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10 Delicious Muscle Building Breakfast Ideas

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

So, it should be filled with the right ingredients to speed up our progress, whether we’re trying to build muscle, lose weight, or maintain good health.

In this article, we’ll go through how to design a breakfast meal yourself and give you ten delicious muscle building breakfast ideas that you can have to kickstart your day.

How to Design a Breakfast for Muscle Building

Before we check out the breakfast ideas, let’s first know how to design a breakfast for muscle building so that you can prepare meals yourself instead of looking on the internet.

When we are trying to build muscle, our protein and carbs ratio should be 1:2. 

This means, if we need 150 grams of protein per day, the carbohydrate intake should be 300 grams.

Related: How Much Protein Do I Need to Build Muscle?

A 2019 study recommends that if we take three meals a day, each meal should contain about 0.24-grams of protein per kilogram of body weight to maintain good health. 

Researchers also concluded that taking protein, especially in the morning, is crucial to maintain and increase muscle building rate. 

If we need 2500 to 3000 calories a day to gain muscle, we have to take about 500 calories of 5-6 meals to meet our daily calorie intake.

Related: How Many Calories Should I Eat per Day?

And the macro breakdown should be 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat.

So, our aim should be to eat about 62 grams of carbs, 37 grams of protein, and 11 grams of fat from a single meal.

Note: The recipes I picked is based on the above mentioned macro breakdown. This means our aim should be to reach around 500 calories from our breakfast meal. 

Now, let’s check out the healthy food option available to us to meet our daily calorie intake.

  • Carb sources: Oats, brown bread, brown rice, quinoa, fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc.
  • Protein sources: Eggs, chicken breast, fish, whey, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.
  • Fat sources: Almonds, avocado, fatty fish, whole eggs, peanut butter, seeds, olive oil, etc.

Here’s how a muscle-building breakfast meal looks like: 

Sample Muscle-Building Breakfast Meal

You can see the carb is double than protein, which is what we need during muscle building. Keep in mind; it’s an estimated number.

You can adjust the macronutrients for about 5 percent up or down.

For example, you can take carbs about 45-55%, protein 25-35%, and fats 15-25% accordingly.

If you want to know more about macro breakdown and build muscle naturally, I would highly recommend you read the step-by-step guide to build muscle mass.

10 Delicious Muscle Building Breakfast Ideas

For Non-Vegetarian

Here are your five delicious breakfast recipes to gain muscle mass.

1. Channa Chaat

Let’s begin with something so delicious and spicy dish called channa chaat. It’s a very simple and easy recipe, and you don’t need to cook.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups soaked chana (black or white)
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 cup coriander
  • 1 cup mint leaves
  • 1.5 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp chaat masala
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 chopped green chilli
  • 1.5 tsp salt (or accordingly)

All you need to do is soak the chana overnight (5-7 hours). Then, take two cups (250 g) of soaked black chickpeas in the morning, dried them well.

Then put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix them well, enjoy.

Amazing, my mouth was already filled with water. Are yours?

This can also be a great option for your mid-morning or pre-workout snack. 

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 430
  • Carbs: 64 grams
  • Protein: 24 grams
  • Fat: 13 grams
  • Fiber: 17 grams

If we look at the nutritional side of the meal, we’ll get around 400-450 calories along with 64-gram carbs, 24-gram protein, 13-gram fat, and 17-gram fiber.

So, this meal is an excellent muscle-building breakfast option in terms of convenience, nutritional profile, and taste.

2. Ezekiel Bread with Boiled Eggs

One of the simplest and most convenient breakfasts you can have is this Ezekiel bread with boiled eggs. All you need to do is boil five eggs and enjoy them with Ezekiel bread.

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices Ezekiel bread
  • 2 whole and 3 egg whites

Take four slices of Ezekiel bread, and two boiled whole eggs, and three whites, and you’ll good to go.

Eggs are the high-protein source, while Ezekiel bread is the main source of carbohydrates, making it a balanced muscle-building meal.

