Midwest Living
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Breakfast
Our Best Brunch Recipes

Our Best Brunch Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com

Updated January 10, 2021

Celebrate the bright flavors of the season with our recipes for casseroles, quiches, breads, pancakes, granola, egg dishes, sweet rolls and more.

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Honey French Toast with Macerated Berries

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Egg bread, extra egg yolks and half-and-half take a trusty diner classic to new levels of splurge. (Trust us, you won't regret going along for the ride.) Both the French toast and berries need to rest overnight, so this is an ideal make-ahead brunch dish. The recipe comes from The Birchwood Cafe Cookbook (University of Minnesota Press, $29.95).

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Bagel Strata with Asparagus and Ham

Credit: Brie Passano

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Weekend guests? Create a bagel bar for Saturday's breakfast, then grab a couple of bagels to make this strata for Sunday morning.

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Goat Cheese, Artichoke and Smoked Ham Strata

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This brunch recipe comes from Carol Mortensen of Flossmoor, Illinois. "The best part," she says, "is preparing it the night before to bake in the morning."

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Tiny Quiche

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Prebaked phyllo shells (available at large supermarkets) make this party-perfect recipe an absolute snap to make-start to finish, you'll be done in 35 minutes.

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Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

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Plump blueberries create a juicy filling in this old-fashioned sour cream coffee cake from The White Gull Inn in Fish Creek on Wisconsin's Door County Peninsula.

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Spinach-Asparagus Quiche

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This hearty quiche recipe comes from Fire Lake Camp farm in Paola, Kansas, where a U-pick asparagus patch draws visitors every spring.

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Eggs Benedict with Maltaise Sauce

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What's Maltaise Sauce, you ask? It's just hollandaise sauce with a bit of orange zest and juice added. But you wouldn't believe how that bit of zing transforms this brunch standard.

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Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes

Credit: Carson Downing

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When life gives you lemons, make the legendary lemon-ricotta hotcakes from Hell's Kitchen, a Minneapolis favorite.

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Spring Egg Scramble

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Scrambles are a blank slate that you can adapt to every season, varying the veggies to use whatever you have on hand. More lunch-like than breakfasty, this version begs for a salad and buttered toast. The recipe (at link above) comes from The Birchwood Cafe Cookbook (University of Minnesota Press, $29.95).

Also from The Birchwood Cafe Cookbook, a perfect accompaniment to the scramble: Green Tea Vinaigrette on mixed greens. Minneapolis chef Marshall Paulsen created the unusual dressing when matcha was the surprise ingredient in a chef's challenge.

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Waffle board

Credit: Jacob Fox

Take the grazing board idea to your breakfast or brunch table with a waffle smorgasbord. You can make it healthy (as we did), with fresh and dried fruit, cottage cheese nut butter, honey, toasted coconut and cocoa nibs. Or, you know, there's always whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles.

Ours has Midwest-made Lopaus Point Waffles (gluten-, dairy- and soy-free), available online and in stores, but you can make your own, too!

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Stuffed Croissant Breakfast Strata

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The combination of croissants, bacon and cheese create an indulgent make-ahead treat for breakfast or brunch. Croissant pieces fit into the baking dish like a puzzle.

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Any-Flavor Mini Quiche

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Talk about easy! You can prep these delicious little quiches the night before, or make them in the morning while the oven preheats. They're perfect for brunch parties, and you can use whatever meat, cheese and veggies you have on hand.

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Ham and Mushroom Lasagna

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This creamy, crazy-delicious lasagna is simple, too, thanks to jarred Alfredo sauce and no-boil noodles. If you're lucky enough to have a specialty grocery store or Italian deli that sells all-natural refrigerated Alfredo sauce without preservatives, this is a great way to use it.

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Blueberry Surprise French Toast Casserole

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The breakfast spread at Turkey Run Inn at Turkey Run State Park in east-central Indiana often includes this warm-from-the-oven casserole. Cream cheese is the secret ingredient in this recipe, which gets a generous topping of blueberry or maple syrup.

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Crunchy Yogurt-Granola Upside-Down Cake

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Pineapple who? No fruit here in this upside-down cake, just a brown sugary streusel-like layer of walnuts, coconut and granola baked under (then flipped over) a vanilla coffee cake.

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Asparagus Scramble Biscuits

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Asparagus Scramble Biscuits start with square bacon-flecked cornmeal biscuits you can make ahead. The morning of your brunch, scramble the egg-veggie mixture, fill the biscuits and bake to heat and melt the cheese.

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Warm Blueberry Compote

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Rise and shine with these special-occasion pancakes from Chicago chef Mindy Segal. Ricotta makes them moist and rich; lemon curd gives sweet-tart punch.

