Breakfast may feel like the most rushed part of the day.  You’re trying to pack a lunch, round up everything your kids need for the day, make a balanced breakfast, and even get yourself ready too – I’m sure I missed something.

This is why parents need quick breakfast ideas for kids.  They not only have to be easy, but you also want to ensure they’re balanced too.

As a dietitian and mom of two, I’ve narrowed down our options to 10 quick breakfast ideas for kids plus what to pair with them so they keep your kids full for longer.

Benefits of Breakfast For Kids

Breakfast is commonly known as ‘the most important meal of the day’ and rightfully so.  

Consuming breakfast is associated with many benefits including:

• Lower risk for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome
• Lower total body fat
• Improved attention, short term memory, and response time
• Increased cognitive performance
• Better test scores

It’s possible that not eating breakfast may contribute to headaches, stress, anxiety, and depression. 

Tips for An Easy Breakfast for Kids

One of the most important things you can do to set you and your kids up for a successful morning (and breakfast) is to plan a head. 

Try these tips to make the mornings a little less chaotic:

• Plan out breakfast for the week or the night before
• Set out bowls, plates, silverware, and shelf-stable ingredients the night before
• Have grab n go breakfast options ready 
• Make their lunch and snack the night before
• Have your kids pick out their clothes the night before
• Prep breakfast items for the week
• Set alarms five minutes earlier
• Keep a few pairs of socks wherever you keep your kids shoes

What Makes A Balanced Breakfast for Kids?

While I don’t love food rules, I do have a few guidelines to consider when building a meal or snack, and in this case – breakfast. 

Because breakfast will be the first time your child eats in many hours, it’s important for your child to have carbohydrates on their plate (our body’s main source of energy).  Carbohydrates are found in grains, fruit, dairy, and even veggies!

In addition to carbohydrates, it’s important to add some protein, fat, and fiber to help keep them fuller longer.

Carbohydrates provide the majority of energy for our body , but the protein, fat, and fiber keep them fuller longer and help provide energy for later.

Here’s a simple way to look at it to make sure you’re hitting all these marks:

Grain (carbs) + Protein/Fat + Fruit/Veggie (usually fruit, but veggies are cool at breakfast too!)

Grab n Go Breakfast for Kids

Making breakfast from scratch every morning may be unrealistic and down right out of the question for your family with your busy schedule.

That’s why having quick grab n go breakfast ideas for kids can be so helpful, even if it’s just the sides that you add to the main entree.

Easy Grab N Go Breakfast Options for Kids

• Hard boiled eggs
• String Cheese
• Babybel cheese
• Yogurt – tubes, smoothies, pouches
• Cereal
• Granola bars
• Hand fruit – clementines, bananas, peas, apples
• Nuts
• Juice boxes
• Milk boxes

Breakfasts for Picky Eaters

The last thing you have time for during the morning chaos is for your child to decide they don’t like the waffles they loved for the last three weeks.

Typically I suggest not making separate meals for kids, and as the adult, you decide what’s available.  However, breakfast is where there’s plenty of room for flexibility.  

Many breakfast items are quick and easy to whip up, therefore you can make several different options without it being too difficult.  Plus there are many quick breakfast ideas for kids that they can make themselves!

When it comes to breakfasts for picky eaters it may be helpful to have a menu that’s planned out ahead of time so they know what to expect.  I also recommend asking them what would make their breakfast better and adding that preferred food if you’re able to. 

Feel free to use fun utensils, dips – yes even syrup, and food picks to make meals more engaging and interesting.  Check out more picky eating tools here. 

When They Don’t Want to Eat Breakfast

Sometimes kids, and adults, aren’t very hungry first thing in the morning.  If this is the case for you or your child, I recommend viewing breakfast as a light snack.

And what I mean by a light snack is one or two food items, particularly something that’s nutrient-dense with protein, fat, or fiber.  It’s important to be flexible with meals and honor your child’s appetite.

If your child is still refusing breakfast in the morning, I encourage you to have a conversation with them, possibly at a separate time, and discuss the importance, talk about what they’d like to eat, and come to a compromise. 

Some breakfast is better than no breakfast!

Breakfast options for kids who don’t want to eat breakfast:

• Smoothies
• Hard boiled egg + granola bar
• Cheese stick + crackers
• Milk + banana
• Trailmix

Quick Breakfast Ideas for Kids

When it comes to breakfast ideas for kids it’s important they’re quick and balanced.  Remember, a balanced breakfast includes a variety of foods that provide carbs for energy and protein, fat, and fiber to keep them fuller longer. 

These 10 quick breakfast ideas for kids are mostly grains, but remember to add a protein or fat, along with a fruit or veggie to hit a variety of nutrients including fiber and valuable vitamins and minerals.

Cereal

Despite the flack cereal gets, as a dietitian I think it can be a great option for breakfast – or any meal really – I hate rules around what you HAVE to eat at certain times of the day btw. 

While I do like to look for cereals with less added sugar, it’s not the only thing I consider.  I also look at the protein, fiber, and iron.  Cereal is fortified with essential vitamins and minerals that many of us may lack in our diets.

My favorite cereal: Multigrain Cheerios, Cinnamon Chex, Peanut Butter Chex

Instant Oatmeal

I know making your own oatmeal, like this homemade oatmeal for kids, is pretty easy, but sometimes you need the easiest option possible.  And instant oatmeal doesn’t get much easier.

