15 Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Kids
Updated January 2024
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Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, and rightly so; it kickstarts not only one's day but also the body’s metabolism. In fact, kids need to indulge in a hearty, nutritious breakfast since it has been studied that kids who eat a nutritious breakfast tend to be healthier, perform better in school, and are more active in sports. On top of this, they experience an enhanced mood, a richer memory, and boosted creativity. Thus, kid-friendly breakfast recipes are worthwhile investments in time, energy, and resources.
A healthy, first-consumed meal of the day is a sure-shot way of setting your kid up for a successful and happy day. Here are 15 nutritious, appealing, time-saving, and kid-friendly breakfast ideas that are sure to please and leave them wanting more!
Essential Breakfast Nutrients for Kids
Helping your kids make good health decisions can be challenging, but ensuring they eat well in the morning is a good starting point. Breakfast is truly the deal maker or breaker regarding everyday nutritional requirements since it significantly contributes to building a healthy body weight and a flourishing mental landscape.
From hearty cakes to wholesome waffles, every meal that kids love to have for breakfast can be made healthy if you know the right nutrients to pack them with. Of course, breakfast dishes must be rich in some key nutrients, including fiber-rich carbs, iron, calcium, folate, healthy fats, and vitamins, especially vitamin B. Furthermore, to fuel kids' busy brains and developing bodies, a good shot of protein in the morning is nearly non-negotiable.
It may help some to know the nutritional count of recipes for special dietary requirements or medical conditions. Therefore, the required fields are marked with an asterisk for each recipe idea below.
15 Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Kids
1. Good Old Scrambled Eggs
This quick protein-packed recipe, a favorite of many, dates back to the mid-17th century. Scrambled eggs are made with eggs (mostly chicken eggs) that are stirred, whipped, or beaten. Salt, pepper, water, milk, cream, butter, and/or cheese are generally added for flavor enhancement. If your child loves vegetables, spice up the dish with some mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Hot scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast are highly likely to win a kid's heart and health!
2. French Toast
The classic French toast is a pan-fried dish made with sliced bread and eggs as the main two ingredients. Interestingly, it is also known as “gypsy toast” or “eggy” bread. Serve it with runny honey or fresh fruit, which will undoubtedly add a free-spirited charm to your child’s otherwise mundane morning!
3. Peanut Butter and Jelly Yogurt Parfaits
This wonderful recipe lets peanut butter lovers quench their cravings right in the morning. The peanut butter in itself can be a make-ahead raw material for this dish. The parfait is layered with Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, peanut butter, and jelly.
4. A Kids’ Favorite: Egg Muffins
Egg muffins are a versatile dish that can be made both savory and sweet and served as a quick grab-and-go meal. For savory, try a combination of spinach, tomato, and mozzarella or bacon, cheddar, garlic, mushrooms, and peppers. For sweets, the dish can simply be made with three ingredients: an egg, mashed banana, and another fruit of choice.
5. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Just the right balance of crispy and chewy, these are homey and kid-friendly! The chocolate chip naturally makes the cookies irresistible. While oatmeal is a healthy addition to the recipe in itself, using almond flour and swapping sugar with maple syrup will lead to an even healthier breakfast.
6. Overnight Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal
Dessert for breakfast? Yes, please. Perfect for those with a sweet tooth, this recipe is a beautiful blend of fruity and chocolatey. A make-ahead meal with overnight oats, which are raw oats (most typically old-fashioned oats) soaked overnight in a liquid; they could be milk, yogurt, or water. Adding superfoods like chia seeds to the final mixture can make them luxuriously nourishing.
7. Triple Berry Smoothie
Juicy and creamy berry smoothies are one of the best sources of antioxidants. Make it three berries, and not only the tastiness gets stronger, but also the nutritional kick. These can be prepared by mixing seasonal berries (e.g., raspberry, blueberry, strawberry) with Greek yogurt. Adding some fresh jam will add a succulent fruity punch to the drink.
8. Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Offering a balanced mix of protein and complex carbohydrates, banana oatmeal pancakes can be enjoyed with a simple drizzle of peanut butter and pure maple syrup on top. They are refreshing in their softness and subtly energize kids’ little bodies.
9. Breakfast Casserole
This is one breakfast recipe that can take many shapes and forms—also flavors. A great benefit of this recipe is that it can feed multiple people at once and is perfect for a breakfast party. Some kid-friendly combos that can be experimented with are eggs, sausage, and cheese; sweet potato, spinach, and bell peppers; or a french toast casserole.
10. Make Ahead Breakfast Burritos
This freezer-friendly recipe is a significant time saver! Once again, a grab-and-go meal packed with vegetables and protein to uplift the spirit. If you have a busy week ahead, making a batch of these is a wise choice for a healthy breakfast all week long. The combination of sausage, eggs, and breakfast potatoes wrapped in a gluten-free tortilla screams Mexican heaven!
