian bacon and a slice of cheese. I freeze them in foil and the kids love to grab them for a quick hot breakfast. I have also done breakfast burritos in a big batch for the freezer too. Super easy and make-ahead things like breakfast casserole, scones, oven french toast, etc. also make it into the rotation occasionally. I’ve been really surprised at how simple hot breakfast can be!
Andrea says
yes, I used to be overwhelmed by the thought of hot breakfasts EVERY morning, but now that I have a routine down, it really doesn’t take much work at all. Glad your boys are getting their beloved hot breakfasts too!