Fast And Easy Breakfast Ideas Your Toddler Will Love
These simple toddler breakfast ideas are healthy and tasty options for your little one, whether they’re a fussy eater or will eat anything you hand them. They’re also fast and easy – perfect for those hectic mornings when you’re juggling a million things before heading out the door. Some of our healthy breakfast ideas for toddlers and kids can even be prepped the night before or enjoyed on a lazy weekend morning with the whole family.
23 Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers
Check out 23 of our great and easy breakfast ideas for toddlers, or even the older kids in your family.
Egg Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers
1. Breakfast quesadilla. It’s the same idea as making a regular quesadilla, except that you'll stuff a pair of tortillas with breakfast fillings, such as scrambled eggs and grated cheese. You could add spinach, tomatoes, or pieces of ham, too. Put your chosen fillings between two large tortillas and sear the quesadilla, flipping once, until the cheese melts. Try using different cookie cutters to create interesting shapes – these might tempt a picky eater.
2. Breakfast taco. Use small tortillas that you can fill with scrambled eggs, grated cheese, and a mild tomato salsa. Serve the tacos folded in half or roll them up.
3. Egg in a hole. Try this for a truly creative breakfast idea for your toddler: Using a cookie cutter, cut out a circle or heart from the inside of a slice of whole-wheat bread (you can save the cut-out part to eat later). Toast one side of the bread in a frying pan with butter. Flip it over, and then crack an egg into the hole. Cook until the egg is set, and sprinkle sparingly with some salt. Your toddler will love their breakfast eggs served in such an unusual way.
4. Mini frittata. Beat together some eggs and add diced bacon or ham, grated cheese and chopped chives. Pour the mixture into a mini muffin tray and bake. Let it cool slightly before serving this great breakfast idea to your toddler, kids, or even the whole family.
5. Toddler-friendly eggs Benedict. This is a toddler breakfast idea the whole family would enjoy! Cook a fried, poached or scrambled egg, and top it with diced ham and grated cheddar cheese (to mimic Hollandaise sauce), letting the cheese melt and the ham warm through in the frying pan. Butter and slice a toasted English muffin and top it with the egg combination.
6. Open-faced scrambled egg sandwich. Feel free to tailor the sandwich to your kid’s liking: Serve the scrambled eggs on a toasted mini whole-wheat bagel, English muffin, or finger slices of whole-grain bread. You could also add some cut-up veggies to the scramble like mushrooms or peppers, or anything else you happen to have in your fridge.
Quick On-the-Go Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers
7. Smoothie. Some of the easiest things to whip up and take with you on the go are smoothies. Smoothies are a healthy breakfast idea for your toddler or kids, who might even find it entertaining to watch you blend all the fruit and other ingredients together. Start with yoghurt and any fruit of your choice, like bananas, berries, peaches, etc. Add some milk or water to help make a consistency that's easy for your toddler to drink.
8. Cold cereal. A breakfast staple in nearly every household, cereal is a quick and easy breakfast idea for your baby once they’re eating solids and for your older kids. Choose a low-sugar cereal, add some milk and top it with berries or sliced banana.
9. Hot cereal. Easy to cook up in minutes, a creamy porridge made from a single grain such as wheat, rice or bran, or a combination of these grains, can be a nice way to start your toddler's day. Add their favourite fruit topping to make it even more appealing.
10. Cream cheese and jam on toast. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese onto a slice of toasted whole-wheat bread. Then add some low-sugar jam. Using a toothpick, draw some swirls through the jam and cream cheese to create a fun design or a smiley face. You might even like to write a message like ‘Good morning!’ or your toddler’s name.
11. PB&J on toast. Spread a thin layer of creamy peanut butter (or almond butter) onto a slice of toasted whole-wheat bread and cut it into fingers. Then add a few dollops of low-sugar jam. Take a toothpick and create a design by drawing some swirls through the jam and peanut butter.
12. Cream cheese bagel. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese onto a toasted mini whole-wheat bagel, and top with sliced strawberries or sliced tomato to make either a sweet or savoury version.
13. Yogurt with fresh fruit. Top some plain or vanilla-flavoured yoghurt with slices of your toddler’s favourite fruit. Canned fruit is fine as long as it has no added sugar.
14. Sampler plate. Think of this as your toddler’s DIY breakfast. Go ahead and assemble a plate of fruit, such as berries, sliced apples or sliced bananas. Have some dry cereal, and some yoghurt or cream cheese for dipping. A plate with divider walls is a good choice for serving this meal. Or, you can arrange the food to create a smiley face. Your kid will enjoy playing around and picking what to eat next.
