From peanut butter and jelly to avocado toast, this buttered slice of bread can be served either sweet and savory. Slightly browning give a subtle nuttiness to the bread flavor that goes well with various ingredients and condiments.
Hot and crispy toast is just as delicious with butter, however it does not make a wholesome meal. That being said, adding spreads, flavors, and toppings takes things up a notch.
What do you eat with toast? Toast pairs well with butter, jam, nut butter, hummus, cheese, honey, Nutella and pesto to make a sandwich or a simple garnish with other toppings.
When it comes to toppings, toast tastes good with fruits, vegetables, cheese, cured meat, eggs, herbs and spices.
Whether it is served as a single side or complete sandwich, toast is a quick snack or lunch to satisfy the cravings. It goes well with soup, stew, scrambled egg dishes or even coated with buttermilk and eggs to create delicious French toast for brunch.
This sumptuous dish is loved for its adaptability and efficient approach at any time of day with sides and main entrée. Here are some essential flavors and spreads that will transform plain toast into an irresistible breakfast, lunch, or dinner meal.
What to have on toast?
A humble piece of toast can be elevated by adding various toppings. Once the bread is browned, top with cured meats, cooked vegetables, and delicious spreads for that extra crunch and savory sweetness.
Eggs are a great addition to toast as they can be served fried, scrambled, poached, or hard-boiled and sliced.
From vegetables to nuts, and fruits, here are endless toppings and side dish ideas to have on toast:
- Fruits: blueberries, banana, apples, strawberries, peach, kiwi, raisins, figs, mango
- Vegetables: avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, mushroom, asparagus, zucchini, radish, broccoli, green beans
- Nuts: almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts
- Cheese: ricotta, cottage, cheddar, parmesan, cream cheese
- Herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, dill, tarragon
- Spices: cinnamon, chili flakes, nutmeg
- Meat: bacon, ham, smoked salmon, breakfast sausage, egg, chicken
What should I spread on my toast?
Toast and butter is a perfect combo, however this pair can even get boring and outdated with time.
If you are looking for earthy, sweet, and savory spreads to add on toast, here are alternative noshes to use on toast.
- Nut butter: Almond or peanut butter gives the toast an unbeatable nutty flavor. The spreads are loaded with protein and some has chunks of crunchy nuts to enhance the texture in every bite.
- Ricotta cheese: It’s sumptuous when heaped on plain toast, but it can be made better by seasoning it with spinach, herbs, olive oil, and halved cherry tomatoes on top.
- Honey: Honey is a great way to add natural sweetness to toast instead of chocolate or sugar. It goes well with stone fruit such as apples and pears.
- Nutella: Hazelnut and chocolate makes an enjoyable spread that makes it feel like eating a chocolate bar. Add a hint of cinnamon or chopped nuts and fruits to top to make it more wholesome.
- Avocado: Mash avocado with chili, salt, and cheese, then spread it on toast.
- Jam: Any fruit strawberry or grape jam, preserves, or marmalade is an excellent addition to serve with toast. Also, top with cottage cheese for a more fulfilling meal.
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese is an excellent spread to serve with smoked salmon or cucumbers and salt and pepper with dill fronds as a garnish.
- Hummus: Mashed garbanzo beans in hummus make a perfect dip to not only eat with pita chips, but also healthy savory spread to top with fresh veggies and make a sandwich with.
- Pesto: Pesto is not only for pasta, it goes wonderfully with sourdough or baguette toast with chopped sun-dried tomatoes and shaved parmesan cheese.
What flavor goes well with toast?
From sweet to salty and savory flavor combinations, toast goes well with various methods of preparation. Whether you serve with fruits and nut butter or cheese and egg as topping, the ingredients will hit all the tastebuds to give you the perfect culinary experience.
Here are chef’s favorite classic flavor combinations that go well with toast:
- toast + peanut butter + banana + cinnamon + honey + granola
- toast + cottage cheese + blueberry + honey + lemon
- toast + cucumber + hummus
- toast + avocado + egg + pepper + salt + bacon + scallions
- toast + Nutella + fig + almonds

Eat With Toast: Conclusion
Toast is a plain canvas yearning for adornment with delicious pairings. As a result, there’s no limit as to what foods, toppings and spreads to pair together.
Butter is essential spread for toast used to moisten and keep the ingredients blending well together.
As alternative and for more flavoring, try with jam, nut butter, hummus, cheese, honey, Nutella, and pesto. The combinations will give savory and sweetness instead of always using plain butter to smear on.
Whether it is white or whole wheat grain toast, it is just a blank canvas where you can add various ingredients including fruits, vegetables, nuts and cheese.
The classic pairings listed above are just a scratch on the surface and a good place to start. Try them and see what works best for you and your loved ones when serving toast, no matter what time of day you need a bite to eat.