A healthy breakfast for weight gain will provide you with the nutrients your body needs for improved health and additional energy that you can use throughout your day. I have gathered a number of healthy breakfast recipes from across the web to ensure that you have a wide range of options to choose from.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Weight Gain
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Eating the right kind of breakfast fuels your body and activates the system. If you are on a weight gain plan, then breakfast is the best meal of the day to pump up high calories into the body. That doesn’t mean you load a toast with oodles of butter or cheese and get done with it! An ideal breakfast for weight gain must be wholesome and nutritious, along with offering anywhere between 200-300 calories per serving.
To make matters easy for you, we have put together a list of 9 Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Weight Gain! Try these tasty and delicious recipes to meet your weight goals quickly!
Weight Gain Breakfast Ideas Which are Healthy and Delicious:
Here are some of the best breakfast options to eat in the morning to gain a few kilos:
1. Wholegrain Avocado Toast with Sunny-Side Up:
If you are fond of eggs and avocado, we have a delicious treat that combines two of your favorite items. The wholewheat avocado toast is super quick to make and keeps you satisfied for a long time. Avocados are calorie-dense foods and rich in healthy fats. Adding a fried egg makes matters more interesting, along with pumping in additional calories
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- Whole Wheat Bread – 2 Slices
- Ripe Avocado – ½ Fruit mashed or sliced
- Eggs – 2
- Cooking Oil – 2 tbsp
- Salt and Pepper – To Taste
- Red Chilli Flakes – 1 tbsp
- Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp
- Olive Oil – to drizzle
Method:
- First, toast the bread slices on both sides and put them aside
- Now, take a bowl and add the avocado slices or mash
- Add pepper, salt, chilli flakes, lemon juice and mix well
- Take a pan and add some oil
- Once the oil gets hot, crack an egg and drop it into it
- Fried it on the side to get a nice “sunny side up.”
- Now make that two portions for two slices of bread
- Assemble your toast by placing the slice on the bottom
- Layer it with avocado mash, fried egg and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top
- Drizzle some olive oil and you are good to go!
Nutrition: Approx. 450 Calories for 2 portions
2. Cheese Omlette with Kale and Mushroom Filling:
Nothing can beat an Omelette when it comes to starting the day on a perfect note. To amp up the nutrition factor and taste a regular omelette, you can add some cheese, kale, and mushroom. The result is a gooey, fluffy omelette that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. Along with helping you gain weight, the high-protein dish also improves muscle mass.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- Eggs – 2
- Mushrooms – ½ Cup Chopped length-wise
- Kale – 1 Cup Chopped
- Grated Cheese – ½ Cup
- Salt and Pepper – To Taste
- Oil – 1 tbsp
Method:
- In a bowl, crack two eggs and whisk them well
- Take a pan and heat some oil
- Add mushrooms and make sure they don’t stick to each other
- Once they change color and get crisp, add chopped kale and mix well
- After 1-2 minutes, turn off the heat and season the mixture with some salt and pepper
- In the same pan, you can add 1 tbsp of oil and pour in the egg mixture
- Choose one half of the egg to add grated cheese, leaving the other half to cook
- Now add the mushroom and kale mixture on top of the cheese
- Once the egg gets cooked properly, fold the omelet with the cheesy side on the bottom side
- Transfer the omelette onto a plate and serve it hot along with a toast
Nutrition: Approx. 360 Calories for 1 Portio
3. Creamy Oatmeal Porridge with Banana and Peanut Butter:
Start your day on a ‘sweet’ note with this creamy oats porridge. Not only is it quick to make, but also tastes incredibly delicious. With a generous portion of bananas and peanut butter, the porridge fills you with energy and even scores high in the nutrition aspect. The porridge packs around 370 calories per serving, making it one of the best morning breakfast ideas for weight gain.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- Rolled Oats – 1/2 Cup
- Banana – 1 Medium-sized cut into slices
- Cinnamon Powder – 1 teaspoon
- Water/Vegan Milk or Dairy Milk – 1 Cup (You can use a mix of water and milk too)
- Peanut Butter – 1 heaped tbsp
Method:
- Add water or milk to a pan and turn on the heat
- Now add oats, cinnamon powder and half a portion of banana slices
- Let it all cook well until you get a soft, mushy mixture
- Keep stirring and ensure there are no lumps
- Once the oatmeal turns fluffy, remove from flame
- Add a generous amount of peanut butter and mix well
- Garnish with some chia seeds, banana slices etc. for better taste
Nutrition: 370 Calories per serving
NOTE: You can also use overnight soaked oatmeal instead of cooked oats in this recipe.