15. Porridge. A classic breakfast item, porridge is perfect on an autumn or winter day, or any time you’d like to offer your toddler something warm. Plus, it’s easy to cook in mere minutes. Just make sure the porridge is not too hot for their mouth before serving it. You can easily adjust the temperature by pouring some cold milk over the porridge. Top it with fresh berries, diced apple or sliced banana.
Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers
16. Overnight oats. This is a great make-ahead breakfast item as all you have to do is soak oats in milk. Swapping in almond milk is an easy way to make the breakfast vegan and dairy-free. If your toddler is sensitive to gluten, purchase oats that are certified gluten-free. Top the oatmeal with fruit. Let your child eat it cold or, if you like, warm it up in the microwave just enough to take out the chill.
17. Baked oats. This breakfast dish can also be made ahead of time, or baked fresh on a weekend morning to serve to the entire family. For a classic version, mix in diced apple, raisins, and cinnamon into the batter before baking. Once baked, cut the porridge into squares for serving, and add a little bit of milk.
18. Pancakes. A weekend morning classic, pancakes are a sure-fire kid-pleaser. Choose a recipe (such as one for whole wheat, blueberry or banana pancakes) and cook up at least one batch; if you make two batches, one can be frozen for a quick midweek breakfast or snack. When it's time for breakfast, reheat them and serve with butter and honey. Blueberry pancakes also taste good with cream cheese, and banana pancakes are yummy with a thin coating of creamy peanut butter.
19. Waffles. If you’ve got a waffle maker, this is the perfect breakfast for a Saturday or Sunday morning for the entire family. Serve the waffles with fresh fruit such as berries or sliced banana, peaches or plums. If you like, prepare an extra batch of waffles and freeze them individually or in pairs. Then, whenever your little one would like waffles for breakfast, toast them straight from the freezer.
20. Berry muffins. Using your favourite muffin recipe, bake a batch of blueberry muffins in a mini muffin pan. Be aware that using this smaller muffin pan means the muffins may bake more quickly than the recipe indicates.
21. Breakfast bars. Skip the sugar-laden breakfast bars in the supermarket and make your own, packed with oats. Add a layer of low-sugar strawberry jam in the centre.
22. French toast. Simple and easy to make when you have day-old bread to use up, French toast can be turned into a fun breakfast idea for your toddler or older kids. Use a cookie cutter to cut the toast into interesting shapes, and serve with berries or sliced banana. Take it a step further and form a happy face using star shapes cut out of the French toast for eyes, a berry for a nose and a smile made out of banana slices.
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Creating a Well-Balanced Diet
Your toddler's healthy growth and energy levels are fuelled by a varied diet that includes foods from the five basic food groups:
Protein foods, such as meats, poultry, fish, beans and eggs
Dairy, such as milk, cheese and yoghurt
Fruits, withfresh, frozen, and canned varieties all OK
Vegetables, including dark green, red, and orange varieties
Grains, such as cereals, bread, pasta, potatoes and rice.
It’s OK if your toddler doesn’t eat something from each food group at every single breakfast. What's important is that your little one gets a range of wholesome foods across breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, which will balance out and meet their nutritional needs each day.
How Much Food Is Enough for a Toddler?
When your little one turns 1 year old, it’s important to provide them with three sit-down meals per day, as well two or three healthy snacks. Toddlers have bundles of energy, so they need plenty of nutrition in their diet, but try not to allow grazing between meals.
Keep in mind that portion sizes for a toddler tend to be smaller than those of an older child or adult. Start with a small portion and let them decide if they want more after finishing. A typical toddler breakfast could be one egg or 1 to 1½ tbsp of breakfast cereal, plus 165ml of whole, semi-skimmed milk or fortified milk alternatives and 1 medium /2 small pieces of fruit (80-100g).
Your child’s progress will be checked at their 2-2.5-year-old well-child check-up, where your toddler’s health visitor will check their growth against growth charts. You can also track your little one’s development using our baby growth chart calculator
If your child is under or overweight, their health visitor can give you advice and personalised guidance on how to get your child's growth back on track.
Of course, you don’t have to wait for your child’s next check-up to bring up questions or concerns. If you’re ever concerned about your toddler’s growth or eating habits, feel free to consult with their health visitor or doctor.
A Note on Fussy Eaters
As they become more independent, toddlers sometimes go through a phase of fussy eating, which can make mealtime feel like a battleground. Your child might refuse to eat anything at all, or decide to eat only a certain type of food. A favourite food one week could be rejected the following week. Try to consider how they eat over the week rather than in a single day
The best strategy is to offer your toddler a variety of healthy, tasty foods, and let them choose what to eat. Keep serving foods even if they've been rejected more than once, giving them the chance to try new foods willingly instead of it being forced upon them.
