Q: I've currently moved from grad student to full time office-goer and as a person who loves to cook, I feel my meals are less satisfying than they used to be due to lack of time.
I've managed to find ways to cook dinners and lunches but breakfast is a bit of a problem. I eat oatmeal every day because it's healthy and fast (I make a big pot on Sunday night) and top it with a spoonful of peanut butter.
Do you have any fast, savory breakfasts I can make in the morning (not much of a muffin or sweets person).
Sent by Kat
Editor: Kat, start with these roundups:
• 10 Hot Breakfasts for Cold and Busy Mornings
• 10 Make-Ahead Breakfasts to Start Your Day Off Right
Also, have you tried miso soup and rice? That's a very Japanese-style breakfast, and it can be so nourishing and filling. Both the soup and the rice can be made ahead and warmed up quickly in the morning or even transported in a thermos.
Readers, what else would you suggest?
Related: Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipe Review: Oatmeal Clafoutis (pictured above)
(Image: Faith Durand)

Comments (26)
I make egg sandwiches every morning. Of course, I cheat and use the microwave, but I'm sure there's another way to do it.
I scramble an egg in a 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup and microwave for about 90 seconds. You can add shredded cheese, but I'm lactose intolerant.
Then I put the egg on top of a toasted English muffin. Since I have a toaster oven, when I toast the muffin, I throw in some bacon I've cooked over the weekend and frozen. Put everything together and you have a cheaper, somewhat healthier Egg McMuffin.
I've been making breakfast casseroles on Sunday nights- saute a bunch of veggies (your choice) and meat (if you'd like), put in casserole pan and pour over eggs whisked with herbs and milk (I use almond milk), sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 until edges start to pull away from the sides and the center is firm. I re-heat this and eat it all week. I like it because I can make it differently each week, and it's always delicious!
Savory oatmeal! Top your oats with salsa, cheese, and a sunny side up egg. Sliced avocado, cilantro, and chopped red onion are also good additions.
I know it sounds weird, but it is so so good!
I'd go with breakfast casserole. You can pour it into a muffin pan and then when done, freeze them so you have individual servings.
The breakfast casserole sound so smart and I'm drooling thinking about the savory oatmeal :)
I make something similar to the breakfast casserole, but I pour the batter into a muffin pan instead of a casserole dish. You can wrap and refrigerate/freeze individually, grab one each morning and reheat!
A poached egg on an english muffin with avacado slices is delicious. The egg poaches in the time it takes to toast the muffin and slice the avacado. Bada bing! A little messy though, if you're trying to eat on the run.
i've always thought this leek bread pudding recipe looked tasty and portable for breakfast since the photo shows it a sliced loaf. I think it would be extra good with a runny fried or poached egg on top (though, that would defeat the purpose of "quick", i know!).
http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/leek-bread-pudding/
Like ladybug said, making egg sandwiches are easy and delicious thanks to the ol' microwave. I also like making eggs with greens and toast. I toast some bread, steam some spinach in the microwave (either fresh or frozen) and poach an egg in the microwave once the spinach is done. Butter toast, top with spinach and egg. Easy peasy (and with minimal dishes)!
You could also do make-ahead breakfast burritos -- just make some with your fave fillings over the weekend, wrap in plastic and pop in the freezer. You can then pop it in the oven or microwave for a quick meal on the run.
Lastly, stir-fried rice is awesome in the a.m. Growing up, my mom always made it with egg and a bit of ham and veggies anyway, so it's breakfast-y. The bonus is you can just make a big panful on the weekends, then pop individually wrapped packages in the freezer for eating whenever you like, as opposed to keeping the container in the fridge and eating it for a week straight. Either way, you can warm it up in the microwave and eat at home, or warm it and pop it into a Thermos food jar to eat at work.
I like to make a what I call "Frittata Al Forno" for dinner sometimes. I'll make plenty so I can package the leftovers and reheat a small portion at a time in the microwave for breakfast.
I adapted the recipe from a dish they serve at Brio's Tuscan Grill. The ingredients include: angle hair pasta, cream, eggs, parmesan, fontina, bacon, caramelized onion, spinach and alfredo sauce.
Using the pasta instead of bread makes an interesting variation to the ordinary frattata.
Here are a few make ahead options that I have made from around the web...
Heat and Eat Quiche Breakfast Sandwiches: http://backtoherroots.com/2011/11/21/heat-and-eat-quiche-breakfast-sandwiches/
"Huevos Rancheros" over quinoa. Make a big batch of quinoa on the weekend to reheat in the microwave in portions during the week, and then all you have to do is fry an egg in the morning. Layer quinoa, some shredded cheese, the egg, salsa verde, and avocado (and hot sauce if you're me), and devour: http://www.girlsgonechild.net/2010/07/eat-well-another-quinoa-quickie.html
Mini Crustless Quiches from The Kitchn. A few weeks ago I made 14 dozen of these on a weeknight for a potluck breakfast without much effort. Freeze and reheat in the toaster oven while you're getting ready in the morning: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/breakfast/makeahead-recipe-crustless-miniquiches-125509
Love frittatas, breakfast casseroles, and breakfast burritos and make those often! Also, I am currently obsessed with peanut butter on toast, with or without jam =D All natural peanut butter + sugarless jam + whole wheat toast for delectable savory nuttiness with zero guilt! SO GOOD and takes 3 minutes to make. Another thing I love is making a big batch of egg salad with hummus instead of mayo and spreading it on toasted / untoasted bread for quick breakfast. Yum.
make ahead breakfast burritos
scrambled eggs/garlic/onions/spinach, maybe some black beans, maybe some soyrizo, maybe some roasted potatoes, maybe some cheese. steam or microwave a tortilla for 10 seconds so it's easy to wrap them and then stick em in foil and into the freezer. put it in the fridge before you go to bed at night and then wrap it in a paper towel and microwave for 45 seconds. add copious amounts of tapatio. easiest and most filling breakfast that i've figured out to throw in my bag on the way to work.
