17 Make-Ahead Brunch Recipes

Brunch, that beloved combination of breakfast and lunch, is a great way to gather with friends and family to enjoy a leisurely meal that isn't too early or too late. But between the need to have sweet and savory dishes, it’s still a challenge to host. If you're having people over for brunch, one way to make things easier on yourself is to prepare some of the dishes ahead of time. We’re sharing some delicious make-ahead recipe ideas for brunch, including savory dishes as well as sweet treats to help you plan the perfect brunch spread, and give you time to relax and enjoy the company of your guests.

Brown Butter-Raspberry Baked Oatmeal

In this baked oatmeal, perfectly tender spiced oats mixed with sweet and tart fruit are topped with crispy coconut and pecans. The recipe calls for raspberries but blackberries, blueberries, or sliced strawberries would work as well. Blooming the spices in the hot brown butter releases their flavors and infuses the entire dish with a nutty warmth. The baked oatmeal can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to flour days.

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Overnight French Toast with Cranberries and Pecans

This stunning overnight French toast is the move for an effortless make-ahead brunch. After you've assembled it and let it chill overnight, all you have to do in the morning is top it with pecans, bake it, and finish it with confectioners’ sugar. Allowing the challah slices to sit overnight in the egg mixture results in evenly soaked bread that remains irresistibly custardy as it bakes, while the top crisps up. When you serve it, be sure to scoop up the buttery maple syrup sauce on the bottom; it gives this a rich finish. If you'd like, add a touch of bourbon to the egg mixture.

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Lemony Crêpe Casserole

Reminiscent of a classic bread pudding, this sweet-tart crêpe casserole has a beautiful lacy top and tender-but-sliceable center. Pre-made crêpes make this recipe just as easy as it is delicious and allows you to make it ahead of time, either the night before or in the morning before brunch.

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Orange-Cardamom Morning Buns

These fragrant morning buns are a great way to wake up, plus they’re the perfect make-ahead treat. They're soft and tender, made with dough that's spiked with a hint of honey and vanilla extract. Honey goes into the buttery filling as well, which is flavored with orange zest, cinnamon, and cardamom. The filling is not only rolled up into the dough, but brushed on the baked buns as well, creating a delightfully gooey and sticky topping. The buns aren't too sweet, but if you'd like a little more sweetness, increase the amount of honey in the topping, or drizzle more on top. 

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Saffron Tea Cakes

Saffron is a prized ingredient in Scandinavian holiday baked goods, where its golden color enriches sweets made in honor of Santa Lucia Day. At Lost Larson bakery in Chicago, Timmy Gibbons and Bobby Schaffer use saffron to lend a beautiful color and flavor to buttery brioche rolls speckled with warm spices and studded with golden raisins. Work quickly and use a bench scraper to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, and let chill overnight before baking in the morning. 

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Potato, Bacon, and Cheddar Tart

It’s crucial to use thinly sliced bacon here to achieve a uniformly crisp crust. Seek out new crop potatoes for this recipe; they cook more evenly than potatoes that have been in storage. Plus, this tart can be assembled and refrigerated overnight before baking. 

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Lemon-Olive Oil Semifreddo with Blueberry Compote

Even with rich lemon cream as its base, this tart, sweet semifreddo from famed pastry chef Claudia Fleming retains its light texture and flavor after it is frozen. Semifreddos do not harden when they freeze, so there's no need to let this soften before serving it. You can make the semifreddo up to three days in advance of serving; the compote could be made one day in advance and kept in the fridge.

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Kete Bread Rolls

Kete — buttery, flaky Turkish pastries — come in many variations, some sweet and some savory. This savory version adapted from The Turkish Cookbook incorporates crushed walnuts and a hint of fresh thyme to make herbaceous, multilayered bread rolls with a satisfying crunch to them. When folding the kete, the most important step is rolling the dough into spirals to create flaky layers. 

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Carrot Cake Marmalade with Yogurt and Fresh Fruit

At Molly's Rise and Shine in New Orleans, diners rave about the yogurt bowl topped with sunny roasted carrot marmalade. This take on chef Mason Hereford's marmalade gets big flavor from stewing carrots and apple with cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise for a warmly spiced result, and can be made up to 5 days in advance. 

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Kuku Sabzi (Persian Herb Frittata)

Kuku Sabzi is the Persian version of a frittata. Shredded carrots, onion, zucchini and potato give it excellent texture — light and airy but deeply satisfying — while saffron adds the distinct Persian flavor.

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Persimmon, Whipped Goat Cheese, and Hazelnut Parfaits

These parfaits from cookbook author Louisa Shafia make the most of persimmons. The winter fruits are tossed with lime juice and sugar; layered with fluffy, honey-sweetened whipped goat cheese and crunchy cardamom-glazed hazelnuts; and topped with fresh mint and dried rose petals. 

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Lemon-Maple Halvah with Pistachio and Apricot

Halvah, a meltingly sweet confection with Middle Eastern roots, is often considered something to leave to artisans. However, cookbook author Adeena Sussman’s homemade version is actually quite simple to make. Professionally made halvah is typically sweetened with invert sugar, a thick, stable syrup that gives the confection its characteristic crumbly texture. 

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Chocolate Cream and Orange Brioche Buns

Tender and lightly sweet, these rich, buttery brioche buns from Timmy Gibbons and Bobby Schaffer of Chicago’s Lost Larson bakery are the perfect canvas for the bold flavors of orange and chocolate. The buns begin with a rich brioche dough that includes a touch of whole-wheat flour, which adds a nutty undertone without distracting from the sweet and buttery base. 

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Savory Granola

If you're looking to start your day on a savory note, here's a great recipe to try. Store-bought granola is often packed with lots of sugar. While there are sweet notes to this granola, with its maple syrup, orange zest, and cardamom, it leans much more savory with smoked almonds, buttery pine nuts, millet, and tahini. 

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Bacon, Tomato, and Cheddar Breakfast Bake with Eggs

Baked eggs are an incredible make-ahead dish for any brunch spread. We especially love this Bacon, Tomato, and Cheddar Breakfast Bake with Eggs that develops a terrific texture as it cooks slowly in a glass baking dish (which makes it easy to see when the bottom is perfectly browned). As one F&W editor remarked on tasting it, "I worship the crisp bottom and the chewy, moist bread."

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Blueberry Breakfast Parfait

Blueberries add the perfect sweet bite to this healthy breakfast parfait. You can't beat the combination of fresh berries, yogurt and granola.

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Sweetened Condensed Milk Rolls

A cross between Chinese milk bread and Portuguese and Hawaiian sweet bread, these tender rolls are easy to make and are perfectly sized for sliders. Sweetened condensed milk pulls double duty in this recipe, adding a subtle sweetness to the rolls and a rich, glossy sheen to their tops.

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