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Eggs Goldenrod

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This dish is terrific for brunch or a light supper. Hard-cooked eggs are simmered in a delicate white sauce that's ladled over warm biscuits.

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Lazy Morning Sausage Pie

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Lyndy Ireland cooks up breakfast favorites such as this classic biscuit mix recipe for her guests at Triangle Ranch in western South Dakota. She tops the Sausage Pie with refreshing salsa.

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Banana Bread

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Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger flavor this moist banana bread. Make banana bread when your bananas get brown polka dots on them.

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Devilishly Good Deviled Eggs

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A hint of curry and some chutney elevate these deviled eggs to spectacular. Spoon the filling into a sandwich-size clear plastic bag and snip a corner for easy piping.

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Very Cherry Hazelnut Coffee Cake

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David Dahlman of Chatsworth, California, says this yeasty coffee cake reminds him of the old-fashioned, down-to-earth treats on his grandmother's farm table. It takes time because it's a yeast-leavened dough, but there's no kneading required.

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Spinach Quiche a la Goldmoor

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An easy-to-use frozen spinach souffle makes this quiche's eggy-sausage filling simple to prepare. The recipe is from the Goldmoor Inn near Galena, Illinois.

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Czech Kolaches

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Kolaches (koh-LAH-chees) are a staple in the bakeries and farm kitchens of the Midwest's old Czech communities. Warm from the oven, our version is petite, pillowy and just begging for coffee.

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Lemon-Blueberry Biscuits

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Lemon yogurt is the secret ingredient in these pretty biscuits. The recipe comes from Natura Farms in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota.

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Breakfast Monkey-Bread Rolls

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Frozen or refrigerated cinnamon roll dough simplifies our recipe for Breakfast Monkey-Bread Rolls. Baking these rolls in muffin cups cleverly corrals their syrupy topping.

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Crepe-Framed Eggs with Asparagus Hash

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The "windows" on this oven-baked brunch dish reveal a filling of chopped asparagus and pancetta, Gruyère and a sunny egg. When you slice the asparagus, think small, like diced onion. It may seem unorthodox to chop up those beautiful stalks, but it guarantees you get morsels of asparagus in every bite.

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Blueberry-Peach Gratin

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Fresh fruit stars in this brunch dish, with blueberries and peaches baked in a honeyed Greek yogurt sauce.

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Orange-Honey Sweet Rolls

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The recipe for these hearty rolls comes from Jean Hixson of the Kansas Wheat Commission. They'll keep in an airtight container for a couple days, or you can freeze them (unfrosted) for up to 2 months. They're best served warm, so when ready to eat, wrap the frozen cinnamon rolls in foil and bake about 25 minutes in a 300° oven. Frost as directed.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

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This healthier version of granola bars includes chia seeds, rolled oats, toasted wheat germ and pretzel sticks.

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Spicy Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce

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Crushed red pepper adds heat to homemade tomato sauce; protein-rich eggs cook right on top. Serve with flatbread or multigrain toast for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

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Tex-Mex Scramble with Tortilla Chips

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Inspired by the Tex-Mex dish called migas, this ridiculously easy breakfast (or breakfast-for-dinner) dish can be on the table in less than 15 minutes.

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Spring Breakfast Pizza with Spiced Hollandaise

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Fresh asparagus, sliced hard-cooked eggs, cheese, cherry tomatoes and diced ham top an easy homemade crust.

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Savory Egg and Sweet Potato Scramble

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Sweet potatoes, spinach and cumin add a fresh twist to scrambled eggs.

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A Hole-in-One Breakfast

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Our egg cooked in toast is a classic American breakfast recipe that's also been known as egg in a basket and knothole egg.

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Favorite Frozen Fruit Cup

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Throw together these fruit cups after dinner to enjoy a frosty side the next day.

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Our Best Brunch Recipes

1 of 39

Honey French Toast with Macerated Berries

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2 of 39

Bagel Strata with Asparagus and Ham

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3 of 39

Goat Cheese, Artichoke and Smoked Ham Strata

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Tiny Quiche

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Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

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Spinach-Asparagus Quiche

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Eggs Benedict with Maltaise Sauce

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Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes

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Spring Egg Scramble

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Waffle board

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Stuffed Croissant Breakfast Strata

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Any-Flavor Mini Quiche

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Ham and Mushroom Lasagna

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Blueberry Surprise French Toast Casserole

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Crunchy Yogurt-Granola Upside-Down Cake

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Asparagus Scramble Biscuits

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Warm Blueberry Compote

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Eggs Goldenrod

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Lazy Morning Sausage Pie

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Banana Bread

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Devilishly Good Deviled Eggs

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Very Cherry Hazelnut Coffee Cake

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Spinach Quiche a la Goldmoor

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Czech Kolaches

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Lemon-Blueberry Biscuits

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Breakfast Monkey-Bread Rolls