Breakfast is the first meal of the day, and it’s often considered the most important. Having several nut free breakfast ideas at the ready can be half the battle in ensuring you consistently eat a healthy breakfast. Given it's the meal you have after a small fast of sleeping — which, by the way, is exactly where the word gets its name from: break-fast. You’re breaking the fast with breakfast. Your body sustains itself from the nutrient kick you eat at the start of your day as you make your way through your daily routine.
They say, “some eat to live, and others live to eat,” I resonate with the last one. 😉 Ha! I’m the type of person who looks at the clock and counts down how many hours are left until I get to eat my next meal.
When it comes to breakfast, it’s a morning meal at the start of your day so there’s less prep time. Depending on what day of the week it is, or depending on what my schedule looks like, my situation might only allow me enough time to grab-and-go.
But that lazy kind of Sunday brunch, well that’s my favorite kind of breakfast. Pancakes, waffles, muffins…When it comes to my day to day weekday breakfast, it requires a little more planning, sprinkled with convenience. Whatever is easy and quick right? Sometimes I’ll even make breakfast the night before.
Here are 17 nut-free breakfast ideas from my home to yours:
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1. Lemon Pepper Omelette
This recipe is surprisingly quick. It shouldn’t take you more than ten minutes. And it’s so easy I actually learned the recipe from an eight year old. She taught me while I was babysitting!
You oil a pan with olive oil, mix 2-3 eggs in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of water, season with salt, season with lemon pepper (my favorite Lemon Pepper is from Trader Joe's by the way), pour the egg mix into your frying pan, and fold the eggs in half after the edges begin to form solid (around 2-3 min). Add cheese or any other filling of choice (such as chives, onion, avocado, or tomato) to the center of the pan, in the middle of the eggs. Fold the eggs in half. Flip to brown if necessary. And boom. You have yourself an omelette.
Ingredients Checklist
- 2-3 eggs
- Lemon Pepper
- Salt
- Olive Oil
- Water
- Cheese (or whatever toppings of your choosing! Ex: chives, onion, goat cheese, american cheese, swiss cheese, avocado, tomato, green onions, bell peppers)
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2. Overnight Oats
Oh, I’m a super fan of overnight oats. They’re easy to make, you can make them in bulk, they’re budget friendly, and the best part is you get to stay healthy while saving time in the morning.
Pro Tip #1: Save your glass jars from a jar of coconut oil, or your favorite jam preserve. Use those jars to fill with your overnight oats. Don’t forget to keep the lids so you can screw those on to create a grab and go cup for you to take in the morning. My favorite brand of jam is Bonne Maman (amazon link). They have so many options to choose from in terms of flavors. Namely — blueberry, cherry, strawberry, fig, raspberry, and way more if you’d like to look around their website. I’ll admit that Bonne Maman is on the pricier side for a jam preserve, but it’s all natural, and you can re-use the jars they come in for all sorts of things, not just oats. I even use these jars to store my paint supplies! The only thing better than mason jars are free mason jars.
Pro Tip #2: Buy your Greek or plant based yogurt in bulk. (Or, omit the yogurt all together and add more milk)
Once you get comfortable with creating an overnight oat base of your choosing (i.e. “milk + yogurt + oats” or just “milk + oats”), you can mix and match your own topping options to create a new recipe that’s all your own. Here’s a nut-free chocolate banana recipe to start with:
Ingredients Checklist
- ½ Cup Rolled Oats
- 1 Tbsp Ground Flax
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
- Sprinkle of Salt
- ½ Cup Milk
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup
- Chocolate Chips
- Banana
- Pinch of Hemp Seeds (Optional)
You can add the oats and milk together to store the oat base overnight, and then add the rest of your ingredients in the morning, or, you can add all the ingredients in at night and just grab and go in the morning. I prefer to make it all the night before. If I’m blocking out time in my evening to prepare food, I prefer to get as much done as possible. That way I can add as much time back to my mornings as possible. Up to you though! Some people like to be spontaneous.
Basic Overnight Oat Recipe
- ½ Cup Rolled Oats
- Salt
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt (Optional, if you’re vegan, substitute in a plant based yogurt or omit the yogurt altogether and add more milk until all your oats are covered)
- ½ Milk or Alternative Milk of your choosing (Coconut (Favorite for Overnight Oats), Flax, Soy, Oat, just to name a few ideas! If you’d like to learn more about our tips for nut free vegans, check out our 5 Tips for Being a Nut Free Vegan article.)
Ideas for Toppings
- Maple syrup
- Agave
- Brown sugar
- Honey
- Cacao powder
- Banana
- Pineapple
- Kiwi
- Raspberry
- Mango
- Blackberries
- Apple slices
- Chia seeds
- Blueberries
- Coconut
- Ground flax
- Strawberries
- Strawberry jam
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Sunflower seeds
- Soybean butter
3. Steel Cut Oatmeal
Steel cut oats take longer to make than your rolled oats, but they’re a great nut free breakfast option for anyone who owns a pressure cooker as you can throw them in and go about the rest of your morning. Combine ½ cup of oats, 2 cups of water, 1 diced apple, 3 tbsp of brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, a pinch of cinnamon, and maple syrup to your preference to create a hot pot of oats. It should take 20-30 minutes to cook.
