Food Recipes Breakfast & Brunch 19 Hearty Whole Grain Breakfasts By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 23, 2023 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Kathleen Varner / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey Start your day with a hearty, satiating whole grain foods for breakfast that'll keep your motor running until lunchtime. Quinoa, farro, whole wheat, oats, amaranth, and more make their way into both sweet and savory breakfast dishes from pancakes to porridge. Whether you choose something sophisticated like Basil and Corn Cornmeal Waffles with crème fraîche, smoked salmon, and poached eggs, or go with something simpler such as Overnight Oatmeal with Almonds and Dried Cranberries, here's inspiration for incorporating whole grain foods for breakfast into your routine. 01 of 19 Basil and Corn Cornmeal Waffles Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Daley These loaded cornmeal waffles are your next brunch showstopper, balancing savory, salty, and sweet flavors all in one dish. Fresh corn kernels and honey lend their sweetness to the waffles, while cornmeal gives them a pleasant bite. Get the Recipe 02 of 19 Savory Granola Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Mary Clayton Carl If you're looking to start your day on a savory note, here's a great recipe to try. Store-bought granola is often packed with lots of sugar, and while there are sweet notes to this granola, with its maple syrup, orange zest, and cardamom, it leans much more savory with smoked almonds, buttery pine nuts, millet, and tahini. Try it with yogurt or kefir and your favorite fresh fruit. Get the Recipe 03 of 19 Brown Butter-Raspberry Baked Oatmeal Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Caitlin Haught Brown In this baked oatmeal, perfectly tender spiced oats mixed with sweet and tart fruit are topped with crispy coconut and pecans. The recipe calls for raspberries — blackberries, blueberries, or sliced strawberries would work as well. Blooming the spices in the hot brown butter releases their flavors and infuses the entire dish with a nutty warmth. Get the Recipe 04 of 19 Quinoa Pancakes with Ricotta and Lemon Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Kathleen Varner / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey Nutty whole wheat flour, fluffy ricotta, and tender cooked quinoa add flavor and texture to these light pancakes, due to the clever addition of whipped egg whites. Lemon zest, vanilla, and maple syrup add just enough sweetness to balance the slightly bitter quinoa. Get the Recipe 05 of 19 Pearl Barley Porridge with Ham and Eggs © Line Klein Chef David Chang first made this recipe at a food conference in Copenhagen, when he had very little to work with. He simmered barley in local apple cider with chicken stock and kombu, creating a deliciously sweet and savory porridge. Get the Recipe 06 of 19 Farro Breakfast Porridge with Raspberries © Constantine Poulos Missy Robbins, the chef at Lilia in Brooklyn, mixes up her morning breakfast routine with farro porridge, which she tops with a super-speedy and delicious sauce made from frozen raspberries and honey. Get the Recipe 07 of 19 Rustic Apple-Rye Bread Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell This bread is Monika Walecka's ode to one of her favorite grains, rye, and has become her signature loaf at Cała W Mące in Warsaw. "Everything you sense while eating pure rye bread — lactic notes, sweetness, gentle spiciness, and rich fruity aroma — is here," she says. Get the Recipe 08 of 19 Spelt Crêpes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache © Sarah Bolla These spelt crêpes have a delicately nutty flavor and light texture – they're delicious served on the sweeter side with a warm drizzling of ganache. Adding just a little bit of peanut butter to chocolate will never fail to wow. Get the Recipe 09 of 19 Three-Grain Cereal with Dates and Cinnamon © David Malosh Chef Quinn Hatfield cooks big batches of pearled barley and quinoa to keep in his refrigerator for this hot cereal, which comes together in minutes. He also uses the grains in salads. The mixture of cinnamon and chopped dates makes this breakfast nicely sweet — no extra sugar needed. Get the Recipe 10 of 19 Strawberry Amaranth Porridge with Cardamom © Anya Kassoff This amaranth porridge makes for a nourishing breakfast that will keep you comfortably full for hours. The addition of fragrant spices and stewed strawberries makes it almost desert-like and delicious. Get the Recipe 11 of 19 Carrot-Bran Muffins © Christina Holmes When San Francisco’s revered Four Barrel coffeehouse asked Belinda Leong to make bran muffins for them, she added bran to her favorite carrot cake recipe. The result is an extraordinarily fluffy bran muffin that stays moist for days. While wheat bran is not the same as whole wheat, it does pack a punch of fiber. Get the Recipe 12 of 19 Sweet Breakfast Quinoa © Tina Rupp "This breakfast will make your day so productive," says hospitality expert Jill Donenfeld about her maple syrup–sweetened quinoa. It's studded with dried apricots and slivered almonds, spiced with cinnamon, and topped with a dollop of creamy ricotta. Get the Recipe 13 of 19 Oatmeal Soufflé © Con Poulos Former F&W test kitchen senior editor Kay Chun turns soufflé into an elegant and satisfying breakfast or brunch dish. Much of the prep can be done the night before. Get the Recipe 14 of 19 White House Honey-Oat Muffins © Pernille Pedersen Chef Spike Mendelsohn was inspired by the beehive in the White House garden to make these lovely, not-too-sweet muffins. "I'm not a big breakfast eater, but I have muffins in my house right now," he says. Get the Recipe 15 of 19 Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Roasted Berries © Christina Holmes F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple uses a resealable plastic bag to mix his pancake batter and pipe out perfect pancakes — resulting in one less bowl to wash. The berries take just 10 minutes to roast in the oven. Get the Recipe 16 of 19 Mashed Banana and Whole-Grain Porridge © Chris Court Making wheat berries for breakfast can require waking up before sunrise, since the grains take at least an hour to cook. But, thanks to new flash-freezing technology, excellent precooked whole grains like barley, quinoa, and wheat berries are ready in the time it takes to brew coffee. Justin Chapple turns frozen grains into porridge that's great with all kinds of toppings. Get the Recipe 17 of 19 Strawberry-Almond Scones © Con Poulos When baking these scones, be sure to use whole wheat pastry flour, which is less dense than whole wheat flour. Mixing in some all-purpose white flour also lightens the texture of the scones, so they're more delicate and tender. Get the Recipe 18 of 19 Overnight Oatmeal with Almonds and Dried Cranberries © Lucy Schaeffer Many people miss out on the nutty flavor and nubby texture of oatmeal made with steel-cut oats because they assume it's too time-consuming to prepare. But if you soak the oats overnight, they cook in just 10 minutes. Get the Recipe 19 of 19 Spinach Bread Pudding with Lemon and Feta © Antonis Achilleos Blogger Heidi Swanson shares this lightened whole wheat bread pudding recipe in her cookbook Super Natural Every Day. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit