Israeli breakfast – a fresh and healthy start to the day

Experience an Israeli breakfast at home with a beautiful, fresh and healthy selection of delicious foods, arranged on a tempting platter.

If you’ve ever spent the night in an Israeli hotel, you’ll know what an experience the Israeli breakfast can be. Big tourist hotels offer buffet tables groaning with salads, cheeses, baked goods and more, while boutique hotels engage in ‘breakfast wars’ to try and outdo their competition.

Even modest and homely B&Bs offer a wide selections of eggs, vegetables, fruits, juices, fresh breads, cheeses and yogurts.

Sweet or savoury

While the Full English Breakfast (or its Jewish cousin) is definitely a savoury affair, a typical daily breakfast here in the UK is usually more sweet. A standard, everyday breakfast is likely to consist of cereals or muesli, porridge with syrup or fruit, toast and jam, or even foreign imports like pain au chocolat, blueberry muffins or a croissant with preserves.

In Israel however, the first meal of the day is typically more savoury. Pita bread or rolls, various kinds of cheese, fresh salads, olives and eggs are standard fare.

There is also an abundance of dairy products such as yogurts – both plain and fruit – often eaten with homemade muesli or granola.

You’ll find hard and soft cheeses in abundance, labneh with olive oil and zaatar, and milky drinks such as cafe hafuch or the children’s favourite, chocolate milk.

Healthy breakfast foods

The typical Israeli breakfast contains many healthy foods and is a nutritious start to the day.

• dairy products such as cheeses are rich in calcium and vitamins A and D
• vegetables, salads and fruits provide dietary fibre, vitamin C and trace minerals
• eggs give plenty of protein, omega 3 and B vitamins
• olives and olive oil provide healthy fats
• wholemeal (whole wheat) bread is a good source of complex carbohydrates to fuel you through the morning until lunchtime!

Fresh bread

Israelis love freshly baked bread – who doesn’t! And there are many kinds to choose from. Fresh warm pita is a classic, but look out for some of these as well:

• bagels – both chewy ‘American’ style, and the larger, sesame encrusted Middle Eastern style
• Challah or brioche
• sourdough
• rye bread or pumpernickel
• crusty rolls – with or without a coating of seeds
• flatbreads like laffa or Druze pita

On Pesach (Passover) can can swap out the bread for matza or matza crackers, and continue to enjoy the vegetables, cheeses, olives, eggs, etc.

Salad for breakfast?

Visitors to Israel are often perplexed by the presence of salad at breakfast! But especially in hotels, cafes and restaurants, a range of delicious salads is de rigeur.

Since Israel is blessed with an abundance of gorgeous seasonal produce, the range of salads will change throughout the year to highlight what’s currently available. However, there are some that are always on the table.

As well as the simple vegetable slices I’ve included on my Israeli breakfast plate, you’ll probably also find Israeli chopped vegetable salad, tabbouleh or a similar grainy salad, mixed leaves with fruits and nuts, simple carrot salads, and even some of the traditional ‘appetiser’ type salads like red cabbage salad.

And there’s always a dish of olives!

Fishing for compliments

Fish also often put in an appearance at breakfast time. This may seem slightly strange, but consider that kippers and kedgeree were both British breakfast favourites until fairly recently.

In Israel you’re more likely to find cold, ready-to-eat fish such as smoked salmon or mackerel, or more exotic offerings like smoked tuna or halibut. Herrings of different kinds – pickled, marinated etc – are also popular.

You might also find dips and spreads made with fish, like a spicy tuna salad or a smooth salmon pate.

Hot Israeli breakfast

Israeli breakfast is usually a cold meal, with the exception of a slice of toast, perhaps. However there are a number of Israeli breakfast or brunch dishes which are served warm or hot.

These dishes are usually saved for the weekend, when there’s time to relax over a more leisurely meal, or else are bought as grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks from Israel’s many street food vendors.