4. Malt-O-Meal
Malt-O-Meal is a hot wheat cereal. There are other brands of hot wheat cereal you can look into but I’m partial to Malt-O-Meal because it’s what my mother made for me. She would serve it hot and then add cold milk on top to cool it down. I’d eat it around the edges because the edges would always cool down before the center. She’d sprinkle brown sugar on top before serving it to me. And, to this day, it’s still one of my favorite comfort foods.
5. Stuffed Bananas
Basically, it’s just what it sounds like! You peel a banana, cut it in half lengthwise, and add a stuffing of your choosing. It creates a banana sandwich so to speak. I like to stuff mine with soynut butter and goji berries. You could also add in chocolate chips, or substitute a protein spread with jam. If you go the double fruit route, pair with a carb like toast or a protein like a scrambled egg.
6. Toast
Just your regular old toast! Add beans on top to make beans on toast. If you’ve never tried it, beans on toast is actually pretty good! If interested, I recommend starting with a can of baked beans and continuing the experiment from there! If beans on toast just doesn’t sound like your thing at all, you could opt for an alternative to the classic peanut butter on toast and go for a soybean butter or sunbutter on toast, which are nut free protein spreads. There’s also the option of topping your toast with jam, scrambled eggs, or both.
7. Snack Bars
We’ve reviewed a lot of snack bars on this site, many of which would make great options for a breakfast snack. If I had to pick just one, I’d recommend the 88 Acres brand for nut free adults, and This Bar Saves Lives kids bars for the younger in our community.
8. Fruit & Yogurt Smoothies
Fruit and yogurt smoothies are refreshing, delicious, and completely nut free. If you want to create a smoothie for your sweet tooth, you can get away with just mixing a bunch of frozen fruit together. Add milk or water.
But, if you’re looking to create a well balanced breakfast, it’s a good idea to balance out every sugar with a protein. For example, add a tablespoon of sunbutter for every fruit. Or instead, add a scoop of protein powder. Consider following a recipe base similar to the overnight oats but this time with a smoothie. I.E. fruit of choice + protein + a healthy fat + vegetables + milk (or alternative milk.) Following this formula, here are ingredients to make a mixed berry smoothie.
Ingredients Checklist
- ½ Cup Frozen Mixed Fruit
- ½ Cup Milk of Choice
- ¼ Cup Spinach
- 1 Tbsp Ground Flax
- 1 Tbsp Protein Powder
9. Acai Bowl
Ahh, acai. Acai bowls are great. They’re a welcomed cousin to frozen yogurt, or ice cream. Acai is full of antioxidants and fiber. Acai is even considered by many to be a superfood. You can add acai into your smoothie or you make an entire complete meal with acai by creating an acai bowl. You can order acai bowls at most smoothie shops. But, if you’re interested in making your own, Trader Joe's sells Acai Puree Packets and makes the process easy. Trader Joe's even have their own easy to follow recipe. Take a look at the Acai Smoothie Bowl recipe on the Trader Joe's site.
10. Waffle Sandwich
If you have an open morning, try making yourself a classic waffle with malt syrup and stop there. Because, well, waffles are incredible.
But if you’re looking for an additional to-go nut free breakfast option, (and who isn’t?) consider toasting two frozen waffles, and turning them into a waffle sandwich. Similarly to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you can fill the space between the waffles with soybean butter or sunflower butter along with your favorite jam preserve.
Variation: Waffle Sandwich with Sunflower Butter and Honey
11. Avocado Toast
Ah, avocado toast. Now there’s a lot of different variations of this recipe, and whatever you’re drawn into you should try. The bottom baseline is that you’re gonna need a slice of bread and some glorious avocados.
I typically smash ¼ -½ of an avocado, add lox or a scrambled egg on top, add cheese, season with salt, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, and then toast it in a toaster oven. But, you could also toast your bread first, and then eat your toppings raw. Up to you!
Ingredients Checklist
- Slice of Toast
- 1 Avocado (¼-½ to be used in recipe)
- 2 Eggs (or Lox)
- Cheese of choice
- Pink Himalayan Salt
- Toasted Sesame Seeds
12. Avocado Egg
So in this recipe, you take an avocado and slice it in half. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Pit each half of the avocado so that there’s a hole on each half. Crack two eggs into a bowl, making sure not to break the yolk. Spoon one in-tact yolk into each half, also spooning the egg white surrounding it. Season with salt, pepper, chives, and parsley. Bake for 15 minutes.
