If there’s one thing that’s true about the traditional American breakfast, it’s that there are many contenders for the title. It’s no secret that the USA is a mixture of many cultures, and naturally, this goes for the food, too. Breakfast in the US varies hugely from region to region, with modern cities like New York starting the day in a completely different way to those in the deep South.
In other words, you’ll be spoilt for choice when you visit America. You can try them all if you like. Although many are regional specialties, they’re no longer confined to their places of origin; you can get a traditional bowl of grits as easily in an artisanal bistro in San Francisco as you can on a farm table in Alabama. Here’s a handy list of the most popular traditional American breakfasts, along with their often fascinating histories.
The traditional American breakfast sandwich
The breakfast sandwich is a traditional American breakfast that you can fill with almost any kind of breakfast ingredients you like, including scrambled eggs and bacon, cheese, and other types of cured meat.
The original breakfast sandwich was imported from the British Isles – they’d previously been a staple of 19th-century factory workers in London. Here they were known as “bap sandwiches”, getting their name from the slang word for a stale bread roll.
The Industrial Revolution and subsequent emigration brought the breakfast roll to the US, where it was adapted to a standard roll containing ham, eggs, onions, and green peppers. It’s an honest, wholesome food that makes the ideal breakfast, incredibly convenient if you’re dashing out for some sightseeing.
Grits
Grits are possibly the most traditional American breakfast you’ll find, particularly in the southern states. It’s the breakfast of cowboys on the range, immortalised in movie after movie. We know the name, but few people outside the region actually understand what it is.
Ironically, grits have nothing to do with cowboys. They’re a centuries-old breakfast staple first made by Native Americans. It’s a very simple dish made from crushed and boiled grains of corn. You can eat it just like this, which is the traditional way, or enjoy it the modern way, as an accompaniment to bacon and eggs.
You can think of it as a very coarse type of polenta, although that doesn’t really describe it either. You need to taste it for yourself to get the full idea. The name comes from the word “grytt”, an Old English word translating to “coarse meal”.
American-style pancakes
Pancakes have become synonymous with the idea of a traditional American breakfast, along with a most critical ingredient with which Americans have had a deep and longstanding love affair: bacon. Bacon and more bacon. Add maple syrup, and you’re in US breakfast heaven.
Pancakes are eaten for breakfast all over the USA and up into Canada, where the idea originated (the clue is in the maple syrup). Don’t be fooled into thinking that these are the thin pancakes you’re used to in the UK. These are giant slabs piled one upon another to form a stack smothered with the other ingredients.
The batter itself is often made with the addition of buttermilk, chocolate, blueberries, or apples, creating a pancake infused with delicious sweet goodness. Popular ingredients for toppings, along with maple syrup, include butter, honey, peanut butter, and whipped cream.
This sounds like a hearty breakfast, doesn’t it? That’s just where it starts, though. American breakfasts are known for their vast proportions, so the pancake stack is served with fried eggs, sausage and bacon. That will keep you going for a while as you’re visiting tourist attractions.
Biscuits with gravy
One can’t resist saying that this dish sounds a bit like a dog’s breakfast, but the name doesn’t quite describe what it is. So put away thoughts of hard, crunchy biscuits resembling 18th-century naval rations. This hugely popular traditional Southern American breakfast is rich and tasty.
To begin with, the “biscuits” are made from soft dough and have the consistency of British scones. They’re drizzled with a thick gravy made from milk, flour, and pork sausage drippings.
Biscuits make up one of the oldest meals in America, eaten in the South before the country officially existed as an independent entity. It rose to prominence and popularity shortly after the American War of Independence in the late 1700s. As such, it’s become deeply ingrained in the concept of the American way.
Breakfast tacos
This has become a traditional American breakfast thanks to the strong Mexican influence on the country. It wasn’t too long ago in relative historical terms when states like California, Nevada, Arizona, and many others belonged to Mexico before the Mexican Cession was created.
Of course, you can eat tacos at any time of the day – they’re one of the most delicious snack foods invented and can also make a complete meal. The breakfast taco originated in Texas. It’s a tortilla shell filled with breakfast ingredients of your choice, typically eggs, cheese, pork, and jalapeno chilis.
The humble breakfast taco has long been the object of an intense food fight between the Texan cities of San Antonio and Austin. The argument is so vociferous that, while those in Austin know it as breakfast tacos, San Antonians make their point by simply calling it “breakfast”.
Breakfast burritos
The breakfast burrito is the other main traditional American breakfast imported from Mexico. It’s a soft tortilla rolled around various ingredients, pretty similar to Indian roti. The tortilla texture in this dish is very different from that of a taco.
The dish was first created in a small cafe in Santa Fe in 1975 called Tia Sophia. The original breakfast burrito as served there is stuffed with eggs, potatoes, and bacon, with cheese grated over the top.
Modern variations are made with a wider palette of ingredients, such as beans, ham, spinach, and tomatoes. You can get burritos everywhere, from trendy breakfast establishments to the main branded takeaway outlets in the country.
Bagels and lox
This is possibly the most traditional American breakfast associated with New York. It’s a culinary gift from the Yiddish community. Lox is a salmon fillet that’s been soaked in brine, sometimes smoked, sometimes not. It’s typically served with cream cheese on a fresh bagel, garnished with capers, onion, and cucumber.
This breakfast originated among the Ashkenazi Jews in Poland and was brought to the US during the early immigrant waves. It became the signature dish in the New York City Jewish community and has been synonymous with the Big Apple ever since.
Griddlecakes and hash browns
Griddlecakes can be confused with pancakes, but they’re simply any kind of cake-like item cooked on a griddle. In truth, griddlecakes are another imported traditional American breakfast, this time from Britain.
They’re essentially a type of crumpet, made from a thin dough that’s more like a batter and which is poured directly onto a hot iron griddle. Griddlecakes are best eaten as soon as they are cooked, with anything from ham and eggs to grits.
Hash browns have become familiar as a breakfast food the world over, but there’s nothing like tasting them made the authentic way in the US. They’re usually prepared by shredding potatoes and forming them into patties that are then pan-fried.
However, the more traditional way of making them is to simply add the loose potato shreds to the hot pan. Hash browns are usually served together with bacon, eggs, and sausages.
French toast
We’ll end with a slightly more contentious traditional American breakfast. Some Americans would argue that French toast is actually their invention, and who are we to argue when it’s become almost a fine art in the US? Americans absolutely love their French toast.
The US version of French toast uses the same basic method of dipping slices of bread in a batter before frying. From here, you can add almost any other breakfast ingredients you fancy. Different regions pour milk or cream on top and use various spices in the batter, including vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blueberries and strawberries are favourite toppings, along with – you guessed it – maple syrup.
