Could your relationship with breakfast use some TLC? Perhaps your morning meals are forgettable at best, or you skip them entirely in favor of a big cup of coffee as you rush to clock in, get the dog to day care, ferry the kids to school or log on for that Zoom meeting. The following recipes were developed with the breakneck pace of quotidian life in mind: Put them together quickly in the morning or simply prepare them the night before, then grab, go and — most important — enjoy.
As hands-off breakfasts go, it doesn’t get much easier than these oats from Genevieve Ko. As the name suggests, the work is done out of sight and overnight in your fridge, where milk tenderizes the rolled oats while dried fruit subtly sweetens the mixture. Come morning, you can dress them to taste with maple syrup, nuts or a combination of the two.
The tortilla-to-filling ratio of these breakfast burritos from Yewande Komolafe is of the utmost importance. An open-ended rolling technique is employed to ensure that with each cheesy bite, you get some egg and scallion-and-cumin-scented refried beans. While this satisfying breakfast can be easily prepared before work or school, it can also be made ahead: Roll the burritos tightly in foil and freeze, and then they’re ready to be reheated in a toaster oven whenever the need strikes.
Recipe: Breakfast Burritos
Ginger obsessives, assemble: Grated fresh ginger, ground ginger and minced crystallized ginger all make an appearance in these spiced muffins from Lidey Heuck. They’re supremely simple to prepare, clocking in at a little more than 30 minutes, and will stay moist for days after they’re baked, thanks to a bit of molasses.
Recipe: Triple-Ginger Muffins
For those who love the power-breakfast aspect of an omelet but are always on the go, look no further than this incredibly convenient sandwich from Genevieve Ko. Tucked between slices of supple buttered milk bread is a thin and tidy egg-ham “pancake” that won’t ooze out of the sides or create a mess. The whole thing will take you about five minutes to prepare, and even less time to devour.
Melissa Clark adapted these portable, wholesome and satisfying bars from the chefs Michelle Palazzo and Peter Edris of Frenchette Bakery, where the dough is baked into individual saucer-size cookies. In this simplified version, the dough is baked in a 9-inch pan and then cut into 18 chewy bars, which are packed with coconut, dried cherries and a mix of seeds, and happen to be gluten-free.
A perfect plate of bacon and eggs can seem like a weekend luxury, but it can easily fit a weekday schedule thanks to this ingenious technique from Genevieve Ko. Skip the grease splatter and the multiple pans with this sheet-pan version, which guarantees breakfast for a crowd by cooking eggs right alongside crisping bacon. They can be enjoyed as ready-to-go sandwiches, too. Simply toast English muffins on another rack in the oven while the eggs and bacon cook, then assemble.
Recipe: Crispy Oven Bacon and Eggs
What better way to usher in fall than with these nutty, cozy muffins from Genevieve Ko? Filled with whole-wheat flour, bananas and whole-milk yogurt, they are sure to satisfy. Since the muffins are light and tender, be sure to top them with your favorite crunchy bits, like chopped pistachios, pepitas, grated coconut or cacao nibs.
This salty-sweet egg sandwich is a popular Korean street food and a go-to breakfast or lunch for kids. And the recipe from Darun Kwak is a great way to incorporate some veggies early in the day: Scallions, julienne carrots and thinly sliced green cabbage are mixed with egg and cooked, then topped with optional ham and cheese, and sandwiched between slightly sweetened griddled milk bread.
Recipe: Gilgeori Toast (Korean Street Toast With Cabbage and Eggs)
Finally, that emotional support spinach wilting in your crisper has a use: this verdant frittata from Martha Rose Shulman. While the recipe calls for half a cup of finely chopped greens of your choosing, you may prefer to double that to ensure a well-balanced breakfast. Cut the frittata into easy-to-pack wedges that taste just as great warm as they do at room temperature or even chilled.
Recipe: Greens and Garlic Frittata To Go
Bircher muesli, the elder Swiss cousin of overnight oats, traditionally involves soaking oats in fruit juice or milk alongside nuts and grated apple. In this version from Yossy Arefi, the oats are moistened by creamy yogurt and enriched by a couple of tablespoons of tahini. This is a great recipe to prepare on a Sunday evening, as the batch makes four servings and can sit covered in the fridge to continue softening for up to four days.
Recipe: Bircher Muesli
