IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

55 Easter brunch recipes for a sensational springtime spread

From fluffy biscuits to elegant egg dishes, Easter brunch has never tasted so good.
Courtesy Joel Gamoran
/ Source: TODAY

As far as holidays go, Easter is a lovely time to celebrate with loved ones for brunch. The weather is finally turning in our favor, centerpiece flowers are blooming and a plethora of fresh spring produce is popping up at grocery stores and farmers’ markets alike.

One of the best ways to put those springtime goods to use is by preparing an Easter brunch worthy of the season. With ingredients such as spring peas, asparagus, leeks, rhubarb and berries at their peak, they incorporate seamlessly into all kinds of seasonal recipes, from savory baked eggs and casseroles to muffins and quick breads. It’s never been easier to create the Easter brunch lineup of your dreams with these recipes.

We tried to keep these recipes as quick and easy as possible so that you can spend more time celebrating — and some can even be made the night before (that means less work in the early morning hours). Whether your guests crave something sugary in the morning or they’re more the ‘bacon and eggs’ type, there is a variety of options to choose from. With recipes this simple, you can be sure to make a little something for everyone. Meat eaters will love sausage-packed frittatas and breakfast casseroles and your little ones won’t be able to resist the bunny-inspired egg cups. Of course, there will be enough hot cross buns to go around for everyone.

Brunch is served!

Savory Easter brunch ideas

Easter Bunny Egg Cups

A combination of whole eggs and egg whites is used to make these adorable edible bunnies that are perfect for Easter brunch. Greek yogurt keeps the eggs moist as they bake, while fresh herbs and cheddar cheese add plenty of flavor. Use small balls of aluminum foil to form the muffin liners into bunny shapes, then decorate the tops with sunflower seed eyes, rosemary whiskers and olive noses.

Making a frittata is a simple way to prepare eggs for a brunch crowd. This cheesy skillet bake is filled with earthy broccoli rabe and crispy crumbles of Italian sausage. The best part? It can be served at room temperature, so it’s a great dish to make ahead of time while you finish cooking the rest of your menu.

Bagel and Lox Breakfast Casserole

Skip the schmear: get all of the flavor of a bagel with lox and cream cheese, but in an easy casserole that can feed a lot of hungry people. Bites of seeded everything bagels, smoked salmon, cheddar and cream cheese are baked in an airy egg custard. This deli-inspired breakfast casserole is guaranteed to be a hit.

If you don’t have too big of a crowd joining you for Easter brunch, eggs Benedict are a great option. Slices of Canadian bacon, tomatoes and poached eggs sit atop toasted whole-grain English muffins. The hollandaise sauce couldn’t be easier (or healthier!) — instead of the usual butter and eggs, the sauce gets its classic yellow color from a bell pepper.

Pizza Rustica

This fully loaded Easter pie is a traditional part of the menu in Italian-American households. The crust is made with baking powder and eggs, making it a little more bready than an ordinary pie dough. The filling is a combination of ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, eggs and five varieties of meat for a hearty, savory slice.

This twist on eggs Benedict brings everything we love about cheesy cacio e pepe pasta onto one brunch plate. Instead of traditional hollandaise, the poached eggs are drizzled with a peppery Parmesan-infused vinaigrette. Thick slices of garlic-rubbed toasted bread are perfect for dunking into the runny egg yolks.

What’s even better than a flaky pie dough crust? Potatoes. This classic quiche gets an upgrade with a buttery hash brown crust. The filling has everything you’d expect from a classic Quiche Lorraine — salty bacon, Gruyere cheese and plenty of cream.

Nothing says spring quite like in-season produce. To make this tart for Easter brunch, quickly blanch slender stalks of asparagus before adding them to a pie crust and topping with a cheesy egg custard. You’ll know the tart is ready when the eggs are just puffed and set.

Broccoli Cheese Quiche

We love this hearty quiche because it starts with store-bought pie dough. Broccoli florets, bacon and three kinds of cheese add so much flavor to this baked quiche. If broccoli isn’t your favorite, try other seasonal vegetables, such as asparagus or spring peas.

