10 Easy Carnivore Breakfast Ideas

Breakfast, or the first meal of the day, is crucial for your health because it often determines what and how much you’ll eat later in the day.

If you start your day with a bowl of sugar-laden cereal, you’re consuming empty calories with little protein or nutrients. By mid-morning, you’ll likely crave more food, leading to something like a cup of coffee and a snack bar or a muffin.

If your lunch is a pizza, a bowl of pasta, or a hamburger with a side of chips and sugary drinks, there’s still not much nutrient in this meal. You will feel full, bloated but unsatisfied and subsequently will experience that mid-afternoon slump. Unhealthy snacks are likely to follow and so the cycle goes on.

However, if your first meal of the day is nutrient-dense and satiating, you will have stable energy, feel full for a longer period, and are unlikely to need snacks. This sets a good foundation for a productive workday and establishes the tone for the rest of your day.

This post provides you with 10 easy carnivore breakfast ideas that are both nutrient-dense and highly satiating. Such breakfast options are also excellent for weight loss because when foods are highly satiating, you are likely to eat less frequently, ultimately reducing your calorie intake and leading to fat loss.

Eggs

The humble egg is truly one of nature’s superfoods. It is high in protein and low in fat. It comes packed with many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12, folate, riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, thiamine, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and copper. [1, 2, 3]

While there is some concern about the high level of cholesterol in eggs, currently, there is no quality evidence indicating a direct association between the quantity of eggs consumed, cholesterol intake, and the risk of developing coronary heart disease. [4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

In contrast, in a comprehensive study published in the British Medical Journal which looked at 19 studies including 30 cohorts with a total of 68,094 elderly people, it is found that 92% of people with a high cholesterol level lived longer. In the rest of the participants, no association was found. [9]

Furthermore, some studies have even found a negative association between egg consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. In other words, higher egg consumption is linked to a lower risk of developing or dying from heart disease. [10, 11]

There are so many ways to cook eggs for breakfast such as omelet, scrambled, boiled, poached, bake and sunny side up.

Some people even consume raw eggs by blending a few of them to create an egg smoothie, believing that raw eggs are better digested and absorbed compared to cooked eggs. If you want to consume raw eggs, ensure they are fresh and without any cracks. It’s also safer to pasteurize them first, following the steps below: [12]

Choose fresh eggs and don’t use eggs that are cracked or have passed the expiry date
If they have been in the fridge, bring them to room temperature by leaving them on the kitchen bench for about 20 minutes
Place the eggs in a pot, fill the pot with water enough to cover the eggs
Slowly heat the water using low to medium heat till the water temperature reaches 140°F (60°C)
Maintain the temperature for 5 minutes
Drain and rinse the eggs with cold water or place them in an ice water bath for a few minutes.
Your pasteurized eggs are now safe to use in recipes that call for raw or undercooked eggs.
The eggs are ready to be used at this point or you can store them in the fridge for about a week for later use.

Seared Steak

If you’ve never had steak for breakfast before, give it a try now and compare it to a bowl of cereal to experience the remarkable difference.

Steak is high in protein and rich in numerous essential vitamins and minerals. For instance, just a 100-gram serving of beef, veal, lamb, or mutton provides 40-60% of the daily recommended protein intake and nearly 20 other essential nutrients, including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, iron, zinc, copper, selenium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. [13]

Beef, lamb, goat, and pork are all highly nutrient-dense, so you can pick whatever meat that best suits your taste. [14, 15, 16]

If you have steak for breakfast, you will feel full and satisfied until lunch or late afternoon. Your energy levels will also remain stable throughout the day because you won’t experience the energy crashes often associated with carbohydrate-rich meals.

If you’re looking to lose fat on your carnivore diet, lean steak can be a good choice because it is relatively low in calories while being highly satiating.

Here is a short guide on how to cook a perfect steak.

Meatballs

Meatballs are seriously underrated, and it’s time to give them the respect they deserve. They are a healthy, nutritious, tasty, and easy-to-make option. You can use any kind of ground meat you prefer, such as beef, pork, chicken, or turkey.

If you incorporate a small amount of minced organ meat, like liver, heart, or kidney, into the ground meat, you can make them even more nutritious.

Contrary to what you may have heard about the risks of consuming red meat and its potential health implications, a comprehensive review of current evidence, conducted by a 14-member international team led by Dalhousie University and McMaster University in Canada, recommends that adults should maintain their current levels of red meat consumption. [17]

The team’s leader, Bradley Johnston, an associate professor of community health at Dalhousie University, stated, ‘Based on our research, we cannot state with certainty that eating red or processed meat directly causes cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.’ [18]

Meatballs can be frozen and still retain their taste, so if you enjoy them, consider making large batches, storing them in the freezer, and thawing them in advance for a convenient and nutritious breakfast option.

Scrambled Lamb Brain and Eggs

Scrambled lamb brains and eggs are a super nutritious breakfast option.

