40+ Healthy Breakfast Ideas For Teens
Inside: Need some healthy breakfast ideas for teens? Here are 40-plus meals for inspiration, including lots of make-ahead options.
Breakfast may not be your teen’s favorite meal of the day, especially when they’re bleary-eyed and crabby at 6:30am on a school day.
But your teenager needs to fuel their morning, not to mention all the enormous growth happening. So if they’re burnt out on ideas, here’s tons of inspiration. And if they claim “But there’s no time!”, we’re going to make it easy.
What’s a healthy breakfast for teens?
- Satisfying: Protein, fat, and fiber all help breakfast have staying power and last them until lunch.
- Bone-building: Teens have higher calcium needs in this intense period of growth and change. Sources like dairy and fortified non-dairy milk, yogurt, fortified OJ, fortified cereal, and cheese can help them get what they need.
- Fast & easy: Kids don’t have a lot of time on weekdays, so if it’s not easy (and preferably portable) it may not get eaten. Consider making breakfast items in bulk on the weekend. Ideally, have your teen help or even take the lead!
- Key nutrients: Teens need nutrients for the major growth and development that’s happening. Here are some they may be lacking, and some breakfast foods that contain them:
- Iron (girls): Fortified cereal, beans
- Protein (girls): Yogurt, beans, nut butter
- Folate (girls): Enriched grains, spinach, oranges, bananas
- Vitamin B6 (girls): Cottage cheese, chickpeas
- Vitamin B12 (girls): Milk, yogurt, smoked salmon
- Phosphorus (girls & boys): Yogurt, cheese, cashews
- Magnesium (girls & boys): Chia seeds, almonds, edamame, peanut butter
- Choline (girls & boys): Eggs, beef, beans,
- Fiber (girls & boys): Whole grains, oats, fruits and vegetables
Want a printable list of these ideas to share with your teen? Tap here to get the printable list of Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Teens.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas For Teenagers
Warm breakfast ideas for teens
Eggs
- Make-Ahead Egg Muffin or Bagel Sandwich (MAKE-AHEAD)
- Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos: Top burritos with scrambled eggs and a sprinkle of cheese, roll up tightly and wrap in foil. Reheat in toaster oven or oven. (MAKE-AHEAD)
- Make-Ahead Scrambled Egg Muffins (MAKE-AHEAD)
- Egg-in-a-Hole: Cut out a hole from the center of buttered bread, place it in a pan and crack an egg in the center, flipping and cooking until egg is at desired doneness.
- Reheated dinner leftovers: Put them in single-portion glass containers they can reheat in the microwave. (MAKE-AHEAD)
Pancakes + Waffles
- Homemade Pancake Mix: Make a batch of pancakes on the weekend to reheat in the toaster oven or microwave during the week. (MAKE-AHEAD)
- Protein Waffles
- Funfetti Protein Pancakes
- Make-Ahead Whole Wheat Waffles: Eat with syrup or spread nut or seed butter on top and add sliced fruit. (MAKE-AHEAD)
- Crepes: Make a batch for the whole week. Fill with Nutella or nut butter and fruit or with scrambled eggs. (MAKE-AHEAD)
OATS
- Make-ahead oatmeal packets: Pulse 1 cup quick oats in a blender until it forms a powder. Combine oat powder with two cups quick oats. Place half-cup portions into bags or containers with 1 teaspoon brown sugar and your choice of toppings like freeze-dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cocoa powder, or peanut powder. (MAKE-AHEAD)
- No-Bake Cookie Overnight Oats (MAKE-AHEAD)
- Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cups
Snack Balls & Bars made with oats
Cold breakfast ideas for teens
Muffins & Quick Breads
Muffins
Cereal and Granola
- Double Chocolate Granola (MAKE-AHEAD)
- “Use What Your Have” Nutty Granola (MAKE-AHEAD)
- Homemade Muesli (MAKE-AHEAD)
- “Gussied Up” cereal: Top cold cereal with berries or sliced fruit, nuts and seeds.
More cold breakfast ideas
- Avocado Toast (option: add a fried egg on top)
- Toasts: Spread with nut or seed butter and cover with sliced strawberries or bananas
- Banana Split: Cut a banana in half length-wise and top with nut butter and granola
- PB&J or SB&J (SunButter + Jelly)
- Cold pizza or sandwich
- Yogurt Parfait: Layer yogurt with granola or cereal and fruit in a glass or in a bowl, top with chia seeds for extra fiber.
- Cottage cheese + fruit
- Trail Mix: Store-bought or make your own by combining nuts, seeds, whole grain cereal, and dried fruit.
- Portable Protein Box: Fill a container with a hard-boiled egg, edamame, cheese, and whole grain cereal to take with them. See 50+ Meat-Free Protein Ideas for more inspiration.
