Every breakfast
worth waking for

international

American buttermilk pancakes

Tall, fluffy, butter-and-syrup pancakes done the proper American way: buttermilk for tang and

20m Serves 4

quick and healthy

Apple and oat bircher muesli

The original overnight oats, soaked the proper Swiss way: oats, grated apple, lemon, yoghurt, and

5m Serves 2

quick and healthy

Avocado on rye with lemon, chilli flakes, and pumpkin seeds

Rye toast topped with smashed avocado, a hit of lemon, chilli flakes, and toasted pumpkin seeds

7m Serves 1

kiwi classics

Bacon and eggs, the Kiwi way

Three rashers of streaky bacon, two fried eggs, a slab of buttered toast, and a wedge of grilled

10m Serves 2

make ahead

Banana and walnut bread

The classic loaf, slightly improved: brown sugar for caramel notes, a touch of yoghurt for

1h 7m Serves 10

kiwi classics

Banana pikelets with butter and golden syrup

Pikelets are the small, fluffy NZ pancake — drop-spoon size, made with self-raising flour and a

17m Serves 4

international

Banh mi breakfast roll with egg

A Vietnamese baguette stuffed with fried egg, quick-pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber,

22m Serves 2

kiwi classics

Beans on Vogel's with grilled tasty cheese

Baked beans, hot, on thick-cut Vogel's, blanketed with grilled tasty cheese until the cheese

7m Serves 1

make ahead

Blueberry and lemon yoghurt muffins

A muffin batter improved by yoghurt — moister crumb, gentle tang. Studded with NZ blueberries

32m Serves 12

decadent

Brioche French toast with mascarpone and caramelised banana

A serious French toast: thick brioche soaked in spiced custard, fried in butter, plated with a

22m Serves 2

kiwi classics

Classic cheese scones

The school-fundraiser cheese scone: sharp tasty cheese, a hint of mustard powder, baked hot and

24m Serves 8

brunch and special occasion

Classic Eggs Benedict

The benchmark brunch dish: poached eggs and good ham on a toasted muffin, blanketed with proper

25m Serves 2

quick and healthy

Cottage cheese bowl with berries and seeds

Cottage cheese is having its moment for a reason: 25g of protein in a single tub, neutral enough to

3m Serves 1

decadent

Crème brûlée steel-cut porridge

Steel-cut oats cooked low and slow with milk, vanilla, and a slick of cream until silky.

30m Serves 2

brunch and special occasion

Crispy potato hash with bacon and eggs

Diced potato roasted hard with onion, capsicum, and smoky bacon until the edges go bronze, then

40m Serves 4

brunch and special occasion

Croque madame

The French cafe classic: shaved ham and gruyère between buttered brioche, smothered with

23m Serves 2

brunch and special occasion

Eggs Florentine

The vegetarian Bennie: poached eggs on wilted baby spinach with a hint of nutmeg, on a toasted

25m Serves 2

make ahead

Freezer breakfast burritos

A Sunday-afternoon production line: scrambled eggs with chorizo, kumara, black beans, and cheese,

45m Serves 8

kiwi classics

French toast with banana and golden syrup

Eggy bread, Kiwi-style: thick-cut bread soaked through, fried in butter, topped with caramelised

13m Serves 2

international

Ginger and spring onion congee

The Chinese breakfast porridge: rice cooked low and slow with ginger until it falls into a silky

1h 5m Serves 4

quick and healthy

Greek yoghurt bowl with honey, walnuts, and banana

Three minutes, no cooking, hits 20g of protein. Thick Greek yoghurt, sliced banana, walnuts,

3m Serves 1

brunch and special occasion

Halloumi, tomato and poached egg on sourdough

A dish every NZ cafe gets right and most home cooks underrate. Pan-fried halloumi, slow-burst

15m Serves 2

make ahead

Honey-toasted granola

Big crunchy clusters of oats, almonds, and coconut, toasted with honey and a touch of olive oil

35m Serves 12

international

Huevos rancheros

Mexico's brunch hero: warm tortillas, fried eggs, a chunky tomato salsa, refried-style black

25m Serves 2

international

Indian masala omelette

The street-food breakfast of every Indian city: an omelette electrified with onion, green chilli,

10m Serves 1

international

Kimchi fried rice with egg

Day-old rice fried hot with kimchi, butter, and sesame oil, topped with a soft-yolk egg and a