Like other organ meats, animal brains (e.g. beef, lamb, pork) are a good source of an extensive range of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, iron, phosphorus, copper, and selenium. [19, 20, 21]

In addition, they are especially high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are critical for brain function. For example, 100 grams of beef brain has 1,225mg of omega 3 fatty acids. Therefore, they are an excellent option for those who can’t eat fish, can’t afford to buy wild-caught fish, or simply don’t like it. [22, 23, 24]

While both animal brains and eggs are high in cholesterol, there is no need to be concerned. Cholesterol is essential for all living organisms. In the human body, it plays a crucial role in forming cell membranes and structures, and it is vital for synthesizing hormones, vitamin D, and other essential substances. [25]

In addition, several studies have demonstrated that higher cholesterol levels are actually associated with lower mortality risks, whereas lower cholesterol levels increase the risk of various health problems. [26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38]

Here is an easy recipe for making scrambled lamb brain and eggs, but you can also substitute lamb brain with other animal brains that you prefer, such as pork, beef, or goat brains.

Salmon Steak

A simple salmon steak is another excellent breakfast option.

Salmon is a highly nutritious food and an abundant source of omega-3 fatty acids. If possible, aim to obtain wild-caught salmon rather than farmed salmon due to current concerns about poor aqua farming practices. [39]

It is estimated that today, approximately half of all fish consumed worldwide are farmed. Farmed fish are often confined to small enclosures, leaving them with limited space to swim. For instance, salmon are typically housed in cages with 5,000 to 50,000 fish in each enclosure. They are frequently treated with antibiotics and regularly injected with vaccines. [40, 41]

Their feed includes wild fish supplemented with vegetables, chicken, and other land animals. However, due to the difference between their wild diet and what they are fed in aquafarms, the flesh of salmon turns grey. To achieve the desired pink color, farmers use colorings such as astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. It’s worth noting that canthaxanthin has been linked to retinal damage in humans. [42]

Other fish like rainbow trout, Atlantic Halibut, Atlantic cod all have drugs, chemicals, and pollutants in them. [43]

Canned salmon, which is usually wild-caught, is an alternative to farmed salmon. If you don’t like canned salmon, consider having farmed salmon only occasionally. Other excellent fish options include cod, herring, rainbow trout, and mackerel.

Meatloaf

A couple of slices of meatloaf make for a simple and nutritious breakfast.

If you haven’t tried meatloaf before, it’s worth exploring. Typically, meatloaf consists of ground meat, some seasonings, and breadcrumbs, but you can also make a 100% carnivore meatloaf that remains delicious without the need for breadcrumbs or seasonings.

Similar to meatballs, you can make it using ground beef, lamb, pork, veal, poultry, or a combination of a few types of your favorite ground meat. It freezes well so can be made in bulk to save time.

Here is a simple but nutritious and delicious meatloaf recipe for you to get started.

Bacon and Eggs

Eggs are super nutritious as discussed above. Bacon is very tasty and nutritious, however, it is processed meat so it’s best not to consume bacon regularly.

Commercial bacon is cured by injecting or soaking the meat a brine made from salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, other seasonings, and chemicals. It is also dried and smoked to enhance flavor and help preserve. Common ingredients in bacon are pork, salt, sugar, seasonings, sodium nitrite, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, and smoke. Therefore, it is not a good idea to eat bacon regularly and consume all those additives. [44, 45]

You can easily prepare a quick breakfast by frying bacon and eggs. Alternatively, you can make bacon and egg cups in advance using bacon, eggs, and cheese, and then heat them up in the morning for a speedy meal.

Here‘s an easy recipe for bacon and egg cups, which includes seasoning, but you can omit it for a carnivore version. These egg cups aren’t only great for breakfast; they can also serve as snacks, be added to lunch boxes, or packed for picnics.

Sausages and Scrambled Eggs

Sausages and scrambled eggs is another easy and nutritious breakfast option.

Even though commercial sausages may be not very healthy due to the presence of preservatives and other additives, it is generally fine to have them occasionally. However, you may be able to find healthier sausage options that are preservative free and are basically made of just ground meat and some herbs and spices.

Burger Patties

Burger patties are an affordable breakfast option but they can be just as nutritious if not more nutritious than expensive steaks.

Please check out this easy burger patty recipe that is 100% carnivore. If you’re new to making burger patties, you’ll also find answers to commonly asked questions, such as selecting the best meat for burgers, preventing them from falling apart, determining the ideal burger thickness, and finding the best cooking methods.

Egg and Protein Shake

This one is for those hectic mornings when you need something quick and filling that will last you half a day without any problems.

What you need:

30 grams protein powder (preferably grass-fed, raw, or with natural flavoring or a natural sweetener)
300 ml water
2 raw eggs (please pasteurize them first to improve safety, see instructions above)
A tablespoon of raw honey to taste if using unsweetened protein powder.

Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth.