12 Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes

Popular breakfast foods like toast, muffins, waffles, or pancakes may traditionally contain gluten, but that doesn’t mean you have to forfeit your favorite morning meals if you follow a gluten-free diet.

In fact, with some creative workarounds, it is easy to create gluten-free versions of the classics without sacrificing flavor or nutrition. Inventive ingredients like almond flour, sorghum, or even starchy vegetables offer unique (and delicious) takes on breakfast staples. 

Besides creating alternatives to wheat-based recipes, it’s sometimes helpful to think outside the grains-for-breakfast box entirely. Other food groups like proteins, fruits, and vegetables make solid building blocks for the first meal of the day, and may offer important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber, too.

Ready to jump-start for your gluten-free morning? Try any of these 12 delicious recipes.

Almond Flour Waffles

Baked goods made with almond flour can sometimes have a dense texture due to the higher fat content of almonds—but balanced with tapioca flour, these almond flour waffles from Simply Recipes come out light and crispy. Almond milk and almond extract add even more nutty flavor to this filling breakfast. 

Pro tip: Waffles freeze beautifully! Make a large batch and save some in the freezer to pull out on a busy morning.

Breakfast Polenta With Berry Compote

Need an oatmeal alternative? Polenta is a naturally gluten-free cooked cornmeal dish. It serves as a sweet or savory base for all sorts of breakfast preparations.

Try it in this breakfast polenta with berry compote from VNutrition, which is both gluten- and dairy-free. As you enjoy its thick, spoon-bread texture, you’ll also get a serving of antioxidants from blackberries and blueberries.

Healthy Gluten-Free Coconut Granola

This healthy gluten-free coconut granola starts with whole grain rolled oats and combines them with chewy shredded coconut, sliced almonds, and zesty dried cranberries. (You can add a teaspoon of coconut extract to the mix to boost tropical flavor.) After baking in the oven, the granola emerges in crunchy clusters ready to top with a splash of milk.

While oats don’t naturally contain gluten, they may be at risk for cross-contamination with other gluten foods. Always look for the “certified gluten-free” label on rolled or quick-cooking oats.

Broiled Grapefruit

For an easy breakfast side dish or for those mornings where you don’t have much appetite, consider this quick broiled grapefruit from Simply Recipes. The prep couldn’t be easier—simply sprinkle grapefruit halves with brown sugar, broil three to five minutes, and voila! Breakfast is ready.

Grapefruit contains high amounts of vitamin C and lycopene, an antioxidant that may help protect against cancer and heart disease.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yes, you can have chocolate at breakfast, even on a gluten-free diet. A half-cup of mini chocolate chips in these oatmeal chocolate chip muffins starts your day on a sweet note. 

These muffins also pack a nutritional punch. A half-cup of mashed banana provides a boost of potassium, while oats and sorghum flour add B vitamins and fiber. These muffins are a much lighter alternative to traditional bakery muffins and can easily be made vegan by replacing the cow's milk with almond milk or another milk alternative.

Cherry Berry Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie Bowl

For a gluten-free breakfast that’s packed with nutrients, look no further than this cherry berry anti-inflammatory smoothie bowl. Between its frozen cherries, grated carrots, chia seeds, and nuts, you’ll take in antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats galore—whipped up in a matter of minutes. 

This recipe is endlessly flexible, so customize it to your own preferences by swapping out different fruits, nut butters, or garnishes, if you like.

Sweet Potato Waffles

Don’t toss out those leftover sweet potatoes! Sweet potato waffles from The Spruce Eats use the creamy, earthy goodness of the mashed veggies to complement crispy homemade waffles.

Whisk together a batter of leftover orange ‘taters, gluten-free oat flour, and a handful of other pantry staples, pour onto a waffle maker, and wait for the heavenly aroma to fill your kitchen. You’ll not only get a tasty GF breakfast, you’ll add vitamins A and C from sweet potatoes, too.

Savory Quinoa Egg Muffins With Spinach

If you’ve never experienced the convenient magic of baking eggs in muffin cups, get ready for a breakfast game-changer. These veggie-rich savory quinoa egg muffins with spinach from The Spruce Eats bake up an easily portable, high-protein, gluten-free breakfast you may want to make every week. At 70 calories each, you may want to pack several of them in your gym bag or purse as you head out the door in order to stay satiated all morning.

Cooked quinoa adds protein to these mini frittatas, but for even more of this macro, crumble in some cooked vegetarian sausage or tempeh.  

Grab-and-Go Oatmeal Chia Cups

Maybe you’ve tried overnight oats, and maybe you’ve tried chia for breakfast—but have you tried the two together?

Grab-and-go oatmeal chia cups from Simply Recipes combine whole grain oats and omega-3-rich chia seeds for a healthy, no-cook breakfast that’s totally gluten-free.

A drizzle of honey and sliced berries finish things off with pretty presentation in see-through glass jars. These cups keep for about five days in the refrigerator, so go ahead and make extra.

Cheesy Salsa Verde Rice and Beans Breakfast Bowl

Beans and rice may be a humble combination, but they can be a gluten-free hero at any meal of the day. A cheesy salsa verde rice and beans breakfast bowl from The Spruce Eats puts a breakfast-y twist on the traditional Mexican dish by adding eggs over easy, then topping the whole thing with salsa verde and sharp cheddar cheese. For simple shortcut on hectic mornings, use bagged microwavable brown rice.

Pomegranate Ginger Smoothie

Convenient and quick, fruit and veggie smoothies are an excellent go-to gluten-free breakfast. Five ingredients (and five minutes) is all it takes to whip up this gorgeously pink pomegranate ginger smoothie from Kara Lydon Nutrition.

With its tangy pomegranate juice and anti-inflammatory fresh ginger, this one may become a regular in your blender. The secret to this drink’s satisfying thickness? Coconut milk!

Pesto Potato Hash Skillet

There’s nothing like a hearty breakfast hash to fuel your morning and keep you full until lunch. This flavorful pesto potato hash skillet from Walder Wellness is especially rich in satiating fiber from a veggie blend of potatoes, mushrooms, and Swiss chard. Meanwhile, two eggs per serving provide plenty of high-quality protein.

Don’t have time to DIY the hemp seed pesto? Use any purchased gluten-free version.