I'll admit it: I'm a smoothie kinda gal, but there are still some mornings when I wake up craving a few slices of toast. I go to bed dreaming of peanut butter and banana, or a thick spread of orange marmalade. That being said, sometimes it's nice to switch up your toast toppings, and these upgrades are on my must-try list for summer. And yes, that includes eating eggnog toast in July.

1. Unicorn Toast

chocolate, cake
Erin Voss

Just like its mythical counterpart, this unicorn toast is fabulous. Even if you're praying that the unicorn trend will swiftly disappear, you have to admit that waking up to psychedelic toast would put a smile on your face.

2. Grilled Peach, Ricotta & Granola Toast

bread, cheese, bacon
Brittany Arnett

This peach ricotta toast has only 5 ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to make. It's easy to whip this up on a Tuesday before your 9am psych lab. Talk about motivation to get outta bed.

3. Sweet Potato Toast

Sounds weird, but tastes amazing. Ditch the bread for this sweet potato toast instead, which you can enjoy with a variety of toast toppings. I would 10/10 recommend the feta-arugula-avo combination for a truly magical experience.

4. Greek Salad Toast

cucumber, bread, cheese, salad
Alvin Zhou

If you're the kind of person who thinks sugar should be made illegal before noon, then you'll love this savory Greek salad toast for breakfast. With feta, tomatoes, and cucumbers, it's like a one-way ticket to Santorini.

5. Pumpkin Cheesecake-Stuffed French Toast

cream, ice, whipped cream, caramel, syrup, chocolate
Jaime Wilson

I harbor a not-so-secret love for PSLs, so it's no surprise that this pumpkin cheesecake French toast makes me want to jump up and down like an over-sugared kid on Halloween. How good does this look? I'm drooling.

6. Fig and Honey Ricotta Crostini

cheese
Julia Maguire

Figs were so important to the ancient Greeks that they banned them from being exported, and I totally get where they were coming from. I wouldn't want to share these delicious fig crostini either.

7. Mermaid Toast

Ariel may want to become human, but mermaid toast has got me ready to live under the sea. I'm not sure about the whole algae thing, but it does give the toast a lovely azure hue.

8. Avocado Toast

bread
Weichen Yan

Embrace your inner basic betch with this avocado toast. It even has a rose on it so any photo that you snap of the toast (which you will, obvs) will be immediately Insta-worthy. Win-win.

9. Prosciutto Cream Cheese Apple Toast

gif
Alvin Zhou

As a vegetarian, I have no idea how this prosciutto toast would taste, but I can tell you that it looks fancy AF. Seriously. Making this toast might just transform your dorm kitchen into a Michelin-starred restaurant.

10. Nutella-Stuffed Hot Chocolate French Toast

dairy product, pastry, cake, goody, whipped cream, sweet, chocolate, cream
Ethan Cappello

There's nothing better than a blanket, good book, and a mug of gourmet cocoa on a cold winter's day. Except for this Nutella hot chocolate French toast. That's definitely better than plain ol' hot cocoa.

11. Rainbow Toast

mango, cake
Ally Tobler

If the unicorn trend and the mermaid trend got together, then this rainbow toast would be their baby. My favorite toast topping has to be the gold-tinted raspberries on the left. I'll take 10 of those, please.

12. Eggnog French Toast

butter, toast, french toast, bread, cinnamon, pastry
Simone D'Agostino

This five-ingredient eggnog French toast is the best way to start the countdown until Christmas (even if it is only July). Use cinnamon swirl bread for an extra kick of holiday spice.

13. Yogurt & Pomegranate Toast

sweet, cream, pomegranate, cake, berry, pastry, chocolate
Taylor Treadway

This pomegranate toast is so minimalist and aesthetically pleasing that you almost don't want to eat it. The yogurt gives it a nice creamy texture, while the seeds add a satisfying crunch.

14. Baileys Hazelnut French Toast

sweet, meat, sauce, french toast
Ellen Gibbs

This Bailey's hazelnut French toast is Christmas brunch goals. Imagine a few slices of this, a warm fire, and Michael Bublé's tunes as the snow falls outside. Sounds pretty magical to me.

15. Nutella Peanut Butter Pretzel Toast

almond, butter, peanut butter, peanut, chocolate
Alvin Zhou

This toast is like chocolate-covered pretzels, but with double the nut butter and twice the crunch factor. This Nutella pretzel toast means that you can finally eat dessert for breakfast. No complaints here.

16. Cannoli-Stuffed French Toast

chocolate, cream, french toast, cake, pastry
Maddie Cole

Imagine Italian ricotta and chocolate chips sandwiched together between layers of steaming hot French toast. Now stop imagining and start cooking. This cannoli French toast could be in your hands in less than 20 minutes. 

17. Tahini Maple Toast with Pan-Fried Banana

bread, toast
Jody Brimacombe

Swap your usual nut butter for these tahini-maple toasts. With the crushed macadamia nuts, shredded coconut, and banana, you'll feel like you should be enjoying them on a white sand beach in Hawaii.

Remember when you were 12 and you insisted that it was always peanut butter-jelly time? Well, you weren't wrong. But life is too short to exist solely for peanut butter (although PB fanatics may disagree), and you shouldn't be afraid to try other toast toppings. Add a kumquat. Throw in some licorice. Your toast is only as good as your imagination.