60 Festive Recipes For The Perfect Christmas Brunch
These will guarantee a holly jolly morning.
We have so many warm and fuzzy memories of Christmas mornings that were ALL about leaping out of bed to see what presents Santa left us under the tree. It’s no less enchanting now that we’re adults (though some of the magic comes from sleeping in and spiking our Christmas coffee 😉). No matter what age you are, one of the ways you too can keep the holiday spirit alive is with an extra-festive breakfast. Whether you want something quick and easy so you can focus on family, or something more elaborate to make the day even more special, we’ve got 60 Christmas brunch recipes for you here.
Does your household get a bit hectic around the holidays? If you’ve got lots of guests staying with you or coming to visit for Christmas day, do yourself a favor and make something that can serve a TON of people at once, without a lot of extra effort on your part. Breakfast casseroles that you can assemble the night before are always a solid choice, like our overnight French toast, our cheesy croissant casserole, our breakfast strata, or our overnight cinnamon rolls. Another option is to bake off a loaf or a cake to share with everyone, like our glazed lemon olive oil pound cake, our breakfast monkey bread, our cranberry cake, or our sour cream coffee cake. Pop them in the oven in the morning while stockings are being opened, and breakfast will be on the table before you know it.
Alternatively, if your Christmas is more low-key (and kid-free) this year, turn your leisurely holiday morning into a spectacular brunch made up of more adult-friendly foods and drinks. You can still make these for a crowd, but they’ll take a bit more time and hands-on effort. Check out our powdered donuts, our eggs Benedict, our buckwheat pancakes, our bagels and lox, or our tiramisu-stuffed French toast for ideas. We recommend doing a split of sweet and savory options for the perfect holiday spread. Brunch also isn’t complete without cocktails, so we’ve included a few of our favorite holiday options too, like spike-able eggnog, our Christmosas, or our peppermint bark mimosas. They’ll keep you feeling jolly all Christmas day long.
Want even more Christmas inspiration? Check out our top Christmas Eve dinners, our best Christmas cookies, and our favorite holiday cocktails too.
Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole
If you like the idea of a savory breakfast strata or crave scallion cream cheese and toasted everything bagels, then this will make a lot of sense. All you need to do is pop a fresh can of crescent rolls, stuff with scallion cream cheese, and roll. Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning and bake to create a frittata-style, savory egg custard. It will fit perfectly on the center of any breakfast table.
Get the Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole recipe.
Babka French Toast
When we're looking for something extra special for breakfast, this babka French toast more than fits the bill. It may sound intimidating, but the best part is that you’re not making it from scratch. You can purchase one right from the store, a loaf that’s already enriched with chocolate, cinnamon, and sugar syrup. It gets soaked in a simple egg and milk mixture, pan seared in butter, and coated in a raspberry butter. It's a luxury in little time.
Get the Babka French Toast recipe.
Sheet-Pan Frittata
If you're looking for the easiest way to make a customizable brunch for a crowd, then this sheet-pan frittata is the answer. Instead of worrying about having enough food to feed friends and family of 8 to 10 people, you can lean on a sheet pan to do the work for you. Just like our classic frittata, this recipe is completely customizable.
Get the Sheet-Pan Frittata recipe.
Buttermilk Waffles
The perfect way to begin Christmas day is with a batch of these tender buttermilk waffles, topped with pats of melty butter and pools of maple syrup. As they cook, the waffles will fill your kitchen with the delicious fragrance of vanilla-scented batter. It's heavenly.
Get the Buttermilk Waffles recipe.
Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict is a traditional breakfast dish composed of an English muffin topped with Canadian ham, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. Making hollandaise and poaching eggs takes some effort, but we've got lots of tips to help.
Get the Eggs Benedict recipe.
Crème Brûlée French Toast
The kingdom of French toast has expanded to dessert territory, and we're inviting you in. This crème brûlée French toast is done casserole-style, with 8 to 10 slices of bread snuggled together in a 13" x 9" pan. Everyone gets a serving, no worries there! The custard mixture, inspired by our own take on crème brûlée, is made with rich egg yolks, cream, and granulated sugar. Allowing the bread to soak will lead to a softer creamier pudding-like interior which, along with the burnt, crackly golden sugar crusted top, puts this breakfast over the top.
Get the Crème Brûlée French Toast recipe.
Santa Hat Pancakes
These little strawberry Santa hats might be the easiest shortcut to a festive breakfast ever. By the way, you can put Santa hats on anything, from cheesecake bites to Jell-O shots.
