Top 10 Best Breakfast Foods Americans Love To Eat!

You know the saying: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But sometimes it can be hard to decide what you want to eat first thing in the morning. Eggs? Pancakes? Waffles? If you need ideas for how to start your day, here are the Top 10 Best Breakfast Foods You Need To Try!

10. Cereal

Ah, cereal, the breakfast for people who are in too much of a rush to make anything else. It’s quick, easy, and tasty, and that’s why we love it. Plus, cereal isn’t just reserved for breakfast; it’s also a great snack to eat while watching TV, when you randomly get hungry at 4 am, or if you’re just downright bored. Sugary cereals like Lucky Charms and Froot Loops certainly have a nostalgic twinge to them, even if they are extremely bad for us. And the more grown-up type cereals, with oats and raisins, sometimes aren’t too bad either. But, is cereal the best that we can do? Let’s be honest here; cereal doesn’t fill you up for breakfast, and (depending on the brand) it doesn’t give you enough energy to make it until lunch. Or, if it does give you a boost of energy, you’re probably going to have a huge sugar crash a few hours later. Healthy cereal isn’t always tasty or satisfying; it’s just something we eat because we feel guilty about buying the sugary, yet yummier, cereal. In other words, there’s just no winning (unless you find a toy in the bottom of your cereal box). Cereal is still a classic breakfast option, even it doesn’t bring much in terms of nutrition – but it’s still better than not having any breakfast at all. That being said, cereal does have plenty of variety to choose from, so if you’re ever feeling adventurous, you’ve got shelf after shelf to pick from.

9. Doughnuts

Some people like doughnuts, some people love doughnuts, and then there are those who love doughnuts for breakfast. Whether you’re grabbing one from your local fast food joint or you’re making them at home with your air fryer, sometimes doughnuts are just the boost of sugar you need to motivate yourself to get out of bed. Dessert for breakfast; what’s wrong with that? Well… While this is certainly a fun start to the day, be warned that it might not be the healthiest. Experts even suggest against eating doughnuts for breakfast. Why? Because most of them have 15 to 30 grams of sugar each. With such a huge amount of sugar in a small pastry, your body pumps out loads of insulin to try to accommodate the sugar influx. A huge blood sugar spike leads to an even bigger sugar crash. This extreme up-and-down leaves you hungry soon after your breakfast — and you’ll crave even more refined carbs. This cycle – up-and-down, sugar high, and then sugar crash – is hard to get out of once you’re in it, so it’s probably easier to skip doughnuts altogether. If you’re really into the idea of having doughnuts for breakfast while avoiding that sugar crash, there are plenty of recipes online that claim they can make doughnuts a good breakfast option. So, why not give it a go? Oh, and let us know if those claims are true.

8. Home Fries

This breakfast food goes by many names: home fries, hash browns, or breakfast potatoes. At the end of the day, these are deliciously crispy, and, well, just yummy. While these delicacies aren’t usually eaten alone for breakfast, they help provide that extra something that people need with their breakfast! And that’s what people love about these morning potatoes: they can go with just about anything. Hash browns with eggs and bacon, hash browns with pancakes, and even hash browns with toast – all super delicious. There are plenty of ways to mix and match these potatoes, giving them the versatility that we all need in the wee hours of the morning. Plus, potatoes are a great source of vitamins, starch, and fiber. That being said, if you’re getting hash browns at a fast food joint, they’re probably going to be deep-fried and loaded with oil and trans fat. If that’s a concern for you, consider making them at home instead. There are plenty of ways to make this recipe healthy, including using different types of oil and of course, being aware of the number of hash browns you’re eating. Once you’ve got the art of hash brown making under your belt, you’ll always have an option in the morning. Is there any better way to start your day than with a hot potato? 

7. Oatmeal

Oatmeal used to be this drab breakfast that your parents would make for you when they wanted you to eat a healthy breakfast – oats, milk, and, if you were lucky, a bit of brown sugar or fruit. But now, it seems to have reinvented itself, and we are here for it. Considering all the Insta-ready oatmeal bowls that are blowing up, and all the aesthetic oatmeal photos on Pinterest, it’s safe to say that this breakfast isn’t just for your grandma anymore. Why is oatmeal coming back into fashion? Well, for one, it’s easy to make oatmeal pretty, at least before you start eating it. Not only is it nice to look at, but it’s also fairly easy to assemble, and you can make it super healthy! Oats have plenty of benefits, including fiber, plenty of protein, and healthy fats. Plus, oats are extremely affordable, meaning that it’s perfect for anyone watching their wallet. On top of that, it can be super convenient; many people are now preparing their oatmeal beforehand, making it a great option for people who are on the go. It’s also highly customizable, whether you want bananas, blueberries, strawberries, nuts, quinoa… The options are truly endless when it comes to adding extras to your oatmeal. That versatility, affordability, and tastiness are things that plenty of people are looking for, which makes this a great breakfast option.

6. Bacon and Eggs

The world has held a fascination with bacon for years now – bacon cupcakes, bacon lip balm, bacon dresses – and it all originated from this classic American breakfast food. But what is a slice of bacon if you don’t have eggs to go along with it? Bacon and eggs are probably the most classic hot breakfast out there, but where did it all start? Well, eggs have been a popular breakfast food for centuries. This is probably because, out of all the foods, eggs were one of the easiest to get your hands on (especially if you owned a couple of chickens). But, their popularity only grew in the 20th century, when they got partnered with their bestie bacon. In the 1920s, it wasn’t common for Americans to eat heavy breakfasts, but one man, Edward Bernays, set out to change that. On behalf of Beech-Nut, a packaging company that had started producing food, Bernays persuaded doctors to promote bacon and eggs as a healthy breakfast. He was able to convince nearly five thousand doctors to sign a letter recommending the hearty breakfast and was published in newspapers as the best way to start your day. The idea spread like wildfire, and soon people all across America had heard about it. As for Beech-Nut, their sales increased dramatically, and now we can’t imagine a world in which we don’t eat bacon and eggs for breakfast.

