The ultimate list of toddler breakfast ideas. Feeding my toddler a healthy breakfast is very important to me because he is growing. Unfortunately, toddlers can be picky eaters. Find easy breakfast ideas for toddlers that are healthy, and that your toddler will eat.
A few days a week, my toddler wakes up hungry, and he wants breakfast the moment he sits up. So I need to get breakfast on the table ASAP, or we will start the day with a meltdown which is never fun (although sometimes, he just wakes up fussy and breakfast is the last thing on his mind).
Toddlers are growing growing growing, so making sure he has a healthy breakfast is really important to me. And yes, it is challenging, as toddlers definitely have a mind of their own and they can be quite fickle.
On the hungry days, it often feels like my toddler's breakfast appetite cannot be satisfied. And on other days, my toddler just plain won't eat.
Ultimate list of breakfast ideas for toddlers that are healthy and that your toddler will love
Because I never know what I'm going to get with him at the breakfast table, keeping an arsenal of healthy breakfast ideas for my toddler in my back pocket has saved my sanity. And that running list helps me act quick on groggy mornings when sleep was rather fleeting / nonexistent the night before.
Here are my favorite toddler breakfast ideas, and a few tips and tricks on how I get my toddler to eat said breakfast.
Here is my handy list of toddler breakfast ideas that I keep in my back pocket
1. Porridge. My toddler LOVES porridge for breakfast.
Why? I think it's because I let him get involved cooking it, and he gets a choice for his toppings.
How can a toddler help make porridge for breakfast?
Bring the cooking to your toddler's level. We either use our Little Helper to let him stand at the worktop height, or I literally put our tub of oats and pot on the ground.
I'll let him scoop the oats into the pot himself. Sometimes he makes a mess, but oats are pretty harmless on the ground (compared to the other messes he can make). And conveniently, he entertains himself trying to sweep up any spilled oats while the oatmeal is cooking.
The topping choices for porridge are endless. Here are 10 porridge healthy topping ideas that he loves. I love them too because they are all easy to put together.
Colorful bowls also make eating porridge exciting! These are our favorite bamboo kid's bowls from Bobo & Boo.
2. Pancakes. In our family, pancakes are the holy grail of toddler breakfast ideas.
- Pancakes are the perfect finger foods. He doesn't need to fuss with utensils.
- He can dither dip or spread the topping, so they are fun to eat.
- You can make large or small pancakes, depending on your toddler's mood, or you can use a fun pancake mould to make zoo pancakes.
If you ask my toddler, pancakes are his dream food for breakfast.
As a mom, I love feeding my toddler pancakes for breakfast because it's so easy to add healthy ingredients into pancakes, and also on top of pancakes...that's two ways you can boost the nutritional value of the breakfast.
The best part is that pancakes can be frozen and defrosted as needed, so this busy mom can't complain.
Lastly, pancake recipes can be very forgiving, so you can let your toddler help measure the ingredients and mix the batter for you.
Some of my toddler's favorite healthy pancake recipes:
- Toddler Pancakes
- Free From Pancakes for Toddlers
- Healthy Apple Pancakes
- Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Mini Pancake Skewers
Healthy pancake topping ideas: hummus, peanut butter, almond butter, cream cheese and this easy blueberry jam (no refined sugar and made with chia seeds).
3. There are so many different healthy muffins a toddler would love for breakfast
I haven't met a toddler who doesn't like muffins, especially if you call them cupcakes. Make mini muffins, and they are perfectly portioned-controlled finger foods.
Muffins are also great because you can stuff so many healthy ingredients into them.
Here's a toddler muffin recipe that makes 24 mini muffins. You have the option of four different mix-ins, depending on what your toddler likes.
These healthy breakfast muffin recipes make full-sized muffin sizes, but you can make them as mini muffins too. My toddler's favorites: Egg Free Banana Muffins and Healthy Apple Muffins.
And, again, muffins are a freezable make ahead toddler breakfast. Make a muffin recipe once, and it will last you through many breakfasts.
(Hit the right arrow button and watch the video - That's my toddler!)
4. Waffles can be easy to make, and toddlers love them for breakfast
One of my toddler's favorite breakfast recipes are waffles. Are you thinking they are tricky or difficult to make? Well, they don't have to be.
Here's a waffle recipe that is easy to make and pretty forgiving. Sometimes waffle recipes will require you to beat the egg whites and egg yolks separately, but you don't need to break out the hand mixer or anything for this recipe. Plus, it's egg free, so no worries if your toddler sticks his hands in the batter and licks it.
Give your toddler a fork and have him mix away. Be careful if you are cooking waffles with your toddler in the kitchen though because the waffle iron can get pretty hot. That's the main reason why we love our Little Helper -- it keeps him contained since he cannot climb in or out of it himself.
