Dayparts have been blurring for years. Breakfast dishes have been more prominent on menus – especially with the increased interest in all day breakfast menus. Over 94% of restaurant menus currently offer breakfast dishes.¹

Consumers today are also more health conscious, and seek healthy breakfast ideas and healthy benefits. 31% of consumers believe it is important to them to have healthy options in breakfast dishes.² And breakfast is often the meal where intentions to eat healthy are the strongest, even when eating out.¹

Consumers are often reducing their animal protein intake, and interest in plant-based diets continues to grow. Consider that nearly a quarter of the total US population limits meats in their diets.³ Concerns over sustainability, animal welfare, environmental factors, health considerations, and even a taste for variety are among the drivers of plant-forward meal choices and meat-free meals in foodservice.

Operators can meet consumers’ breakfast needs by combining their interest in healthy benefits, healthy breakfast ideas, and plant-forward items. And adding plant-forward items to breakfast menus is appealingly easy, with eye-opening options to satisfy all appetites.

Explore more opportunities below to incorporate plant-forward menu items across food and beverage menus.

Beverages

Non-dairy milks and creamers such as soy, almond, hemp, oat, rice, coconut, and cashew can whiten coffee, tea, and cocoa.

• Chagaccino: chaga tea, cinnamon-vanilla monk fruit, almond milk, and espresso over ice.
• Dirty masala chai: chai-spiced tea, almond milk, and a shot of espresso.

Smoothies

Substituting milk products and dairy yogurt for plant-based diets is pretty simple for these fruit- and veg-forward drinks. They’re also easy to amp up with functional ingredients.

• Coconut water, spirulina, greens, mango, pineapple, and ginger.
• Banana, pineapple, avocado, ginger, and carrot juice.
• Banana, date, spinach, peppermint, maca, chlorella, hemp seed, and raw granola.

Bowls

Grainy bases topped with a bounty of fresh fruits and veggies make easily eaten, on-the-go breakfasts.

• Breakfast burrito bowl: pan-seared chickpeas, black rice, lentils, quinoa, cabbage, guac, and mango salsa
• Basmati rice: vegetables seared in coconut oil and seasoned with tamari, topped with marinated kale, sprouts, hemp seeds, and vegan walnut parmesan.

Toast and Bagels

Bread, biscuits, muffins, and bagels are edible platforms for a full range of toppings. Avocado toast, still a strong seller on menus, is just for starters!

• Almond butter toast on sourdough bread with strawberries, banana, maple, and cacao nibs.
• Smoked carrot lox and bagel with sesame seed cream cheese, capers, dill, and onion.

Breakfast Meats

Popular meat analog products easily sub for sausage, while seitan, tempeh, wheat meat, and soy take the place of bacon.

• Brunch burger: plant-based patty, vegan cheddar, tofu scramble, pickles, tomato, onion, and hollandaise aioli.
• Chimichanga: crumbled plant-based chorizo, tofu, cashew queso, chilies, black beans, rice, guacamole, guajillo sauce, and pico de gallo.

Waffles, Pancakes

Ensuring that these carb-happy offerings are meat-free is straightforward. However, eggs are part of many recipes. Even so, some formulations are vegan diet friendly, whether egg-free or adapted with substitute products.

• Almond flour pancakes with banana whipped cream and almond or cashew butter.
• Griddled vegan blueberry cornbread oven cake with scrambled tofu, vegan butter, and maple syrup.

Breakfast Sandwiches

Plant-based diets can still enjoy a breakfast sandwich. After all, sausage and chicken analogs, seitan, soy, wheat meat, and mung bean “eggs” are portable and popular vegan foods.

• Maple-sage plant sausage, American cheese, and scrambled egg product on an English muffin.
• Fried slabs of seasoned tofu and pan-sizzled kale on sourdough bread with vegan garlic-chive mayo.
• Potato roll split and filled with spicy plantain sausage, scrambled tofu, cashew cheese, and blueberry balsamic jam.

Content courtesy of Nestle Professional

Sources:

¹The World of Breakfast Datassential Report 2024

²Healthy Keynote Report Datassential 2024

³Plant-Forward Opportunity Datassential 2024