Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Kids

Put a slew of healthful ingredients in your fridge, freezer, and pantry, and you'll always have healthy kid breakfast ideas ready to put on the table (or send out the door) in the morning. Here's a shopping list to get you started:

• Frozen whole-grain waffles
• Eggs, both raw and hard-cooked (find hard-cooked eggs in the deli)
• Deli meats
• Milk
• Calcium-fortified orange juice
• Yogurt
• Reduced-fat cream cheese
• Nut butters
• Low-fat granola
• Fresh and dried fruits, such as bananas, apples, mandarin oranges, berries, dried cherries, and raisins
• Healthful cereals: Look for whole-grain, nutrient-packed cereals, rather than sugary cereals
• Whole-grain breads, such as tortillas, English muffins, pita bread, and sandwich bread

Get the Baked Oatmeal recipe pictured

Now that you have your pantry stocked with great ingredients, here's how to get breakfast ideas for kids to the table quickly. Or, better yet, let the kids help out: These ideas also happen to be easy recipes for kids to make (provided your child is old enough to operate a toaster).

PB&J Waffles: Toast frozen whole-grain waffles. Top with reduced-fat, reduced-sodium nut butter, raspberry preserves, and fresh raspberries. Another day, substitute fresh bananas and raisins for the raspberry preserves and raspberries. Also try topping the waffles with low-fat cream cheese, fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey.

Try our recipe for Waffle Pops 4 Ways

Perfect Parfaits: Breakfast parfaits are a great way to get good-for-you foods into one colorful, fun breakfast. Simply layer low-fat yogurt with low-fat granola and top with fresh fruit. Add walnuts or almonds, plus a little honey to sweeten. No time to layer it into a pretty dish? No problem. Simply serve a bowl of yogurt with the desired toppings for an easier version of this breakfast for kids.

Get our Morning Parfait recipe

Eggs on the Quick: Serve hard-cooked eggs from the deli with toasted whole-grain bread and a few slices of deli ham or turkey on the side.

Note: Serve the above breakfast ideas for kids with milk and calcium-fortified 100% orange juice to add more good-for-you nutrients.

When you have a little more time in the morning, remember that scrambled eggs can provide a great anchor to a healthy breakfast for kids. Stir in colorful vegetables, reduced-fat cheese, and/or lean deli meats. Then, serve with toasted whole-grain bread. Or, try one of these breakfast ideas for kids that feature scrambled eggs:

• Bacon-Pea-Swiss Scramble: Check out our colorful recipe—and serve with a toasted whole-grain bread to help boost the fiber in this healthy breakfast for kids.   

Get the Bacon-Pea-Swiss Scramble recipe

• Super-Quick Breakfast Pizza: Warm a slice of leftover low-fat pizza and top with a scrambled egg. 

• Breakfast Burrito Extraordinaire: Whip up some scrambled eggs, throw in a dash of bottled salsa or spicy low-fat cheese, add onions, peppers, or spinach, and wrap the mixture in a low-fat whole wheat tortilla. For the best flavor, warm up in the microwave before eating.

• Waffle Breakfast Sandwich: Make a sandwich from a toasted whole-grain waffle, cut in half; fill with scrambled eggs and reduced-fat cheese, sliced extra-thin so that it melts easily.

Get our most popular breakfast sandwich recipes

If you need healthy breakfast ideas for school—or nutritious foods that can be enjoyed on the go, here are a few options:

• Keep Double-Oat Breakfast cookies on hand. Packed with a nutritious combination of peanut butter, oats, and raisins, these cookies make a good healthy breakfast for kids before school—or on their way to school.

Get the Double-Oat Breakfast Cookies recipe

More Great Breakfast Cookies

• Stock single-serve containers of yogurt in the fridge and prep a few zippered plastic bags of various stir-ins, including low-fat granola, dried fruits, walnuts and/or almonds, and chopped fresh fruit. Open, pour, and stir on your way out the door for a healthy breakfast for kids in the nick of time.
• Make a batch of Breakfast Muffins. This healthful muffin recipe lets you mix and match your family's favorite ingredients for a good breakfast for kids and adults alike.

Get our Breakfast Muffins recipe

• Freeze grapes and put them into a zippered plastic bag. Combine with a healthful breakfast bar and low-fat string cheese for a healthy breakfast for kids on the go.
• Create a breakfast trail mix of Cheerios, raisins, and mixed nuts or almond slivers. Place in single-serving zipper plastic bags to pair with a glass of calcium-enriched orange juice or a banana for those dash-out-the-door days.

Here are a few more hacks for getting a healthy breakfast for kids ready on your busiest mornings:

• Look for great make-ahead recipes. For example, try our Slow-Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal. This healthy breakfast for kids is especially great for picky eaters, as you can customize it with an array of toppings.

Get the Slow-Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal recipe

Try our healthy make-ahead breakfast ideas

• Be sure to serve milk or calcium-fortified orange juice when serving breakfast for kids. Thanks to our nation's diet obsession, many girls aren't getting bone-girding calcium and vitamin D, and thus are leaving themselves prone to osteoporosis.
• Try to limit sugar in the morning; opt for whole grains instead. However, if your kids have already developed a taste for sugary cereal, try mixing a little in with a more healthful, nutrient-packed cereal. That might provide just enough of the flavors they love to get them to try something that's better for them.
• Looking for breakfast ideas for a 1-year-old? According to healthychildren.org, cholesterol and fat are key to a child's growth at this age. A sample menu for a one-year-old child who weighs about 21 pounds would include one cooked egg, 1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk, half of a banana, and 2 to 3 large sliced strawberries.

Plan your next healthy breakfast for kids with these breakfast recipes.

Hearty Breakfast Tacos

Tropical Fruit Breakfast Parfaits

Fried Egg Toast with Tomatoes

Orange-Honey Overnight Oats

Baked Oatmeal

Slow-Toasted Granola