Why It’s Important to Avoid Food Bribes
It’s best to avoid bribing your child with food or during mealtime, like promising dessert if they eat their peas. It's also unwise to make comparisons to other siblings, such as by saying, “See, your big sister eats her veggies!”
This added pressure can lead to eating problems in the future. Instead, keep mealtimes pleasant and relaxed, a chance for your child to learn good eating habits and to be sociable with the rest of the family.
Toddler Food Watchouts
Although your toddler will likely be eating most of the same foods as the rest of the family, there are a few precautions to keep in mind:
Make sure the food is not too hot and doesn’t burn their mouth. Taste a little to test the temperature before letting them eat.
Avoid foods that have a lot of spices, butter, salt or sugar. Your toddler’s palate may still be too sensitive to these very strong flavours, and too much added salt and sugar may affect your little one’s long-term health.
Your toddler doesn’t learn to chew with a grinding motion until they’re about 4. This means you should avoid giving them food that may become a choking hazard. Here are some general tips on how to do this:
Mash or cut foods into small, easy-to-chew pieces
Spherical items like grapes and cherry tomatoes should be cut into halves or quarters
Cylindrical items like hot dogs and carrots need to be quartered lengthwise and then cut into pieces
Spread a thin layer of peanut butter onto bread or crackers – don’t offer a chunk or spoonful of it
Avoid whole nuts, seeds, popcorn, hard sweets, jelly beans and gummy bears – all of these can be easy to choke on if swallowed whole or in large chunks.
Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Sensitivities
Around the time your toddler is trying new foods for the first time, it’s important to keep an eye out for any allergic reaction that they may have to certain foods. If your toddler has a food allergy, it would most likely be due to a food item on this list:
Cow’s milk
Eggs
Foods with gluten, such as wheat
Soya
Nuts and peanuts
Seeds
Fish, such as tuna, salmon, or cod
Shellfish, such as shrimp, lobster, or clams.
If your toddler is allergic, you may see the following allergic reactions:
Skin problems such as skin rashes or hives, or swelling
Breathing problems such as sneezing, wheezing or tightness in the throat
Stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
Circulation symptoms such as pale skin, light-headedness or loss of consciousness. This is usually caused by a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis.
If you suspect your toddler is in anaphylactic shock, seek immediate medical attention.
Sometimes your child may not be allergic to a type of food but may instead have an intolerance or sensitivity:
Lactose intolerance. Your toddler can’t digest dairy products properly and may complain of a stomach ache, look bloated and/or have diarrhoea.
Food sensitivity. Your toddler could be sensitive to food dyes, additives or preservatives in store-bought foods and may show signs of asthma.
The good news is that egg or milk allergies are usually outgrown. Some children will outgrow most food allergies as they get older, whilst some may be lifelong.
Speak with your toddler’s GP or health visitor if you think your child may have a food allergy, intolerance or sensitivity. The GP or health visitor can normally perform tests to make a diagnosis, as well as advise you on how you can modify your child’s diet and what to do if you notice the signs of an allergic reaction.
FAQS AT A GLANCE
Serve your toddler healthy foods that are similar to those you would eat for breakfast yourself. Some toddler breakfast ideas include:
- Scrambled eggs
- Sugar-free jam on toast
- Fresh fruit and yoghurt
Include a variety of foods from the basic food groups (protein foods, dairy, fruits, vegetables and grains) as you plan your toddler’s breakfasts for the week.
Keep in mind your toddler will need the foods cut up into small, manageable pieces. Also, ensure that the food isn’t too hot, or overly salted or sweetened.
The Bottom Line
If you enjoy spending time in the kitchen, then breakfast can be a great opportunity to come up with creative menu ideas for your toddler. And, if you don’t like cooking that much and would rather fix something simple, then breakfast is one of those meals where you definitely have lots of great options.
Think about making some breakfast meals ahead of time, such as by preparing big batches that you can freeze for later and portion out as needed. This is a nice way to make mornings less frantic.
To ensure your toddler’s nutritional needs are met and to keep things interesting, aim for a mix of different breakfast food ideas on different mornings, such as eggy dishes, porridge with various toppings, healthy smoothies and toast fingers topped with cheese or peanut butter – perfect for your 1-year-old, 2-year-old, or even your older kids.
The weekends are great for something fun like blueberry pancakes or banana muffins. Plus, you could even ask your toddler to help with mixing the batter or putting toppings on a bowl of yoghurt.
With the breakfast ideas on our list, you’re good to go. You and your toddler can have a yummy start to the day!
How we wrote this article
The information in this article is based on the expert advice found in trusted medical and government sources, such as the National Health Service (NHS). You can find a full list of sources used for this article below. The content on this page should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult medical professionals for full diagnosis and treatment.