If you’re looking for an easy way to enjoy peaches this season, try this amazing peach oatmeal! It turns this sweet stone fruit into a cozy and filling breakfast, mixed with some maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Sprinkle with some crunchy pecans and each bite is a pop of sweet tart fruit!

The first time my husband Alex tried this oatmeal, he whispered to me, “Don’t tell your mom, but this is just as good as peach pie and way easier!” Yes, this peach oatmeal really does taste like a fresh peach pie. Our family is obsessed with oatmeal recipes and needless to say, peaches and cream oatmeal was a huge winner over here (I couldn’t stop sneaking bites.)

Dietary notes

This peach oatmeal recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, use non-dairy creamer or full fat coconut milk.

If you’re looking for a way to change up your overnight oats routine—this is the recipe! I mean, who doesn’t want tiramisu for breakfast? The combination of cocoa powder, espresso, and a luscious Greek yogurt topping creates such a delicious experience that you’ll forget you’re eating oatmeal.

I used to be on the fence about overnight oats, but this carrot cake overnight oats recipe changed my mind. So I decided to try a tiramisu-inspired spin: I found the idea on Pinterest but created my own recipe. Greek yogurt sweetened with maple syrup mimics creamy mascarpone, and a dusting of cocoa powder tops it off just like the real dessert. It’s so much fun and I can’t wait for you to try it!

Dietary notes

This tiramisu overnight oats recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, use oat milk and vegan coconut yogurt (we like the brand Cocojune).

Want to eat more breakfast vegetables? You’re not alone. Eating more veggies to start the day is starting to trend. Because let’s face it: the American breakfast is largely based on carbs and sugar—like pancakes, waffles, muffins, and breakfast pastries.

So why not re-imagine breakfast? As a cookbook author who specializes in healthy breakfast recipes, I created this breakfast vegetable scramble to do just that! You can make it two ways: with eggs or as a tofu scramble, depending on your diet. It’s full of savory flavor and loaded with nutrients, too!

I used to think healthy breakfasts meant sacrificing flavor for nutrition (like sad plain oatmeal)—until I discovered the Mediterranean diet. After years of becoming an expert in this way of eating, I’ve learned that starting your day this way isn’t just good for you: it’s delicious and keeps you satisfied for hours!

As a cookbook author who’s spent years testing breakfast recipes and exploring Mediterranean diet ingredients, I can tell you that this approach to breakfast is the foundation of how my family starts the day. Instead of the typical sugar crashes from pastries or the heaviness of bacon and eggs, we’re able to enjoy vibrant, fresh flavors that energize us naturally!

It’s all about the lifestyle

The Mediterranean diet is all about the lifestyle. This eating philosophy originated based on the longevity of people in the Mediterranean, and researchers observed more than just eating habits. So, simply eating Mediterranean diet breakfast recipes is not all there is to it! Here’s what’s important in addition to food:

• Stay active and exercise regularly.
• Avoid smoking.
• Reduce the amount of stress in your lifestyle.
• Actively participate in community: be invested and engaged in the people around you.

For example, you may want to eat meals with people in your community. Or, share this list of Mediterranean diet recipes with others so you can each cook them in your separate homes. And now, let’s get to the recipes!

It’s easy to get in a rut with breakfasts, especially if you’re a creature of habit. I eat oatmeal almost daily, but I still find the morning to be the perfect time to have some fun with flavors. This recipe for strawberry oatmeal is a tasty, pink spin on a classic breakfast that’ll make you look forward to mornings!

The sweet berry flavor is already irresistible. When topped with fresh berries and a drizzle of maple syrup and a hint of cream, it’s absolutely sublime. If you’re looking for a fun way to use seasonal berries, this strawberry oatmeal is a delicious option that starts your day off right. Count me obsessed!

Dietary notes

This strawberry oatmeal recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free (using gluten-free oats). For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, use plain non-dairy creamer or coconut milk.

Dietary notes

This strawberry pancakes recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For dairy-free, use oat milk and vegan butter and top with vegan whipped cream or dairy-free yogurt.

Over the years, I’ve created over 60 different smoothie recipes featuring all of my favorite fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious ingredients to keep everyone at home full and energized. 

While I love playing with complex flavors, sometimes the best thing to do is to keep it simple. This homemade strawberry smoothie is exactly that, but in the greatest way possible.  

