Toddler Breakfast Ideas

Last Updated on February 11, 2026 by Jordyn Koveleski Gorman

The parfait

Top a bowl of full fat plain greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey (not for infants under the age of one). For extra benefit, you can throw on an optional sprinkle of seeds like chia/hemp/ground flax.

Note that letting your little one sprinkle the seeds on top will make them more likely to accept them!

The cold combo

A little sampler plate for breakfast? Add a hard boiled egg, a cheese stick or cheese cubes, and apple slices with peanut butter to a plate and serve.

Warm cinnamon apples

Dice apples (remove skin for young toddlers before dicing), drizzle with butter and a small amount of cinnamon. Microwave for 30-60 seconds. Drizzle with nut butter of choice.

Banana sandies

An absolute lifesaver in our home. Slice up bananas in large strips or bite sized pieces and top with nut butter, or serve it on the side to dip.

These type of recipes are our specialty! For more breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus that take 5–15 minutes from start to finish, check out our Family Meals Recipe e-book!

Make ahead breakfasts for toddlers

Picture this: your toddler has woken up at the crack of dawn, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and their hungry monster is growling before you can even wipe the crust from your eyes.

You need to get something in their tummy fast to buy you a few moments. Without it, your morning coffee is doomed. Enter the hero of the morning, the sunrise nibble.

This is a small snack that makes your little one’s hungry monster quiet down while you prepare breakfast. It’s been known to turn mornings from stressful to peaceful!

Below are a few tried and true sunrise nibble ideas that can be prepped for the week ahead of time and be kept ready to go in the fridge.

Homemade gelatin gummies

Ingredients:

• 2  cups of 100% juice (tart cherry juice is our fave)
• 2 Tbsp gelatin powder (Great Lakes and Perfect Supplements are good brands)
• ⅛ cup – ¼ cup pure maple syrup or honey (amount based on your preference for sweetness)
• Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. Pour juice into a saucepan and sprinkle gelatin powder over the juice. Let it sit for around 10 minutes to let the gelatin bloom (this helps the gelatin powder dissolve).
2. Turn on low heat and warm the juice mixture, using a whisk to dissolve all the gelatin powder.
3. Add a pinch of salt and maple syrup or honey. Once everything is smooth and dissolved, pour the mixture into a square glass dish or into silicone ice cube trays/molds and place in the fridge to set. Cut the gummies into squares and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

This recipe can be scaled up or down using the ratio of 1 cup juice to 1 Tbsp gelatin. You can increase or decrease the gelatin amount to make a softer/mushier gummy or a more chewy gummy.

Nourishing chocolate milk

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 scoop collagen (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed and frothy.

Scale this recipe up or down depending how much chocolate milk you want to have on hand for the week. Cocoa powder and maple syrup amounts can also be adjusted based on preference. This one is straight from our 15-Minute Family Meals book, which also has a yummy Strawberry Milk recipe!

Cottage cheese egg muffins

Ingredients:

• 10 eggs
• 1 cup full fat cottage cheese
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Combine the eggs, cottage cheese, and salt in a blender. Wipe a 12 cup muffin tin with butter or spray with oil.
2. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly between 12 muffin tin cups, then pour the egg mixture into each cup, until about ¾ full.
3. Bake at 325F for ~25 minutes. The center of the muffin should be set. Wait a few minutes for the egg muffins to cool before removing them.

This recipe was adapted from Natasha’s Kitchen. You can easily turn this into a full meal by pairing with fresh fruit and avocado slices! These reheat well for 3-5 days.

High fiber breakfasts for toddlers

While many people think fiber alone helps littles have healthy bowel movements, it’s actually fiber and liquid! To keep things moving, pair fibrous foods with lots of liquid.

Oat bran combo

This is a simple meal combining oat bran and an egg. Pair with sausage and berries for a balanced meal!

Cook the oat bran according to package directions, but use whole milk for half of the liquid total (and water for the rest). When the oat bran is almost done cooking, stir in a whisked egg. Use one egg per serving.

Oat bran and oatmeal are also a good source of iron.

Layered avocado toast

Top whole wheat toast with smashed avocado, a fried or scrambled egg, and pear slices. This is a great combination of fat, protein and carbs that’s also high in fiber!

High protein & iron-rich meals for toddlers

Protein is an important macronutrient for toddlers, but how much protein babies and toddlers need varies. Providing high protein and high iron foods throughout the day is recommended to help support your little one’s nutritional needs.

Below are two of our favorites to keep in rotation during breakfast!

Breakfast tacos

Ingredients:

• Corn or flour tortilla
• Scrambled eggs
• Shredded cheese
• Bacon or sausage bits
• Avocado and tomato chunks

Directions:

1. Assemble all ingredients inside a tortilla of your choosing.

Healthy diner combo

Offer beef or chicken sausage (uncured is preferred) with kiwi chunks or other fruit and whole grain toast topped with peanut butter. This is a great combination of all three macronutrients and is very filling for littles!

Breakfast ideas for picky eaters

Feeding picky toddlers is so hard. It often makes parents worry about whether their little one is getting all the nutrients they need.

It may be tempting to serve the same accepted food(s) on repeat, and that is understandable! Mixing the routine up with something like a smoothie is a great way to get your little one involved in preparation, which makes them more willing to try new things.

You can get them involved by talking with them about making different colored smoothies using different fruits. Another option is to make a smoothie and freeze it into popsicle molds. Popsicles for breakfast are wild to little ones, and so much fun!

We have 15 recipes in our Smoothie Recipe Guide that you can download for free!

Purple People Eater Smoothie

Toss the ingredients in a blender and watch the mixture form and change colors! Little ones can help prep ingredients and even press the button on the blender.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup spinach
• ½ cup whole milk plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup water

Optional add-ins to boost nutrition:

• Unflavored collagen powder
• Chia seeds, hemp seeds, or flax seeds
• ¼-½ an avocado

Need more toddler meal ideas?

We’ve got you covered. 

For extra help at lunch, dinner, or even during snacktime, check out our blog posts for more meal ideas from our registered dietitian!

And, if you’re looking for fast food—you know, the kind that’s on your plate in less time than it takes to watch an episode of your toddler’s favorite cartoon—we’ve got your back! Our latest resource is for you, with 50 toddler-approved family meals that can be made in 15 minutes or less!