Teresa Giudice is cozying up to a new man after breaking things off with her husband, Joe -- but the question now ... is this just friendly, or signs of a new match?

The 'Real Housewives' star was spotted walking into a breakfast joint Saturday morning in NJ with a hunky guy by her side the whole time. And, by that we literally mean he had her wrapped up close as they made their way in to eat ...  laughing all the way.

The flirtatious touching didn't end there ... Teresa and this fella were seen hugging a couple times during their outing, and she was hanging off his arm as well as they stood outside.

Now, the one thing they didn't do was kiss ... which would've all but confirmed she's moved on from Joe. And, yes, this might've just been friends palling around ... not unheard of.

To us, though, it appears like these two are more than just friends -- and if that's the case, you can't really blame TG. In the wake of splitting up, word has it Joe's already been on a few dates himself in the motherland ... so obviously, it's NBD if Teresa did the same.

One big consideration though ... how would the kids react to a new man in the house??? Time will tell, we suppose.