Get the Santa Hat Pancakes recipe.
Biscuits & Gravy
Homemade, buttery biscuits pooling with peppery sausage gravy is hard to beat, and honestly, we aren’t interested in trying. You could use store-bought biscuits, but homemade does make the dish that much better (even more so because our biscuits are wonderfully crispy on the outside, making each bite truly perfect).
Get the Biscuits & Gravy recipe.
Gingerbread Latte Sheet-Pan Pancake
One of our favorite seasonal drinks is a gingerbread latte, so we thought—why not turn it into an easy Christmas breakfast? When it comes to easy, nothing beats a sheet-pan dinner, so we knew we'd have success with pancakes made the same way. These are the BEST way to serve brunch to your whole holiday crowd.
Breakfast Strata
If you’re looking for the ultimate breakfast casserole—loaded with Italian sausage, cheese, veggies, and bread—then this breakfast strata is it. It’s hearty enough to keep everyone satisfied, and is endlessly versatile—just like the classic frittata, a breakfast strata shines as an adaptable breakfast dish.
Get the Breakfast Strata recipe.
Mini Cranberry Popovers
Of course, plain popovers are irresistible in and of themselves, but we couldn’t help but add some cranberry (and a little orange) to the mix, making these mini cranberry popovers a perfectly festive breakfast or brunch treat for the holidays. Topped with our favorite cranberry sauce, a pat of softened butter, and a drizzle of maple syrup, this might become your new go-to weekend breakfast during the holiday season.
Get the Mini Cranberry Popovers recipe.
Cranberry Mimosa Breakfast Cake
If mimosas are your thing, stop here! If they aren’t, you should still stick around. Cranberries, oranges, and bubbly Prosecco incorporated into a tender cake? And for breakfast too? This is what Christmas breakfast dreams are made of.
Cranberry Mimosas
While the classic combo of four parts Champagne and one part fresh orange juice can certainly hold its own, this recipe adds a fun holiday twist by swapping the orange juice with fresh cranberries, cranberry juice, rosemary, and a hint of lime.
Get the Cranberry Mimosas recipe.
Tiramisu-Stuffed French Toast
Everything you love about a classic tiramisu is used to make an unforgettable French toast. The silky filling here uses a bit of cream cheese to make it firmer, and the custard the bread is soaked in is infused with espresso. Instead of ladyfingers, we are using day-old brioche.
Get the Tiramisu-Stuffed French Toast recipe.
Crispy Hash Brown-Crusted Bacon & Cheddar Quiche
Here, we took the humble breakfast sandwich and turned it into a silky quiche, then took it one step further with a crispy hash brown crust. It's an incredible holiday breakfast, or breakfast-for-dinner.
Get the Crispy Hash Brown Crusted Bacon & Cheddar Quiche recipe.
Powdered Donuts
The combination of fried dough and powdered sugar works for funnel cake, zeppole, beignets, fry bread, and of course… powdered donuts. To create this sweet treat, we decided to keep it classic with a twist, adding yeast to a cake donut to give these fluffy rings the best of both worlds.
Get the Powdered Donuts recipe.
Peppermint Bark Mimosas
These mimosas are just the thing to get you in the holiday spirit (and use up that giant bottle of peppermint schnapps!). Wanna double up on holiday cheer? Serve with our classic gingerbread for full-on holiday vibes.
Get the Peppermint Bark Mimosas recipe.
Hawaiian Roll French Toast
Have leftover Hawaiian rolls kicking around (maybe from making some of our killer sliders?)? Use them to make these cute French toast squares! Paired with a "costume" made up of coconut custard, pineapple maple syrup, toasted coconut flakes, and bits of zingy orange zest, you'll barely recognize them.
Get the Hawaiian Roll French Toast recipe.
Cranberry Bread Pudding
This autumnal take on bread pudding is the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and rich. With bright pops of cranberries, almond- and clove-scented custard, and a sweet icing made with orange zest, it’s impressive enough to serve for dessert at a dinner party, and not to sweet to serve as breakfast.
Get the Cranberry Bread Pudding recipe.
Homemade Granola
Granola should be so good that you wake up in the morning thinking about it, so we’ve created a homemade version worth dreaming about. It’s just the right mix of sweet and savory, and perfectly rides the line between crunchy and chewy. Bonus: it makes a great homemade gift!
Get the Homemade Granola recipe.
