The first morning that my oldest son made himself a piece of toast and put jelly on it, my reaction to this seemingly small milestone was over-the-top excitement. His ability to make breakfast himself meant there was one less thing for me to do each day. These easy breakfast ideas for kids to make can give you back some precious time on busy mornings. Let them do the work, learn some independence, and give yourself some time to actually run a brush through your hair. (Or just perfect your messy bun and sleep in an extra 10 minutes.)
Before my own child decided to take over breakfast-making on his own, I had never really thought to delegate this task to my kids. My morning routine was pretty much set in stone after a solid seven years of parenting — get myself up, wake the kids up, and then quickly fix food for them to eat before they turned into hangry monsters. I quickly realized that most of the simple breakfast foods I was making could now also be assembled by my son and he was actually really happy to help. Earning the responsibility of getting breakfast ready for himself and his younger brother was a big deal to him.
Whether they just pour a bowl of cereal, toast a waffle, or grab a hard-boiled egg and some fruit from the fridge, your kids can absolutely make these easy breakfasts for themselves. Some of these ideas may take a bit of prep work on your end the day before, but the extra time in the morning and your child’s feeling of accomplishment are totally worth it.
Cereal
The GOAT of easy breakfast foods, a bowl of cereal is one of the simplest things for kids to make in the mornings. All they need is easy access to a bowl and spoon, cereal, and milk. Sure, they may slosh some milk onto the counter at first, but they’ll eventually get the hang of it with some practice. Try putting the milk down on a lower shelf in the fridge, or buying a smaller container of milk just for them to use if you’re worried about spills.
Smoothies
Using a blender isn’t all that different from using a microwave or a toaster. If your kids can put ingredients in, press a few buttons, and pour from the blender into a cup, they can make themselves a breakfast smoothie. You can chop up the fruit ahead of time or even pre-measure ingredients for them and stick everything in the fridge in a blender cup so that it’s ready to go for them to make in the morning. This mixed berry pineapple smoothie recipe from A Classic Twist is a great one to prep ahead of time for your kids.
Overnight Oats
If you have time to dump a few healthy ingredients into a jar and stick it in the fridge on a weekday evening (or, better yet, have your kids do it) you can have overnight oats ready to go for breakfast. It’s so simple for kids to just grab a spoon and dig in. This recipe for blueberry pancake overnight oats from Cookie Named Desire is easy for you or your kids to make ahead of time.
Muffins
The ability to just grab a muffin out of the pantry is something that even the youngest kids can do easily on their own. You can make these healthy granola blueberry muffins from A Cozy Kitchen together on the weekend and have a few days worth of grab-and-go breakfasts for your kids to feed themselves. They can pair their muffin with a glass of milk and some fresh fruit to make it a meal.
Toast
As I mentioned, my son’s first foray into breakfast-making was toast with jelly. We’ve expanded his topping options since then and now he has a variety of nut butters, dried fruit, and jams within his reach to use. We’re currently working on his ability to cut and mash avocado with help. Can you imagine your child making their own avocado toast? It’s totally possible.
Frozen Breakfast Sandwiches
This recipe for easy biscuit breakfast sandwiches from Brown Sugar Food Blog can be wrapped in parchment paper, frozen, and re-heated in the microwave or a toaster oven by your kids for breakfast in the morning. Fill them with whatever your kids like — bacon, mushrooms, sausage, kale, bell peppers — anything goes.
Egg Bites
You can make a big batch of egg bites filled with anything and everything your kids love to eat in the mornings using this recipe for loaded breakfast egg muffins from All The Healthy Things. Then, your child can simply grab one out of the fridge or freezer and heat it in the microwave or a toaster oven themselves each morning for a protein-packed breakfast.
Cottage Cheese Bowls
Cottage cheese is easy to pair with fruit, nuts, seeds, and even honey for an easy breakfast that kids can assemble themselves. All they need is a bowl, a spoon, Daisy cottage cheese, and whatever toppings they like.
Hard-Boiled Eggs
I love to keep a stash of hard-boiled eggs (pre-peeled) in the fridge to grab on busy mornings. It’s an easy, protein-packed breakfast that kids can serve themselves. They can pair a hard-boiled egg with toast, some fruit, juice, or cereal to round out their meal.
PB&J
The day my oldest child learned to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was a major moment for me as a mom. It opened up this whole new world where I could just say “go make yourself a sandwich” when I was too busy to make lunch. The best part? A PB&J is perfectly acceptable breakfast food. (You can also use any type of nut butter and it’s still just as easy and delicious.)
Frozen Toaster Waffles
Just like toasting a piece of bread, sticking a frozen waffle into the toaster is an easy task that kids can do for themselves in the morning. The first few times my kids did this for themselves, I had to remind them not too use too much syrup, but they eventually figured out how to pour on the appropriate amount. Cut up some fruit the night before if you want them to have extra toppings. (And kids can totally handle a can of whipped cream if you’re OK with that.)
Breakfast Bars
Another easy grab-and-go breakfast option that kids can serve themselves is a breakfast bar. Made with oats, flax seeds, strawberries, and coconut oil, this recipe for strawberry oat bars from Healthier Steps is a gluten-free and vegan breakfast bar option that kids will love. Make them together ahead of time and let your kids enjoy on their own for breakfast.
Frozen Breakfast Burritos
Similar to a frozen breakfast sandwich, your kids can also easily re-heat a frozen breakfast burrito by themselves in the microwave or toaster oven. This recipe for freezer breakfast burritos from Damn Delicious includes eggs, tater tots, refried beans, and breakfast sausage all wrapped in a flour tortilla, but you can customize the ingredients to include whatever your kids like to eat in the mornings. Have them help you make a big batch on Sunday afternoon.
Yogurt Parfaits
Your school-aged kids are 100% capable of piling a few scoops of yogurt, their favorite berries, and some granola into a bowl to make their own yogurt parfaits. For younger kids, you can assemble a recipe like these graham cracker triple berry yogurt parfaits from Jessica In The Kitchen ahead of time. If they can open the fridge and grab a spoon, they can serve themselves this healthy breakfast.
Toaster Pastries
Yes, you could grab a box of toaster pastries at the store, but there are also plenty of homemade versions that you can make ahead of time that are easy for your kids to reheat in the mornings. This recipe for homemade pop tarts from Princess Pinky Girl is a great one to try.
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