11. The BBB: Brown Bag Breakfast
The quickest one on this list is for breakfast on the go because we mustn’t miss the meal at any cost. So when life is full of hustle, and you’ve got no time to cook, fill a brown bag with a banana, a bag of trail mix made with whole-grain cereal (great if there are walnuts in it), dry fruits of choice (e.g., shelled pistachios, almonds, or cashew nuts), and a dried fruit of choice (e.g., dried cranberries, prunes, or mango). Add in a granola bar if you like!
12. Beans on Toast
It can be argued that beans are most enjoyable when consumed hot, on crispy toast. While it’s a typical British breakfast, it’s a comfort food for people the world over. Using wholemeal bread adds a good proportion of protein and carbs to this dish. It’s better to cook your own beans than to buy the packaged ones. The beans most commonly used in this recipe are navy beans, which are rich in many essential micronutrients, including folate, iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium.
13. Maple Almond Cranberry Granola
Satisfying and wholesome, Maple Almond Cranberry Granola offers a cozy sweetness in every bite. It’s simple to prepare and can be made vegan and gluten-free. All the ingredients are tossed in a big bowl and baked in the oven for about half an hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Cinnamon spice will serve as a beautiful, flavourful addition! What’s more, it’s lovely for the autumn weather and stays fresh for a long time, so it’s an amazing make-ahead breakfast recipe.
14. Broccoli and Cheese Quesadillas
Great Mexican food is loved by all, and adding some broccoli—often referred to as the healthiest vegetable of all for its sulfur-richness—is a perfect sneaky way to get a serving of green into your kids’ diet right in the morning! This is a fairly simple recipe; it involves layering a tortilla with cheese and broccoli as if making a sandwich. Bell peppers and cilantro are yummy, colorful add-ons.
15. Grab and Go Blueberry Breakfast Bars
It's a lesser-known fact that those who skip breakfast tend to eat more calories the rest of the day. Some kids may skip breakfast because of sleeping in late or having to rush to school early for extracurricular and sports activities. In such cases, breakfast bars serve as their best comrades. These are grab-and-go and can be made ahead of time, say over the weekend. Accompanied by a glass of milk, they make for a full-fledged, filling breakfast.
What Do Picky Kids Eat For Breakfast?
Picky eaters fall under diverse categories. So it’s wise for a caretaker to experiment with several strategies to understand a kid's choices best. Some clever foods that picky kids generally love (based on insights from an occupational therapist) are waffles, muffins, chicken or vegetables on a stick, frozen fruit, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, and french toast sticks. To make these healthy, use healthier alternatives. For instance, use whole-grain toast to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a fiber boost.
It might be a good idea to recruit your child’s help: sit with them, make a list of what they like and dislike, and prepare special recipes that suit their preferences and well-being. Extra tip: call these their “magic foods” to add to their satisfaction. A little creative effort goes a long way!
Final Thoughts
A giant question mark likely pops up in your mind while contemplating easy breakfast recipes for your kids, especially if they are picky eaters. Keeping a list of ideas handy can help quicken meal planning and, at the same time, enable you to fulfill your kid’s nutritional needs with minimal extra mental work.
What’s more, the majority of these breakfast meals are affordable, and the recipes can be tweaked easily, depending on what’s available in your fridge. Who doesn’t love a budget-friendly meal that serves the body well, right?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What should a kid eat for breakfast?
A healthy breakfast recipe has to include a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. There are several options that fit these criteria, including oats, eggs, beans, muesli, peanut butter, low-fat or fat-free dairy products like cheese and yogurt, whole grain cereal, fruits, and dry fruits. These items can complement several recipes, including the ones mentioned above.
What can a 7-year-old make for breakfast?
A yogurt parfait is a quick and easy breakfast meal that doesn't require cooking. Just put together some fruits and/or dry fruits with sprinkles of granola and yogurt, and the kids are good to go! You can keep these items handy on a fridge shelf that the kids can reach. Secondly, storing some make-ahead muffins in an airtight container for longevity is always a good idea. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are relatively easy to make as well. If the child is not fond of sweet foods, replace peanut butter with make-ahead hummus.
What is the healthiest breakfast for kids?
Oatmeal is perhaps the healthiest and most versatile breakfast option for kids. Oats are easy on the digestive system because they're a single-grain food. As a result, they're fiber-rich, packed with vitamins and minerals, and promote an overall healthy appetite. Combine them with some delicious banana pancakes or blueberry muffins, prepare them as an overnight recipe with berries and fruits, add them to protein-packed muesli bars, or simply sprinkle them as toppings for yogurt.
What is the best way to make breakfast for kids?
Choose a diverse set of foods to provide sufficient nutrients. This can be easily done by incorporating seasonal and local foods, ensuring a good protein intake (eggs, nuts, pulses, and legumes), adding low-fat dairy options, and utilizing whole-grain foods wherever possible. Picking healthy cooking methods is also a crucial aspect when it comes to making breakfast for kids in the best way possible. Some healthy cooking methods include steaming, dry roasting, stirring, boiling, and sautéing—these help retain the nutrients in food items, making them much more nourishing. Finally, making meals at home is valuable because then one can control the quality of ingredients added and tweak recipes as per special dietary or nutritional requirements. All of this can be made possible by getting organized ahead of time, like charting a breakfast plan the night before while cleaning up dinner.
