Easy, Gluten-Free Breakfasts for College Students

With our busy lives, sometimes it’s hard for college students to find time to eat breakfast! For me, I don’t like breakfast as much anymore, at least when eating out, because many items contain gluten. Now, I prefer making my breakfast at home or eating products from some of my favorite healthy brands. In this guide, I’m including on-the-go breakfasts as well as some of my go-to meals I prepare in my apartment.

It’s important to eat breakfast to start the day because you need that energy to be attentive in class and to keep you satiated until your next meal. I like to practice intuitive eating, so I only eat when I hear my body’s hunger cues, and sometimes I skip breakfast because I don’t feel hungry. That might not be healthy, but I prefer not to put food into my body if I don’t feel like I need it. There’s a fine line between dieting and intuitive eating. Intuitive eating puts no restrictions on what you’re allowed to eat–it’s more about listening to when your body feels hunger.

Mush

I’d always see overnight oats all over Pinterest, but I guess I was too lazy to ever make them. I mean, I make chia pudding, but I just never mastered an overnight oats combo that I liked. Enter, Mush! Their overnight oats are packaged and ready to grab from your fridge for a quick, on-the-go breakfast. There’s even a spoon underneath the lid. I’m a dark chocolate fiend, so it’s no surprise that it’s my favorite flavor. The wild blueberry flavor is also delectable! It was creamy, and tasted just like dark chocolate pudding. There’s no added sugars, and Mush is also dairy-free. Perfect for me because I have the worst combo of dietary restrictions–gluten and lactose-intolerance. The ingredients lists are simple and easy to read.

Since I like to work out in the morning it’s important that I get protein in at breakfast, but sometimes it’s hard. Mush packs a good punch of protein and fiber into one serving–it will definitely keep you full until lunchtime.

Find them at the Berkeley Student Food Collective and Amazon.

Siren Snacks

These are my favorite on-the-go protein bites. The packages are portioned to one serving, and are resealable! They’re super soft and fresh, and the flavor profiles are outstanding. The lemon poppyseed flavor tastes just like you’re eating the muffin. And the snickerdoodle tastes like you’re eating a cookie for breakfast. What more could you ask for?! What’s even better is that one package has 12g of protein and just 190 calories. When it comes to protein, I’m a big fan of plant-based protein. Not only is it healthier, but it’s also better for the environment. Siren Snacks are made with simple ingredients that you can pronounce and they’re gluten-free and vegan! Lastly, they are a local business in San Francisco (I go to UC Berkeley), and I love supporting local businesses. Surprise! You also decrease your environmental footprint when you purchase local!

Protein Bars

My go-to breakfast three times a week last semester was a protein bar and a banana. I had an 8AM class and then classes around lunch time, so I had to eat breakfast, even if I wasn’t hungry, so that I would not starve until lunch (I only had a short window of time to eat lunch). I did not want to wake up earlier than I had to just to make breakfast, so just grabbing a bar and banana on my way out the door was super convenient.

Now, there are so many protein bars on the market, and you may be confused about which ones to purchase. I always go for ones that are gluten-free and made with plant-based protein and those include Rise Bar (I recommend the lemon cashew), CLIF’s Whole Lotta bar (get the spiced almond ginger) , and GoMacro.

Rise Bar is made with the simplest ingredients–5 or less! They’re also soy/peanut-free and use no sugar alcohols, preservatives, or artificial flavors. They pack 15g of protein and are SUPER low-sodium (25mg). The main ingredients are cashews, so stay away from these if you are allergic to nuts. I love how the bars are soft and chewy, and I also like cutting them up to add to my yogurt or oatmeal bowls for a protein boost.

Most people know CLIF for their generic bar, but those are actually bad for you because they contain so much sugar and carbohydrates. When they released their Whole Lotta line, I was extremely surprised! These bars have 10g of plant-based protein and are naturally sweetened by dates (no added sugars to be seen). I love the spice blend and the crunch from the nuts and seeds in this bar…and it’s still pretty soft! It’s gluten/dairy/soy-free, too! These are higher in sodium (230mg) so if you are watching that, then this may not be the best choice for you.

Lastly, GoMacro! These bars are the most caloric, so I don’t eat them as often. But if I know I have a long day ahead of me, or need a filling snack to get me through the afternoon, I’ll pack one of these with me. They are definitely on the chewier side, and can sometimes be hard if you leave them in a cool place, but I like how smooth they are. This is the best choice if you are nut-free! Not all of the bars are nut-free, but there are plenty of options. They are also gluten/dairy/soy-free, organic, and vegan. The protein values range across different flavors. My favorite is the coconut + almond butter+ chocolate chips flavor.

Now for breakfasts that I make at my apartment.

Toast

I know, this is SO basic, but I really love my avocado toast and almond butter banana toast. But I like to spice them up a bit. Of course, I use gluten-free bread–my favorites are Trader Joe’s gluten-free whole wheat bread and Bread SRSLY (they make sourdough bread). For the avocado toast, I top half of it with Trader Joe’s everything but the bagel seasoning and half with chile lime seasoning. For the other piece of toast, I put almond butter, banana, and chia seeds! I rotate this breakfast with my yogurt bowls when I have time to eat breakfast at my apartment.

Yogurt Bowls

I literally ate the same yogurt bowl every single day in high school, and I still eat it at college. I used to use Chobani’s plain greek yogurt, but I’m lactose-intolerant, so I switched over to So Delicious unsweetened vanilla yogurt. It is more liquidy and less creamy than greek yogurt, but it gives me the same satisfaction of eating yogurt. Whatever yogurt you use as your base, I strongly recommend you get plain or an unsweetened/lightly sweetened flavor to avoid unnecessary added sugars. Eating my yogurt bowls topped with fruit will make them naturally sweet, along with granola.

I love topping my yogurt bowls with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and/or raspberries–they all go so well together. Since I lost the protein by not using greek yogurt, I usually add Perfect Bar bites, cut up a Rise Bar, or Catalina Crunch cereal. Catalina Crunch is a keto, low-carb/zero-sugar cereal that is packed with protein without sacrificing taste. I’m currently obsessed with their chocolate banana flavor.

Other toppings I add are goji berries, cacao nibs, and granola. My favorite granolas are Purely Elizabeth’s Original Ancient Grain Granola–it’s free of refined sugar and baked with coconut oil–and Nana Joe’s granola, a local San Francisco brand.

Chia Seed Pudding

Ever since my friend brought me chia seed pudding as a snack on our trip to SF, I’ve been obsessed. It’s so simple to make–you don’t need to pay $4 at Starbucks or $7 at a cafe for this stuff. Simply mix 3tbsp of chia seeds with 3/4cup of dairy-free milk and put it in the fridge overnight. Come back the next morning, and voila! The chia seeds soak up the liquid, and you have pudding.

I’ve experimented with many versions of this, but I strongly recommend using Trader Joe’s flavored beverages (the blueberry lavender beverage is amazing). If you want a healthier version, use unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I like Califia Farms) and add 1 tbsp of turmeric. It turns it such a pretty yellow. The best fruits to top turmeric chia pudding are bananas, apples, and raspberries. If you add matcha (1 tsp), it tastes good topped with raspberries.

I hope this guide helps, and feel free to check out my breakfast recipes on my blog!