4. Mixed Veg Whole Wheat Paratha
Parantha lovers, rejoice! Your favorite vegetable Paratha, is one of the best Indian breakfast options for weight gain. So, with little preparation and some practice, you can enjoy wholesome paranthas for lunch at home. Replace white flour with whole wheat and include some ghee for that extra love and nutrition. Try to add a healthy blend of vegetables like carrots, onions, cauliflower etc., to get your daily dose of nutrients.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- Whole Wheat Flour – 1 Cup
- Salt – To taste
- Mixed Vegetables – 1 Cup fine chopped
- Amchur Powder – 1 teaspoon
- Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric Powder – 1 pinch
- Coriander – 2 tbsp finely chopped
- Oil – 1 tbsp
- Ghee – 2 tbsp
- Water – to mix
Method:
- Make a firm and elastic dough out of wheat flour and water
- Divide the dough into 2-3 balls and put them aside
- Now, heat some oil in a pan
- Add the vegetables and cook them until soft
- Season the mixture with salt, turmeric, chilli powder and amchur powder
- Add coriander and let the mixture cool down
- Now take a dough ball and flatten it into a small disc
- Place the vegetable mixture in the center of the disc
- Pleat the ends to make a ball
- Dip it in some flour and coat it with ghee to prevent it from sticking
- Now roll the ball into a flat roti
- Cook it on a hot pan on both sides and drizzle some ghee
- Serve it hot with some pickle and curd
Nutrition: Approx. 250 Calories per piece
5. Homemade Sweet potato Hash Brown:
Sweet potatoes add a healthy twist to traditional English Potato hashbrowns. These delicious treats make your weight gain breakfast chart more interesting and nutritious too. The crispy exterior complements the soft interiors make you want to binge on them every day. The best part? This high-carb breakfast recipe is super easy to make and pack a lot of nutrition!
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
- Sweet Potatoes – 2
- Vegetable Oil and Butter Mix – as required to fry (you can use 1:1 ratio)
- Garlic Powder – 1 teaspoon
- Egg – 1
- Chilli flakes – 1 tbsp
- Salt – as per taste
- Pepper – 1 tbsp
Method:
- Grate sweet potatoes finely
- Now add 1 egg, garlic powder, salt, egg, chilli flakes, pepper and mix well
- In a pan, add a generous amount of oil and butter to fry the hashbrowns
- Take a spoonful of mixture and drop it in the oil for shallow fry
- Flatten it with a ladle to get a ‘cake’
- Now fry on both sides and use a tissue to soak up excess fat
- Serve them hot with some homemade sauce
Nutrition: Approx. 140 Calories per piece
Weight-Gain Foods to Try
Carbohydrates and fats are also important to healthy weight gain. Carbs provide fuel for your muscles and, as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends, should make up at least half of your calories per day.
Healthy carbohydrates can help you add calories to pad your intake and gain weight. Skip the white carbs that show up at breakfast, such as muffins, waffles and pancakes. Instead, go for whole-grain bread and pancakes, oats, quinoa and dense vegetables, such as sweet potato. Eating dried fruits, such as dates and raisins, is another easy way to add calories at breakfast.