However, you can replace Ezekiel bread with whole-grain bread. Spread one to two tablespoons of peanut butter into the bread to enhance its taste and some calories.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 500
  • Carbs: 63 grams
  • Protein: 40 grams
  • Fat: 12 grams
  • Fiber: 12 grams

This meal offers a high amount of protein along with a balance combination of carbs, fat, and fiber — an excellent and easy meal to kick start your day.

3. Whole Wheat Chicken Salad Sandwich

Are you a chicken lover? Here’s the recipe for you, the whole wheat chicken salad sandwich. It’s a very simple recipe with an amazing taste.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans (112g) white chunk chicken breast
  • 4 slices whole-wheat bread
  • 4 slices tomato
  • 4 lettuce leaves
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 2 tbsp nonfat yogurt
  • 1/2 cup coriander leaves
  • 2 tbsp fat-free mayonnaise
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Let’s make the dish. Cook and stir the chicken, celery, onion, mayonnaise, yogurt, and pepper in a small bowl until the chicken are ready.

Spread the chicken mixture evenly among two slices of bread.

Top each with two slices of tomato, 1/4 cup coriander leaves, one leaf lettuce, and one remaining bread slice. Now, it’s time to enjoy this delicious chicken sandwich.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 430
  • Carbs: 60 grams
  • Protein: 42 grams
  • Fats: 6 grams
  • Fiber: 12 grams

The canned chicken salad sandwich offers a high amount of protein and carbs with a very little amount of fat — a perfect nutritional profile for lean muscle gain.

4. Eggs with Avocado Sandwich

Want to start your day with a delicious breakfast? Try this eggs avocado toast.

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices whole-wheat bread
  • 5 egg whites
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 100 grams boiled avocado
  • salt and pepper to garnish

To prepare this recipe, you need to boil the avocado and red bell pepper, mash them and spread them into the two slices of whole wheat bread.

Sprinkle salt and pepper into the mashed avocados. And make a sandwich by adding one other slice of bread over each.

Have this delicious sandwich with five egg whites to get a perfect balance of macronutrients.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 520
  • Carbs: 60 grams
  • Protein: 36 grams
  • Fat: 18 grams
  • Fiber: 9 grams

An avocado sandwich with eggs is a feeling and nutritious muscle-building meal that you can eat before a morning workout.

Related: Should You Eat Before a Morning Workout?

5. Vegetable Scrambled Eggs

Are you looking for a feeling recipe? Here’s another tasty yet feeling breakfast option called vegetable scrambled eggs.

Ingredients:

  • 2 whole and 4 egg whites
  • 100 grams soaked chickpeas
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 small tomato
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 green chili
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup coriander leaves

How to cook it?

In a bowl, take 2 whole and 4 egg whites and add other ingredients like chopped spinach, green chili, chopped onion, and salt. Mix them well.

Pour one teaspoon olive oil into a lightly warm skillet. Then pour the mixture into it.

Cook and stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then, add overnight soaked chickpeas, tomato, and red bell pepper.

Cook and stir in medium heat until the eggs are completely ready, about 3-5 minutes. Off the recipe from the flame and garnish it with 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and coriander leaves. Enjoy.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 500
  • Carbs: 50 grams
  • Protein: 44 grams
  • Fat: 16 grams
  • Fiber: 15 grams

Scrambled eggs with chickpeas and vegetable recipe is a power-packed and delicious breakfast option that you should definitely try.

This recipe offers a high amount of protein alongside carbs, fat, and fiber, making it a perfect hunger-killing and muscle-building breakfast.

Related: 30 Best Muscle-Building Foods to Include in Your Diet

For Vegetarian

Check out the vegetarian muscle building breakfast ideas.

6. Power Oats

Let’s start the vegetarian meal with my all-time go-to breakfast recipe, high-protein oats. Check out the recipe first.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (40 g) oats
  • 1 scoop whey protein
  • 1 piece banana
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Start with putting oats into the warm water. Cook and stir until it’s getting a thicker form, 2-3 minutes.

