31 Make-Ahead Breakfasts for Busy Mornings
These make-ahead breakfast ideas are way more effective at getting you out of bed than an alarm clock. Once you’ve emerged from whatever dream you were having (maybe about fluffy cinnamon rolls? Or the perfect waffles?) and realize you’re awake, you’ll rub your eyes and reach for your phone—but then you remember there’s a frittata in the fridge. There will be no doomscrolling and re-snoozing this morning; your feet are already on the ground, and you’re ready to enjoy the cheesy, eggy, garlicky fruits of yesterday’s labor. From sweet to savory, here are our favorite make-ahead breakfast ideas so you can eat well first thing in the morning—without having to do much other than getting yourself vertical.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca2/31Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches
We’ve engineered these sandwiches so you can assemble them—English muffins, cheddar or American cheese, frizzled onions; everything but the spicy chile mayo—then freeze them for up to three months. You’ll bake the quiche-like eggs in a sheet pan before cutting them into squares for maximum ease (scrambled eggs and omelet-like preparations are best consumed straightaway if you ask us).
Photograph by Travis Rainey, food styling by Drew Aichele, prop styling by Christina Allen3/31Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
This breakfast casserole can be baked one month before you plan to eat it. To store, cut it into pieces, wrap each one individually, and freeze. When it’s time to eat, unwrap and reheat them on a sheet pan in a 350° oven for about 15 minutes.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones and Thu Buser, prop styling by Sean Dooley4/31Baked Mushroom-Rice Porridge
If you thought you needed a rice cooker to make congee, think again. This method, which can be executed a day in advance, works in a baking dish.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Gözde Eker5/31Yeasted Waffles
The recipe doesn’t say you can make these ahead—but you can. In fact, you can make them at least six months ahead. Cool the waffles completely on a wire rack so air can circulate, arrange them on a baking sheet and freeze them flat, then stack them in a resealable plastic bag, separating each waffle with parchment paper. They’ll keep in the freezer this way for a few months. Leggo, who?
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich6/31Power Butter
For extra-busy mornings that still require time for fueling up, keep this on hand and spread it on rice cakes, toast, or a banana. All you do is sizzle pumpkin, sesame, and chia seeds in some coconut oil; then mix them into store-bought almond butter along with some maple syrup, salt, and chile pepper.
Alex Lau7/31Salad for Breakfast
If you’re a savory breakfast (or brunch) person and want to get your veggies in first thing, this one’s for you. The jammy eggs can be boiled and the vegetables can be pickled four days ahead, and the feta can be marinated one week ahead; when the day comes, you’re just assembling.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova8/31Breakfast Burrito to Go
The layer of fluffy egg inside will change your burrito expectations forever. This make-ahead breakfast idea is perfect for your commute or a road trip. Don’t forget to pack your hot sauce.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Drew Aichele, Prop Styling by Christina Allen9/31Old-Fashioned Blueberry Coffee Cake
This classic—the whole family loves it—works with both fresh and frozen blueberries. If you prefer your coffee cake with chocolate chips, there’s a make-ahead breakfast recipe for that.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susan Ottaviano, prop styling by Sophie Strangio10/31Blistered Asparagus Frittata
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Christina Allen, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht11/31Sour-Cream-and-Onion Tortilla Española
Go for the classic Spanish tortilla if you wish, but this version swaps in potato chips (store-bought! made ahead!) for raw potatoes. You may lose some crisp factor once you chill it, but if the Spanish eat their national dish warm, room temperature, or straight from the fridge, so can we.
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li12/31Eggs in Purgatory
You could premake this cherry tomato sauce a few days in advance—or you could pull out any jarred Italian tomato sauce from the cupboard (or your freezer). It only takes a few minutes to reheat and plop in the eggs, which will cook while you finish getting ready. Ditto shakshuka.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Pearl Jones13/31Fully Loaded Everything Bagel Quiche
You can bake this quiche (minus the fresh toppings) a day ahead and chill it. To serve, you’ll then just bring it to room temperature and garnish. Or you could bake it and freeze it (after cooling) whole or in slices for divvying over about three months. Either way, wrap it well in plastic; thaw a whole quiche in the fridge overnight or pop slices in a toaster oven set to 300° for 10–15 minutes or until a knife pokes through without resistance.
Alex Lau14/31Overnight Oats
We tend to turn to overnight oats when we want a nourishing but healthy breakfast—that, yes, we can make ahead. As for the toppings, if you want them, there are so many options: Try Soft-Cooked Egg and Miso-Braised Kale; Cashews, Seeds, and Turmeric; Banana, Maple Syrup, and Tahini; or Coconut, Dates, Almonds, and Honey.
Photographs by Jenny Huang, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Sophie Strangio18/31Granola Scones
These scones are rich in fiber, omega-3s, antioxidants, and protein, with a sweet kick from dried fruit and a sprinkle of raw sugar. (In other words, they’re healthyish.)
Matt Duckor21/31Brown Butter–Pecan Granola
Make a big batch of granola (any granola) because it’s great on Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, yes. But did you know that if you blitz it into a finer sprinkle, it makes a nice topping for fruit and ice cream—or that you can dip chocolate-banana ice pops into it?
Photographs by Jenny Huang, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Sophie Strangio22/31Blueberry Spelt Muffins
These muffins can be baked two days ahead, but boy do we have other blueberry muffins for ya. There’s our Blueberry Muffin Cake, our Best Blueberry Muffins, and these Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins With Oat Crumble—which, it’s worth mentioning, you can play around with. Use the batter as a base and swap in other fruits and spices (say cranberries and finely grated orange zest and ginger) for the blueberries, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Alex Lau23/31BA’s Best English Muffins
Once you’ve made these English muffins, you can take them in whatever direction suits you throughout the week: Go savory with melted cheddar cheese, sweet with peanut butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, or Jewish deli with a schmear of cream cheese and some lox.
Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Styling by Sue Li24/31Barley Porridge With Honeyed Plums
If you cook off the barley and make the honeyed plums ahead, all you have to do in the morning is combine them with almond milk and cardamom in a saucepan to warm the mixture. Boom: You’ve got a cozy breakfast porridge.
Photograph by Victoria Jane, Food Styling by Mallory Lance, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon25/31BA’s Best Banana Bread
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards26/31BA’s Best Breakfast Sausage
These breakfast sausage patties are perfect for freezing (and offer a little extra insurance toward future hangovers). Keep a stockpile on ice, and you’ll never be far from a breakfast sandwich.
Danny Kim27/31Chia Pudding With Dried Apricots and Pineapple
Get this in the fridge the night before for the best texture. PS: We’ll take this warm chia seed pudding over a smoothie on any winter day.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens31/31Greens Eggs and Ham
The peskiest part of this make-ahead breakfast idea is blanching the greens. (Heads up: This isn’t exactly an easy breakfast for a weekday.) Good thing you can get that part out of the way in advance.
