Y’all, don’t even get me started on this topic. Healthy and quick breakfast ideas for moms who have little to no time to spend on making themselves breakfast is something I have repeatedly seen as a pain point for working moms and busy stay at home moms.
Including myself! I used to struggle with getting myself to eat breakfast at all and then I’d overeat later in the day. Can anyone relate? ??♀️
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If you’re trying to avoid skipping breakfast but you never feel like you have enough time to make something for yourself, let me give you a few options that are nourishing and take less than 5 minutes to put together. (Some of these are sub 1-minute breakfasts, which is kind of amazing when you have a ton to do that day.)
I’m only including relatively healthy and quick breakfast ideas for moms on this list – not because I’m trying to shame people who love a good sugary breakfast option (I am absolutely included in that group of people) but because this is a list of things that can help you feel full and energized throughout a crazy-busy day of working and momming.
1.) Avocado egg toast
Time until breakfast: 5 minutes or less
It’s a stereotypical millennial meal or whatever, but avocado toast is goooood stuff. And it can be a substantial breakfast, especially when you put something on top!
Toast up your favorite bread, smash an avocado on top, then load it up with eggs and/or other toppings. Here’s a list of what I’d recommend trying on top of avocado toast:
- Eggs + Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
- Hot sauce (I love Cholula on avo toast!)
- Strawberries! Try strawberry + coconut or strawberry + basil avocado toast
- Smoked salmon (Here’s a whole recipe if you want to get fancy with it.)
- Red pepper flakes + a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette or olive oil (I do this a lot and it’s sooo good.)
- Softer eggs + garam masala
2.) Smoothies (Even if you hate bananas like I do)
Time until breakfast: 2 minutes or less
Now, I know that this is a staple on lists of healthy or quick breakfast ideas for moms, but it’s here, too, because smoothies are DELICIOUS and if you add some greens, protein, or oats, smoothies can keep you full until lunchtime.
I love smoothies, but I cannot stand bananas. It’s honestly so unfortunate! Bananas are a great way to thicken and add sweetness to smoothies, so I do miss out on a lot of classic smoothie recipes by being a banana-hater. Here are some smoothies that do include bananas and are rated 4.5 stars or higher:
- Peach Mango Banana Smoothie from One Lovely Life. Here’s an amazing-tasting smoothie that’s easy to add greens to (if you choose to) because there’s so much sweetness with the existing base flavors! If you hate bananas too, just swap out the banana for some yogurt or a different tropical fruit.
- Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Smoothie from Happy Healthy Mama. A classic-tasting smoothie and definitely a good option for people who are newer to making smoothies for breakfast. The oats will help keep you full, too!
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Coffee Smoothie from Lemon and Zest.
- Carrot Ginger Tumeric Smoothie from Minimalist Baker.
There are also a ton of wonderful smoothie recipes out there that don’t include bananas, so these are what I use. Let me link you to a few of my favorites.
- Mango Matcha Smoothie from Love & Lemons. I feel like matcha is one of those things that you either love or hate, but if you’re a fan of matcha, this one is worth a try! I’m really into it.
- Lemon Blueberry Smoothie by Cozy Peach Kitchen.
- Pineapple + Tumeric Smoothie by Sweet Peas and Saffron. I am obsessed with this smoothie, I’m not kidding. Tumeric and ginger in smoothies might seem kind of scary if you haven’t tried it, but it’s amazing when you mix it with the right flavors. I would drink this every day if I could.
- Goji Peach Cherry Smoothie by Sweet Peas and Saffron.
- Chai-Spiced Strawberry Mango Smoothie by Sweet Peas and Saffron.
3.) Muesli
Time until breakfast is ready: 30 seconds
Dude, I was sleeping on muesli for so long. I’m not sure why, though? I guess it just didn’t occur to me until I bought it on a whim one day and then proceeded to eat it for breakfast for a week straight. Now it’s my favorite breakfast item to keep in my pantry because it’s so good and it’s super quick to put together.
This stuff is awesome and there’s such a huge range of flavors available with tons of different add-ins. So, if you’re a superfoods person, you can grab muesli with chia seeds, goji berries, cacao nibs, and all of that kind of stuff in it (one of my favs has all three of these) and if you’re more of a classic flavors person, you could go for apple pie, vanilla, or a dark chocolate almond flavor.
Go for muesli with flavors you like, low sugar per serving, and then add your favorite milk and you’re all set. Muesli is super filling and just perfect for long and busy days. They’re usually full of plant-based protein, higher in fiber, and you can easily find gluten-free options.
Eat it cold with milk, heat it up like oatmeal, or make an overnight-oats style breakfast with it, too. If you want to add more calories to your muesli, you could add it to yogurt, add some nut butter, or top it with fruit.
And another thing: It can feel like a treat when you have a flavor you love on hand. As someone who abhors waking up early, I’m more likely to do it when I tell myself I can have a bowl of chocolate cherry chia and some coffee. I usually have it with almond milk or coconut milk, but ovbs use whatever your favorite is with yours.