Ingredients Checklist
- 1 Avocado
- 2 Eggs
- Salt
- Pepper
- Chives
- Parsley
13. Bagels & Lox
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating bagels & lox at the right bagel shop, I don’t need to say another word because you understand the obsession. Salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, and it’s actually really easy to make! You can buy lox directly from the deli aisle of your local grocery store. Be on the lookout, because it’s usually set up next to the cream cheese, and you can save time by knowing what to expect. I gotchu.
To make bagels & lox, you slice a bagel in half, toast it, and then spread it with cream cheese. I favor everything bagels, or poppy seed bagels, but your choice! Once you spread cream cheese on your bagel, sprinkle with capers. Place salmon on top, and then sprinkle it with red onion, black pepper, and any additional capers you’d like to add in. Take a wedge of lemon and drizzle lemon juice on top, or, serve with a lemon wedge garnish.
Also, I just have to get this in, I recommend having potato salad as a side dish to this course. 10/10
Options to Consider: Add tomatoes, dill, chives, cucumbers, or avocado
Ingredients Checklist
- Bagel (I prefer everything bagels or sesame poppy seed)
- 1-2 slices of Lox
- Cream Cheese
- 2 tbsp Capers
- Lemon
- 1/4 C Red Onion
- Black Pepper
14. Yogurt
Quick and easy. There are a few different types of yogurt for you to consider, for example: whipped, whole milk, non-milk. And, they come in an endless amount of flavors. It’s definitely a matter of personal preference.
I really like Brown Cow yogurt, coconut yogurt, whipped yogurt, and Greek yogurt. Brown Cow is yogurt made from whole milk. It’s really good. It comes in a lot of ready to eat flavors like Strawberry, Peach, and Maple.
For coconut yogurt, my favorite is from the brand So Delicious. It’s dairy free and it’s right, it is so delicious. Haha!
For whipped yogurt, I like Yoplait Whips!, especially in the flavor of strawberry mist. This yogurt tastes like a mouse and it sits on the sweet side.
Finally, Greek yogurt is great because it’s high in protein. For Greek yogurt, I like the brand Chobani. But if you belong to Costco, you can buy a 3lb tub of plain Greek yogurt and then add in your honey, jam, chocolate chips, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, banana, fruits, and maple syrup to taste.
15. Strawberry & Honey Buckwheat Pancakes
If you’ve never heard of buckwheat pancakes, you’re in for a treat. Buckwheat tastes like wheat but it’s actually not made from wheat at all. It’s made from fruit!
Buckwheat has recently gained popularity in the gluten free community as it makes for great gluten free baking, especially with pancakes. You can make your own nut free buckwheat pancakes from scratch — like with this recipe from a blogger named Kathryne Taylor. And if you’re at all concerned with cross contamination, I do suggest making your pancakes from scratch. If you’re okay with products that are nut free but not necessarily made in a dedicated nut facility, then I like Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix (amazon link). If you want to skip the buckwheat altogether, and go for a more traditional type of pancake mix, you can use the Namaste Foods Gluten Free Waffle & Pancake Mix (amazon link). The Namaste pancake mix is labeled as allergen-free. So it’s free from soy, dairy, corn, wheat, and nuts. It’s also free from sugar, is certified organic, and is Non-GMO Project Verified.
To turn your basic pancake into a strawberry and honey masterpiece, slice your strawberries and place them into a bowl. Drizzle in maple syrup and honey. Mix together and place those strawberries on a lined baking sheet to be roasted for 30 minutes. Add the roasted strawberries as a topping to your cooked pancakes after drizzling the pancakes with more honey and maple syrup.
16. Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
I love lemon poppy-seed muffins. But, for some reason a lot of muffin mix brands include almonds, almond flour, almond meal, or almond extract. BOO! Here’s a good recipe from Martha Stewart that contains none of the above. Prep time is 30 minutes and it makes about 12 muffins.
Ingredients Checklist
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling (optional)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest plus 1/4 cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling (optional)
17. Cereal
When all else fails, cereal will be there. 😉 It’s cheap, quick, you can snack on it dry, or, you can eat it with a bowl of milk. It’s not necessarily the most exciting option, but hey, it’s a great one for when you’re pressed for time. Always read your labels as the recipes for big brands can change over time. But right now here are five nut free options for cereal.
Nut Free Cereal Options
- Freedom Foods TropicO’s – Similar to fruit loops and are free from the top eight allergens.
- Puffin Cinnamon
- Cheerios – REGULAR FLAVOR ONLY.
- Rice Krispies
- Annie's Organic, Gluten Free, Cinnabunnies Cinnamon Cereal
Summary for These Nut Free Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast is an important part of your day. Eating a healthy breakfast breaks your sleeping fast, jumpstarts your metabolism, and provides you with your first shot of nutrients so you have enough energy to go about your day. And furthermore, think of all the incredible food to eat! Hope you found something new to try.
Let us know: What’s your go-to breakfast? Do you have any grab-and go ideas to share? Find us on Instagram at @GoNutFree.
