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American Breakfast Food Posted by on Apr 25, 2018 in Culture

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s the first thing you eat and it powers you through the first half of your day. However, many people find it difficult to find the time to sit down for a proper breakfast before heading to school or work. Some just grab a snack to eat on the way, while others skip breakfast entirely. When people do actually find the time for breakfast, what do they eat? In this post, we’ll take a closer look at American breakfast food.

Eggs

Mmmm… poached eggs.

Americans love eating eggs for breakfast. There are many different ways to cook eggs for breakfast:

  • scrambled
  • fried/sunny-side up
  • over easy
  • omelette
  • hard boiled
  • poached

When making an omelette, you can add meat, vegetables, or cheese. The options are endless for making a delicious omelette!

Meat

When it comes to meat at breakfast time, the most popular choice is definitely bacon. Bacon is usually pork, but you can also buy turkey bacon if you want something a little less greasy. Americans love bacon so much that there are even entire festivals dedicated to bacon!

Some sausage links with eggs and hash browns.

Another common breakfast meat is sausage. You can get sausage links or sausage patties. Just like bacon, it’s usually pork but can also come in turkey.

Potatoes

Home fries, bread, and eggs.

Breakfast potatoes come in many different forms. When you see potatoes on a breakfast menu, they’re usually called hash browns. These ‘taters are sliced very thin and fried in a pan until they’re crispy and brown. Another variety of breakfast potatoes is known as home fries. These are small diced potatoes that are also fried up, sometimes with onions or peppers.

Bread

Americans love to eat bread at all meals. For breakfast, many people like to eat toast. Usually, people put butter and jelly (also known as jam) on their toast. There are many different flavors of jelly, such as strawberry or grape.

French toast is made by soaking the bread in eggs and milk before cooking it in a frying pan. It’s usually eaten with something sweet, such as maple syrup and powdered sugar.

My favorite!

Another very popular breakfast item is a bagel. A bagel is round in shape with a hole in the middle. They come in many different flavors and are often toasted and topped with cream cheese. One of my personal favorites is a bagel with lox (smoked salmon), cream cheese, and capers. Yum!

Other common bread items at breakfast include English muffins and biscuits. Both are often used to make a breakfast sandwich with bacon or sausage, eggs, and cheese.

A big, tasty breakfast burrito.

Breakfast burritos are also very popular these days. Just take a tortilla and fill it with your favorite breakfast foods. I love making a breakfast burrito with eggs, hash browns, bacon, and cheese.

Pastries and Sweet Dishes

Image by Ferry Sitompul from flickr.com.
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Some people choose to eat something sweet for breakfast. There are many different kinds of pastries you can have for breakfast, including donuts. Donuts look like bagels but taste very different. They’re usually covered with frosting and are very sweet.

Pancakes are very popular for breakfast as well. They can be made plain or with special fillings, such as blueberries or chocolate chips. Pancakes are often eaten with butter and maple syrup.

Other sweet items eaten for breakfast include danishes, scones, and muffins. These can all be eaten hot or cold, making them a good choice if you’re short on time.

Cold Dishes

It’s difficult to find time to cook a proper breakfast in the morning. As a result, many people eat something cold for breakfast. A bowl of cereal with milk is a very typical breakfast in the US. There are so many different varieties of breakfast cereals available that they often take up an entire aisle in a supermarket.

A healthy fruit bowl.

Many people like to eat yogurt for breakfast. Just like cereal, there are many different flavors of yogurt. You can eat yogurt on its own, or mix it with something like granola or fruit. One of my favorite breakfast dishes is a bowl of yogurt with granola and honey.

Drinks

Juice is very common at breakfast time, such as orange juice or apple juice. Some people like to make a smoothie for breakfast. This is made by mixing juice, fruit, and yogurt in a blender.

Coffee time!

Coffee is a major part of the American breakfast. It’s very common to have a coffee maker in the kitchen so you can make a cup at home. There are coffee shops around every corner in the US as well, so many people choose to grab a cup on the way to work.

Wow! Look at that Bloody Mary!

On the weekend, some people choose to have an alcoholic beverage with breakfast. The most popular choices are a mimosa or a Bloody Mary. A mimosa is made by mixing champagne with orange juice, while a Bloody Mary is a cocktail with vodka and tomato juice. You can make a Bloody Mary much more interesting by adding things like hot sauce, olives, and even bacon. Learn how to make your own in this short video:

 

As you can see, there are many choices when it comes to an American breakfast. In all my travels, I’ve noticed that an “American breakfast” is typically on the menu in other countries. It usually includes eggs, bacon, toast, juice, and coffee. While this is certainly a pretty common breakfast in the US, it’s not like people eat this every morning. Who has time for that?! Plus, eating eggs and bacon every single day isn’t very good for your waistline. During the week, most people opt for something simple and quick as they’re in a hurry to get out the door. Weekends are a different story, though. That’s when you can cook up a big plate or head to a restaurant to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and perhaps even a cocktail. Whatever you do, don’t skip out on breakfast! It really is the most important meal of the day.

What is a typical breakfast like in your country? Leave a comment and let us know!

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About the Author: sasha

Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.