Sausage, peppers and onions are an infamous Italian-American trio, especially when piled onto toasted hero rolls. This breakfast casserole combines those flavors to make a satisfying and hearty addition to your brunch menu. Add in a few handfuls of spinach for a pop of green color — and definitely don’t skimp on the cheese.

Best Egg Salad

Egg salad is a classic, and it’s a great way to add something quick and easy to your Easter brunch menu. The silky mixture only has four ingredients — hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, red onion and dill pickles — and can be served between slices of bread, spread on crackers or piled onto beds of spring lettuce. This recipe is super simple, but you could add fresh herbs like dill, parsley or chives if you like.

This simple frittata takes about thirty minutes from start to finish. The flavors are mild, so none of the ingredients overpowers the others. Leeks and zucchini cook down until tender before being folded into the egg mixture and baked.

Asparagus Tart

For such a simple recipe, this tart is brimming with fresh spring flavor. Tender asparagus pairs perfectly with spreadable garlic-herb cheese and a flaky puff pastry crust. This is also a great make-ahead recipe and can be assembled the night before so it’s ready to pop in the oven and bake.

The Best, Easiest Deviled Eggs

No Easter brunch is complete without a platter of deviled eggs. If you have an extensive brunch menu, most of the components for this recipe can be made in advance so all you have to do is pipe in the filling and set them out for folks to enjoy.

This recipe really is as simple as layering a bunch of ingredients with a mixture of milk and eggs. Breakfast sausage, frozen potatoes and spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese are responsible for the bulk of the fillings in this casserole. You could use any meats, vegetables and cheese that you have on hand — perfect for a last-minute addition to the brunch menu.

No one is going to turn down a warm biscuit, especially when served with butter on the side for smearing. You’ll find bits of smoky bacon and extra-sharp cheddar cheese hiding between each flaky layer. Pro tip: the colder you keep the butter and cheese, the better — cold dairy means flaky biscuit layers.

If you were going to eat French onion soup for breakfast, this would be the way to do it. Hunks of crusty sourdough bread, caramelized onions, sliced mushrooms and Gruyere cheese bake in a fluffy egg custard, like savory bread pudding. This recipe is best when left to rest overnight, so make it the day before and pop it in the oven before brunch.

This French toast not only veers from sweet to savory, but its flavors are uniquely inspired by Indian cuisine. Slices of vegan cheese are sandwiched between thick pieces of hearty bread, then coated in a spiced chickpea batter. They are pan-fried just like traditional French toast, then served with both sweet and savory condiments.

Asparagus and artichokes are what springtime is all about. A combination of whole eggs and egg whites keeps this frittata light and fluffy. Our favorite way to finish it off is with a drizzle of basil pesto and balsamic glaze.

Sheet-Pan Omelets

Cooking omelets for a crowd is no small feat — unless, of course, you make them in a sheet pan. And the best part is that you can experiment with a few different flavors, all on the same pan. Just pour the whisked eggs onto the pan and scatter your favorite add-ins (think: fresh herbs and vegetables) over the top.

Breakfast Potatoes

These are no ordinary roasted potatoes. The trick to making potatoes that are crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the center is to par-boil the potatoes before sautéing. These potatoes sizzle with peppers and shallots in bacon fat until crispy and tender.

Brooklyn's Brunch Casserole

This layered casserole recipe is one of the easiest there is. The only real hands-on cooking involves sautéing the sausage and onions. From there, it’s just a matter of layering store-bought buttermilk biscuits with all of the other savory ingredients for a crowd-friendly bite.

Sweet Easter brunch ideas

Easter Sweet Bread

Impress your brunch guests with this stunning centerpiece. The festive yeasted bread is decked out with pastel sprinkles as a nod to the season. It’s perfect for dipping into a mug of coffee with brunch or a cup of your favorite herbal tea at the end of the day.

Best Popovers

It only takes four ingredients and a whisk to make these perfectly puffed popovers. They work much like soufflé, where the eggs help the batter rise to lofty heights — be sure to keep the oven door closed while they bake (letting any air in can cause the popovers to sink). Serve them as is, or pair them with a sweet homemade maple butter.

No-Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

This no-fuss recipe gets a batch of cinnamon rolls on the breakfast table in a fraction of the usual time. There’s no yeast in these rolls, so you don’t have to wait hours and hours for the dough to rise. The cream cheese frosting remains unchanged, though — it still has the same tangy sweet flavor that cinnamon rolls demand.

