15 Healthy Christmas Breakfast Recipes

The holidays are magical time time of the year. Among all the magical, comes a lot of things that need to be done, like christmas shopping, attending parties, and planning your family get together. It’s easy to get off track with your eating habits, especially during those last few crazy weeks.

Christmas morning is no exception! From prepping for Santa, organizing gifts, and taking care of guests, pulling together a healthy breakfast might be the last thing on your list! But it’s easier than you think and making sure you have a healthy breakfast will help tackle the rest of the day and days to come.  

Let’s take a look at some tips and tricks so you can have a healthy and balanced breakfast that is easy to pull together and something everyone will love! We’ll wrap it up with 15 delicious breakfast ideas that are perfect for any holiday morning!

How to Have a Healthy Christmas Morning Breakfast

No matter what day it is, a healthy breakfast gets you going and sets the stage for the rest of the day. With a long day of excitement, it's even more important to get a healthy start on Christmas day with a healthy Christmas Breakfast.  Whether you are juggling the kids' with presents or entertaining family and friends with festivitites, enjoying a delicious Christmas breakfast while sticking to your nutrition routine is not only important but completely doable!

Whether adding extra veggies to meal, swapping higher fat options for lower fat, or switching more nutrient-dense ingredients for others, there are many ways you can make your meals healthy but still delicious.  Here are a few simple swaps:

• Replace sour cream with non-fat Greek yogurt. This is a classic swap that is simple and no one will ever know the difference. Yogurt provides as much moisture as sour cream and is acidic enough to react with baking soda in baked goods so you still get the lift you need. Plus you get more protein and calcium from the yogurt than you will from sour cream, so that’s another win!
• Swap some all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour. While you can’t always replace all of the regular flour, even swapping ¼ to ½ for whole wheat flour will add fiber and some extra nutrients to your baked goods. 
• Swap regular sugar with a low-calorie sweetener like a monk fruit and stevia blend. It will bake up just like regular sugar and give your baked goods the nice brown color you are used to.
• Use date sugar in place of brown sugar. Swap ⅔ cup of date sugar for 1 cup of regular sugar. Dates are low in the glycemic index and contain potassium, iron, and B vitamins. Date sugar is best swapped for brown sugar, and since it is expensive you may want to save it for a really special dish.
• Replace regular cheese with low-fat cheese. In most cases, the low-fat cheese will melt the same way regular cheese does.
• Replace eggs with tofu. Tofu makes an excellent “scramble” and is a good replacement for eggs or cream in some recipes. Learn more about how to use tofu here.

Healthy and Delicious Christmas Morning Breakfast Recipes

Here are 15 delicious Christmas breakfast ideas to get your special day started the right way. 

Low-Sugar Breakfast Ideas

Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake

Cranberry and orange just scream Christmas, and a coffee cake is something you can make ahead and slice up Christmas morning. It is perfect for a brunch buffet too. Replace regular sugar with a monk fruit baking blend to reduce the amount sugar in it. 

Roasted Vegetable Frittata

This egg dish is filling and healthy and will keep you going while you tackle the rest of the day! The best part of this dish is that you can make some of it ahead and then throw it in the oven on Christmas morning. 

Add some veggies into this dish to give it a nutritional boost. Roast some winter squash, mushrooms, broccoli, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, or any vegetable you have on hand up to 2 days before. Store them in the fridge in a sealed container until your ready to use them.. 

Christmas morning, whisk 12 eggs with a splash of milk, cream, or yogurt. Add 1 cup of shredded low-fat cheese.  Add the roasted veggies to a large skillet to warm up. Pour the eggs and milk mixture over top and cook on top of the stove until the sides just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake it at 425°F until it puffs up and is just slightly “jiggly.” Allow it to cool for a few minutes and then slice it into portions. 