It’s made with just 5 ingredients, and its creamy texture and berry flavor satisfy my smoothie cravings year-round. It’s my go-to spin on the iconic purée – a subtly sweet, frosty blend that’s on constant repeat in my house.

Since I first shared this fan-favorite recipe, hundreds of home cooks have made and loved it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. (And as much as so many homemade smoothie lovers already have!)

Dietary Notes

This strawberry smoothie is vegetarian and gluten-free. For a vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free option, choose a plant milk like oat milk or almond milk as your base and omit the yogurt.

When my son started eating yogurt with granola every morning, I took a closer look at the nutrition labels of store-bought granola. Most granolas marketed as “healthy” had lots of sugar, oils, and preservatives. As someone who cares deeply about nutrition while still wanting food to taste amazing, I set about to create a healthier granola recipe.

After countless test batches in our kitchen (and many taste tests by Alex and our kids!), I can confidently say this maple pecan granola is genuinely wholesome without sacrificing flavor. It’s become such a staple in our home that we haven’t used another recipe in years—seriously! It still delivers that perfect granola crunch and sweetness we all crave.

Dietary notes

Vegetarian, gluten free, plant-based, dairy-free, vegan, naturally sweet, and has no refined sugar.

Dietary Notes

This sunny-side-up eggs recipe is vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Need healthy food to cook this month? Here at A Couple Cooks, Alex and I have spent years decades creating recipes for healthy meals. We’ve written two cookbooks (Pretty Simple Cooking and A Couple Cooks), and have devoted our careers to helping connect people to every day healthy recipes.

Here’s our new 4 week Mediterranean diet meal plan, designed to do exactly that! The goal of this plan is to help you make a sustainable practice of cooking and eating healthy food at home. In the process, we hope you’ll become inspired and find a handful of recipes you’ll make again and again!

What makes our Mediterranean diet meal plan different?

One problem with standard meal planning calendars and weekly meal plans is that they offer no flexibility. Many meal plans call for cooking something new every day of the week. They’re overwhelming with the amount of food prep! Many also don’t account for your schedule: what if Monday nights I have a weekly meeting where I eat dinner? Or this Friday night I’m going out with friends?

Here’s what makes our Mediterranean diet meal plan different:

• It focuses on dinner ideas. Dinner is the main meal where Alex and I cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is this: Go big on dinner. Go super simple on breakfast and lunch. At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas.
• The approach: Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This encourages you to customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes, and to eat up leftovers.
• Repeat your favorites! Offering only 3 dinner ideas encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

Confession: we actually didn’t love overnight oats: until we met this recipe! Soggy oats weren’t really Alex and my jam—but we can confidently say these carrot cake overnight oats have quickly become a new favorite in our morning rotation!

The combination of tender shredded carrots, plump raisins, crunchy pecans, and a hint of cinnamon makes a breakfast that genuinely tastes like the classic dessert. Plus, there’s something magical about waking up to a prepared breakfast that only gets more delicious as it sits in the fridge overnight…right?

This recipe is sort of the love child of our carrot cake baked oatmeal and the standard overnight oats. We used to be “team no chia seeds” for overnight oats (they’re so slimey!), but we found adding just a hint here makes a nice texture that’s a little more interesting.

We hope you love them! Let us know what you think in the comments below.

~Alex and Sonja

Dietary notes

This carrot cake overnight oats recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For dairy-free and vegan, use your favorite plant-based milk and skip the Greek yogurt topping or use a dairy-free alternative.

It really does feel like there’s a carrot cake season, starting at the tail end of winter with all of us dreaming for spring. So here’s a recipe where you can have your cake and eat it too (sorry): a carrot cake baked oatmeal made of mostly healthy ingredients that really does taste like cake!

It’s cozy and comforting from the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, and the icing on the cake (sorry again!) is a Greek yogurt topping that tastes like a healthy cream cheese frosting. It’s easy to bake up a pan and eat leftovers for days: or make it for a spring brunch, Easter, and Mother’s Day. This is one of Alex and my favorite new recipes we’ve created yet and we are absolutely smitten (so are our kids!). We can’t wait to hear what you think!

Dietary notes

This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian. For dairy free, use plant based milk; for vegan, use plant based milk and milk and a flax egg.

For a nut-free version, simply omit the walnuts or pecans and use raisins instead.

Growing up, Alex and I both loved the novelty of turning food different colors (and let’s be honest: we still do!). So here’s a new favorite breakfast idea: spinach pancakes! Adding greens turns them a lovely shade of green, adding a fun factor without any change in flavor.