15m Serves 1

brunch and special occasion

Leek, potato, and gruyère frittata

A whole-pan oven frittata: silky leeks, soft potato, eggs, gruyère, thyme. Slices like a cake,

40m Serves 6

decadent

Lemon ricotta hotcakes with strawberry compote

The Australian-cafe icon: ricotta folded through a light batter so the hotcakes come out

24m Serves 4

make ahead

Mango and chia pudding

Stir, fridge, forget about it. Chia seeds drink the milk overnight into a thick pudding, layered

5m Serves 4

kiwi classics

Marmite, butter and tasty cheese on toast

The right way: butter on hot toast first, Marmite scraped thin, sharp tasty cheese melted under the

6m Serves 1

international

Menemen — Turkish scrambled eggs with tomato and pepper

Soft scrambled eggs cooked into a base of olive-oil-fried capsicum and tomato. The Turkish

17m Serves 2

quick and healthy

Mushroom and feta omelette

A two-egg omelette with mushrooms cooked dark and buttery, salty crumbled feta, and a handful of

10m Serves 1

quick and healthy

Mushroom and goat's cheese toast with thyme

Mushrooms cooked dark in butter and thyme, piled onto sourdough toast smeared with goat's cheese.

12m Serves 1

quick and healthy

Overnight oats with feijoa and toasted almond

Tip everything in a jar at night, walk out the door with it in the morning. Rolled oats, feijoa

5m Serves 1

kiwi classics

Porridge with stewed feijoa and walnuts

Autumn-only and worth the wait: rolled oats cooked low and slow, a quick feijoa compote with

17m Serves 2

quick and healthy

Quinoa power bowl with soft-boiled egg and kale

A bowl that earns its name: cooked quinoa, garlicky wilted kale, half an avocado, a soft-boiled

20m Serves 1

international

Shakshuka — eggs in spiced tomato

Eggs poached straight into a fragrant tomato-and-pepper sauce, finished with feta and parsley,

30m Serves 2

quick and healthy

Smashed peas on toast with poached egg

A bright, springy alternative to avo toast: thawed peas smashed with mint, lemon, and parmesan,

10m Serves 1

brunch and special occasion

Smoked salmon and dill cream cheese bagel

The New York deli bagel, no shortcuts. Toasted bagel, lemony dill cream cheese, NZ cold-smoked

10m Serves 2

brunch and special occasion

Smoked salmon scrambled eggs on rye

The slow-stirred French method: eggs cooked low and slow into a custardy mass, folded with cold

10m Serves 2

kiwi classics

Soft-boiled eggs with Marmite soldiers

The kitchen-table breakfast every Kiwi knows: a soft-boiled egg in a cup, buttered toast cut into

8m Serves 1

make ahead

Spinach and feta egg muffins

Tray of frittata-style egg muffins, freezable for a month, microwaveable in 90 seconds. Spinach

35m Serves 12

quick and healthy

Spinach and feta egg wrap

A wholemeal wrap, two eggs scrambled with baby spinach, crumbled feta, and lemon. Roll, cut,

8m Serves 1

decadent

Sticky cinnamon scrolls

A proving-overnight cinnamon scroll project: enriched yeasted dough rolled around cinnamon

55m Serves 12

brunch and special occasion

Sweetcorn fritters with bacon and tomato relish

Every NZ cafe has these on the menu and most do them badly. Done well: sweet, crisp at the edges,

28m Serves 4

international

Tamagoyaki — Japanese rolled omelette

Japan's bento-box egg: thin layers of seasoned omelette rolled into a tight log, sliced into

13m Serves 2

kiwi classics

The big Kiwi breakfast

The full plate: eggs, bacon, sausages, hash brown, grilled mushrooms, tomato, baked beans, toast.

35m Serves 2

quick and healthy

Three-ingredient banana pancakes

Banana, eggs, oats — that's the whole batter. Naturally gluten-friendly, no sugar, no flour. The

11m Serves 1

quick and healthy

Tropical smoothie bowl

Frozen banana, mango, and a handful of spinach blitzed thick enough to eat with a spoon. Topped

5m Serves 1

kiwi classics

Vegemite, avocado and lemon on toast

A modern Kiwi take: thin Vegemite under smashed avocado, lemon, and chilli flakes. Salty, fatty,

6m Serves 1

kiwi classics

Weet-Bix with hot milk, banana, and brown sugar

The Kiwi childhood breakfast, written for grown-ups: warm milk poured over so the Weet-Bix soften,

3m Serves 1