14 family breakfast ideas the whole table can eat

Here are fourteen family breakfast ideas where the whole table eats the same thing: six for weekday mornings, two that start from last night's rice, three for slow weekends and three for a crowd. None of them needs a separate plate cooked for the youngest. The adjustment happens at the table, with toppings.

That is also the AAP's advice. Its tips for parents of picky eaters say to serve one meal for the whole family and to include at least one food your child likes with each meal. Breakfast is the easiest meal of the day to do that with.

Six weekday breakfasts, ready in fifteen minutes

Weekday breakfast has one job: get everyone fed before the door. Each of these is one pan or no pan, and each lets people build their own bowl or plate.

1. Yogurt bowls from one tub. A large tub of plain yogurt, then three small dishes on the table: soft fruit for the youngest, granola and nuts for the adults, and a drizzle of maple syrup for anyone who wants it.
2. Egg and cheese English muffins. Toast the muffins, cook the eggs in a wide pan, add a slice of cheese while the egg finishes. Adults get theirs as a sandwich. The youngest gets hers open, cut into pieces she can pick up.
3. Breakfast quesadillas. Scrambled eggs, grated cheese and a spoon of refried beans folded into a flour tortilla and crisped in a dry pan for two minutes a side. Cut into wedges. Salsa stays on the table for whoever wants it.
4. Savory oats with cheese and an egg. Rolled oats cooked in water or stock instead of milk, with a handful of cheddar stirred in at the end and an egg on top. It is a five minute porridge for the person in the house who does not want a sweet breakfast.
5. A toast bar. One loaf, a toaster running, and four toppings: butter, cream cheese, mashed avocado and hummus. Everyone builds their own. Toast for adults can be seeded; there is a reason to keep a plain loaf for the youngest, covered below.
6. Hummus, eggs and warm pita. Warm the pita in a dry pan, put out a bowl of hummus, a plate of eggs and cucumber cut into sticks. It looks like more effort than it is, and it is one of the few breakfasts a toddler can dip.

Two that start from last night's rice

Cooked rice from dinner is a breakfast that is already half made. Cook a little extra on purpose and both of these take ten minutes.

7. Egg fried rice. Cold rice fries better than fresh, because it has dried out a little and the grains stay separate. Scramble two or three eggs in the pan, add the rice and a handful of frozen peas, and season the adult portions with soy sauce at the table.
8. Quick congee. One cup of cooked rice simmered in about three cups of water or stock for twenty minutes, stirring now and then, until it breaks down into a soft porridge. Adults add soy sauce, sliced scallions and chili crisp. The youngest has hers plain, or with a cooked egg stirred through.

Three for a slow weekend, each in one pan

Weekend breakfast is when there is time for something that comes out of the oven, and when everyone is at the table at the same time.

9. A Dutch baby. Three eggs, three quarters of a cup each of flour and milk, blended and poured into a hot buttered skillet at 425°F. Twenty minutes later it has puffed up over the sides. Cut it in wedges and serve with fruit and a dusting of powdered sugar for the adults.
10. Sheet pan pancakes. One batch of ordinary pancake batter poured into a rimmed baking sheet and baked at 425°F for about fifteen minutes. Every pancake is done at the same moment, nobody stands at the stove flipping, and you cut it into squares. Scatter fruit over half the pan before it goes in, and leave the other half plain.
11. Cheesy grits with eggs. Quick grits cook in about five minutes. Stir in butter and grated cheddar, spoon them into bowls, and top each with an egg. The grits are soft enough for the youngest, and the adults can add hot sauce.

Three for a crowd

When there are grandparents, cousins or a sleepover, the answer is a breakfast that people serve themselves.

12. A breakfast board. One large board with sliced cheese, hard cooked eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, fruit and a basket of bread. It takes twenty minutes to arrange and no cooking beyond the eggs. Put a small plate together for the youngest from the same board.
13. A bagel bar. A bag of bagels, sliced and toasted in batches, with cream cheese, butter, sliced cucumber and tomato, and smoked salmon for the adults. Buy a few plain bagels alongside the seeded ones.
14. Overnight French toast bake. Cubes of day-old bread in a baking dish, with eight eggs whisked into two cups of milk and a little cinnamon poured over the top. It sits covered in the fridge overnight and bakes in the morning while you make coffee. The FDA says dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160°F, so check the center with a thermometer before you serve it.

Cook the eggs all the way through

Most of these use eggs, so it is worth one rule. The FDA's egg safety guidance says to cook eggs until both the yolk and the white are firm, and that scrambled eggs should not be runny. If the adults like a runny yolk, cook theirs separately after the family pan.

The same page matters for the crowd breakfasts. It says never to leave cooked eggs or egg dishes out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours, or for more than 1 hour when temperatures are above 90°F. On a board that stays out all morning, put out a few eggs at a time and keep the rest in the fridge.

Making it work for the youngest at the table

Most of these need nothing more than cooling and cutting into pieces she can manage. A few foods here need a closer look first. The CDC's list of choking hazards for infants and toddlers names several of them:

• Nuts and granola. The CDC lists whole or chopped nuts and seeds, and granola bars. Keep the yogurt toppings in separate dishes so hers come from the fruit dish.
• Seeded bread and bagels. The CDC lists crackers or breads with seeds, nut pieces or whole grain kernels. This is the reason for the plain loaf and the plain bagels.
• Cherry tomatoes, olives, grapes and berries. The CDC lists uncut cherry or grape tomatoes and uncut grapes and berries. Build her plate from the board rather than letting her graze from it.
• Chunks of cheese. The CDC lists large chunks of cheese, especially string cheese.
• Raw vegetables and fruit. The CDC lists pieces of hard raw vegetables or fruit, such as raw carrots or apples. That applies to the vegetable sticks and the fruit on the board.

Check the CDC page for the full list, and ask your pediatrician how to prepare these foods for your child's age.

Common questions

How do I get everyone eating breakfast at the same time?

On weekdays, you often cannot, and that is fine. Pick breakfasts that hold: yogurt bowls, toast and the quesadillas all work if one person eats at 6:45 and another at 7:30. Save the oven breakfasts, the Dutch baby and the sheet pan pancakes, for the mornings when everyone is home and nobody is leaving.

What if my toddler only wants one of these?

Serve it often, and put it next to something new. The AAP's picky eater tips say it can take as many as 10 or more tastes before a toddler accepts a new food, so the same breakfast on repeat is a fine base. For more on that, see what to do when a toddler eats the same thing every day.

Can I make any of these ahead?

The French toast bake is built for it. Congee and grits both reheat with a splash of water or milk. For breakfasts made specifically to freeze and reheat, see 15 make-ahead toddler breakfasts.

Is breakfast for dinner a good idea for families?

Yes, and several of these work at six in the evening as well as at seven in the morning. The quesadillas, the fried rice and the cheesy grits are all dinners if you add a vegetable. There are ten breakfast for dinner ideas built for exactly that.

The one thing to take from this

Cook one breakfast and put the differences in small dishes on the table. The youngest gets the plain version, the adults get the hot sauce and the seeds, and nobody stands at the stove making a second meal.