You could also make up a bunch of instant oatmeal packets yourself too!

My favorite instant oatmeal: Quaker Fruit Fusions and Better Oats

Waffles

We always have frozen waffles on hand as a quick and easy breakfast for kids.  

You’re welcome to make up a bunch of homemade waffles and freeze them to pull out as a quick option in the morning.  Try this spinach banana pancake recipe using a mini waffle maker!

My favorite waffles: Target’s Good & Gather Homestyle Frozen Mini Waffles and any of the Kodiak waffle products!

Sheet Pan Pancakes

Like waffles, we also have frozen pancakes on hand, but I do like to make sheet pancakes from time to time and freeze for a quick breakfast option even my kids can heat up in the morning.  

Try this homemade buttermilk pancake recipe and customize the mix ins per your child’s preference – yes it’s okay to add sprinkles or chocolate chips!

We also like to make mini pancake muffins with this silicone muffin pan – they’re so easy to pop out!

My favorite pancakes: Belgium Boys Bite-Sized Pancakes, Kodiak Cubs Flapjacks, and De Wafelbakkers Frozen Mini Buttermilk Pancakes.  I also enjoy Kodiak Powercakes Flapjack and Waffle Mix too. 

Nut Butter Toast

I love the combination of peanut butter and toast, plus it’s a great combination of all the things we talked about – carbs, protein, fat, and fiber.  

While one piece of nut butter toast may not fill them up, try to add a fruit for more vitamins, minerals, and fiber too!

My favorite bread: I don’t enjoy a super hearty bread, however I do enjoy some whole grain varieties.  Choose a bread your family enjoys and even better if it’s whole grain (look for whole grain in the first few ingredients).

Yogurt and Granola

Yogurt and granola are two things we always have in our house.  I like to store our granola in cereal containers to make it easier for my kids to access.  Plus they like to eat it as a snack too.

When it comes to yogurt, I like to look for a full-fat (whole milk) Greek yogurt for more protein and fat to keep my kids, and myself, fuller longer.  I also try to prioritize a variety with minimal added sugar and sometimes we get plain and add honey for a little sweetness – yes this is still added sugar. 

Feel free to make your child’s yogurt breakfast fun by adding sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or letting them eat it out of a waffle cone bowl – yes! A bowl version of a waffle cone for ice cream!

My favorite yogurt: Stonyfield Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt, Good & Gather Plain Whole Milk Greek Yogurt, Siggi’s 4% Whole Milk Vanilla Icelandic-Style Skyr Yogurt

My favorite granola: Nature Valley Protein granola

Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast sandwiches can be a little cumbersome if you’re making them on the fly.  However, if you make them in advance, wrap, and freeze them, they’re super quick to heat up in the morning for a quick and filling breakfast. 

I recommend getting your kids involved in making homemade breakfast sandwiches so they’re that much more likely to actually eat them and they can customize their ingredients (cheese or no cheese please!)

You can even make them for dinner one night and have leftovers for breakfast!

My favorite breakfast sandwich ingredients: I love using mini bagels or Belgium Boys Griddle pancakes for the bread portion of our breakfast sandwiches.

Smoothies

Smoothies are a great option for cramming in tons of nutrients into one delicious drink.  Plus there are so many different flavor options..

We like to make smoothie packs ahead of time so they’re easy to pull out of the freezer, dump in the blender, add some liquid, and blend!

Even my seven year old daughter can do this on her own with our Blendjet blender!

My favorite smoothie ingredients: frozen berries, overripe bananas that I cut up and freeze myself, Greek yogurt frozen into mini ice cubes, Tinysprouts milled flaxseed, and Fairlife whole milk (more protein). 

Granola Bar

For those kiddos who don’t have a huge appetite in the morning or maybe you overslept, tossing your kiddo a granola bar for breakfast isn’t the end of the world.  Just try to toss them a cheese stick (protein) and a banana (some kind of fruit) if possible. 

My favorite granola bar: check out all my favorites here!

Leftovers

It’s 100% okay to eat non-traditional breakfast foods at breakfast.  If your kids loved the dinner you had the night before and there’s leftovers, offer those up!

There are no rules for what TYPE of food you HAVE to eat at a specific meal.  If it helps your kids actually eat breakfast, go for it!

My favorite leftovers for breakfast: pizza, duh!  Even my kids can heat that up themselves.

Things to Remember

Breakfast is commonly known as ‘the most important meal of the day’ and rightfully so.  

Consuming breakfast is associated with many benefits including better health and well-being, improved cognitive performance, and better test scores.

One of the most important things you can do to set you and your kids up for a successful morning and breakfast is planning ahead. 

Aim for a grain, protein/fat, and a fruit or vegetable if possible. 

Having quick grab n go breakfast ideas for kids can be so helpful, such as cheese sticks, yogurt pouches, hard-boiled eggs, hand fruit, cereal, and granola bars.  

When it comes to breakfasts for picky eaters it may be helpful to have a menu that’s planned out ahead of time so they know what to expect.  I also recommend asking them what would make their breakfast better and adding that preferred food if you’re able to. 

Sometimes kids, and adults, aren’t very hungry first thing in the morning.  If this is the case for you or your child, I recommend viewing breakfast as a light snack.

Because some breakfast is better than no breakfast!

Grab my FREE Super Simple Breakfast guide with over 55 balanced breakfast ideas for more inspiration.