10 Breakfast Bowls You’ll Want to Make for Every Meal

Breakfast isn’t just the most important meal of the day in terms of “breaking your fast.” It’s also the meal that tends to define your food choices for the remainder of the day. If you eat chocolate-covered cereal for breakfast, what’s stopping you from stopping for fast food for lunch? The key to having a healthy breakfast might be choosing healthy foods that aren’t complicated to make. Unlike other breakfast items, breakfast bowls allow you to easily combine many different ingredients into the same dish. Healthy, easy, and delicious — what’s stopping you now?

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One of the most dangerous things you can do when choosing what you’re going to eat for breakfast is to settle for “repetitive” breakfasts.  If you eat a bowl of cereal every morning for six months, it’s probably not going to kill you or anything. But you’re definitely missing out on the benefits of varying your food options.

Boredom is a major problem, of course — eating the same thing day in and day out can make you crave that novelty breakfast food you used to eat all the time. And chances are, it probably wasn’t healthy then, and still wouldn’t be now.

More importantly, though, most of us aren’t eating enough of the right things for breakfast, and that sets us up for inevitable cravings and overindulging later on in the day. If you aren’t filling up first thing in the morning, you’re setting yourself up for a morning full of lots of rumbling and cravings for vending machine snacks — not good.

Can breakfast bowls solve all your nutritional woes? Possibly. But if you’re sick of oatmeal and “healthy” breakfast cereals, there are much better options out there. Or, right here.

Here are a few breakfast bowl recipes that can help you incorporate more protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals into your mornings. Enjoy foods you never thought you could eat for breakfast while you’re at it, like sweet potatoes, quinoa, and cauliflower.

1. Sweet Potato Bowl

You probably never thought of sweet potatoes as a breakfast food, but these vitamin A-packed veggies are suitable for any meal.

Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl (serves 2)

Prep time: 1 hour (5 minutes if potatoes are already baked and mashed)

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, baked and mashed
• Banana, mashed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground flax and chia seeds
• Raisins
• Almond milk

In a medium bowl, combine mashed sweet potatoes, mashed banana, cinnamon, flax and/or chia seeds, raisins, and almond milk.

Reheat in small pan or microwave. Serve hot.

The almond milk is technically optional. You might not need it if your sweet potato bowl’s texture is satisfactory. However, if it seems a little too thick after mixing in all other ingredients, almond milk can help thin it out a little.

You can add almond butter or unsweetened shredded coconut into your bowl as well for a healthy topping to enhance flavor and texture. Add any extra toppings of your choice after you reheat the contents of your breakfast bowls.

What’s so great about sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamins A and C. Learn more about this tasty vegetable.

2. Banana Nut Bowl

These breakfast bowls draw inspiration from banana nut bread — with a little bit of coconut sprinkled in for added flavor.

Banana Coconut Breakfast Bowl (serves 2)

Prep time: 5 minutes per bowl (makes 2 bowls)

• 4 ripe bananas, sliced
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup pecans (or any nut of your choice)
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix together banana, milk, pecans, coconut, and cinnamon. Heat in microwave or on the stove and serve warm.

What are the health benefits of nuts?

Nuts are an important source of healthy fats. They are also high in protein and fiber.

3. Yogurt and Granola Bowl

As long as your yogurt is Greek and your granola is homemade, you can pretty much guarantee yogurt-based breakfast bowls will always suit your nutritional needs.

Mixed Berry Yogurt Bowl (serves 1)

Prep time: 5 minutes

• 2 cups plain full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup blueberries and strawberries
• Homemade granola
• 1 teaspoon honey

Combine yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, granola, and honey. Enjoy!

Why Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt?

Yogurt has many health benefits, but Greek yogurt is especially beneficial for its higher protein content.

4. Veggie Bowl

Vegetables are some of the hardest foods to incorporate into breakfast — without making an omelette, that is. These cauliflower bowls will help you boost your veggie servings starting first thing in the morning.

Avocado Cauliflower Breakfast Bowl (serves 1)

Prep time: 20 minutes

• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• Garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 2 eggs
• Olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups cauliflower
• 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• Baby spinach
• 1 green onion (optional)

In a small bowl, combine avocado, lime juice, and garlic powder and mash together with a fork. Set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk together eggs, salt, and pepper. Also set aside.

Over medium heat in a large skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Sauté mushrooms in oil and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking mushrooms until golden brown, then scoop into a third bowl and set aside.

Raising to medium-high heat, drizzle more olive oil and cook cauliflower and cook until crisp, about 4-5 minutes. You can season the cauliflower with garlic powder, salt, and pepper if you choose. Add cooked cauliflower to serving bowl.

Turning skillet back down to medium heat, return mushrooms to heat and add baby spinach (required) and minced green onions (if desired). Sauté spinach and onions for 30 seconds, then add whisked eggs and scramble.

Add egg mixture to cauliflower. Serve warm.

Is avocado as healthy as its hype?

Absolutely. Granted, healthy fat is still fat — you can’t just start eating 50 avocados a day and assume you’re fine. But they’re a pretty good butter replacement.

5. Quinoa Bowl

Quinoa and oats fall into the same grain category, but they don’t taste the same. If you want a grain with a slightly different texture and taste, give quinoa a try.

Spiced Quinoa Breakfast Bowl (serves 3)

Prep time: 25 minutes

• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

In a medium saucepan, add almond milk, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to water and bring to a boil. Stir in quinoa and reduce to low heat.

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