The best tip I can offer you here is to buy a waffle maker that makes thin waffles. Why? Thin waffles cook quickly (like in roughly two minutes as opposed to the usual five minutes), so you aren't standing there waiting forever because every minute counts with a little one in tow. They are also thin, so it's easier for a toddler to bite into.
My toddler really enjoys breaking a whole waffle into heart pieces. It also keeps him entertained while the rest of the waffles are cooking.
And like pancakes and muffins, you can also freeze waffles! So you can make one batch, and serve it to your toddler for breakfast through the week.
5. Chinese steamed eggs are a healthy breakfast idea for toddlers and babies
My toddler is allergic to eggs, but from chatting with other parents, eggs are always a fun recipe.
I can't offer you too much insight here, but when I was growing up, my mom always made me Chinese Steamed Eggs. They are delicious, and if you make the recipe with bone broth, you can pack in more nutrients in your toddler's breakfast.
6. Bean Cereal - yes, a thing and it's makes a healthy breakfast for a toddler
I cannot deny the convenience and appeal of cereal. The problem is that many cereals are loaded with sugars and other stuff I reluctantly feed my toddler, if at all.
The healthiest cereal I can find, which also is a cereal my toddler happily eats almost every day (if not for breakfast, then as a snack or dessert) is this bean cereal.
Bean cereal you might ask? Yes, this cereal is made with beans - navy beans, lentils, garbanzo beans.
The best cereal for toddlers - A healthy cereal made from beans!
We usually mix about ¼-1/3 Polar Puffs to ⅔-3/4 Original Power Os. (We don't like the fruity stars!). That's my compromise for sugar. And we do it in one big container, so he doesn't actually know I add in the unsweetened cereal. (We use this container, which he can open without spilling if he's desperate to help himself to dry cereal.)
He also loves these Annie's Organic Cinnabunnies. We do the same ratio mix: about ¼-1/3 Cinnabunnies to ⅔-3/4 Original Power O.
To really illustrate how much he loves these cereals... we live in the UK, but we literally bring ½ a suitcase packed with cereal back with us every trip. And when grandparents come visit, we also ask them to lug some more of the cereal over.
Cereal causes the foot waggle.
7. Make chia pudding with PB and carob. It's an easy overnight breakfast for a toddler.
We don't do this PB carob toddler chia every day, but it's good recipe to keep in that arsenal of toddler breakfast recipes.
You can make this recipe the night before so it's a very quick breakfast to serve.
There's more written in the actual recipe post about feeding toddlers chia seeds, but generally, if given in moderation, I think this is a healthy breakfast for little ones.
8. Dress up yogurt to make it colorful and healthy for your toddler's breakfast
Listing yogurt on this list makes me feel so unoriginal. But this Pumpkin Greek Yogurt definitely deserves a spot on this list.
By mixing in pumpkin to the yogurt, you are adding vegetables to your toddler's breakfast. Canned pumpkin texture pairs well with Greek yogurt, and you don't need anything more than a spoon and a bowl to mix it together.
Leave off the nuts and granola for a toddler though. Sorry I did not have a photo without the topping! That bowl in the photo is for me.
9. Eat leftovers from dinner in the morning
Breakfast doesn't always have to be traditional breakfast foods. Sometimes a quick bowl of reheated leftover makes the best breakfast.
Some favorite leftovers for us are: fried rice, soups and stews, and lasagna or pasta bakes.
10. Smoothies. Give your toddler a drinkable breakfast.
If you have a picky toddler, or on my toddler's off days, we often settle on a drinkable breakfast.
To make a healthy smoothie that's fit for a toddler's breakfast, I use a general recipe of: frozen fruit, a tablespoon of oats, a big spoonful of yogurt, a bit of powdered infant probiotics, some veggies, and a good dash of milk.
Pumpkin is the easiest veggie to add into a smoothie because it comes in a can, it's already smooth, and it's naturally sweet and mild in flavor (here's smoothie recipe with pumpkin - you can cut out some of the maple syrup).
Other veggies that work well are cucumber and carrots. I sneak in celery and spinach too, though those flavors tend to stick out a bit more.
Alternatively, we make a nut butter smoothie, like this apple peanut butter smoothie.
If I make thick smoothies (ie. yogurt heavy, pumpkin heavy, extra oats), he takes his smoothie in reusable baby food pouches (surprisingly, our set has lasted since he started solids!). They are easy for him to hold, and he's usually pretty clean with them.
I hope your toddler loves these breakfast ideas. If you are looking for more breakfast recipes for toddlers, you can poke around here, all my breakfast recipes that are kid friendly.
Toddler breakfast ideas to help you breeze through the morning
What are some of your favorite toddler breakfast ideas? Does your toddler have a healthy breakfast? I'd love to hear some of your healthy toddler breakfast ideas in the comments.
Harshith Kumar says
Very good article and suits for the people who wants to try different breakfasts.