List of American breakfast foods

From WikiMD's Food, Medicine & Wellness Encyclopedia

American breakfast foods comprise a wide range of dishes that vary significantly across different regions of the United States. Breakfast in America reflects the country's melting pot of cultures, incorporating elements from English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Native American, and other cuisines. This list includes some of the most popular and widely recognized breakfast items.

Eggs and Egg Dishes[edit | edit source]

  • Eggs Benedict - A traditional American breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce.
  • Scrambled eggs - Beaten eggs cooked in a pan with butter or oil, often with added ingredients such as cheese, vegetables, and meats.
  • Omelette - Eggs beaten and fried, with various fillings such as cheese, vegetables, and meats folded inside.
  • Quiche - A savory pie originating from France, made with eggs, cream, cheese, and meat, seafood or vegetables, encased in pastry crust.

Pancakes, Waffles, and French Toast[edit | edit source]

  • Pancakes - A flat, round cake prepared from a starch-based batter and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan.
  • Waffles - Dough or batter cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression.
  • French toast - Bread soaked in a mixture of beaten eggs and milk or cream, then fried. Also known as eggy bread or gypsy toast.

Meats[edit | edit source]

  • Bacon - Thin slices of salt-cured pork, usually prepared by pan frying.
  • Sausage - Ground meat mixed with fat, salt, and various seasonings and spices, often encased in a skin and cooked.
  • Ham - Meat from the thigh of the hind leg of pork, often cured and smoked.

Cereals and Grains[edit | edit source]

  • Oatmeal - A porridge made from oats, either rolled, crushed, or steel-cut, often served with milk, honey, fruits, or nuts.
  • Grits - A dish of coarsely ground corn kernels, boiled with water or milk. It is especially popular in the Southern United States.
  • Granola - A breakfast food and snack food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey or other sweeteners, and sometimes puffed rice, usually baked until crispy.

Breads and Pastries[edit | edit source]

  • Bagel - A dense, chewy, doughnut-shaped bread roll, originating from the Jewish communities in Poland. Often served sliced in half, toasted, and topped with cream cheese, lox, or other spreads.
  • Muffin - A small, cupcake-like bread, often sweetened and sometimes containing fruits, nuts, or chocolate chips.
  • Croissant - A buttery, flaky, viennoiserie pastry of Austrian origin, but mostly associated with France. It can be eaten plain or filled with chocolate, cheese, or ham.

Fruits and Vegetables[edit | edit source]

  • Avocado toast - Toasted bread topped with mashed avocado and usually seasoned with salt, pepper, and other ingredients.
  • Smoothie - A thick, smooth drink of fresh fruit pureed with milk, yogurt, or ice cream.

Beverages[edit | edit source]

  • Coffee - A brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species.
  • Tea - An aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia.
  • Orange juice - A liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges.
Wiki.png

Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index‏‎ - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes

Search WikiMD


Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) available.
Advertise on WikiMD

WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.

Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD