7 low FODMAP breakfasts, checked meal by meal
Seven low FODMAP breakfast ideas with exact amounts, each checked as a whole meal, plus the breakfast foods that aren’t low and what to swap them for.
Written by Llorenç Bauza
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A low FODMAP breakfast comes from a short list: oats, eggs, spelt sourdough or rice cakes, lactose-free milk or yogurt, peanut butter, and a modest portion of banana, blueberries or kiwi. The seven breakfasts below come from our 7-day meal plan. Each was checked as a whole meal, not only food by food, because FODMAPs from different foods add up.
Seven low FODMAP breakfasts
The amounts are part of the recipe. Under each breakfast, one row per FODMAP group it contains, as in the Fodmi app: the bar’s full width is one low serving of that group, and each food counts as a share of its own largest low serving. Every breakfast here stays short of full.
Day 1 of the meal plan
Porridge with banana
Beans & lentilsGOS · Oats
Wheat, garlic & onionFructans · Banana
Nothing from the other four
Day 2 of the meal plan
Scrambled eggs on spelt sourdough toast
Eggs2 eggs (114 g)
Sourdough bread1 slice (40 g)
Butter10 g
- Wheat, garlic & onionFructans · Sourdough bread
Milk & soft cheeseLactose · Butter
Nothing from the other four
Day 3 of the meal plan
Porridge with peanut butter
Oats40 g
Water200 g
Peanut butter16 g
- Beans & lentilsGOS · Oats
Nothing from the other five
Day 4 of the meal plan
Rice cakes with cream cheese, cucumber and a boiled egg
Rice cakes20 g
Cream cheese20 g
Cucumber40 g- Eggs1 egg (57 g)
- Wheat, garlic & onionFructans · Rice cakes
Honey, mango & appleExcess fructose · Cucumber- Milk & soft cheeseLactose · Cream cheese
Nothing from the other three
Day 5 of the meal plan
Omelette with green pepper and feta
- Eggs2 eggs (114 g)
Green bell pepper50 g
Feta30 g
Olive oil5 g
- Wheat, garlic & onionFructans · Green bell pepper
Nothing from the other five
Day 6 of the meal plan
Lactose-free yogurt with blueberries and chia
Lactose-free yogurt170 g
Blueberries60 g
Chia seeds10 g
- Wheat, garlic & onionFructans · Chia seeds
Nothing from the other five
Day 7 of the meal plan
Lactose-free milk with oats and strawberries
Lactose-free milk200 g- Oats40 g
Strawberries40 g
- Beans & lentilsGOS · Oats
- Honey, mango & appleExcess fructose · Strawberries
Nothing from the other four
Why breakfast is easy to get wrong
A usual breakfast leans on the foods that cause the most trouble: wheat bread, cow’s milk, yogurt, fruit juice, honey and fruit like apples. Most of them aren’t low at the amount people actually eat. Regular milk is low only up to 20 g (1 tablespoon): a splash in coffee, not a bowl of cereal. White wheat bread is low up to 24 g (1 slice). Apple juice has no serving that’s rated low at all.
The other catch is stacking. Two foods that are each fine on their own can go over together when they share a FODMAP group. Banana on toast is the classic one: in our plan, the slice of spelt sourdough uses 77% of a low serving of fructans and the 50 g of banana uses 53%. Together that’s 130%, more than one sitting should hold, which is why the plan keeps banana with porridge and the toast with eggs. How FODMAP stacking works.
Low FODMAP breakfast swaps
Common breakfast foods that aren’t low at a usual serving, how much of each stays low, and a swap that is low. The light shows the usual serving.
| Instead of | At a usual serving | Low up to | Try |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk Lactose | High | 20 g | Lactose-free milk |
| Plain yogurt Lactose | High | 20 g | Lactose-free yogurt |
| Greek yogurt Lactose | High | 23 g | |
| Bread Fructans | High | 24 g | Sourdough bread |
| Wholemeal bread Fructans, GOS | High | 30 g | |
| Oat milk Fructans, GOS | High | 104 g | Almond milk |
| Cornflakes Fructans | Moderate | 27 g | Oats |
| Honey Excess fructose, Fructans | High | 4 g | Maple syrup |
| Apple Excess fructose, Sorbitol | High | 20 g | Blueberries |
| Pear Excess fructose, Sorbitol | High | 4 g | |
| Mango Excess fructose | High | 7 g | |
| Raisins Excess fructose | High | 4 g | Kiwi |
| Orange juice Excess fructose | High | 72 g | Tea |
| Apple juice Excess fructose, Sorbitol | High | No low serving |
More in high FODMAP foods.
