For The Best Lazy Breakfast, Whip Out The Nutella Jar

Nutella is the ingredient you reach for when you want something easy and elevated. It's rich, nutty, and best of all, comes in a jar. It also forms part of an easy breakfast with minimal ingredients but huge payoffs: fried Nutella-banana sandwiches.

Take one tablespoon of Nutella and place it in the center of a piece of bread, then press a slice of banana on top of that. Lay a second slice of bread over for your sandwich, and then break out a glass cup for the fun part. Use the cup to cut a circle out of the bread, encasing your mini Nutella-banana sandwiches. You can leave these as-is if you'd like, but it's best to pan fry them for a few minutes for a warm, melty inside. You can use oil, margarine, or butter to achieve a crispy golden exterior. While the latter two may look the same, there are some key differences that will mostly show themselves in the richness of the bread at the end. Follow Ina Garten's advice for extra crispy potatoes, and fry the sandwiches in a combination of butter and oil to achieve maximum flavor and crispness. In under 10 minutes, you'll have a crispy, gooey, chocolatey breakfast with basically just three ingredients.

Pro-tip: The bread crust doesn't need to go to waste. You can fry them up in the same pan with an egg for a bonus dish of eggs in a hole. This combo gives you a hearty morning meal that will excite the whole household. 

Whether you like your breakfasts plain and simple or extravagant and indulgent, chances are there is some room for Nutella in the mix. Adding the spread to protein pancakes can give this nutritious meal a sugary kick without overwhelming all the non-sweet tooths out there. If you prefer a lighter start to the day, it can even be drizzled over muesli or oatmeal for just a hint of richness in a way that doesn't feel too heavy.

On the other end of the spectrum, Nutella is the one-stop ingredient to creating a fancy breakfast for all occasions. Overnight oats? Throw in the last tablespoon in the jar. Breakfast pizza? Spread on that hazelnut goodness and cover it up in fruit (for balance!). Hot chocolate? Already a treat but can be upgraded with a dollop of what? That's right: Nutella. Truly, it's hard to think of breakfast items that this spread wouldn't improve.