Switch Up Your Morning Routine With A Hearty Breakfast Salad

Usually, the only salad you see at breakfast is fruit salad with berries and melons. The other kind of salad is saved for lunchtime or the dinner table — but what if we told you those vegetables deserve a place at breakfast too? Breakfast salad may sound like a crazy notion, but it's an excellent way to get a fresh, vibrant start to the day and it doesn't mean you have to skip out on tasty breakfast classics, either.

Vegetables are key to a healthy diet and breakfast salad, like this savory yogurt and egg one, means you get a jump start to incorporate them into your day. Salads are endlessly versatile, as whatever vegetables you love are excellent options and there are no wrong answers. And they provide a great foundation for some of our regular breakfast favorites like eggs, hash browns, and — of course — bacon. Starting your day with salad is the best of both worlds: it's healthy while feeling indulgent.

There's nothing wrong with eating a green salad for breakfast as is, but some mornings call for something more. On those mornings, it's time to bust out the good stuff, starting with hash browns. Potatoes are a welcome addition, especially when they are golden and crispy. The quickest way to achieve this is by using the air fryer to heat up pre-made patties from the grocery store. Of course, homemade hash browns or breakfast potatoes will also work.

Along with those potatoes, it's time for some eggs. Eggs have long had a home in salads, but when it comes to breakfast, it's fun to mix them up and serve them fried atop the salad. The crispy edges add some texture and the velvety yolk brings a blast of creaminess to the whole dish. Other preparations work just as well — hard-boiled eggs have long been a salad staple, and poached eggs offer yolk to mingle with the dressing.

Breakfast salads offer so much and so many ways to enjoy them. And we're not the only ones who love them — they're a favorite among chefs too. Chef Gerardo Gonzalez of NYC's El Rey told Bon Appétit, "I've always loved salad for breakfast. It just feels like a great way to start the day: It's food you can eat and walk away not weighted down."

The best part of salads is how easy it is to switch them up. Need to use the last cucumber and peppers from the fridge? They'll work. Want to get colorful and include watermelon radishes? Go for it. Breakfast salad is a meal you get to craft to your taste every single step of the way.

If bacon and eggs aren't your scene, other breakfasts translate well too. Try including some lox and capers with greens and goat cheese for a meal reminiscent of a bagel with lox. Crumbled breakfast sausage is another way to mix it up while remaining true to traditional breakfast flavors.