Then off the oven and add other ingredients — whey protein, sliced banana, peanut butter, and cinnamon powder. Enjoy your high protein vegetarian breakfast.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 540
  • Carbs: 65 grams
  • Protein: 35 grams
  • Fats: 20 grams
  • Fiber: 8 grams

The power oats recipe is packed with a balanced combination of protein, carbs and fat, giving you a perfect vegetarian muscle building breakfast option.

7. Greek Yogurt with Fruits

We know that the quality of protein means the quality of muscle. So, now it’s time to kickstart your day with a high protein snack recipe, Greek yogurt with fruits.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (non-fat)
  • 1 scoop protein powder
  • 1 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Granola, strawberries, berries, banana and honey

Take a bowl, put protein powder first, then Greek yogurt and mix them well.

After that, top it with other ingredients — peanut butter, fruits, granola and honey; enjoy.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 360
  • Carbs: 26 grams
  • Protein: 42 grams
  • Fats: 12 grams
  • Fiber: 6 grams

This yogurt bowl is loaded with protein and provide you with a healthy combination of carbs and fat.

Although it’s not high in carbs, but it’s a great breakfast to meet your daily required protein intake, which is very important for gaining lean muscle mass.

8. Protein Smoothie

Don’t want to eat heavy foods in the morning? Try this protein smoothie which is packed with calories alongside other important nutrients that promote muscle gain.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (40 g) oats
  • 1 banana
  • 1 scoop whey protein
  • 10 almonds
  • 240 ml low-fat milk

To make this recipe, put all the ingredients into a blender and blend them well, and your high calories protein smoothie is ready to have. 

You can replace milk with water to cut down some calories. This high protein shake can be your perfect post-workout snack option.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 600
  • Carbs: 78 grams
  • Protein: 40 grams
  • Fat: 20 grams
  • Fiber: 11 grams

Just look at the nutrition facts of this simple smoothie. It’s loaded with calories that will stimulate muscle growth.

And this recipe provides a perfect balance of carbs, protein and fat, making it ideal for gaining weight. Try this smoothie when you’re not in eating mode.

9. Hummus with Fresh Veggies

Now, it’s time to start the day with a colourful breakfast, hummus and fresh veggies. Let’s make the recipe first.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (250 g) hummus
  • Fresh veggies (cucumber, carrots, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, and snap peas)
  • Chopped parsley for garnish 

Take the hummus in a bowl, top with diced fresh vegetables and garnish with chopped parsley.

Dip veggie pieces into hummus and enjoy.

Watch the Recipe Video:

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 450
  • Carbs: 45 grams
  • Protein: 20 grams
  • Fats: 25 grams
  • Fiber: 20 grams

If you’re a vegetarian, then this hummus and fresh veggies recipe is a great muscle-building meal for you.

Although it’s slightly high in fat, but most of them are healthy fats, and the carbs, protein, and fiber enhance its nutritional profile.

And also, due to the variety of veggies, it’s packed with many important vitamins and minerals which are essential for our overall health.

10. Peanut Butter Sandwich and Milk

The last but not least vegetarian muscle building breakfast is the peanut butter sandwich with milk — one of my all-time go-to breakfasts.

Ingredients:

  • 4 whole-wheat bread
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter
  • 250ml low-fat milk
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

Take two slices of whole-grain bread, top each with 1/2 tablespoon peanut butter and one remaining bread slice. Sprinkle cinnamon powder into it and enjoy.

Nutrition:

  • Calories: 500
  • Carbs: 70 grams
  • Protein: 24 grams
  • Fats: 16 grams
  • Fiber: 8 grams

The peanut butter sandwich and milk is an excellent muscle building meal, especially for vegetarians.

It’s loaded with carbs and contain a decent amount of protein and healthy fats. And provide about 500 calories which is an impressive number for a bodybuilding breakfast meal.

Final Words

I hope you’ve learnt how to prepare a muscle-building meal, and these ten delicious breakfast ideas will help you brainstorm to come up with more creative recipes.

Now, I want to know how your typical breakfast meal looks like?

Does it contain bread, oats, or whey protein as mine?

And what are the recipes you excited to try?

Let me know in the comment section. I would love to hear from you!

Read Next: 17 Foods You Should Never Eat When Building Muscle

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