Serving breakfast all-day, once the province of mom-and-pop diners, has become one of the hottest trends in foodservice today. According to the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) 2015 Restaurant Industry Forecast, 7 out of 10 consumers say they want restaurants to serve breakfast throughout the day. And it’s a trend that’s going to be around for a while, since millennials are more interested in breakfast for dinner than any other age group before them.

While most breakfasts are eaten at home, consumers pick from a variety of locations when they’re opting for away-from-home breakfasts: In 2014, 44% of consumers visited a fast-food restaurant for breakfast in the past month; 39% visited a coffeehouse/doughnut shop; 32%, a family restaurant; and 15%, a full-service restaurant, according to Packaged Facts.

Wake up to the world

Global influences have been slow to make their way to the often-traditional breakfast plate, but that may be changing soon. “British and Asian cuisines will begin to impact breakfast menus,” says Suzy Badaracco, President, Culinary Tides, a trends forecaster for the food industry. She looks for increased popularity of the traditional English breakfast, including bacon, black pudding, eggs, baked beans, tomato, mushrooms, and toast. Japanese, Korean and Thai flavors will fuel an uptick of rise-and-shine dishes that include rice, soup and seaweed. According to DataSential’s 2015 Menu Trends report, other fusion ingredients to influence this daypart will include chipotle, manchego, chutney, Cotija, and chimichurri.

Sandwich savvy

Breakfast sandwiches are the hottest plate in the all-day breakfast revival. DataSential’s survey shows half of adults eating a breakfast sandwich at a restaurant in a recent two-week period. Try Sister Schubert’s Breakfast Sandwich or an Open Face Fried Egg Sandwich to liven up your breakfast menu.

Read more

Check out this slide show with Food & Wine editors’ top breakfast sandwich choices, including the biscuit, pimento cheese and fried chicken sandwich from Hugh Acheson’s Empire State South in Atlanta. 

Read food writer Rosie Spinks’ ode to the English breakfast in this Lucky Peach article

Recipes

Breakfast Bake
Upside-Down Banana Pecan French Toast

Resources

Culinary Tides
Day-long breakfast
Top 10 food trends