Our Best Brunch Recipes

Ricotta Hotcake with Lemon Cream, Blueberry Syrup and Hazelnuts

Gorgeously topped fluffy pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup are meant to be cut into wedges to serve your brunch crowd.

Crepes

This recipe and its filling variations comes from Chef Kate Bryan, owner of Seven Swans Creperie in Kansas City, Missouri, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Crepes can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer before adding fillings like Lavender Lemon Curd.

Fruit Platter with Maple Mascarpone Dip

This exceptionally smooth and sweet dip contains just three ingredients and comes together in a flash. Simply combine mascarpone cheese, maple syrup and lemon juice, then serve with pre-cut fruit.

Honey French Toast with Macerated Berries

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).

Tropical Mango Mousse

This light, airy treat features the perfect level of mango sweetness. Top with sliced kiwi and toasted coconut, and it's ready for dessert or a brunch buffet.

Bagel Strata with Asparagus and Ham

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

Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes

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

Tiny Quiche

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.

Waffle board

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!

Crunchy Yogurt-Granola Upside-Down Cake

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.

Spring Egg Scramble

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.

Fig and Pig Quiche

One of the signature recipes at Maya-Camille Broussard's Chicago bakery, Justice of the Pies, is this kicky bacon-topped quiche that will satisfy sweet and salty lovers alike.

Salsa Verde Deviled Eggs

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.

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

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.

Spinach-Asparagus Quiche

This hearty quiche recipe comes from a U-pick asparagus farm in Kansas.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Warm Blueberry Compote

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.

Stuffed Croissant Breakfast Strata

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.

Czech Kolaches

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.

Eggs Benedict with Maltaise Sauce

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.

Blueberry Surprise French Toast Casserole

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.

Asparagus Scramble Biscuits

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.

Lazy Morning Sausage Pie

The recipe for this breakfast favorite came from a South Dakota bed and breakfast.

Eggs Goldenrod

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.

Banana Bread

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

Crepe-Framed Eggs with Asparagus Hash

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.

Blueberry-Peach Gratin

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

Very Cherry Hazelnut Coffee Cake

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.

Tex-Mex Scramble with Tortilla Chips

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.

Lemon-Blueberry Biscuits

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

Breakfast Monkey-Bread Rolls

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.

Orange-Honey Sweet Rolls

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.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

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

Spicy Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce

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.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Fresh strawberries and rhubarb sweetened with strawberry preserves bubble under a topping of oats and honey.

Spring Breakfast Pizza with Spiced Hollandaise

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

Savory Egg and Sweet Potato Scramble

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