Insider spoke to chefs and restaurant owners to find out which breakfast items you should always order from restaurants and which ones are best prepared at home. Here's what they said.
Eggs Benedict is an indulgent dish that's difficult to make yourself.
Hollandaise can be tricky to make at home.
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Making eggs Benedict involves perfectly poaching an egg and smothering it in hollandaise sauce, a combination that's tough to get just right.
Tara Lazar, chef and founder of F10 Catering, told Insider that making a good hollandaise sauce for eggs Benedict can be tricky, so it's best to leave it to the pros.
"To make your own [hollandaise], you need so much butter and so many egg yolks," said Lazar. "Plus, there's the risk that the sauce may not turn out well, so a good house-made hollandaise should always be a go-to at a restaurant."
Waffles can be way easier to enjoy at a restaurant.
When you order waffles for takeout, you don't need to clean any appliances.
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Between mixing up batter and scrubbing down a waffle iron, making waffles at home can take a lot of effort.
Chef and cooking instructor Elena Horwich told Insider that she always opts for restaurant waffles over the homemade variety.
"There's nothing less appealing to me than making a mess I have to clean up in the morning. I'd leave the waffle-making to a restaurant," said Horwich.
If you're looking for the perfect brunch beverage, it's tough to beat a classic bloody mary.
Lazar said that its fun to sample a restaurant's special take on this standby that's typically made with vodka, tomato juice, celery, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings.
"Good breakfast restaurants often make a unique bloody mary, so I will always order one to see what their version is," said Lazar. "They're almost always great because people seem to care about this drink a lot — especially in the US."
Ordering corned beef hash and poached eggs is a great value.
Corned beef hash isn't easy to prepare at home unless you make it from a can.
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Bryce Krausman, owner of DW Bistro in Las Vegas, told Insider that one of his go-to breakfast orders is corned beef hash with poached eggs.
"There's a lot of work in making corned beef itself, and we all know poaching an egg isn't easy," said Krausman. Making your own corned beef usually involves curing beef in salt and nitrates before braising it.
Pancakes are usually prettier and tastier when ordered from a restaurant.
It's not always easy to flip pancakes at home.
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Golden, fluffy pancakes are a sweet way to start the day, and Lazar recommended asking for them at a restaurant rather than making them yourself.
"Unless you have a seasoned griddle or worn-in cast iron skillet at home, pancakes are better out and about. Also, restaurants can't serve you ugly pancakes like you can get away with at home," said Lazar.
Skillet breakfasts are complex dishes that are best left to chefs.
Making a breakfast skillet at home would be quite a lot of work — and you might not have all of the ingredients.
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A skillet breakfast is a loose term for a meal composed of elements like eggs, fried potatoes, hash, sausage, bacon, beans, and other ingredients prepared in a skillet or on a griddle.
Krausman told Insider that with so many different ingredients to cook, you're really getting your money's worth by ordering one of these meals.
"There are so many parts and pieces to a skillet breakfast," said Krausman. "It's worth ordering this to save your kitchen from the mess, if for no other reason. Plus, who wants to buy all of those ingredients?"
On the other hand, it's better to make scrambled eggs at home.
Since scrambled eggs are so easy to make and the ingredients are inexpensive and accessible, whipping them up at home may be the healthiest and best-tasting option.
"Scrambled eggs should be cooked in olive oil or butter," said Horwich. "But so often in restaurants, they are cooked in less expensive, processed oils that flatten the overall flavor."
Restaurant omelets are usually a poor value.
Omelets are easy to customize at home.
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Omelets are made by cooking beaten eggs in a pan with ingredients like vegetables, cheese, or meat.
Because this dish is so simple to make yourself, ordering it from a restaurant is usually a waste of money, Krausman told Insider.
"I think the humble omelet can and should be made at home. It's a good way to use kitchen scraps and an easy, one-pan meal," said Krausman.
Skip pastries and muffins unless they're made fresh.
Unless the muffins are made in-house, skip them.
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Many breakfast spots offer sweet pastries and muffins, but they're not always worth the cash.
"Walk away from those muffins or premade pastries. A freshly baked option is a different conversation, but premade isn't worth the calories or the cost," said Krausman.
Unless the restaurant specifies that baked goods are made in-house, you might want to opt for something else.
Most restaurant oatmeals aren't worth the money.
Oatmeal can be super cheap to make at home.
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Oatmeal is made by cooking rolled or steel-cut oats in water or milk.
"Unless it's a really special dish, you're paying a lot for something that could be an instant packet," said Krausman.
If you're ordering oatmeal due to dietary restrictions, you can spruce it up by asking for additional toppings such as dates, nuts, fruit, or honey.
Breakfast smoothies are usually overpriced.
If you have a blender at home, there's probably no reason to order a smoothie from a restaurant.
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Anyone with a blender can make a fabulous smoothie at home, so there's no reason to pay top-dollar for a premade smoothie at a restaurant.
"The benefit of making smoothies at home is that you can add your own superfoods to them in a much more cost-effective way," said Horwich. "Try adding probiotic power, açaí powder, or spirulina to your homemade smoothie."
Chia-seed pudding is much easier and cheaper to make at home.
The ingredients for chia-seed pudding can be affordable when purchased in bulk.
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Chia-seed pudding has taken health-conscious eateries by storm, and some customers are willing to pay big bucks for a small portion.
But Horwich advised skipping the restaurant variety and just making your own in the kitchen.
"The reality is, for the same price as one bowl of the stuff at a restaurant, you can make a whole batch at home to last you a week," said Horwich.
To make your own chia-seed pudding, combine dry chia seeds with water or the plant or dairy milk of your choice. You can add a touch of sweetness with mix-ins like dates, berries, or nuts.
