Why Ina Garten Absolutely Loves Breakfast For Dinner

Home cooking isn't what it used to be. Or, perhaps that's unfair; most home cooks can probably agree, at least, that for as often as cooking is a joy, a meditative practice, and a creative rapture, it can also require a lot of preparation that modern foodies simply don't have time for. According to a recent Tasting Table exclusive survey, 48% of readers said their favorite part of cooking at home is simply saving money; only 12% said their favorite part of cooking is spending quality time at home with others. The Pinterest-worthy mise en place of beautifully-sliced veggies, chopped fresh herbs, and a slow-roasted chicken breast is undoubtedly alluring, but it simply isn't realistic every night of the week.

Ina Garten knows this. In her latest cookbook, the Barefoot Contessa serves up a collection of recipes where the secret ingredient is "realness." Garten's "Go-To Dinners" is an array of make-ahead, freezer-friendly, low-prep meals curated with the modern home cook in mind. 

"Cooking during the pandemic got pretty crazy, even for me," says Garten, "so I devised all kinds of ways to get dinner on the table with the least amount of stress." 

"Go-To Dinners" is scheduled for publication on October 25 but, until then, Garten has let hungry fans in on a sneak peek from the book: She absolutely loves breakfast for dinner. Here's why.

Like many of the recipes in her new cookbook, Garten honed her love of breakfast for dinner during the pandemic. "My new book Go-To Dinners came out of being in lockdown and having to cook all the time!" says Garten, via People. That's when her flair for easy, good meals started. Earlier this week, Garten told The New York Times, "I started making just something very simple for dinner... and I realized that it was sometimes things that I would serve for breakfast."

Breakfast for dinner isn't just a fun option, it's also a practical one. Dr. Natalie A. Nevins told The American Osteopathic Association, "The ingredients in breakfast foods are often less expensive, quicker to prepare, and... lower in calories." 

Plus, it's a crowd-pleaser. In a 2019 survey by New York Post, 69% of respondents said they love eating breakfast for dinner. Garten's friends seem to agree. Garten says, "I had some friends over and I thought, 'I don't feel like making dinner. I feel like making breakfast.' And I'm gonna see what they do if I just don't say anything and I just serve them waffles and bacon... they went back for thirds. They went crazy." 

For breakfast foodies, Garten's upcoming cookbook will include an array of elevated breakfast-for-dinner recipes, including roasted veggies with jammy eggs and scrambled eggs cacio e pepe and roasted vegetables with jammy eggs. Really is there anything better than that?