What people eat for breakfast in 25 countries around the world

By Sarah Schmalbruch, INSIDER From Business Insider

Breakfast has long been called the most important meal of the day, as it gives us energy to make it through the morning.

But not all countries start their day with the same kind of food.

Inspired by a HostelBookers.com post by Victoria Philpott and a Quora post, we took a look at some classic breakfast choices from around the world.

Whether it’s beef stew in Pakistan or baked cheese pancakes in Russia, each country does their first meal of the day a little differently.

An earlier version of this post was written by Max Rosenberg.

Australia
Sir Mildred Pierce / Flickr
The typical Australian breakfast consists of cold cereal and toast with vegemite, a dark brown spread made from leftover brewer’s yeast.

Brazil
Flickr/toomuchkatherine
Expect to find ham, cheese, and bread served alongside coffee and milk in Brazil.

China
tayweilong / Flickr
Traditional breakfasts vary based on the region, but dim sum, small plates of food prepared in a variety of ways, is popular throughout China.

Switzerland
Avia55 / Flickr
The Swiss like to start their day with Birchermüesli: raw oats and grains topped with dried and/or fresh fruit, served in either milk or yogurt.

Pakistan
Abhinaba Basu / Flickr
Pakistanis enjoy heartier breakfasts, like Nihari, a stew made with beef sirloin and/or shank pieces.

Colombia
Flickr/manuela y daniel
A traditional breakfast in Bogota is changua, a milk, scallion, and egg soup.

Indonesia
HPG Online / Flickr
Nasi goreng is commonly eaten in Indonesia for breakfast. The meal consists of a fried egg and fried rice, and sometimes meat or seafood as well.

Germany
Kai Hendry / Flickr
Germans have quite the spread for breakfast. There’s a little bit of everything: cold cuts, cheese, fresh rolls, butter and jam, and sometimes Nutella.

Cuba
thelazydba/Flickr
Cubans like a lighter breakfast: cafe con leche — coffee with milk — served with a tostada, which is sliced bread that is buttered and grilled. The bread is often dunked into the coffee.

England
Flickr/CeredB
A typical English breakfast includes fried eggs, sausage, bacon, and beans.

Israel
Flickr / Katherine Lim
Isrealis love their shakshuka. The dish consists of sunny-side-up eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, served with pita on the side for dipping.

France
Flickr/adactio
The French love their pastries, especially in the morning. They start their day with either a pain au chocolat (a chocolate croissant) or just a plain croissant and coffee.

The Philippines
whologwhy / Flickr
Pandesal — a bread roll made of flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, and salt — is a common breakfast food in the Philippines. The rolls are often dipped in coffee with milk.

Poland
Flickr / Frank Malawski
Similar to a German breakfast, a traditional breakfast in Poland consists of bread rolls served with an array of savory and sweet toppings such as meat, sausage, cheese, butter, jam, and chocolate spread.

India
Via Wikimedia Commons
Idli wada is a traditional breakfast in southern India. Idli is a cake made with fermented black lentils and rice, and served with chutney and sambar.

Italy
Maarten / Flickr
Many Italians begin their day with a cappuccino and hard roll or biscotti.

Japan
mari / Flickr
Japanese breakfast isn’t all that different from other meals eaten throughout the day. Usually there’s miso soup, steamed white rice, Japanese pickles, and fish.

Morocco
encrier / iStock
Moroccan breakfasts are simple: breads with jam, and cheese or butter.

Scotland
Antti T. Nissinen / Flickr
Simple but hearty, a good Scottish breakfast is often a bowl of porridge.

Korea
4kodiak / iStock
Best described as a rolled up omelette, Korean egg rolls can be made a variety of ways: sometimes with vegetables and sometimes with meat.

Portugal
Shutterstock
The Portugese like stuffed croissants in the morning, or bread with jam and cheese, enjoyed with coffee.

Russia
Mighty Travels / Flickr
Sirniki, or baked farmers cheese pancakes, are a traditional Russian breakfast. Hot oatmeal and rye bread are other staples.

Mexico
Joy / Flickr
Mexican comfort food at its finest, chilaquiles are totopos (similar to tortilla chips) submerged in a spicy sauce with a fried egg and various toppings like avocado.

Turkey
Volkan_83 / Flickr
The variety in a Turkish breakfast is impressive. There’s bread, cheese, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey, and kaymak. The meal can also include sucuk, a spicy Turkish sausage, and Turkish tea.

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