Kid's Healthy Breakfast Ideas

Breakfast for Kids is so important to start their day out right! These healthy breakfast ideas for toddlers and kids are our favorite weekly rotation to keep them active and full of energy! We love the breakfast staples, smoothies, eggs, yogurt and granola, oatmeal, pancakes and french toast, plus tips and tricks to make them quick, easy and doable for every day! It's real food that kid's will love, and mom and dad will too, so you aren't cooking separate meals!

A kid's small bowl of yogurt with homemade granola and berries next to a smoothie.

Yogurt, Granola, and Cereal

A bowl of cereal or yogurt happens to be my kid's favorite and is quick and easy for busy weekday mornings! But, we like to make these bowls packed with healthy, high protein ingredients! First, we start with plain yogurt and flavor it ourselves with a drizzle of honey and lots of fresh or frozen berries.

Making a batch of Homemade Granola once or twice a month is a great way to add nutrition and lots of extra protein from the nuts, seed and oats. You can control the amount of sugar and preservatives vs. the store-bought bags of granola. These are our two favorite recipes:

My kids love making and eating granola, but it's not just for yogurt! They also love it on plain cereal with milk like Chex or Cheerios, adding some protein and a touch of sweetness. When I was a kid I topped my Cheerios with a giant spoonful of sugar, kept conveniently in a sugar bowl right on the table! So, we've come a long way! Granola is also a great topping for a bowl of applesauce or oatmeal too!

Bowl of yogurt with homemade granola and fresh blueberries.

Oatmeal Options

We love oatmeal, sprinkled with brown sugar or drizzled with honey, topped with berries, a scoop of plain yogurt, apple sauce, granola, raisins, or nuts. These are our 3 favorite oatmeal variations to give variety each week.

Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal - Our Favorite and SO EASY! Before you go to bed, put 1 cup of Steel Cut Oats and 6 cups of water in a crockpot on LOW. Ready in the morning to load on the toppings!

A bowl of crockpot steel cut oatmeal with granola and berries.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal - This make-ahead favorite is better for you than the store-bought packets. A large batch of oats, baked and stored in a jar, with added ground nuts for protein, and ready for busy mornings!

Homemade instant oatmeal bowl topped with berries yogurt and granola.

Baked Oatmeal Cups - These nutrient dense oatmeal cups are a holiday favorite with cranberries, but substitute blueberries and they are a perfect grab-and-go healthy breakfast year round! Freeze extras!

Cranberry Baked Oatmeal Cups with White Chocolate Chips

Pancakes and French Toast with Staying Power

Weekdays may be too hectic for pancakes or french toast, but these high protein options are quick and easy for a filling breakfast any day of the week!

Easy Protein Pancakes - These pancakes pack the punch and last you until lunch with better ingredients like oats, almond flour, yogurt and extra eggs! Plus, a ¼ measuring cup for everything makes the batter super fast to throw together, even on a weekday!

Protein Pancakes with butter and maple syrup

Overnight Protein French Toast Bake - Prep this recipe the night before in just 5 minutes and bake it in the morning! My kids aren't big egg eaters, so this weekday french toast bake is just eggs on toast in a different form! High protein from lots of eggs and delicious low-sugar almond topping!

Overnight Baked French Toast with Berries

Freezer Muffins

Having a stash of healthy muffins in your freezer can be great to pull out for a quick on the go breakfast! Serve them with a smoothie or a piece of fruit. They make great snacks anytime too! Kids love to help with a baking project, so put it to good use and fill your freezer. Try these favorites!

Healthy banana carrot muffins on a white counter and a yellow dish towel.

Smoothies Go With Everything!

We make our no-recipe smoothies with a Smoothie Bucket, kept in the freezer to add fruit whenever we have extras. Make sure everyone gets a good helping of fruit and a few veggies to start their day, mom and dad too!

A Smoothie goes with everything, oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, eggs, pancakes, and just a bagel or peanut butter toast. A fun cup (thrift stores are great for this!) with a straw goes a long way with toddlers and little kids! And, if your kids aren't into smoothies, try Homemade Popsicles, basically the same thing in a different form!

Use Your Freezer

A lot of these options end up being vegetarian breakfast ideas for kids because adding meat can just be too much work for a weekday! But, cooked sausage or bacon freezes well! So, if you are making it on the weekend, cook the whole package and freeze your leftovers. Chopped frozen bacon is great to throw in eggs during the week or even use it for dinner in a Pasta, Soup or on Loaded Baked Potatoes. Some days, if we are just having yogurt and toast, a growing kid could use an extra sausage link or bacon strip (just microwave it)!

For Perfect Bacon: Preheat oven to 400° convection bake, cook bacon on a large sheet pan until crisp, about 20 minutes, but check it often and flip it half way through. Drain on paper towel.

For Perfect Sausage: Preheat oven to 425° convection bake, cook sausage links on a sheet pan until browned, about 20 minutes. Flip and move them around half way through.