17 Delicious Christmas Brunch Recipes That Might Be Better Than Presents
Start your day with one of these easy breakfast ideas.
Here's our holiday gift to you: Christmas brunch ideas, including make-ahead Christmas breakfast casseroles, pillowy pancakes, better-than-bakery pastries, gravy-topped biscuits, and more ways to round out your Christmas day menu. Every single one of these Christmas breakfast ideas is tried, true, tested, and loved.
Monkey Bread
Dreamy dessert or warm breakfast? We say, “both!” There’s no wrong time to serve this pull-apart bread, but we’re especially fond of it as a Christmas breakfast recipe. Maple syrup and caramel sauce make this our most ooey-gooey monkey bread ever, and everyone will be scrambling to snag the last bite. While it looks like you spent all night fussing over it, the sweet breakfast requires just 20 minutes of prep time thanks to a head start from refrigerated buttermilk biscuits.
Chilaquiles Breakfast Casserole
Just as appropriate before noon as it is at the dinner table, this Christmas breakfast casserole is like the polar opposite of a bowl of bran flakes. Piping hot, full of fiery ingredients, and packed with protein, this Mexican-inspired dish will keep everyone energized through a day full of new-toy action or sports-cheering. Set out platters of avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, and tortilla chips so everyone can garnish their own serving as desired.
Manchego and Brandied Cherry Scones
Lightly nutty Manchego cheese and lush cherries fill these scones for a totally irresistible combination of savory and sweet. Offer a bowl of cherry jam for guests to slather over their scones at the Christmas day breakfast table.
Make-Ahead Tip: Mix the batter up to 12 hours in advance, then shape and bake the scones after you wake up on Christmas morning.
Ham-and-Cheese Slab Pies
Flaky, gooey, and a little zippy (thanks to the mustard), these savory breakfast pastries will be a hit at your holiday feast. If you're a devotee of make-ahead Christmas morning breakfast recipes, take a close look. These store beautifully in your freezer for up to two months.
Jumbo Apple-Cinnamon Rolls
This Christmas breakfast idea utilizes our Test Kitchen’s top trick for fluffy, light, and tender sweet rolls: Mashed potatoes. (Trust us!) From there, we transform it into an apple pie-inspired mashup by layering cinnamon-dusted sliced apples in between the flaky layers.
Make-Ahead Tip: Assemble the breakfast skillet recipe the night before, chill, then thaw for 30 minutes before baking.
Bacon-Asparagus Strata
With its green asparagus and red sweet peppers, this make-ahead Christmas breakfast casserole matches the colors of Christmas. Bacon and Swiss cheese make it especially irresistible. If you prefer an even more substantial slice, try our variation featuring sausage, mushrooms, and cheddar.
Mascarpone-Stuffed French Toast with Salted Caramel-Banana Sauce
The rich filling of mascarpone, cream cheese, and sugared nuts in this Christmas breakfast recipe captures the true spirit of the holidays. It's slightly over the top and will make the day feel oh, so special. Prepare it the night before for more time for the gift exchange (and relaxing).
Cherry-Almond Danish
Peeling apart the layers of this braided bread is even more fun than unwrapping presents. You can eat the gifts (cherry preserves and sliced almonds) hiding inside! Serve slices of this fruit-filled beauty with steaming cups of coffee and hot cocoa for Christmas morning breakfast.
Test Kitchen Tip: If cherries aren’t your top choice, try the same method with raspberry, orange, apricot...or even a mix of flavors.
Caramelized Onion Breakfast Casserole
Sweet ribbons of caramelized onions contrast with the salty bacon and creamy Muenster in this crowd-pleasing make-ahead Christmas breakfast casserole. (Tucking broccoli in with all the other diner-inspired goodies is a painless way to inspire picky eaters to eat a few vitamins, too.) PS: Don't be surprised when the dish is requested again for New Year's brunch.
Easy Huevos Rancheros Casserole
This Mexican-inspired Christmas breakfast casserole is full of south-of-the-border flair that will warm up even the chilliest of Christmas mornings. Garnish this egg-and-potato bake with salsa and sour cream, and serve alongside freshly squeezed juice.
Bacon-Caramel Rolls
For many, a traditional holiday breakfast wouldn’t be complete without a pan of gooey caramel rolls. But who says you have to start from scratch? Frozen bread dough keeps this Christmas breakfast idea simple. And the bonus bacon keep it savory enough for those who aren’t on Team Sweet.
Overnight Blueberry Coffee Cake
Grab your French press and start a fresh batch of java. A steaming cup of coffee is the only thing that could make this baked beauty better, in our opinion! With its fresh blueberries and convenient make-ahead angle, this buttery coffee cake easily snagged a top spot on our list of great Christmas breakfast ideas. To please heartier appetites, serve with scrambled eggs and bacon for an easy-peasy Christmas brunch menu.
Porcini Biscuits and Mushroom Gravy
A double dose of mushrooms gives this Christmas breakfast idea loads of earthy, delicious flavor. Level one: dried ground porcini in the biscuit dough. Level two: a full pound of your mushroom(s) of choice in the garlicky gravy. Pour that gravy on top of the aforementioned flaky biscuits, then all that’s left to do before you dig in is put an egg on it, naturally!
Eggs Benedict Bake
Few a.m.-friendly recipes are as opulent as Eggs Benedict. This version is less tricky than most, because you don’t have to fuss with a classic hollandaise sauce. Better yet, you can make the Christmas breakfast recipe up to 24 hours in advance. Just add the perfectly-poached eggs and mock hollandaise just prior to serving.
Quiche Lorraine
When you’re on the hunt for crowd-pleasing Christmas breakfast ideas, you can’t go wrong with Quiche Lorraine. Its combination of cheese and bacon in a rich, savory custard—all cradled in a buttery crust. Just like Christmas and eggnog, this combo never fails to please.
Stuffed Waffles
The gift hiding inside this Christmas morning breakfast: cheese, bacon, basil, and tomatoes. Sandwich those savory fixings between just-slightly-sweet buttermilk batter and press into a waffle shape. Voila: A perfectly-acceptable-to-eat-before-noon panini. Prepare for some epic cheese pulls as everyone grabs their portion!
Cheesy Potato Bake with Eggs
Potatoes au gratin join forces with scrambled eggs in this one tasty, towering entree. This hearty Christmas breakfast recipe features smoky bacon, fresh tomatoes, broccoli, and potatoes for a holiday-worthy breakfast casserole. Slash prep time by using a food processor or mandoline to slice the potatoes.