Let me put you onto this stuff! Here are my favorite flavors:
- Seven Sundays Dark Chocolate Almond
- Seven Sundays Vanilla Cherry Pecan
- Evoke Antioxidant Blend (Whole grains, goji berries, cacao nibs, walnuts, blueberries)
- Evoke Super Muesli (Oats, quinoa, almonds, chia seeds, cranberries, coconut, hemp seeds)
4.) Yogurt or smoothie bowl with fruit and/or granola
Time until breakfast: 5 mins or less
Smoothie bowls are a good idea for anyone looking for something more substantial than a regular old smoothie. If you know you’re going to need an extra boost one day, consider making a smooth bowl if you’ve got 5 minutes to do it.
If you don’t have smoothie supplies on hand or you’re not in the mood, you can just add some yogurt to a bowl and pile on the toppings.
Quick smoothie bowl recipes:
- 5-minute Berry Smoothie Bowl from Minimalist Baker
- Cherry Almond Smoothie Bowl from Vanilla and Bean
- Green Mango Smoothie Bowl from Running on Real Food
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowl from Simple Vegan Blog
- Pina Colada Smoothie Bowl from Wild Wild Whisk
Add-in and topping ideas for smoothie bowls:
- Granola (Check out this matcha and mulberries granola)
- Muesli (Especially this dark chocolate almond one!)
- Superfoods, like chia seeds, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, etc.
- Dried fruit: Coconut flakes, raisins, cranberries
- Fresh fruit: Try berries, mango, pineapple, apple slices, bananas
- Add protein powder to your smoothie bowl before you blend it
- Nut butter, honey, or maple syrup depending on what makes sense for your bowl
- Crushed nuts and/or seeds
5.) Japanese Breakfast Bowl
Time until breakfast: 5 minutes or a bit more, depends!
Hear me out for a sec because I know this doesn’t sound like a 5-minute breakfast. But it can be!
Japanese breakfast bowls are a great quick breakfast idea for busy moms because they can be super simple or you can add more ingredients and really pack them with nutrients and they still don’t take a lot of time to create. They’re perfect for anyone bored with their regular breakfast routine and for people who enjoy savory breakfast options.
This one takes a little bit of prep ahead of time but I’m still including it on this list because I think it’s soooooo worth it. Most of your prep will be related to cooking rice beforehand, so as long as you have a rice cooker on hand, it doesn’t really add any extra work or time aside from popping the rice and water into the cooker.
Here are some ideas for Japanese breakfast bowls that you can put together easily in the morning:
- Tamago Kake Gohan – Japanese Rice with Egg by Asian in America Mag
- Oyakodon: Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl by The Spruce Eats
- Soboro Don – Crumbled Chicken and Egg Bowl by Tea & Breakfast
- 20 Simple Japanese Breakfast Ideas by Tea & Breakfast
Or, check out this “Cooking Without Recipes” article on Bon Appetit that shows you how to put together a Japanese breakfast bowl with several suggestions for different toppings.
6.) Granola bar or breakfast bar + a side ( maybe yogurt, fruit, or boiled eggs)
Time until breakfast: 30 seconds or less if you’re buying prepackaged, more time if you’re making your own
Okay, sometimes you have negative time available in the morning and I totally understand if this is you. This is definitely me sometimes also! ?♀️
When you have no time, just have something available to grab and go. Snack/granola bars sometimes won’t hold you over until lunchtime but if you can grab something else, like fruit or yogurt, that might actually work for a full breakfast.
Some granola bars or other breakfast/snack bars are less than healthy for you, but I’ll recommend a few of the best ones I’ve tried here as well as a few that I haven’t tried, but have seen that other people love.
- Perfect Bars. These are so freaking good it’s crazy. They straight up taste like dessert. Highly recommend the peanut butter chocolate chip ones. They have multiple flavors and a kid’s version, as well. You can pick them up on Amazon, some Targets and Walmarts, and Whole Foods. (You can also try this copycat recipe for homemade version)
- Kind Bars. Solid granola bar-type-thing with some great ingredients and much less of a dessert vibe. You can get them absolutely anywhere, pretty much! Here’s an Amazon link for them.
- Made Good. These are granola bar squares and other, similar snack-type items.
- Blake’s Seed-Based Bars. These are nut-free bars with 4 awesome flavors: Blueberry Lemon, Rasberry, Smores, and Pineapple.
You can also make your own granola bars if that makes more sense for you. I recommend this recipe from Minimalist Baker for a generic, delicious, and healthy granola bar recipe.
7.) Overnight Oats
Time until breakfast: 2 mins the night before, instant in the AM
I know that the photo for this one looks super extra, but you don’t have to go that route with overnight oats unless you wanna. They can also be super simple.
Get some oats, mix in any other ingredients, and then cover them with milk. Store it in the fridge and then pull it out in the AM for an instant breakfast that is filling and can definitely be considered healthy for most people depending on what you choose to add.
Let me list out a few overnight oats recipes for ya:
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oats by Minimalist Baker
- Almond Joy Overnight Oats by Beaming Baker (This is to die for)
- Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats by Wholefully
- Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats by Eating Well
- Chai Latte Overnight Oats by Wholefully
- Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats by Wholefully
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Hey, what’s up? I’m Lucia, a work from home mom of three and a freelance writer. I’m here to spill the tea and tips on starting and growing an online business as a mom. It’s not the easiest thing in the world, but it’s possible and I’m rooting for you!