While we might never sit down for breakfast in America and ask ourselves, “Is this dessert? Is this lunch? Is this even breakfast?” Europeans definitely have. American breakfasts are sometimes rather confusing—they’re usually a mix of sweet & salty all on one plate, as well as textures that people across the pond don’t understand. Here are thirteen American breakfasts that confuse many Europeans, or perhaps make them feel slightly horrified.
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Flavored Creamers in Coffee
In a lot of American homes & coffee shops, we don’t use regular milk for morning coffee, but instead, flavored creamers—vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, even pumpkin pie. Some are rather sweet and don’t even taste like coffee once you add them, which confuses the majority of Europeans. They’re used to a splash of milk and find the whole creamer thing rather weird, especially when the drink starts tasting more like a milkshake.
Country-Fried Steak with White Gravy
Many customers in Texas & Tennessee diners will order a full plate of country-fried steak first thing in the morning, which is breaded beef that’s deep-fried and smothered in thick white gravy. It usually comes with eggs and hash browns, perhaps a biscuit on the side, making for quite a heavy, meat-focused dish. The dish isn’t common anywhere else and it’s definitely not something most Europeans will serve for breakfast.
McGriddles with Syrupy Bread
Only in the U.S. could a fast food chain invent a sandwich like the McGriddle, which is bacon, egg & cheese layered between two pancake-like buns—the syrup is baked right in. It’s sweet and savory at the same time. While McDonald’s exists globally, this exact breakfast item is American-only and the idea of sweet-syrup-in-the-bread confuses many people who just aren’t used to it.
Grits With Butter or Cheese
There’s a good chance that most Europeans have never even seen grits, let alone eaten them. Yet in the South, they’re a normal breakfast food, especially when you serve them with butter or melted cheese. But most people not raised on them see them as rather mysterious and kind of hard to describe, or even chew. While the taste is relatively mild, it’s the texture that usually trips up the majority of Europeans.
Biscuits and Gravy
Despite what Europeans might think, biscuits aren’t cookies with brown gravy—instead, they’re soft, fluffy rolls that are kind of like scones, but not sweet. Then comes the gravy, which is thick, white & full of sausage bits, and you pour it right on top of the biscuits. Europeans hear “biscuits” and think “tea time,” so this combination tends to confuse them, even though it’s a popular choice at diners across the South & Midwest.
Sugary Breakfast Cereals Marketed to Kids
In America, it’s normal to walk into a store and see cereal that looks like rainbow confetti, with plenty of cereal boxes promising vitamins while being 40% sugar—some even come with marshmallows. Europeans are more used to muesli or toast as opposed to a bowl of sweet, crunchy neon bits that taste like candy. American grocery aisles are filled with dozens of brands, each louder and sweeter than the next, which horrifies many Europeans.
Chicken and Waffles
Waffles are great, as is fried chicken—but having them together at breakfast is something that stops Europeans in their tracks. Americans go all in on this one, especially in the South, where they’ll serve it hot and usually eat with a fork & knife, though some people go hands-on. You’ll see it even in fancy restaurants and some versions include hot sauce or honey butter, depending on where you order it.
Pop-Tarts Straight From the Packet
Pop-Tarts are a breakfast that never touches a pan and while you can toast them, a lot of Americans just rip the foil open and eat them cold. They do have these in Europe, but most people there won’t eat them for breakfast because they’re more pastry than anything they’d expect before noon. The best part of these is the number of flavors—strawberry, brown sugar, s’mores, you name it.
A Different Kind of Hash Browns
European hash browns are usually little golden patties, but in the U.S., they’re often just loose piles of shredded potatoes that we griddle until the bottom’s crispy. There’s no neat shape or uniformity—just a tangle of salty, greasy, golden-brown strings that look like kitchen leftovers fried in a hurry. Fast food chains like Waffle House or Denny’s serve them in heaps, sometimes “all the way” with toppings like cheese & onions that Europeans will never understand.
Sweet Potatoes as a Breakfast Side
Speaking of potatoes, we also enjoy having sweet potatoes as a breakfast item, whether they’re roasted, cubed, or mashed—sometimes, they come with cinnamon or maple syrup. This isn’t something most Europeans are used to in the morning because it makes the meal feel more like dinner than breakfast. Even so, sweet potatoes are especially popular in California and other big cities where brunch menus lean toward “clean eating” or people are more health-focused.
Canned Fruit Cocktail with Toast
Having canned fruit cocktail with toast is rather old-school, yet it still happens and some Americans keep cans of mixed fruit in syrup & just plop them into a bowl as their “fruit” for breakfast. Most Europeans generally expect fresh fruit in the morning instead of syrupy diced pears and cherries from a tin, so they’re quite surprised by our options. After all, it’s easy to store and cheap to buy—it also doesn’t require any prep, which makes it rather common.
Sausage Links Dipped in Syrup
Some Americans dip their sausage links—yes, the meat kind—directly into syrup, which makes for an equally salty and sweet meal that’s also rather sticky. Europeans often expect savory meat to stay savory, particularly in the morning, so syrup-covered sausage doesn’t make much sense unless you grew up eating it that way. In some cases, the syrup just ends up there by accident and people go with it, but other times, they dunk it on purpose—either way, it’s no big deal here.
Packaged Donuts Sold as Breakfast
You’ll find packaged donuts in gas stations & vending machines across Europe, but it’s only in America that we label those small, packaged powdered or glazed donuts as “breakfast.” People get them on the go with a coffee and call it a day, while in Europe, they’d count as a snack or dessert. They don’t understand how we’d use these to start the day.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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