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Quick and Easy Low-Carb Breakfast Recipes

Updated: 4/4/22 11:40 amPublished: 4/4/22
By Catherine Newman

Looking for a breakfast dish that you can grab on your way out the door? Catherine Newman shares three delicious morning recipes you can make ahead of time that taste just as good hot or cold.

Here’s a trio of lovely, low-carb grab-and-go breakfasts. The kind you can make ahead of time because you’re a good friend to your future morning self – the one who needs to start the day with a nourishing meal. The kind you need in your repertoire if you live with people who claim they have no time for breakfast. The kind you need, period.

They’re all easy to make and taste great straight from the fridge (although you can reheat the egg-based meals if you prefer). They also make excellent snacks – and, luckily, there’s no law saying you can’t eat the same thing at 3:00 pm that you ate at 8:00 am.

Ham and Egg Cups

These are fun and even kind of pretty, if flowers made of lunch meat can be described as “pretty.” They’re also surprisingly quick and easy to make; you can make a lot of them at once to eat at your grab-and-go leisure. Plus, you can customize as you like with different seasonings and/or chopped vegetables – just make sure not to use any that will give up a bunch of liquid and make the eggs watery (mushrooms and spinach need to be cooked first for this reason; peppers can be added raw).

 

Overnight Berry Chia Pudding

Chia pudding is a favorite of Adam Brown, a former diaTribe columnist who is also the author of Bright Spots & Landmines: The Diabetes Guide I Wish Someone Had Handed Me. He refers to it as “A three-minute breakfast that changes lives,” and notes that, “Each 1/4 cup of chia seeds has 20 grams of carbs, though 16 grams are from fiber (80%), translating to little BG [blood glucose] impact.”

It is also weirdly yummy, with a delightfully strange texture that is a little bit like a cross between bubble tea and caviar. You can use dairy milk instead of coconut milk to increase the protein, or add protein powder if you like. You can also make your life easier by doubling the recipe: shake it up in a big jar and then portion into two smaller ones.

 

Savory Zucchini Breakfast Muffins

These satisfying little pucks are like a cross between a muffin and a quiche, and they’re wonderful. The zucchini and eggs make them healthful and nourishing, the cheese and meat make them perfectly tasty, and the coconut flour gives them a unique, moist texture. That said, there is not really a good substitute for the coconut flour, as is both low-carb and moisture-retaining (however, if you can’t find it at the store, you can make it yourself by whizzing dried unsweetened coconut in a blender or food processor until you get a powder). This recipe is easily doubled, and you can season the muffins however you like: with herbs or spices or garlic powder or even a bit of mustard, as your household tastes dictate. I like them best just like this.

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About the authors

Catherine loves to write about food and feeding people. In addition to her recipe and parenting blog Ben & Birdy (which has about 15,000 weekly readers), she edits the ChopChop... Read the full bio »