Apple Crumb Muffins

Low-sugar muffins? Yes, it can be done! Shredded apples add a lot of flavor and natural sweetness to the muffins. A monk fruit blend can replace any granulated sugar in the recipe. This would also be a perfect way to use date sugar in place of brown sugar, especially if your muffin calls for a “crumb” topping. While not sugar-free, you can make your favorite apple muffin recipe much lower in sugar without sacrificing flavor. 

Gluten-Free Christmas Morning Recipes

Following a gluten-free diet can be challenging on a regular day, but especially on Christmas morning. Christmas breakfast is typically filled with carb-heavy, sweet items that make navigating the brunch bar difficult. Here are a few ideas for gluten-free breakfast foods enjoy this holiday. 

Gluten-Free Coffee Cake

Coffee cake on Christmas morning is a delicious treat. If you have a favorite coffee cake recipe, it's now easier than ever to convert it to gluten-free. Look for a gluten-free flour that is marked “1 for 1” and contains xanthan gum or guar gum in the ingredient list. Then, just swap the gluten-free flour in for the all-purpose flour the recipe calls for and make it the same way you always do. The cake may not brown the same way you are used to but it should taste the same and be light and fluffy!

Gluten-Free Shakshuka

If you love poached eggs, this recipe is for you. Shakshuka is a Middle Eastern dish that is made from diced tomatoes and onions cooked in a cast iron skillet. You can add other veggies like peppers, eggplant, and greens. Cook the veggies and make a few “wells” in the vegetables. Break a few eggs and nestle each one into a well. Cover and allow the eggs to “poach” in the vegetable mixture.  

Gluten-Free Cranberry Bread

Quick bread is an ideal Christmas morning breakfast because it can be made way ahead and frozen. Pull them out on Christmas Eve night before you head to bed and then warm them in the oven in the morning. Just like the coffee cake, you can swap the all-purpose flour with a 1 to 1 gluten-free flour in your favorite cranberry nut bread recipe.

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Dairy-Free Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas

There are many dairy-free milk and yogurt options available that make eating dairy-free much easier these days. Most can be substituted 1 for 1 in recipes and some will add a delicious flavor as well. Look for almond milk and yogurt, soy milk and yogurt, oat milk, and cashew or rice milk are widely available in most grocery stores and are easy to swap for regular milk in most recipes. Here are a few dairy-free ideas for Christmas morning breakfast. 

Dairy-Free Crockpot Gingerbread Oatmeal

Who wouldn’t love waking up to a house smelling like gingerbread on Christmas morning? Crockpot oatmeal is a perfect breakfast for a busy Christmas morning. You won’t need to worry about missing the present opening or the kids' smiles while they play with their new toys with this breakfast recipe.

Steel-cut oats work best when making oatmeal in a crockpot. They are thicker and hold up the best for slow cooking. Use any dairy-free milk product you prefer, but almond milk is delicious with the gingerbread flavor! Put all the ingredients in your crockpot and set it to “low” right before you head to bed. You will wake up to a house that smells like Christmas!

Dairy-Free Fruit and Nut Bread

Quick bread is an easy dairy-free breakfast item to make. The main dairy-containing ingredient is typically butter. Ccoconut oil makes for a delicious and easy replacement. If the recipe calls for sour cream, swap it out with a plant-based plain yogurt. Then make your bread just as you normally would. Add plenty of chopped, dried fruit and nuts for a hearty, sweet and savory bread. 

Dairy-Free Cinnamon Waffles

Waffles on Christmas morning are a delicious treat but if your recipe calls for buttermilk, how do you make them dairy free? Buttermilk is used to make the waffles light and fluffy, and dairy-free milk by itself just won’t provide the same lightness. 

To make dairy-free buttermilk add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of dairy-free milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes, just until it starts to curdle. Then proceed with your recipe as it is written. Swap coconut oil or dairy-free butter for regular butter and sprinkle the mixture with cinnamon for some extra sweetness right before placing the mix in your waffle iron. 

If you are tight on time Christmas morning, you can  make the waffles the day before and freeze them. Warm them in the oven while everyone is opening their gifts! To serve, top with a sugar-free syrup and chopped pecans.

