15 Delicious Ways To Eat More Veggies For Breakfast

There are lots of different dietary principles out there, but one thing that just about every expert can agree on is that you should eat your vegetables—and lots of them.

Yet, although current USDA recommendations advise eating between 1 and 3 cups of vegetables each day, only 9%, or about one in 101 American adults get enough, according to the CDC.

If you reserve vegetables for lunch or dinner, it can be difficult to get your daily servings in. But eating vegetables for breakfast can start you off on the right track and put you on pace to meet your vegetable (and vitamin and mineral) needs.

Eating vegetables during your morning meal also makes it more likely that you'll make healthier choices2 throughout the rest of your day, according to findings from survey data published in Nutrients. (Never skip breakfast, folks!)

If you haven't tried savory oatmeal yet, you're missing out. This version is a veggie trifecta with spinach, mushrooms, and onions on top of oats simmered in vegetable broth.

If you're feeling really ambitious, use a homemade vegetable broth for an extra dose of nutrients.

Waffles don't typically make healthy breakfast lists, but this veggie-packed breakfast combines sweet potatoes and carrots for a megadose of beta-carotene (more than you need for the entire day!).

Eating just one serving of these waffles will help you eat more than 1 cup of veggies before lunch.

Green smoothies are one of the easiest ways to sneak veggies into your breakfast. Each of these green smoothie recipes hides 1 to 2 cups of nutrient-packed leafy greens per serving.

And if you need a great way to get a quick extra dose of veggies, you can add a serving of greens powder, which provides digestive enzymes and some antioxidant-rich fruit, too. For an additional boost, look for a greens powder with organic sea veggies, which are rich in hard-to-find essential nutrients.

Traditional sauerkraut is made with green cabbage, but this breakfast burrito allows you to get creative by opting for a beet sauerkraut, with sweetness that complements the natural bitterness of arugula perfectly.

Of course, if that flavor combo isn't your jam, you can use any vegetable filling you want. Try spinach and tomatoes, or mushrooms and bell peppers.

Ditch the home fries and pair your poached eggs with these low-carb zucchini fries instead. If you want to optimize your veggie intake even more, you can use a combination of zucchini, rutabaga, and turnips for some more micronutrient variety.

With peanut butter and leafy greens as its main ingredients, this sandwich may be typical, but the savory combination is as satisfying as it is nutrient-rich.

And, at one-quarter cup of cooked green veggies per sandwich, adding this breakfast to your meal plan puts you well on your way to meeting your daily needs.

Hiding baby spinach in a crepe-like pancake is a genius way to get in a cup of leafy greens before lunch.

While the filling in this recipe calls for tomatoes and scallions, you can get creative with any veggies you have on hand. Try broccoli, sauerkraut, mushrooms, or onions.

Start the day with this fall-inspired porridge, which combines plant-based protein with loads of vitamin A and antioxidants from the pumpkin puree into a filling, easy-to-make breakfast. You can enjoy it hot, or store extra servings in Mason jars in the refrigerator and eat it cold, a la overnight oatmeal.

One of the best ways to make eating vegetables for breakfast a long-term habit is to break outside of the typical fried eggs and bacon breakfast box; and this chopped kale breakfast salad does just that. But you don't have to stick to kale only.

You can switch up your breakfast vegetables by rotating between spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, or any other of your favorite leafy greens.

These vegetable waffles provide a whopping 2 cups of vegetables per serving in a delicious, easy-to-eat package.

And because the recipe calls for any combination of vegetables you want, it's a great way to use up any leftover veggies in your fridge or try something new.

Omelets are a classic, easy way to get some vegetables for breakfast.

This version combines peppers, onion, and potatoes, but if you're trying to keep it lower carb (and sneak in an extra dose of nonstarchy vegetables), swap the potatoes for chopped zucchini or turnips.

Sweet potatoes are a higher-carb veggie, but when you combine them with protein and fiber, like in these patties, they can help keep you full for hours. Add even more veggies by forgoing the yogurt topping and serving these patties with eggs scrambled with spinach and onion.

You won't even miss the eggs when you try this vegan version of shakshuka, which combines peas and spinach to give you more than 1 cup of veggies per serving.

If you make it part of your regular rotation, you can switch things up and optimize your nutrient intake by using kale, Swiss chard, or mustard greens in place of spinach.

Naturally sweetened loaf breads are an expert-level way to sneak in vegetables for breakfast, especially if you're trying to get some greens past your kids or a picky partner.

If you want to add in even more veggies, try shredded carrots or sweet potatoes, which add a natural sweetness, in addition to the zucchini.

With a combo of butternut squash and fresh apples, this breakfast bake is a fall lover's dream.

If you don't have butternut squash, or want to add more veggie variety, you can use cubed sweet potatoes or pumpkin in its place. Better yet, serve it as a topping for your pumpkin quinoa porridge.

Get the recipe here.