Our Favorite Pies to Eat for Breakfast

In a season when there's too much good produce for our arms to carry, when our refrigerators and counters and all available places in our kitchens are overflowing with plums and cherries and peaches and berries, why does pie—pie, with its endless variations, its willingness to be filled with anything delicious—need to be relegated to dessert? Here are 13 reasons to have pie for breakfast. (Not like you really needed any.) 

 

1. Perfect Coconut Cream Pie

You put coconut in your granola and cream in your coffee, right? This breakfast pie is the same thing. Promise.

2. Plum Tart

It's like fruit salad. On top of an olive oil-almond crust. And it just so happens to be one of our reader’s all-time favorites.

3. Raspberry Swamp Pie

The early bird gets the worm...or in this case, the best slice of raspberry custard pie. Make it during summer when raspberries are at their best and brightest (especially since this recipe calls for an entire pound of them!).

4. Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart

Some people like to start their morning with a mug of hot water and a wedge of lemon. We get it. It soothes your throat, aids digestion, and is a calming way to start your day. However, we prefer a perkier, sweeter start to our day in the form of this simple Meyer lemon tart.

5. Martha Stewart's Slab Pie

It might be a stretch to call this slab pie a granola bar that you can take on the go, but it has all the fixings of a sweet breakfast, starting with the sour cherry filling and ending with Martha’s beloved buttery paté brisée crust. 

6. Maple Walnut Cream Tart

You’d drizzle maple syrup on pancakes or waffles for breakfast, right? So why not use the sweetener to make this New England staple—maple whipped cream piled into mounds within a meringue crust and topped with candied walnuts.

7. Savory Plum Tart

This tart can double as lunch, if there are any leftovers. The savory edge comes from a little bit of fresh basil and balsamic vinegar, which is drizzled lightly atop a mascarpone cheese and plum filling. 

8. Cherry Almond Torte

Almonds are packed with protein, which means that this sour cherry torte is basically a protein bar. So you can have a few bites (or a full on slice) at dawn and then take the world by storm ’til dusk.

9. Peach Tart

Really. How can you say no to this? When peaches are in season (June through August in most parts of the country), we feel that they should be embraced at every meal throughout the day but especially breakfast. 

10. French Silk Pie with Chocolate-Coffee (Grounds) Crust

Skip your morning Starbucks run and eat a slice of this coffee-infused pie instead. There is no better way to wake up and start your day than with a luscious chocolate pudding swirled into a coffee-chocolate cookie crust. You know you want to! 

11. Quiche Lorraine With a Buckwheat Crust

If you’re here for the OG breakfast pie (aka a quiche), this classic version featuring bacon, shallots, and Swiss cheese should fit the bill. Using a combination of all-purpose flour and buckwheat flour in the crust adds an incredible nutty flavor and extra-flaky texture. 

12. Breakfast Casserole

We will not be referring to this as a casserole but rather by its true identity, which is a slab pie. That’s really all a casserole is after all, and now we have an excuse to eat pie for breakfast but in the form of a savory, stick-to-your-ribs, meat-and-potatoes kind of way.

13. Quiche,  Any Way You Want It

We didn’t necessarily save the best for last (though this is certainly quite a delicious recipe), but we did save the most realistic for last. A quiche is probably what you had in mind when you searched for breakfast pie recipes. If you’re not into the idea of eating Lemon Meringue Pie at 8 a.m., first of all, we probably can’t be friends. But second of all, I’ll throw you a bone and present a make-your-own quiche with whatever add-in ingredients that you please—roasted or sautéed veggies, pan-fried breakfast meat, and a melty cheese.

Have you ever had pie for breakfast? Isn't it the best? Share your thoughts in the comments below.