Fat is a dense source of calories, but not all fats are healthy for your body. Fat has more than twice the calories of carbs and protein, so it takes less to boost your calorie intake. Healthy sources of fat include the unsaturated types of olive oil, walnuts, seeds, almonds, avocados and fatty fish.
Weight-Gain Breakfast Ideas
Now that you have an idea about what to add at breakfast, put them together into tasty meals. Some great combinations include:
- Oatmeal cooked in milk with peanut butter and raisins stirred in
- Tofu scramble with black beans, sliced avocado and salsa
- Omelet made with whole eggs and egg whites, feta cheese, diced potato, tomatoes, peppers and onions
- Whole-grain pancakes topped with bananas and nut butter
- Greek yogurt with whole-grain muesli and chopped apple
- Smoothie made with dates, whey protein, frozen banana, nut butter and milk of choice
Serving sizes depend on your personal calorie goals.
You may be tempted to add more calories in the form of sugar, saturated fat and white-flour carbohydrates — a healthy pour of maple syrup, a cinnamon roll or a pile of bacon. These foods certainly add calories, but they don’t boost your health with quality nutrients. So, stick to nutrient-dense foods instead, like those listed. When you gain weight, you want it to be healthy lean mass rather than simply pounds of fat.
Top Weight Gain Breakfast Ideas
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And if you are struggling to gain weight, breakfast can be the perfect way to start your day off with an extra boost of calories.
The most effective way to gain weight is to eat more calories. In this article we share our top weight gain breakfast ideas. From high calorie hot cereals to egg dishes to baked goods to delicious smoothies. There are so many options for high calorie breakfasts that can help with weight gain or stop unintended weight loss.
Hot Cereals
Our go-to of all the weight gain breakfast ideas are hot cereals. Primarily because there are so many high calorie foods that can be added to hot cereals.
Type of Hot Cereals
There are many types of hot cereals. And despite its name, they can be served hot or cold. Overnight oats have become all the rage. They are delicious and pretty darn easy to make.
Be sure to check out our overnight oat recipe toward the end of the article!
Common Types of Hot Cereals:
- Oatmeal
- Cream of Wheat
- Grits
A cup of cooked oatmeal provides approximately 158 calories, cup of cooked cream of wheat provides approximately 133 calories, and cup of cooked grits provides approximately 143 calories.
While there are calories in cereals, the key to making them the best weight gain breakfast ideas are the high calorie add-ins.
High Calorie Add-ins
You can add so many different things to hot cereal. You can go sweet or go savory. Most people go sweeter with oatmeal and lean towards savory with grits. But you do you!
High Calorie Add-ins for Hot Cereal:
- Dried fruit
- Bananas
- Brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Honey
- Whole milk
- Half and half
- Nuts
- Coconut
- Chia seeds
- Seeds
- Butter
- Cheese
- Bacon/Sausage
For oatmeal you can add butter, half and half, brown sugar, raisins, and walnuts. It’s going to be tasty and very high in calories.
For grits you can add butter, half and half, cheese, and bacon. Again, super tasty and will help you gain weight.
Egg Dishes
A traditional American breakfast often includes eggs. There are plenty of ways to prepare eggs and great opportunities for adding extra calories to the egg dish. Eggs are also typically served with high calorie sides like toast (add on the butter!) and breakfast meats.
Types of Egg Dishes
Common Types of Egg Dishes:
- Scrambled eggs
- Omelets
- Poached eggs
- Fried eggs
- Souffles
For reference, a large egg contains approximately 80 calories.
High Calorie Add-ins
Depending on how you are preparing your eggs you may be mixing in high calorie add-ins or sprinkling them on top once the eggs are done cooking.
A pro tip is to use butter or margarine to coat the pan instead of zero calorie cooking spray. The eggs will absorb some of these extra calories!
High Calorie Add-ins for Egg Dishes:
- Butter
- Cream
- Cheese
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Breakfast meats
For an omelet you can coat the pan in butter, add in some cream to the eggs, fold in some bacon or ham, and top with cheese, sour cream, and avocado.
