Breakfast Shopping List For Italy (+ Printable Checklist)

Last updated on July 12th, 2024

Are you trying to decide what to buy for breakfast at your apartment, villa, or Airbnb in Italy?

Italian breakfast may be different from what you’re used to at home. Of course, you can whip up some scrambled eggs and pancakes if you’d like, but if you want to try a traditional Italian breakfast, I’ve got you covered!

Let’s take a look at what you can make. I’ve also included a printable shopping list to make your trip to the grocery store easier.

You can also try a typical Italian breakfast at a bar:
Where To Eat Breakfast In Venice, Italy
Where To Get Coffee In Venice
A Local’s 10 Favorite Bakeries In Florence
Best Coffee In Florence

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Typical Italian Breakfast

First, a quick look at what we eat for breakfast in Italy:

A typical Italian breakfast is light and involves no cooking. Here in Italy, we typically eat something small and sweet paired with a coffee beverage such as espresso or a cappuccino.

Typical Italian Breakfast Items Served At Home

angled view of cookie aisle in italy with various shelves lined with italian breakfast cookies.

The general principle of eating something light and sweet for Italians at breakfast time is pretty straight forward:

toast with Nutella or jam
fette biscottate with Nutella or jam
fruit flavored yogurt
simple cookies with milk, coffee or tea
pre-packaged brioche (sweet pastries)
fresh fruit
spremuta – orange juice

How To Use This Breakfast Shopping List

Below is a printable breakfast PDF shopping list that you can either open on your phone or print out before you head to the supermercato or small shops.

This shopping list is for a week of breakfast for a family or group of four people. Many of the items are easily doubled or reduced to accommodate a longer or shorter amount of time (or more or less people).

In some sections of the shopping list, I will indicate that you will need to choose from a selection of choices (coffee vs tea, whole milk vs oat milk, for example).

What You Will Eat For Breakfast With This Shopping List

Hand holding glass jar of lemon Italian yogurt.

With this shopping list, each person in your party will have a breakfast made up of:

1 piece of seasonal fruit
1 coffee or tea beverage (learn how to make coffee in a moka pot here)
1 yogurt
1-2 pieces of toast with jam, Nutella or prosciutto OR 4-6 pre-packaged cookies OR 1 pre-packaged Italian pastry

Breakfast Shopping List For Italy

italian coffee brands displayed at italian grocery store on shelf.

Good To Know: The order of the breakfast items on this shopping list are in a general order of how they might be organized at a typical Italian grocery store.

Seasonal Fruit

Choose 2 kilos of seasonal fruit (such as apples, apricots, peaches, plums, grapes, pears). Note that if you are choosing large fruits such as apples, you may need more or can choose to share.

Yogurt

Choose 5-7 large containers of yogurt (each serves 4) OR individual sized yogurts (1 per person per day for a total of 28 small containers)

Beverages

Choose from the following or buy a mix:

1 box of tea or 2 packages of pre-ground coffee – you can read about the best coffee in Italy here.
1-2 liters of milk (depending on how you like to make your coffee or tea) – choose from whole milk (latte intero), partly skim milk (parzialmente scremato), soy milk (latte di soia) or oat milk (latte di avena)
7 boxes of freshly squeezed orange juice (spremuta), optional

Toast, Cookies OR Pastry

Hand holds up package of pan goccioli at a grocery store in Italy. — *Typical packaged pastry items for breakfast in Italy*

For the major component of your Italian breakfast, you will need to choose from toast with jam, Nutella (also called gianduia) or prosciutto (or another cured meat should you not like sweet items), pre-packaged Italian breakfast cookies or pre-packaged breakfast pastries. If you are in Italy during Christmastime, be sure to check out panettoni or pandori. Choose one of the following:

1 loaf of bread of your choice from the bakery (but this will only last a few days and you will have to repurchase) or opt for 2 loaves of pane in cassetta, pre-packaged sliced bread that will last longer.
3 packages of fette biscottate
5 packages of pre-packaged Italian breakfast pastries
3 packages of Italian breakfast cookies such as Mulino Bianco 350 grams each

Condiments

Should you have chosen bread or fette biscottate to accompany your yogurt and drink, you will need to pick up either jam, Nutella or some form of cured meat. Choose one of the following:

1-2 jars of jam of your choice
1 jar Nutella (or other brand of chocolate-hazelnut spread)
200-300 grams sliced deli meat of your choice (prosciutto crudo, prosciutto cotto, salame)

Tips For Shopping For Breakfast In Italy

View of milk aisle in Italy grocery store. — *UHT milk at a grocery store in Italy. Milk alternatives will be located here as well*.

When shopping for your breakfast items at grocery stores in Italy, keep these things in mind:

You can buy fresh milk in the refrigerator section or UHT milk in the next aisle
Freshly baked bread will only last for a couple of days. To avoid picking up more, choose pre-sliced bread options next to the bakery section or in the aisle next to the crackers
If you like to drink milk-based coffee drinks, consider an extra liter of milk
If you would like cured meats with your bread, order by the etto (100 grams) from the deli or pick up pre-weighed and packaged cured deli meats close by
Fresh fruit needs to be bagged and weighed by you on the scales provided before checking out. For help navigating ordering all these items and weighing fruits, read Grocery Stores In Italy – How To Grocery Shop On Vacation.
Spremuta, freshly squeezed orange juice, is in the refrigerator section with the yogurt and milk.