25 Best Ingredients To Include In Your Greek Yogurt Bowl

There's nothing like waking up in the morning to a big, heaping bowl of Greek yogurt topped with all of your favorite ingredients. Not only are Greek yogurt bowls generally a pretty healthy way to start your day, but depending on the toppings you add, they can be seriously delicious. That being said, if you don't know how to flavor your yogurt bowls, they can come out tasting lackluster. After all, plain old Greek yogurt with no other flavors in the mix can get boring pretty fast.

Whether you choose full-fat Greek yogurt or like to go with the fat-free version (or anything in between), we've got you covered when it comes to toppings for your yogurt bowl. We've included both sweet and savory options here to appeal to people who like to start their days with something salty or something sweet. And hey, who says you can't switch it up every day? Greek yogurt provides such a neutral backdrop for breakfast that you can get creative with your toppings and switch them up on a daily basis. Whichever flavor route you choose to take, let these topping suggestions guide you to the delicious, healthy breakfast of your dreams.

When you want to add both sweetness and fruitiness to your Greek yogurt bowl (but you don't want to have to deal with prepping fresh fruit first thing in the morning), jellies, jams, and fruit preserves are your best friend. You can really choose any varieties you enjoy, from grape to raspberry to blueberry. Even ingredients like lemon curd could work here. And, of course, you don't have to stick to solely sweet jams, either. A hot pepper jam or even a savory caramelized onion jam could also work well, particularly when paired with other ingredients if you're going for more of a savory bowl.

Whether you're trying to get some healthy fats into your diet first thing in the morning or just want your creamy yogurt bowl to have a crunchy element to it, nuts and seeds are the perfect addition. Chia or hemp seeds offer a nice, subtle crunch, while larger nuts like almonds or pecans provide more bite to your bowl. For these larger nuts, you may want to consider crushing them up before adding them to your yogurt bowl if you don't want to have to loudly crunch every single bite — it's really up to you and your preferences for texture.

Cilbir is a Turkish dish made with poached eggs served over yogurt with a drizzle of spiced butter sauce, and it's absolutely worth a try if you already know you love yogurt. But you can incorporate eggs into a yogurt dish in many different ways. You can make a Greek yogurt bowl dressed with a ton of different savory ingredients along with poached or hard-boiled eggs, or you can keep it simple with a bed of yogurt, scrambled eggs, and something green, like herbs, to top it off. It's a great way to get your day started off with even more protein.

Yogurt and granola is a classic breakfast option for a good reason: the crunch of granola simply pairs beautifully with thick, creamy yogurt. If you really want to go all out for a special breakfast, try making your own homemade granola. That way, you can personalize the flavor to your liking. Of course, you can always use a store-bought granola instead, choosing varieties with nuts and seeds for an extra bit of crunch if desired. Sugary granola can be nice if you want a sweeter breakfast, but we also love making savory granola to change things up from time to time.

If you are trying to go for a sweet flavor profile in your Greek yogurt bowl, using a sweetener is generally going to be a good idea. That way, you don't have to rely on the other ingredients in the mix to provide both flavor and sweetness. Although there are a ton of different sweeteners to choose from, we prefer honey or agave syrup. Honey (especially high-quality honey) has a rich, complex flavor profile that does more than simply make your Greek yogurt bowl sweeter, and agave syrup offers a milder flavor and runnier consistency in a rather neutral form.

Mushrooms absolutely belong at breakfast ... especially if you're making a savory Greek yogurt bowl. When you cook mushrooms down, they take on a lovely, velvety texture that tastes amazing with the creaminess of Greek yogurt. Our advice? Use plenty of oil or butter when you're sauteeing your mushrooms. That way, once you spoon them over the yogurt, the extra fat will create a lovely, rich sauce that adds even more flavor to the dish, taking your bowl from a simple, quick breakfast to a dish that looks like it's served at a high-end breakfast joint. Saute the mushrooms with other veggies or spices to up the flavor ante even more.

Fruit is definitely one of the more common Greek yogurt bowl toppings out there, but many fruits require some chopping or prepping, which can take time out of your busy morning routine. If you're looking for a fruity option that's easier to grab and go when you're trying to run out the door, opt for berries. Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries are all good options, providing a nice balance of sweet and acidic flavors. Choose just one of these berries, or get a blend of all of them for even more flavor. Don't want to spend money on fresh berries all the time? You can also use the frozen variety and cook them down until they have a nice, jammy texture.