Examples of hot Israeli breakfast and brunch dishes include:

• shakshuka – eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, served with bread for dipping and a fresh Israeli chopped vegetable salad
• toasts – Israeli ‘toasts’ are actually toasted sandwiches, often made on a bagel, with a range of fillings including cheeses, vegetables and different sauces
• sabich – a tasty sandwich of fried aubergine (eggplant) slices, sliced hard-boiled eggs, pickles, tahini sauce, amba (spicy mango sauce) and salad, all stuffed into a fresh pita
• msabbaha – warm humous with whole chick-peas, lemon-tahini sauce and salad, served with bread for scooping
• bourekas – hot fresh flaky pastries, typically stuffed with cheese, spinach, mushrooms or potato, and sometimes served with a boiled egg, chilli sauce (schug) and fresh tomato salsa
• malawach – a fried, flaky flatbread, originally from Yemen, often served with cheese, eggs and/or salad

Israeli breakfast at home

I think it would be impossible to recreate the excesses of the Israeli hotel breakfast in your own home! However you can still breakfast like an Israeli any morning you like.

It helps if you can plan ahead and get a few things ready in advance. Prepare hard-boiled eggs the evening before, and even slice cheeses or vegetables ahead of time and store them in the fridge. Then it’s a simple job to assemble and eat at breakfast time!

I’ve included a ‘recipe’ below – it’s more a list of suggested items – to help you put together an easy Israeli style breakfast to enjoy any day of the week.

In the photos you can see my loaded plate with enough for 1-2 people. I’ll be honest – I ate most of this myself! But it was nearly lunchtime, and I was really hungry…

Plates or dishes?

While I’ve arranged my Israeli breakfast on a plate, many Israeli cafes and restaurants serve individual dips, salads and other elements in little dishes, as shown below. It does look lovely, but generates a lot of washing up!

What to drink with an Israeli breakfast

There are numerous hot and cold options for Israeli breakfast drinks.

If you like coffee, you can stick to espresso, or try a milky cafe hafuch (upside down coffee) – Israel’s answer to a cafe latte.

Tea in Israel is usually drunk without milk, and with a slice of lemon, or a sprig of nana – fresh mint. It is typically much weaker in strength than a British cuppa. Look out for Wissotzky tea bags if you want to experience the ‘real deal’. (Lovers of ‘builders tea’ might find it a bit insipid.)

If you’d rather have a cold drink, freshly squeezed orange juice is a good choice – from Israeli jaffa oranges, of course! And Israeli children all love chocolate milk, which comes, for some reason, in a plastic bag. Simply bite off a corner of the bag and suck – delicious!

Israeli style weekend brunch – for a crowd!

If you want to push the boat out on a weekend, and spend a more leisurely time enjoying an Israeli style brunch, simply add some or all of the following to your Israeli breakfast:

• a selection of ready-to-eat fish, such as smoked mackerel, smoked salmon, or pickled herring
• various spreads and dips like humous, baba ganoush, egg and onion or tuna mayonnaise
• a basket of different breads, including bagels, rolls, sourdough or focaccia
• a skillet of hot shakshuka with toasted bagels or fresh pita to soak up the sauce
• some slices of gooey chocolate or cinnamon babka
• halva in different flavours like chocolate, pistachio or vanilla
• a fresh fruit platter or fruit salad

The Israeli breakfast experience!

I’m sure, once you’ve experienced this healthy, tasty start to the day, you’ll be hooked! It’s time to banish the toast and marmalade and embrace a fresh and delicious Israeli style breakfast instead.

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📖 Recipe

More delicious breakfast recipes

And if you’re in the mood to try to some other Internationally inspired breakfast dishes, how about:

• Norwegian waffles – vegan and delicious!
• The full Jewish breakfast – my Jewish cousin of the ‘Full English’
• Italian inspired cheesy breakfast focaccia
• Polish apple pancakes (racuchy) – from ‘Wild Honey and Rye’ by Ren Behan
• Swiss style bircher muesli (overnight oats)
• Thick and fluffy American waffles – best with blueberries and maple syrup
• Extra creamy oatmeal porridge – a better-for-you breakfast!