Healthy and Quick Gluten-Free Breakfast Ideas

Are you managing to eat a healthy gluten-free breakfast every morning? Nutrition experts recommend you get a healthy dose of protein and fiber. This combination will help you feel full until lunch and may prevent you from snacking on something less healthy.

But protein and fiber are nutrients in foods, not the foods themselves. What can you eat that's full of healthy protein and fiber but safe on ​the gluten-free diet? Fortunately, you have tons of options. For example, one easy breakfast consists of fat-free plain yogurt (for protein) mixed with fruit salad and ground flax seeds (for fiber). See what other choices you can make.

Fiber-Rich Breakfast Ideas

What are naturally gluten-free, high fiber foods? First, know that fiber comes from plant sources including grains, seeds, nuts, fruit, and vegetables, not animal sources such as meat, eggs, or dairy. However, you'll need to skip grains that have gluten. Use these ideas to mix and match protein and fiber for a gluten-free breakfast:

• Fresh whole fruit or fruit salad: Ideally, you should pair this with protein, such as low-fat yogurt, or you may feel hungry again too quickly.
• Gluten-free bagel with cream cheese: As with frozen waffles, not all gluten-free bagels contain enough fiber, so check the label.
• Gluten-free hummus with fresh sliced vegetables, or a large salad with chopped chicken: These may sound like odd choices for breakfast, but if you can get past that, they will provide you with both fiber (in the vegetables) and protein (in the hummus or chicken). These can make a great start to your morning.
• Gluten-free muffins or bread made with whole grains: Yes, you can find gluten-free bread brands and varieties that include whole grains. A muffin can make for a healthy breakfast.
• Gluten-free whole-grain waffles: Not all gluten-free frozen waffles contain significant fiber, some do.
• Smoothies: Enjoy them made with whole fresh fruit and yogurt. Add kale for a healthy green smoothie.
• Whole-grain hot or cold cereals: These include gluten-free oatmeal. Cereal is the go-to breakfast choice for many people, and many kinds of breakfast cereal, including some mainstream options, are gluten-free. Just watch the sugar content as cereals can be loaded with sugar.

Protein-Rich Breakfast Ideas

There are plenty of healthy, high-protein, gluten-free breakfast ideas. Here are a few favorites:

• Eggs: Just be careful how they're made if you're not preparing them yourself, since that's how you run into gluten cross-contamination problems with eggs.
• Gluten-free yogurt: Ideally, combine it with some fresh fruit or gluten-free granola. Beware of yogurts with added sugar—it's better to start with plain yogurt and add your own sweetener in the form of fresh fruit.
• Meat or fish: You can enjoy gluten-free bacon, gluten-free sausage, and gluten-free ham brands.
• Milk or cheese: Just a little bit of either may provide enough protein to ward off hunger for a while. Plain milk is gluten-free, and most cheeses are safe on the gluten-free diet.
• Peanut butter (or some other form of nut butter): Enjoy it on fresh vegetables or whole-grain gluten-free bread.

If you're both gluten-free and vegetarian or vegan you'll find it trickier to get enough protein. Depending on your tolerances, soy products such as tofu and soy-based cheese and meat alternatives can be available in gluten-free versions. Also explore whole grains, quinoa, nuts, and seeds that provide protein on a gluten-free and vegetarian or vegan diet.

A Word From Verywell

Any of these ideas can be mixed and matched for your ideal breakfast. Just try to make sure you get some fiber and some protein every day. For an added healthy boost, try adding fresh-ground flax seeds to your cereal, yogurt, or smoothie. Flax seeds contain both fiber and protein. Chia seeds are another good source.

If you're on the run and can't manage a full breakfast, try splitting it into snack-like portions. For example, you can eat a hardboiled egg at home (for protein) and an apple and a handful of pecans or walnuts (for fiber) later in the morning.