It's important to add green vegetables into your diet on a regular basis, and breakfast is a great place to start, especially if you don't tend to eat a lot of veggies first thing in the morning. Cucumbers can provide your Greek yogurt bowl with a nice, crisp crunch that makes for a refreshing counterpart to the creamy yogurt. We especially love this combo during the hotter months of the year when you just want to wake up to a breakfast that feels fresh and light. Feel free to pair your yogurt and cucumber with other savory ingredients, or just keep the combo simple with these two ingredients that work surprisingly well together.

Who says that your Greek yogurt bowl can't taste like dessert? Not us — that's why we think it's such a good idea to stir some chocolate chips into your Greek yogurt bowl. They add a chocolatey flavor to the dish without actually making the yogurt itself taste like chocolate. You can use a small handful of them in addition to other sweet ingredients, or you can really pile them on if you're not including anything else in the mix. This can turn your Greek yogurt bowl into a decadent breakfast or a sweet snack when you feel like ice cream but want something just a bit more nutritious.

Chickpeas have to be one of the most versatile ingredients ever, and they just so happen to be the missing component in your savory Greek yogurt bowl. You can certainly use plain cooked chickpeas if you like a softer texture, but we think that crispy chickpeas — cooked either in the oven or the air fryer — make for a way more delicious pairing. That crunch paired with the creaminess of the yogurt works really well and creates an interesting textural contrast. Just be sure to cook your chickpeas with plenty of olive oil and seasonings to pack the maximum amount of flavor into this dish.

Let's be honest: Sometimes, Greek yogurt bowls can be bland. Like, really bland. And unless you're feeling sick, that's probably not exactly what you're going for. Therefore, adding spices to the mix is always a good idea. When you think of spices, more savory options might immediately come to mind, but spices that many of us often associate more with sweeter foods can be a nice addition to your yogurt bowl as well. Enter cinnamon. This bold baking spice can make your yogurt bowl taste like a comforting fall treat and works well with a variety of other sweet ingredients.

We love using fresh fruit in our yogurt bowls when we have it on hand and have some extra time to prep in the morning. But many of us don't always have fresh fruit stocked in our kitchens, and sometimes, we just don't have time to clean strawberries or chop a banana. And don't even get us started on that feeling when you cut open a piece of fruit only to discover that it's already gone bad. But that doesn't mean you have to skip out on the fruit just because you don't have any of the fresh kind available. Instead, just opt for dried fruits, like raisins, cranberries, and even apple chips. They can add that fruity flavor you love with a lot less effort required.

If you love cheese as much as we do, then you probably don't need to be convinced to add more cheese to your diet. But let this be your inspiration to put cheese in your Greek yogurt bowl. We probably wouldn't try this combination all on its own, but crumbling up some feta or blue cheese onto your savory Greek yogurt bowl can add just the right amount of saltiness and complexity. Is that a lot of dairy all in one bowl? Sure. But unless you're severely lactose-intolerant, it may just be worth it to bask in the deliciousness of a cheese-topped savory Greek yogurt bowl.

Herbs of all kinds, from mint to parsley, from chives to cilantro, can add an incredible amount of flavor to a dish. That's why we love including them in our Greek yogurt bowls. You know when your dish is just missing ... something, but you can't put your finger on it? That's when it's probably time to add some fresh herbs. Use the varieties you like best to maximize the flavor of your bowl. Ideally, you'll use fresh herbs if you really want a strong, pungent flavor. On the other hand, dried herbs are more convenient and can provide your bowl with a subtle flavor that serves to enhance the other ingredients with which you're already working.

Matcha powder is only good for making matcha lattes, right? Think again. You can actually use matcha powder for all types of dishes, from matcha pudding to matcha cinnamon rolls. Your Greek yogurt bowl is no exception. To harness that light, almost floral tea flavor, just sprinkle some matcha powder into your Greek yogurt bowl, mix well, and add any other ingredients you want to include. That will leave you with a tea-flavored yogurt bowl that tastes like it comes straight out of a fancy coffee shop. We especially love this combo with some chocolate chunks stirred into the matcha–yogurt mixture.

Want to bring a tropical flair to an otherwise average Greek yogurt bowl? Just sprinkle on some coconut flakes to add both texture and flavor to the dish. Although they're not necessarily crunchy, they have a crispness to them that counteracts that creamy quality of the yogurt. The flavor of coconut flakes is subtle but unmistakable, making them a light and tasty topper to enjoy with your breakfast. Combine them with chocolate for an Almond Joy type of situation, or add other tropical fruits to the mix like mango or pineapple to make for a decadent, tropical start to your day.