5. Breakfast Burrito

If you’re looking for a way to get a boost of energy in the mornings, look no further. Breakfast burritos are a great source of protein, fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C. These rolls of goodness are a great way to combine everything you love; cheese, beans, tortilla, eggs, you name it! There are plenty of ways to make up the filling, and you can include anything you want! Avocado? Go for it. Scrambled eggs? Of course! And if you’re feeling extra spicy, don’t forget to add some of that sweet, sweet hot sauce. While breakfast burritos seem like a no-brainer nowadays, they only came into being quite recently. Tia Sophia’s, a New Mexican diner in Santa Fe, claims that it was the first to use the term “breakfast burrito,” and that only goes back to 1975! The term caught on quickly, though, and soon fast food joints like McDonald’s and Taco Bell incorporated it into their menus! Well, even if it is a pretty recent invention, breakfast burritos are a great option when you’re trying to decide what you’re going to eat for breakfast. So, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank Tia Sophia for introducing these delights into the world.

4. Pancakes

Is there any feeling like waking up to the smell of pancakes wafting towards you? While that childhood experience may be gone, you can still recreate it by making pancakes yourself. Pancakes come in all kinds of flavors; sweet and savory, chocolate or blueberry; you can even add some Nutella if you’re feeling extra adventurous. Or, if you’re feeling a bit more traditional, you can simply add butter and maple syrup and call it a day. Whether you cut them in slices, squares, or sliced like a pizza, pancakes are always there to boost your morning. And it seems our ancestors would agree with us. Did you know that humans may have been eating pancakes since prehistoric times? According to the analysis of stone-age tools and looking at the contents of naturally preserved humans, pancakes have been in our diets for centuries. While it’s true that everyone makes their pancakes differently – the French like a thin crepe, whereas Americans prefer thicker, fluffier cakes – it’s nice to know that making flat, circular breakfast foods has been part of our history since the very beginning. In other words, pancakes are a great way to start the day, and have been throughout our history. Of course, over the years, people have explored plenty of different options with pancakes; there’s pancake art, jiggly pancakes, and even unicorn pancakes! Whichever you choose to do, know that pancakes are always there to cheer you up.

3. Toast

Does anything get more classic than toast? Just like pancakes, toast has been around for centuries. It begins, of course, with bread; the earliest archaeological evidence of flour dates back around 30,000 years, meaning people have been making bread for a very long time. Bread is a staple food in many civilizations, such as Ancient Greece, and in Ancient Egypt, where they figured out that if you left the dough in the sun for a while, it would rise. The Egyptians then invented the closed oven, where they started making leavened bread. At this point in history, leavened bread was considered to be superior to flatbread, but there was a problem: if you left the bread out in the desert heat for too long, it would go hard and become difficult to eat. This is where toast comes in. It’s thought that toast was invented as a way to preserve bread rather than as a breakfast item. By toasting the slices of bread, they lasted longer as palatable food, which was good news for everyone. Toast then spread to the Roman Empire. Fun fact: the word toast comes from the Latin word “tostum,” which means to burn or to scorch. The first electric toaster was created in 1893 by Alan MacMasters, which then sparked the invention of the automatic toast-turner in 1913, and then the modern, pop-up toaster in 1919. It goes to show that throughout history, humans have kept a love for bread deep in their hearts.

2. Coffee

Okay, okay, we know this doesn’t technically count as a breakfast item, but the truth is, there are plenty of people who only have time for coffee in the morning. This hot, caffeinated drink is one of the easiest ways to wake yourself up in the morning, and while it’s not necessarily the healthiest option, it helps millions of people every single day. But, did you know that coffee wasn’t really that popular until the 19th century? So, how did people of the past start their day? With alcohol! It has been shown that Ancient Egyptians would have bread and beer for breakfast, while the Ancient Greeks and Romans preferred wine. But, once people realized that it probably wasn’t the best idea, alcohol for breakfast faded out of style, and coffee was suddenly in. Just like today, people loved coffee because of the caffeine. As industrialization took seed, so did the popularity of coffee because people had to go off and be productive. Just like today, workers started early start and worked for the majority of the day, so a little bit of caffeine certainly helped. All in all, a cup of joe is a great way to get that much-needed energy boost.

1. Waffles

Waffles, waffles, waffles. Donkey from Shrek was obsessed with these sweet treats, and you know what? He was on to something. Waffles are a fantastic breakfast item because they add an extra layer of fanciness to your morning. You see, with a pancake or toast, you’ve got a flat piece of bread-like food. But with waffles, you get texture, not to mention all the creases are perfect for collecting pools of maple syrup, chocolate sauce, or little blueberries. Waffles are kinda like next level pancakes, and that’s why we love them. Just like pancakes, waffles provide a whole lot of variety, which means that there’s a waffle out there for everyone. Chocolate chip waffles, strawberry waffles, blueberry waffles. The options are endless! And is there really any better way to start your day than by taking a quick photo of your breakfast for your Instagram account? Waffles have the capability of being both pretty and delicious. A waffle is an experience, plain and simple. Perfect for a cozy Sunday morning, or brunch with a friend, waffles add to the atmosphere, they don’t merely fill your belly. And if you’re sick of regular waffles, we would recommend Belgian waffles. Belgian waffles tend to have large squares, deep pockets, and a relatively light batter. When done right, the waffles will tend to be crispy on the outside but light on the inside, and who doesn’t want that?

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