Breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day; this is because the meal you eat in the morning helps you break the overnight fast you had while asleep.
One of the health benefits of eating breakfast regardless of the nutritional value of what you choose to eat as breakfast is that, it improves your energy level, reduces the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and improves your ability to concentrate.
In Nigeria specifically, every family enjoys a continental breakfast during weekends and early hours of the morning before school or work. As such, there are different varieties of Nigerian breakfast dishes.
For a start, let’s talk about 15 Nigerian breakfast dishes…
HERE ARE 20 POPULAR NIGERIAN BREAKFAST DISHES
1. Bread sandwich with a hot beverage
Also known as tea and bread, this is the most common breakfast in Nigeria. Loved by adults and children, your breakfast can never go wrong in a home where ‘tea and bread’ is the regular breakfast dish.
‘Tea and bread’ is a good breakfast dish for accompaniments like boiled or fried egg, corned beef, sardines, sausage, and bacon.
2. Akara and Pap
The akara and pap is a delicacy gotten from street vendors but it is also an easy-to-go recipe that you can make from the comfort of your home. Also known as bean cake, it is the favorite of most families in Nigeria aside from the ‘tea and bread’ breakfast dish.
Easy to make is the ‘pap’ and it is a good accompaniment for akara. Akara is a beans fritter made from beans paste while the pap is a paste made from grains: corn and millet.
3. Instant noodles and eggs
Are you a food vendor and want to have yourself smiling at your pocket every day? Then try the instant noodles and eggs breakfast dish for your customers. Why? This is the most common breakfast dish in Nigeria that can give bread and tea a run for the money in Nigerian homes. Important to note that you can have instant noodles and eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Served with mostly boiled or fried eggs, quench your appetite with this mouth-watering breakfast dish.
4. Moi Moi with custard or pap
Served with custard or pap, Moi Moi is made from raw beans or beans powder. check the previous blog posts to see my moi moi recipe.
This is an awesomesauce breakfast dish that can be eaten on its own or alongside the above-mentioned accompaniments.
5. Cereals
Cereals are breakfast dish consumed mostly by children but it can also go well too for adults. Due to its high costs, most families believe it is best consumed by weaning children to help boost their growth process.
But the most common cereals consumed by both adults and children is cornflakes and coco pops.
6. Okpa
Okpa is a local breakfast dish common with people from the south eastern region of Nigeria. But as a result of acculturation, people all over the country find this delicacy interesting for a breakfast dish. Okpa is very filling and can keep hunger away until lunch.
One of the health benefits is that it is an excellent dish for diabetics.
7. Ewa agoyin with agege bread (bread and beans)
Ewa agoyin with agege bread also known as bread and beans is such a satisfying dish to have as breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Sold mostly in the western region of the country – Lagos, Ewa agoyin is a mashed-up beans porridge served with a special stew prepared by agoyin women of Togo and mostly sold by hawking it on the streets.
8. Hausa Koko and Koose (Spicy millet porridge and akara)
This dish is similar to pap. Made from millet, it is a staple dish in the northern region of Nigerian. It is sweet and deliciously spicy.
9. Fried plantain and yam with egg stew
Start your day with this auspicious mouth-licking breakfast, made with ripe plantain, boiled or fried yam and scrambled eggs.
10. Pancake
Pancake can be eaten on its own or served with side dish as pap or custard or even hot beverages. Loved by adults and children, it is easy to make.
11. Boiled plantain and pepper sauce
Boiled plantain and pepper sauce is made with ripe or unripe plantain. There’s little or no stress involved in the preparation as all you need to do is fry your pepper sauce in hot vegetable oil with onion, tomatoes and other spices to taste. Then you just add water in a separate pot to boil your plantain.
Your dish is ready!
12. Beans and pap
Aside from akara, beans is a good accompaniment for pap. Just cook your beans to your relish make your pap with hot water and you have yourself a good breakfast.
Bean and pap can also be served as a dish for dinner.
13. Toasted bread and coffee
Common with most average homes, toasted bread and coffee is mostly considered as the family’s best choice when it comes to having breakfast.
The bread is toasted with veggies, meats, butter, sardines to give the best experience when combined with coffee.
14. Fried egg and dodo (plantain)
Easy and consumes less time, fry plantain and scramble eggs to set you going for the day. This dish is another staple dish in Nigeria.
15. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is among the healthiest grains you can find, good for diabetic patients and vegans, it is of high nutritional value.
Just like pap and custard gruel, it is made with hot water and is best served hot.
HEALTHY NIGERIAN BREAKFAST IDEAS
As mentioned earlier, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You can choose to skip other meals but not breakfast.
For healthy living, add this list of Nigerian breakfast ideas to your menu.
Moi Moi with custard or pap
Served with custard or pap, moi moi is made from raw beans or beans powder.
This is an awesomesauce breakfast dish that can be eaten on its own or alongside the above-mentioned accompaniments.
Learn how to make moi moi here.
How to Prepare Pap:
- Place the appropriate water quantity on your cooker.
- While waiting for the water to get hot, start mixing the Wet Corn Starch in a small bowl for 3 – 5 minutes.
- When the water boils, pour over your wet corn starch and stir until it is thick enough.
- Add your milk and sugar to taste
- Enjoy!
Omelet and Bread roll
This is a healthy combination for healthy living. Eating this food combination will help brighten your day and give your body some of the nutrients it requires for adequate functioning.
Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
1 large egg
chopped vegetables
1/2 seasoning cube
Curry
Thyme
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
How to make Omelette and Bread Roll:
- Heat the vegetable oil in a pan on low-medium heat
- Stir fry the chopped vegetables, add the seasonings, egg and stir to appear scrambled
- Flatten your slices of bread on a chopping board
- Place a smaller quantity of your egg in the bread and roll
- Cut it into two halves and do the same thing for the remaining slices
- Enjoy!
Other healthy Nigerian breakfast ideas are:
- Boiled Plantains and pepper sauce
- Okpa (Bambara nut pudding)
- Ewa agoyin with agege bread (bread and beans)
- Fried egg and dodo (plantain)
- Fried plantain, yam and egg stew.