There are few ingredients in the world that pack as much flavor as capers. These little flavor bombs might be tiny, but they offer saltiness, acidity, and a bold complexity that can lift just about any dish, including your Greek yogurt bowl. Pair them with other savory ingredients, like smoked salmon and sliced onions, for example, to bring a layer of boldness and sophistication to your bowl. Just keep in mind that you won't need to use many of them to reap their benefits — since their flavor is quite strong and salty, you'll want to use them sparingly so you don't overpower the other elements in the dish.

For many people, peanut butter is an absolute breakfast staple. But you don't need to spread it on bread, a bagel, or an English muffin to get that rich, peanut buttery flavor you love. Instead, just stir a scoop of it into your yogurt bowl for delicious results. Since both ingredients are creamy, they combine together easily, making every single bite of your yogurt bowl taste like peanut butter. Plus, it adds fattiness and richness to the dish, which helps keep you feeling satisfied after you've scraped the last drop of yogurt from your bowl. Use crunchy peanut butter for more texture or creamy peanut butter for a more uniform experience.

Bananas are one of the cheapest types of fruits you can find at the grocery store year-round, which is why we love to stock up on them whenever we go produce shopping. Not only are they inexpensive, but they're also sweet and filling, making them a perfect addition to your Greek yogurt bowl. They can seriously bulk up a bowl, and they add that specific banana-y flavor that you can only get from the yellow fruit. Choose a greener banana if you like it to be a bit more sour, or go for the speckled variety when you really want to maximize the sweetness of your yogurt bowl.

When it comes to making a good savory yogurt bowl, you're going to want to find a fatty, flavorful ingredient to really amp up the flavor, and bacon can do just that. Rich and salty, it can instantly turn bland Greek yogurt into a flavorful base for your yogurt bowl. The extra fat you'll have leftover in the pan can be drizzled onto the bowl when it's assembled to add an even more powerful richness to the dish. Use pork bacon if you want more of that fattiness, or opt for turkey bacon if you prefer things to be a bit leaner. Either way, you're in for a treat of a savory yogurt bowl.

Sure, you may think of smoked salmon as an ingredient that solely belongs on a bagel, but it deserves its place in other dishes as well — including Greek yogurt bowls. Think about it: You already pair smoked salmon with cream cheese, so why wouldn't it taste just as good with creamy, tangy yogurt? Of course, you'll want to add other ingredients into your smoked salmon yogurt bowl. We suggest adding in some capers, as mentioned above, along with dill and sliced onion if you really want to capture those classic lox flavors in bowl form. It's a way to harness all those flavors you love with some extra protein.

We love a bowl of cereal with some milk, but it's not the only way to enjoy this simple pantry staple. All kinds of different cereals can be used to add more bulk and texture to your Greek yogurt bowl. After all, granola is a common addition to yogurt bowls, so why not other types of cereal? Choose a more neutral variety, like Cheerios, if you're already working with a lot of flavors with your other toppings, or go for a bolder, more flavorful cereal, like Cocoa Puffs, if you want to pack even more flavor into the dish. Either way, you're in for a crunchy, creamy treat.

Olives are the Greek yogurt bowl topping you never knew you needed. Olives, with their signature richness, work well with creamy Greek yogurt, and they pack a big punch of flavor in every bite. They taste sort of fatty and sort of fresh, which really helps bring together the richer and fresher ingredients in your dish. Of course, any kind of olive will do, but if you really want to add as much flavor to your Greek yogurt bowl as possible, you should consider olives stuffed with other ingredients, like blue cheese, pimento, or garlic. It's a great way to maximize flavor without having to add a bunch of separate ingredients to the bowl.

Any kind of peach is going to taste good in your Greek yogurt bowl. These silky, smooth stone fruits are intensely sweet and aromatic, and when they're ripe, their flavor is undeniably appealing. But if you want to infuse your Greek yogurt with even more flavor, you should consider grilling them before adding them to the bowl. Grilling fruit, like peaches, can result in a more intense sweetness and a greater flavor complexity. Plus, when they get a nice char on them, they absolutely taste like a gourmet treat. Grilled peaches can be used in both savory and sweet contexts.

Spice lovers, it's time to upgrade your Greek yogurt bowl with a glug or two of hot sauce. Yes, you can always use dried chili flakes or simply incorporate ingredients into your yogurt bowl that are spicy all on their own. But hot sauce doesn't just provide heat — most of the time, it'll also give your dish a dose of acidity, all while infusing it with more complex flavors than simple seasonings could ever provide. And the best part? It pairs well with just about any savory ingredient, so you can use it as a topping for all of your favorite savory Greek yogurt bowl recipes.