20 Make-Ahead Recipes For Easy Breakfasts On The Go
Between the hustle and bustle of work traffic and making sure the kids are off to school, your mornings may feel more hectic than ever. It can be really easy to skip breakfast or settle for cereal when mornings are crazy, but that's no way to approach your body's most important meal of the day.
So if you want a better breakfast that's quick, easy, and portable, there are lots of options! Between muffins, breakfast burritos, and overnight oats, there are so many ways to prep breakfast ahead of time, so healthy food is easy to access when you just don't have time to think about it.
Here are 20 make-ahead recipes that will make your mornings just a little easier.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Banana Beet Muffins
You may not think of beets as a muffin ingredient, but they add a wonderful texture that balances out sweet and perfectly ripe bananas.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 large eggs
2 cups grated beets, peeled
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin papers.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl combine banana, oil, maple syrup and eggs. Stir until smooth.
Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just mixed, then stir in beets. Scoop 1/3-cup portions of batter into muffin tins, and bake for 18–20 minutes. Test with a toothpick inserted in muffins. If the toothpick emerges with wet batter, bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool before serving.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Coconut Mango Muffins
Here’s a tropical take on muffins that throws both mango and coconut into the mix.
Sub in almond flour for a sweet, healthier paleo alternative to traditional flour.
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
1/4 cup melted virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons fresh lime zest
1 cup finely chopped mango
3 tablespoons shredded coconut
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and brown sugar and whisk to combine. Reserve.
In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the egg, then whisk in the coconut oil, coconut milk, lime juice, and zest. Stir the coconut milk mixture into the flour mixture, just until moistened, then stir in the mango.
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, then sprinkle the tops with coconut and, if desired, turbinado sugar. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with no wet batter clinging to it. Cool muffins in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before tapping the pan to remove them and letting them finish cooling on the rack.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Maple Pecan Granola
Granola is one of those snacks that goes beyond breakfast, but is quick and easy and can be made days ahead of time.
Eat it by the handful as you're heading out of the house, or combine it with yogurt and sliced fruit for a fast but filling at-home breakfast.
Ingredients
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups whole pecans
Directions
Preheat the oven to 275°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract. Add the oats and pecans and mix well.
Divide the mixture evenly among shallow baking pans and press into thin layers.
Bake on the center oven rack for 30 minutes. Rotate the pans and stir the mixture thoroughly, then bake an additional 15 minutes. If you like your granola soft and sticky, remove it from the oven now and cool it down. If you like your granola crunchy, stir and rotate once more and bake an additional 15 minutes, then remove and cool.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit Sandwiches
You might not think of breakfast sandwiches as quick and easy, but when you prep all your ingredients the night before, tossing it all together and warming it up just takes a few minutes.
You could save even more time by purchasing pre-made biscuits.
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cold
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
6 3-ounce sausage patties
6 slices cheddar cheese
6 large eggs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Get skillets for cooking the sausage and eggs. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
In a large bowl, combine the unbleached and whole wheat flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Coarsely grate the cold butter into the flour mixture, tossing to coat as the shreds fall. Use your fingers to mash the as you toss the flour mixture. When most of the butter is flattened, quickly stir in the cold buttermilk. When the dough starts to form, dump out on a flour-dusted counter and shape into a rectangle. Use a rolling pin to flatten to an inch thick, then cut in thirds and stack the dough in one pile. Flatten again, and roll out to a 1-inch thick rectangle about 6 by 9 inches. Use a knife to cut in 6 squares, then transfer to the baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, until puffed and deeply golden.
While the biscuits bake, cook the sausage and transfer to a plate; cover loosely to keep warm. When the biscuits come out of the oven, put the pan on a cooling rack. In the skillets, cook one egg per serving, in the sausage fat, if desired. For a runny yolk, cook over medium heat until the bottom is set and the whites are all cooked. For each serving, split a biscuit and place a hot sausage patty on the bottom half, place a slice of cheese on that and a hot egg on top, and serve immediately.
Recipe and photo adapted from Co+op
Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels
If you're feeling in the mood to bake over the weekend, consider these crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside bagels.
Make a big batch and store them in a cool, dry place, and enjoy them throughout the week.
Toast them up and slather on your favorite jelly, honey, or butter.
Breakfast Blondies
We recognize that blondies are definitely a dessert sweet treat, but this recipe includes chopped nuts and almond butter, so we're considering it a perfectly reasonable on-the-go breakfast item.
The recipe describes these as a muffin in bar form, and they're grain-free, too!
These can be baked up to three days ahead, so make them on Sunday and enjoy them through Wednesday!
Strawberry Almond French Toast Muffins
Here's a fun and unique muffin recipe that looks super elegant, but is actually fairly easy to toss together!
These may not keep for as long as some of the other options on this list, but you could certainly make them the day before and warm them up when you're ready to grab them and go.
These muffins are designed to be super versatile, so feel free to sub in whatever fruit and nut combination you prefer.
Freezer Breakfast Burritos
Breakfast burritos are an easy breakfast on the go, but sometimes the prep work can make the process longer than you might anticipate.
But these breakfast burritos are designed to be made ahead of time and frozen for a super easy breakfast on busy mornings.
You can customize the burritos to fit each family member's preferences, and you can make a fun weekend afternoon out of the meal prep work.
Overnight Oats
Oats are a healthy and filling breakfast, but if they aren't instant they might take a bit of time to make. Enter overnight oats!
As with the previous recipe, overnight oats are super simple and easy to customize and literally consist of throwing a bunch of ingredients in a jar, putting it in the fridge, and waiting.
Top your overnight oats with fresh fruit, crunchy components, and a drizzle of honey if you like it sweet.
Matcha Green Tea and Pineapple Smoothie
What's more portable and car-friendly than a breakfast smoothie?
This particular smoothie incorporates matcha, so it got a little caffeine for a pick-me-up too!
That said, if you want to omit the matcha for your kids, feel free to sub in more nut milk.
Find the full recipe at Feasting at Home
More Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas
Avocado Breakfast Burritos from Half Baked Harvest
Freezer Breakfast Burritos from Gimme Some Oven
Breakfast Parfaits from EatingWell
Coffee Granola from Food & Wine
Quick Omega-3 Granola from Epicurious
Date Breakfast Squares from Smitten Kitchen
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins from Gimme Some Oven
Instant Pot Egg Bites from Simply Recipes
Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies from Bon Appetit
Mini Potato Leek Frittata from Epicurious
Golden Milk Smoothie from Gimme Some Oven