Breakfast foods that are low
Each of these is low FODMAP at a usual serving. The last column is the most that stays low.
| Food | At a usual serving | Low up to |
|---|---|---|
| Oats | Low | 52 g |
| Eggs | Low | 117 g |
| Sourdough bread | Low | 52 g |
| Rice cakes | Low | 28 g |
| Lactose-free milk | Low | 258 g |
| Lactose-free yogurt | Low | 170 g |
| Almond milk | Low | 248 g |
| Peanut butter | Low | 50 g |
| Butter | Low | 20 g |
| Cream cheese | Low | 40 g |
| Cheddar | Low | 40 g |
| Banana | Low | 95 g |
| Blueberries | Low | 125 g |
| Kiwi | Low | 150 g |
| Chia seeds | Low | 30 g |
| Maple syrup | Low | 27 g |
| Coffee | Low | 60 g |
| Tea | Low | 250 g |
Building your own
- Start with one base: rolled oats (low up to 52 g (½ cup); quick oats only up to 23 g (¼ cup)), spelt sourdough (up to 52 g (2 slices)), rice cakes or eggs.
- Add protein that holds you until lunch: eggs, peanut butter, lactose-free yogurt, or a hard cheese like cheddar.
- Add one fruit, not three. Firm banana, blueberries and kiwi are low at a usual serving; a ripe banana only up to 37 g (⅓ medium), and strawberries up to 65 g (5 medium).
- For savoury breakfasts, use chives or garlic-infused oil instead of onion and garlic. Chives are low only up to 4 g (1 tablespoon), so they’re a garnish, not a vegetable.
- Coffee and weak black tea are low. Use lactose-free or almond milk in them.
- If a breakfast doesn’t sit well even though every food is low, it’s worth noting down. Everyone’s tolerance is different, and the food and symptom diary helps you see a pattern.
These breakfasts are for the first phase of the diet, the 2 to 6 weeks of cutting back. They haven’t been checked for calories, fibre or nutrients. After that phase you reintroduce foods, and you may find you can have more than this list allows. How the three phases work.
For the rest of the day, see the low FODMAP lunch and dinner recipes and low FODMAP snacks.
Frequently asked questions
What can I eat for breakfast on a low FODMAP diet?
Oats, eggs, spelt sourdough, rice cakes, lactose-free milk and yogurt, peanut butter, hard cheese, and modest portions of banana, blueberries or kiwi are all low FODMAP at a usual serving. Keep to the amounts and look at the meal as a whole, because FODMAPs from different foods add up.
Is oatmeal low FODMAP?
Yes. Oats are low FODMAP up to 52 g (½ cup). At 60 g they are moderate in GOS. That’s for rolled oats; quick oats are low only up to 23 g (¼ cup).
Are eggs low FODMAP?
Yes. Eggs are low FODMAP up to 117 g (2 whole). Larger servings haven’t been rated, so Fodmi doesn’t call them low.
Is sourdough bread low FODMAP?
Yes. Spelt sourdough bread is low FODMAP up to 52 g (2 slices). At 148 g (5⅔ slices) it is moderate in fructans. Other breads differ: white wheat bread is low only up to 24 g (1 slice).
Are bananas low FODMAP?
Yes. Bananas are low FODMAP up to 95 g (1 medium). At 100 g (1 large) they are moderate in fructans. That’s for a firm banana; a ripe one is low only up to 37 g (⅓ medium).
Is coffee low FODMAP?
Yes. Espresso is low FODMAP up to 60 g (2 shots). Larger servings haven’t been rated, so Fodmi doesn’t call them low. The milk is usually the problem: regular cow’s milk is low only up to 20 g (1 tablespoon), while lactose-free milk is low up to 258 g (1 cup).
Check your whole plate, not just one food
FODMAPs add up across a meal. Snap your plate in Fodmi to see the total, then check in later on how it sat.
Keep reading
Sources
- Varney J, Barrett J, Scarlata K, Catsos P, Gibson PR, Muir JG. FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;32 Suppl 1:53–61. doi.org/10.1111/jgh.13698
- Shepherd SJ, Parker FC, Muir JG, Gibson PR. Dietary triggers of abdominal symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: randomized placebo-controlled evidence. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008;6(7):765–771. doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2008.02.058
- Vasant DH, Paine PA, Black CJ, et al. British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines on the management of irritable bowel syndrome. Gut. 2021;70(7):1214–1240. doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2021-324598
Fodmi estimates FODMAP content from published food composition data. It is not medical advice. Tolerance varies from person to person; follow a low FODMAP diet with a qualified health professional.