Greek Breakfast: What Greeks Eat in the Morning (and How to Make It at Home)

A Greek breakfast can be as small as a coffee and a sesame bread ring bought on the way to work, or as generous as a hotel table of yogurt, honey, pies, cheese, olives and fruit. What ties it together is simple, local ingredients: bread, olive oil, yogurt, honey, cheese and seasonal fruit. Here is what Greeks eat in the morning and how to put together a Greek-style breakfast at home.

What is a traditional Greek breakfast?

On an ordinary weekday, breakfast in Greece is often light and quick: a coffee, and something from the bakery or the street vendor. At weekends, on holiday and in hotels, it becomes a much bigger spread. The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels runs a “Greek Breakfast” programme to encourage hotels to serve local products, and it names the signature foods as fresh bread, rusks, olive oil, olives, yogurt, honey and seasonal fruit. One certification body for the programme lists cheeses, cold cuts, fresh vegetables, legumes, pies, sweets and traditional local dishes from each region as well. According to the Chamber, more than 1,500 hotels and local producers take part.

10 classic Greek breakfast foods

1. Greek yogurt with honey. Thick strained yogurt with a spoonful of honey, often with walnuts or fruit. See our Greek yogurt with honey guide.
2. Koulouri. A ring of bread crusted with sesame seeds, sold from bakeries and street carts, especially in Thessaloniki and Athens.
3. Bougatsa. Phyllo pastry filled with semolina custard (dusted with sugar and cinnamon) or with cheese, as in the photo above; strongly associated with Thessaloniki and northern Greece.
4. Tiropita and spanakopita. Cheese pie and spinach pie, eaten warm or at room temperature. Try our spanakopita recipe.
5. Bread with olive oil. Good bread, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of dried oregano and grated tomato.
6. Rusks (paximadia). Twice-baked barley or wheat rusks, softened with tomato and oil, as in a Cretan dakos.
7. Eggs with tomato. Known as strapatsada (or kayianas in parts of the Peloponnese): eggs scrambled into a quick tomato sauce, often with feta.
8. Cheese and olives. Feta, graviera or a local cheese with Kalamata olives and tomato or cucumber.
9. Honey, sweets and fruit. Honey on bread, a slice of cake or koulourakia, and seasonal fruit such as figs, grapes or oranges.
10. Coffee. A small cup of Greek coffee, or in summer an iced frappé or freddo espresso.

How to make a Greek breakfast at home

You don’t need a bakery on the corner. A Greek-style breakfast table for four can be built from a few pantry staples and 15 minutes of cooking:

Element	What to serve	Pantry link
Something creamy	Thick Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts	Our Kalymnos thyme honey
Something warm	Strapatsada (eggs with tomato), below	Olive oil and oregano
Bread and oil	Toasted sourdough with olive oil, salt and oregano	Our Rapti Koroneiki olive oil
Savoury bites	Feta, olives, tomato and cucumber	Our Kalamata olives
Something sweet	Dried figs, fresh fruit or a slice of cake	Our Greek dried figs
To drink	Greek coffee, mountain tea or orange juice	Our Greek coffee

Quick strapatsada (eggs with tomato)

For 2 people: warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 large ripe tomatoes, grated (skins discarded), with a pinch of salt and cook for 6–8 minutes until the juice has mostly evaporated and the sauce is thick. Beat 4 eggs, pour them in and stir gently until softly set but still creamy, about 2 minutes. Crumble over 2 oz (60 g) feta, add black pepper and a pinch of dried oregano, and serve with bread. Cook the eggs until the whites and yolks are set if you are serving young children, older people or anyone pregnant.

A Greek breakfast on the go

The Greek answer to a takeaway breakfast is a koulouri or a slice of pie from the bakery, with a coffee in a plastic cup. A pasteli, the sesame and honey bar, is another traditional snack that travels well; read what is pasteli? or try our pasteli bar.

Breakfast on special days

Festive days have their own morning foods. At Easter, sweet tsoureki bread and red eggs appear on the table, and on New Year’s Day many families share a slice of vasilopita. For the wider festive table, see our guide to Greek Easter food.

For more ideas, browse our Greek pantry recipes or the Greek honey collection.

Sources

• Hellenic Chamber of Hotels: The Greek Breakfast programme
• BQC: Greek Breakfast label (menu criteria)

Greek breakfast: frequently asked questions