Get one of those 'one egg' frying pans- they look so silly but are perfect for a quick, no mess breakfast.
Sometimes I will fry an egg to top a salad of baby spinach. Toast a slice of wheat bread, chop it up into cubes- instant croutons!- dash on a wee bit of balsamic dressing, and you have a very simple but swank bistro style breakfast.
irry, good call. Peanut butter on toast. I like to add sliced bananas or bacon to it. I often buy a package of bacon and cook it up, then package it in zip locks and store in the refrigerator. In the morning, I'll add a few slices to the sandwich and it makes a very tasty breakfast.
I'll also scramble up some eggs (loose) the night before, refrigerate, and warm them up in the microwave then add the prepared bacon and some cheese. Or I'll just make scrambled eggs in the microwave and chow down in less than a minute.
AGREED on breakfast burritos. My fave is to saute up some little cubes of sweet potato, then mix in some black beans. Scramble up a mess of eggs and stick everything together with shredded cheese. If you were feeling really fancy, you could add onions, peppers, mushrooms, chorizo ... (I'm kind of partial to the nice plain ones though, maybe with a little salsa for dipping.)
I make small ones (soft taco-size tortillas) but even if you are into giant real-burrito size breakfasts, five at a time shouldn't be too difficult.
Alternately, I recently found a small bowl at a pottery shop that was billed as being good for making microwave scrambled eggs. It's heavyish, about the same size as two hands cupped together, gently rounded, and works well, though it might be totally unnecessary. (Anyone else know anything about nuking eggs?)
whoops. Apparently microwave eggs have been done, and I shouldn't keep so many tabs open at once that it takes me two hours to finish writing a comment. ;p
Agreed on the breakfast burritos! I make a whole pile of them and freeze them, then reheat in the microwave (2 min @ 50% power, then 1 min at full). Takes next to no time and I can hold it in one hand and eat as I run for the train!
veggie and cheese quiche cups! Saute veggies; while they are cooking, mix 4 eggs (about 3/4 of total eggs) and 3/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese. Let the veggies cool a little, mix with eggs and cheese, and bake for 15-20 at 350 in greased foil cups. They reheat easily and taste great!
Baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, last in the fridge for the work week, rough chop & crack an egg or two over them (takes 2-3 minutes to cook).
Frittata or quiche (both good hot or room temp) - I make my own quiche and freeze individual portions - I started doing this after trying the quiche at Tartine bakery in San Francisco because their squash/kale/sage quiche with creme fraiche tasted so good one morning for breakfast.
I make sweet smoothies but my cousin makes them savory using plain Greek yogurt, V8 and veggies (hey, heated, it's soup!).
I too make oatmeal, in several flavors (pear almond cardamom is my current favorite and it's made with fresh & dried pears and some pear nectar & honey), and then freeze it in single serve portions - I can take it with me to work or eat at home before I go - I just shift a portion from freezer to refrigerator the night before and if I want to really feel like I'm dining rich (or foolish) I broil a sugar crust on top (like the sugar crust on creme brûlée).
And my favorite quick-to-go breakfast is an almond butter sandwich with dried apricots or sliced pear or sliced apple but a friend mixes hot pepper jelly into his peanut butter and adds sliced bananas (I don't get it but he loves it!).
I don't like sweet food in the morning either. So my go to breakfast is some variation of either a cheese sandwich (may be grilled, may be broiled open faced, vary cheese and bread and condiments to keep from falling in a rut) or an egg and cheese sandwich. I've been eating this since I was a kid--it goes down easy, has protein to keep me going through the morning, and is fast and easy.
I thought I was so healthy eating oatmeal every day instead of the boxed (albeit whole grain) cereals my husband eats. Turns out I wasn't getting near enough iron, which those boxed cereals are often fortified with.
cook quinoa in a rice cooker over the weekend (i cup of it is enough for the whole week).. mix it up with whatever you would like in the mornings.. with almond milk, fruit, nuts, flaxseed, coconut shavings, etc! it's very versatile and will keep you full!
I always have a big bag of crepes in the freezer. I make big crepes and then fill them with cheese and ham, mushrooms and marinara sauce, veggies, fruit and cream cheese...literally anything. On the morning I take one out directly fromt he freezer to the microwave..it takes two minutes and I have breakfast. You can eat them on comute to work, its not messy at all and really filling. Sometimes I switch to whole wheat flour and they taste just as good. Seriosuly best idea I've ever had.
i love this recipe for eggs w/toast soldiers: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/breakfast/recipe-shirred-eggs-with-soldiers-six-ingredients-and-salt-143336
it's fast, tasty, and looks pretty! :)
I make the omelet muffins, too....like a casserole, but in individual muffin tins so I can toss them in the freezer and nuke them quickly if I'm in a hurry.
http://www.quirkycookery.com/2009/08/breakfast-egg-muffins-recipe.html
The burritos are a good idea, too. If you have room in the freezer, just make up a big batch and you'll have some to eat for a whole month (assuming you'd probably get sick of them quickly if you ate them every day, so it's easy to pull them out when you feel like it instead of having to think every morning).