For fried eggs you can coat the pan in butter and sprinkle the eggs with a generous and delicious serving of shredded cheese. Make sure to avoid reduced fat cheese- this is lower in calories.
Be sure to check out our high calorie breakfast casserole recipe below!
Baked Goods
Nothing says breakfast like the smell of baked goods in the oven (or on the stove top!). Baked good can be prepared in advance or right before breakfast. They can be added along with other breakfast items like eggs or a smoothie.
Types of Baked Goods
There are limitless types of baked goods, but here are some common ones for weight gain breakfast ideas!
Common Types of Breakfast Baked Goods:
- Pancakes
- Waffles
- French toast
- Coffee cake
- Pastries
- Muffins
- Breads
- Bagels
The larger the serving size, the more calories. But the best technique is to maximize the calories in the baked good without adding more volume. We do this with high calorie add ins and by selecting higher calorie ingredients (avoid low fat or diet food options).
High Calorie Add-ins
Depending on what baked good you are making, the high calorie add-ins may be mixed into the baked good or added on top when it’s done cooking. Or both!
High Calorie Add-ins for Baked Goods:
- Butter
- Whole milk
- Cream
- Cream cheese
- Jam
- Syrup
- Honey
- Dried fruit
- Nuts
- Chocolate chips
For pancakes coat the pan with butter, use whole milk or cream instead of water, top with more butter, and syrup. You can add dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips into the pancake mix too!
Be sure to check out our high calorie muffin recipe below!
Beverages
High calorie beverages are one of my favorite ways to help with weight gain. Drink these beverages along with eating your high calorie breakfast foods to add even more calories!
Types of High Calorie Beverages
I have written an entire blog article dedicated to high calorie drinks. You can learn more at the blog, but here are some common high calorie beverages.
Common Types of High Calorie Beverages:
- High calorie shakes
- High calorie smoothies
- Fortified milk
- High calorie cocoa
- Commercial nutrition shakes
High Calorie Smoothies
High calorie smoothies are a great weight gain breakfast idea. You can add fruits, veggies, dairy, and tons of high calorie add-ins.
Weight Gain Breakfast Ideas: Recipes
I know I’ve shared some weight gain breakfast ideas, but I wanted to give you some specific recipes. These delicious high calorie breakfast recipes were developed by Jordan Welch, an undergraduate dietetics student at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Breakfast Casserole Cups
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbs. butter
- 2 ½ cups frozen shredded hash browns
- 1 pound of sausage (or bacon)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350o Grease a muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Begin melting butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once butter is melted and pan is hot, add frozen hash browns. Sauté until golden brown and crispy. About 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add sausage to the same skillet. Break up the sausage and cook until brown. About 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Evenly distribute cooked hash browns into each muffin cup.
- Evenly distribute the sausage into each muffin cup.
- Pour egg mixture over the hash browns and sausage.
- Sprinkle each muffin cup with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese becomes golden brown and bubbly.
- Allow the egg cups to cool in the muffin tin for at least 5 minutes before removing.
- Enjoy hot or cool to room temperature and freeze for future breakfasts.
Nutrition Facts:
Recipe yields 12 servings
- Serving Size: 1 egg cup
- Calories per serving: 231
- Protein per serving:3 grams
Banana Cream Overnight Oats
Note: This recipe is vegan.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 1 sliced banana
- Optional toppings: shredded coconut, banana chips, chia seeds, etc.
Directions:
- In a bowl or mason jar, stir together oats, coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- In the morning, stir the oats. This recipe can be enjoyed cold or if you prefer warm oatmeal, feel free to microwave or heat on the stovetop.
- Mix in sliced banana and add any desired toppings.
Nutrition Facts:
Recipe yields 2 servings
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories per serving: 256
- Protein per serving:2 grams