Hot Cross Buns

No Easter brunch would be complete without hot cross buns. The milky dough is loaded with fragrant orange zest, dried cranberries and fresh apple. A paste of flour and water is piped over the tops of the buns to give it its iconic cross pattern, plus a honey butter glaze for sweetness.

Hot Cross Buns Pudding

If you make the hot cross buns early (or have leftovers from the Easter meal), you can turn them into a brand-new breakfast treat. The buns aren’t overly sweet to begin with, so you only have to add a touch of brown sugar to bring out their flavor. Stale buns work best here — they will absorb the custard even better when they’re a little on the dry side.

This is no ordinary French toast. Slices of bread are cut in half and soaked in spiced custard before being coated in cornstarch and deep-fried. The golden brown pieces are crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside — each gets another dash of spice from a final sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

This decadent baked French toast is an easy addition to any brunch table, but the fresh berries are particularly perfect for a springtime vibe. The frozen berries break down as they bake and become sweet and jammy. Take some time to prep this casserole the night before you plan to eat it — that way, it can go straight from the fridge to the oven the next morning.

It’s hard to think of a way to make bread pudding even more decadent, but using buttery croissants does just that. These mini bread puddings are baked in muffin cups, so everyone can have their own individual serving. The croissants soak up the egg custard, and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar adds a sparkly crunch to the top of each muffin.

This recipe is as indulgent as it comes. From the combination of flaky croissants and cinnamon-raisin bread to the double hit of chocolate (in the form of chocolate chips and chocolate sauce), this bread pudding can pass for a sweet breakfast or dessert. Top it with a dollop of bourbon-flavored whipped cream.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

No one will be upset when they're served a slice of classic coffee cake, complete with a sweet and spiced crumble topping.

Baked Pull-Apart French Toast

This year, turn your Easter brunch into an interactive feast. Instead of slicing, soaking and frying individual pieces of toast, make this crowd-friendly batch. To make it, cut through a whole loaf of your favorite bread to form a grid pattern. Pour the egg mixture into all of the nooks and crannies before baking, then guests can pull off as many pieces as they like to dip into maple syrup.

Coffee Cake Babka

You get all the flavors of cinnamon-spiced coffee cake in this recipe, but instead of cake, the base is a yeasted babka dough. The dough is moistened with sour cream and twisted around a spiced brown sugar filling. And of course, no coffee cake (babka-inspired or not) would be complete without a buttery streusel topping.

Despite how simple it is to make, all eyes will be on your Dutch baby when it comes out of the oven. The batter comes together in just a few minutes, and the eggs puff in the oven to create the showstopping souffle-like texture. Keep the toppings simple — we like berry compote, whipped cream, fresh mint and bits of shaved chocolate.

If you like cheesecake, you’ll love this luxurious baked French toast. A sweetened cream cheese mixture is sandwiched between pieces of bread before being doused in custard and baked. There’s so much flavor in this French toast, it hardly even needs a drizzle of maple syrup.

If anyone knows how to do French toast, it’s Martha Stewart. The custard for this French toast is flavored with citrus zest and brandy. Brioche or challah is the perfect bread to soak up all of the rich egg mixture — a soft loaf will keep the centers of each slice nice and creamy.

You could keep this cornbread recipe simple or spice it up with fresh jalapeños, red onion and melty Monterey Jack cheese. Either way, it’s best enjoyed hot from the oven with a smear of butter or a drizzle of honey. Baking the cornbread in a cast-iron skillet helps develop a golden bottom crust while keeping the batter moist.

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Anyone who appreciates a good blueberry pancake will love this baked French toast. Fresh blueberries burst in the oven, releasing their electric purple juices. This casserole has a similar vibe to cream cheese-stuffed French toast, with small cubes of cream cheese hiding throughout the dish.

Take ordinary banana bread to the next level by turning the batter into sweet baked doughnuts. It’s a great way to use up bananas that are past their prime. Dip each doughnut into a silky smooth vanilla glaze and finish them off with a crumble of buttery cinnamon-spiced streusel.