These pancakes are a spin on our favorite oatmeal pancakes: a quick breakfast made in a blender! They come out so hearty and filling made with all wholesome ingredients, and naturally gluten-free. Our entire family is hooked!

Here’s the ideal healthy breakfast recipe, easy and full of irresistible flavor. In fact, we’re head over heels for it: banana baked oatmeal! This incredible recipe is wholesome and filling, and it’s made with good-for-you ingredients: mostly oats and bananas. It happens to be a vegan baked oatmeal, but it pleases absolutely everyone.

Serve it for guests or even better, make up a big pan and eat off of it all week! You can cut it into “bars” for quick snacks, too. Topped with a little nut butter and banana slices, it’s a decadently wholesome treat.

This banana baked oatmeal recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Looking for a delicious, naturally sweet healthy drink? Alex and I have created over 50 smoothie recipes over the past decade, many of which have turned out to be reader favorites. This is the smoothie that started it all!

This green apple smoothie is a delightfully sweet tart creation we still make to this day. Its refreshing flavor and wholesome ingredients make it a favorite of us and our whole family. Here’s how to make it!

Dietary notes

This recipe is this green apple smoothie recipe is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant-based.

It’s cinnamon-scented, crispy on the outside and custardy on the inside: try our best French toast recipe! It’s basic, but it can taste like a luxurious morning of hotel room service if it’s done right.

Here we’ve cracked the code to the very best way to make this classic breakfast recipe: and it’s all in the ingredients. Here’s what you need to know about how to make French toast!

Best bread for French toast

The type of bread can make or break a French toast recipe. A slice of flimsy store-bought sandwich bread loaf just doesn’t hold a candle to a more artisan-style bread. Here are a few of the best breads for French toast:

• Sourdough bread: Sourdough bread has a naturally firm texture and a slight tang to the flavor. It’s our top choice for French toast!
• Italian or French loaf: Each grocery store uses a different name for this type of bread, but look for an artisan loaf with a firm crust and sturdy texture. You can also use a French baguette.
• Artisan bread: Look for any style of artisan bread in the bakery section of your grocery store. We recommend avoiding very seedy whole-grain breads for this recipe.
• Challah or brioche: Egg-based breads like challah and brioche make a fluffy, custardy texture to the French toast. (It’s not our preference, but it’s a specific style!)

Bread to avoid for French toast? We don’t love purchased white or whole wheat sandwich bread. Sure, it’s classic: but the texture can come out mushy and bland. Of course, you can use it if it’s all you have. But for the best French toast recipe, stick to the types above.

Craving the refreshing, zingy flavor of lemon? Try this easy lemon smoothie recipe! This frosty, pale yellow puree holds a secret: a super citrusy, sweet tart flavor owed to a load of lemon zest and juice.

When Alex and I are in the mood for a sunny, citrusy drink, this is what we crave! Whiz it up with frozen fruit and milk in a blender, and it’s one of the tastiest, most satisfying smoothies around. You can even call it a “lemon pie smoothie” to make it even more fun!

Use turmeric for color

Turmeric is a root used in cooking, part of the ginger family. It is most often used dried and ground into a yellow powder, which has an earthy, almost mustard-like flavor. But more than flavor, turmeric is also often used for color in recipes: in fact, it’s what gives yellow mustard its bright yellow color!

You can use turmeric here to make an even brighter lemon flavor! It won’t be noticeable flavor-wise.

Here’s one of my very best smoothies, and that’s saying something, since I have over 50 smoothie recipes! This beautiful raspberry smoothie has a brilliant, sweet-tart flavor, a creamy, frosty texture, and a stunning bright color.

This one was an instant favorite at my house, so now I make it on repeat! It’s one of the most refreshing smoothies you’ll find. The best part is that it doubles as a healthy treat and the perfect ending to a meal.

Dietary notes

This raspberry smoothie recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, see the variation listed in the notes below.

Here’s a recipe that’s so full of cozy-spiced flavor, you’ll wonder where it’s been all your life. Meet this incredible easy and healthy baked oatmeal! Here’s that perfect breakfast or brunch recipe you search for when you have house guests to impress.

But guess what? It also works for quick mornings! Bake up a pan in advance and then grab a square to go. The combination of the cinnamon, allspice and maple makes magic. In fact, we could not stop eating it. Here’s what you need to know about the basic recipe, and a vegan variation, too.

Dietary notes

This baked oatmeal recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, see the swaps below.