What Ina Garten Really Eats For Breakfast Every Day (It's Not Oatmeal)

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When David Bowie sang "Ch-ch-ch-changes," he was right. Foodies' tastes famously change over time as palates grow, biological factors alter, and new culinary experiences amass. For the Barefoot Contessa, her everyday breakfast table looks a little different than it did just a few years ago. In an episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' podcast "Wiser Than Me," Ina Garten sits down with the host to share her go-to breakfast — and, apparently, it isn't oatmeal anymore.

In a 2017 interview with Bon Appétit, Garten said oatmeal was her regular breakfast. In fact, according to the Barefoot Contessa herself, she had been eating oatmeal for breakfast every single day for the past 10 years. Specifically, said Garten, it had to be "coffee and McCann's quick-cooking Irish oatmeal with lots of salt. I don't want it to taste like wallpaper paste."

But nowadays, as Garten shares in the "Wiser Than Me" episode (which aired in 2024), she's singing a different tune at morning mealtime. "I pretty much have toast and coffee for breakfast," says the chef. "The toast has to have good French butter on it, with shaved sea salt." That pinch of salt is all that remains from Garten's old favorite brekky. In Tasting Table's definitive ranking of 25 popular American breakfast foods, we ranked toast at #8 for its tendency toward boringness; oatmeal pulled third place. However, in true Barefoot Contessa fashion, Garten's buttered toast takes a classic dish and elevates it to new (yet accessible) heights.

With a dish as stripped down as buttered toast, ingredient quality counts extra. To create a breakfast worthy of eating every single day, time and time again, not just any regular old butter will do. Garten has been outspoken about her preference for French ingredients in the past, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) in the podcast episode, she names Rodolphe Le Meunier's Beurre de Baratte as her go-to.

Due to different national food standards, butter produced in the European Union has a higher minimum butterfat content (at least 82%) compared to American butter (80%), a seemingly small difference that yields a significantly richer flavor and texture. In addition to the higher butterfat content, European butters are often churned from live-culture-treated cream, creating a slight yet distinct tanginess. According to the company's website, Garten's personal favorite French butter, Rodolphe Le Meunier, is one such cultured butter, produced in a "wooden butter churn from pasteurized cream and then molded by hand," and made from milk sourced in France. The brand offers unsalted, lightly salted, and flavored beurres de baratte varieties. As far as the pinch of flaky sea salt goes, there's a sporting chance that Garten might be a fan of another French ingredient, sel gris. 

Sporting too great an appetite for toast and coffee alone? The James Beard Award-winner also has a few pro tips for building a knockout cauliflower toast – a non-traditional, umami take on classic avocado vegetable toast.