This French toast casserole achieves the perfect custard-like texture of regular French toast without the hassle. While the French toast bakes, you can focus on the star of the show — the bananas foster sauce. The bananas are sautéed and coated in a rum-infused stovetop caramel sauce.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Get The Recipe

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Frances Largeman-Roth, RDN

Poppyseed muffins don’t usually get the credit they deserve. They may seem old-fashioned, but these are bursting with fresh lemony flavor. They have a light, delicate texture and are a quick and easy addition to the brunch table.

It wouldn’t be a true Southern biscuit if buttermilk wasn’t involved. Baking powder gives the biscuits just enough lift; a generous amount of butter contributes to the flaky layers; and buttermilk adds that classic tang. Mix the dough in the food processor for easy cleanup.

Cinnamon Rhubarb Bread

When you think of spring fruit, rhubarb is usually at the top of the list. Its short season just so happens to fall around Easter, and this is the perfect recipe to incorporate it into. Toasty pecans add a bit of crunch in each bite, and the rhubarb’s sourness mellows out as it bakes.

Bread pudding doesn't need to be complicated to be rich and decadent. Embrace pain au chocolat vibes by pairing buttery croissants with chunks of dark chocolate. Everything is baked in a creamy custard, and the top of each croissant is coated in a shimmering sugar crust.

Vanilla Bean Scones

Vanilla bean paste pulls double duty in this recipe — it’s incorporated into the dough and the powdered sugar glaze that is drizzled on top. A combination of all-purpose and cake flour keeps the scones soft and tender, and both white and brown sugars contribute just enough sweetness. Our best trick to perfectly layered scones is to grate the butter so it incorporates seamlessly into the dough.

If you need a last-minute addition to your brunch menu, this Dutch baby won’t disappoint. Blending the batter gives the eggs some volume, so they’ll puff even higher in the oven. Make a quick lemon-kissed blueberry sauce while the pancake bakes.

Coffee Caramel Monkey Bread

Frozen bread dough (like ready-to-bake dinner rolls) are a quick hack for making monkey bread. Instead of making a yeast dough, just snip the thawed dough into smaller pieces and coat them in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. Layer the dough into the pan with a coffee-flavored caramel sauce — it’ll become sticky and sweet, and drip into every crevice of the monkey bread.

Easy Banana Bread

Few things are easier to make than a loaf of banana bread. And it’s the perfect make-ahead baked good to serve at brunch because the bananas, eggs and milk keep the loaf moist and tender for days. Keep it traditional by stirring in a handful of chopped walnuts or add even more sweetness with semisweet chocolate chips.

Sunny Anderson's Easy Basic Pancakes

Guests will be thrilled to see a thick stack of fluffy pancakes when they arrive for brunch. You can add whatever you like to this simple recipe — fold fresh fruit or chocolate chips into the batter or top each short stack with whipped cream and caramel. Don’t worry about the pancakes getting cold — you can keep them warm in a low oven until people arrive.

Don’t fuss with a pot of messy frying oil — try out these baked doughnut holes instead. Would you believe they’re made with applesauce and boxed cake mix? This combination creates a soft, cakey texture — all they need is a quick toss in cinnamon sugar to make them perfect.

Store-bought cinnamon rolls are great on their own, but they’re even better when transformed into monkey bread. The balls of dough are tossed in butter and scattered into a Bundt pan with mixed berries, which caramelize into a jammy consistency. Use the icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls to create a sweet glaze.

If you’re feeding a lot of people, might we recommend adding a simple muffin to the mix? This recipe is perfect for spring when berries and rhubarb are bursting at the farmers' markets and grocery stores. Crème fraîche adds moisture and flavor, but sour cream works great too.

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

If lemon poppyseed muffins are your jam, these scones are the next best thing. Poppyseeds add nuttiness, crunch and an unmistakable look to each tender scone. And we use the whole lemon for this recipe — the citrus zest is incorporated into the sweet glaze while the fresh juice flavors the scones themselves.

Nostalgia alert! You’ll never go back to eating store-bought breakfast pastries after making these. Mounds of sweet strawberry jam sit between squares of flaky homemade pie crust. A drizzle of powdered sugar glaze is a must, and you might as well add a festive scattering of sprinkles while you’re at it.