Keto, Paleo, or High Protein Breakfast Ideas

Egg Breakfast Casserole

This is a perfect make-ahead breakfast casserole that is full of protein. Scramble eggs with a splash of your milk of choice. Mix in ground turkey sausage and some sauteed onion and bell pepper. Pour into a casserole and top with some grated cheese. Bake until set and serve with chopped herbs like chives, basil, or oregano on top.You can make this ahead and refrigerate it, then reheat in the morning!

Crustless Quiche

Who says a quiche has to have a crust? An easy way to cut down on your carb intake is to skip the crust! Plus, you’ll save a bunch of calories for an extra cookie later. Prepare the quiche filling as you normally would. Butter or grease the pie plate well and pour the filling in to bake. Bake it as you normally would. You’ll know it’s done when the filling is “set” and stops jiggling when you shake it gently. The edges will be nice and crispy, and will support the custard quiche interior. 

Sausage, Kale, and Spinach Frittata

A frittata is an easy high protein breakfast that you can whip up, toss in the oven and get back to opening presents while the dish bakes in the oven. Adding greens like spinach and kale will amp up the nutrient content while feta or cheddar cheese mixed in will add some extra protein.

Vegan Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas

Southwestern Vegan Tofu Scramble

Tofu is a perfect egg replacement and makes an easy vegan “scramble.” A block crumbled firm tofu can be sauteed in a skillet with onions and bell peppers, and a little oil. Mix in some salt, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder, and cook for about 10 minutes. The cumin and chili powder will add some nice color to your scramble!

Vegan Pumpkin Buckwheat Pancakes

Pumpkin works just like applesauce would in recipes and is a perfect replacement for eggs. It gives the pancakes moisture as well as a ton of flavor and is delicious when paired with buckwheat. Use a plant-based milk in place of regular milk or plant-based milk plus some lemon juice or vinegar if you need a replacement for buttermilk, then mix up your pancakes. Buckwheat is also gluten-free, so if you need a gluten-free and dairy-free breakfast idea, this one is for you!

Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Yes, it is absolutely possible to enjoy tender and delicious cinnamon rolls even if you are following a vegan lifestyle. Most cinnamon roll recipes call for milk and butter, so simple swaps are to use plant-based milk and coconut oil or vegan butter in place of the regular butter. Try adding in a little pumpkin puree for some additional flavor and moisture. Now, the cream cheese frosting may seem a bit more difficult but there are some delicious alternatives available now. Look for almond-based or cashew-based cream cheese in the store, or try making your own cashew cream cheese at home. 

To make your own cashew cream cheese, soak dry cashews in water for 4 - 6 hours. Drain them and put them in a food processor with nutritional yeast (this adds a savory, cheesy flavor) and some lemon juice for a little acidic taste. Puree until it is smooth. 

Eat Mindfully this Holiday Season

During these busy times of the year, it is even more important to eat mindfully and healthily. While reports of significant weight gain during the holiday season haven’t been proven, some studies have shown that a gain of 1 - 2 pounds is not uncommon, and it can be difficult to lose after the holidays.¹

In addition to supporting your metabolic health and weight goals, sticking closely to your healthy eating and lifestyle plan will also help maintain your energy levels and support your immune system so you can be at your best and enjoy all the fun the holiday season offers. 

These simple recipe swaps and ideas will help you better manage your blood sugar while still enjoying a special Christmas morning breakfast. 

Manage your Blood Sugar Levels this Festive Season with Signos

The Signos app and CGM is a tool that helps you manage your metabolic health and guides you to a more balanced and healthy lifestyle. The busy holiday season can make it difficult to manage on your own and this is where Signos can make a difference.

A CGM paired with Signos can help you understand how your blood glucose level is affected by what you eat, your exercise, sleep, and stress levels. It can alert you when you need to make a change and what you can do to help bring your blood sugar down. 

Read more about how Signos works and how making micro changes while following the Signos plan can help improve your health. 

Wondering if Signos is right for you? Take this quick quiz to find out!