Plain Yogurt Is More Flavorful When Paired With This Topping

For many of us — myself included — plain yogurt is a breakfast staple. It offers an empty canvas for other flavors, and is an easy way to get the day started with plenty of protein. If you love adding some sweetness to your morning yogurt (and let's be real, don't we all), consider adding a crumbled muffin to your bowl. While muffins and yogurt aren't the most intuitive pairing, when you give it a try, you'll see exactly why it makes so much sense. The crumbly texture of the muffin works perfectly with the smooth, creamy texture of the yogurt, and the muffin's sweetness eases the sharp bite that plain yogurt can carry. 

To give this combination a try, you'll want to pour your yogurt into a bowl (our favorite high-protein yogurt at the grocery store is Fage Total reduced fat plain Greek yogurt, by the way). You're going to need a little more space than you'll get with the room left in a full single-serving cup of yogurt. You can either crumble the muffin over your yogurt with your hands or you can place it directly in your yogurt and chop it up with your spoon. If you want to get fancy, you can even go parfait-style, laying yogurt and muffin crumbles in a bowl, one on top of the other. You can certainly enjoy as-is, or you can get a little creative with other toppings and mix-ins that will take your breakfast (or snack) to the next level.

Ready to upgrade your muffin-yogurt-parfait creation? Since you're using plain yogurt, you'll want to use the flavor of your crumbled muffin to guide you in deciding how you'd like to top it off — and you can totally sweeten it up with pantry staples you already have. If you're crumbling up an apple cinnamon muffin on top of your yogurt, consider adding a drizzle of caramel or an extra sprinkle of cinnamon to bring out the cozy fall flavors of the muffin. Have a batch of cookies and cream muffins in your kitchen? Sweeten up your bowl with some extra Oreo crumbles. If you're lucky enough to have a banana bread muffin on your hands, top off your bowl with crushed walnuts and a sprinkle of brown sugar, sliced bananas optional.

While it's almost impossible to mess up this tasty hack, there are a couple of tips to set you up for greater success. First, it's a good idea to enjoy your yogurt parfait right away, as the muffin will get a little soggy as it absorbs liquid from the yogurt. (If you like that texture, of course feel free to let it sit awhile before you dig in.) And while you certainly can give this a go with homemade muffins, store-bought options work well too. Whether you choose to stick with the basics and simply enjoy a muffin crumbled over a bowl of yogurt or you decide to boost flavor by stacking on the add-ons, this is a simple, easy breakfast that will both satisfy your sweet tooth and keep you satisfied until lunch rolls around.