37 Best Brunch Food Ideas for Your Party in 2024
Are you looking for easy and delicious brunch food ideas for your next gathering? Brunch, whether an informal get-together at home or a fancy affair out on the town, can be a great time to connect with your friends and catch up.
What is usually eaten at brunch? From bottomless mimosas and breakfast foods to dim sum brunches at Chinese restaurants, brunch can be anything you like!
No matter what you serve at your next brunch, this long, late-morning meal is always a good time to reconnect with friends. As our schedules get busier, sometimes adult friendships fall by the wayside. Instead of allowing time and schedule constraints to weaken your friendships, gather for a delicious brunch and catch up.
According to Purdue University, strong friendships come with a world of benefits, from support during difficult times to fewer feelings of loneliness or isolation. Your friendships can help you develop into the best version of yourself and help reduce stress. What better way to maintain those relationships than by indulging in a long brunch together?
Whether you are a brunch aficionado or still wondering “What do you serve hosting brunch?”, we have 37 great brunch food ideas that will help your next brunch be a success. With these delicious menu items plus a few fun brunch party ideas, you’ll be able to host and enjoy the perfect brunch.
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- Best Brunch Food Ideas for a Party
- Quick & Easy Brunch Menu Ideas at Home
- Popular Brunch Food Ideas for a Crowd
Best Brunch Food Ideas for a Party
1. Cook Brunch With Top Local Chefs
Host an entertaining brunch party while learning to cook some of the best brunch recipes from skilled chefs when you book cooking classes near you or even online cooking classes.
You can find classes like these in major cities like cooking classes in Austin, cooking classes in New Orleans and cooking classes in San Diego. You and your guests will love learning useful kitchen skills and sharing your homemade brunch together at the end of the class.
2. Indulge in Mimosas
Brunch party food ideas don’t have to be just about what you eat. Setting up a mimosa bar at a party is a great brunch treat that your guests will enjoy.
Set out different types of juice and cut fruit that guests can add to their drink. And of course, don’t forget the sparkling wine or alcohol free options like sparkling grape juice or ginger ale.
3. Set up a Bagel Bar
If you are hosting a brunch party but don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen flipping pancakes or making waffles, a bagel bar is a great brunch food idea that requires minimal prep.
You can purchase different types of bagels and provide options for spreads and toppings. Pair with easy side dishes like fruit and yogurt for a simple brunch food idea. It's also a top choice if you're expecting and need ideas for baby shower food.
4. Turn your Brunch into a Tea Party
Make your traditional Saturday brunch a little fancier by turning it into a morning tea party. You can serve traditional tea party food like teacakes, sandwiches and scones. Don’t forget to brew up several different varieties of tea for your guests to try.
5. Make a Brunch Charcuterie Board
One beautiful way to make your brunch menu shine is with breakfast-themed charcuterie board ideas. Keep things light with fruit, cheese, and maybe some sweets like mini cinnamon rolls or even donut holes.
Your guests can take what they like and graze while you enjoy good conversation at your next brunch party.
6. Rosé All Day
Another fun twist on the traditional brunch party is to turn your gathering into a rosé party. This brunch food idea works great around Valentine’s Day. Get your best girlfriends together and indulge in a delicious brunch menu including light foods and a variety of different rosés to try.
7. Serve Egg Bites
When hosting a brunch party, it can be difficult to keep all of the food hot and ready for guests to enjoy. Instead of serving scrambled eggs or omelets, make a batch of egg bites in a muffin tin for your guests to grab easily as they walk through the buffet line.
8. Bake a Coffee Cake
If your brunch party is a celebration of a birthday or other significant event, celebrate with a delicious coffee cake. This perfectly sweet brunch food idea will allow your honored guest to have their birthday cake at breakfast time.
9. Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Some of the best brunch party food ideas are delicious, homemade cinnamon rolls. Though these handmade treats are a labor of love, they’ll quickly become a staple at all of your future brunch gatherings.
10. Offer Overnight Oats
If you are hosting an early brunch party, chances are you are looking for brunch food ideas that can be prepped the night before. Overnight oats are a great option for this.
You can even find crock pot recipes that allow you to wake up to delicious, ready-to-eat oatmeal. Set out with different types of toppings, and your brunch party is ready to go.
11. Brew Delicious Coffee
Another great brunch food idea for your next brunch party is a coffee bar. If you are a coffee lover, offer your friends espresso-based beverages complete with coffeehouse-style syrups and toppings.
You can even keep the food side of things simple with pastries or donuts and let the coffee take center stage.
12. Make Indulgent Muffins
Another brunch food idea that can be easily made the night before your party is muffins. From banana nut to more indulgent chocolate breakfast muffins or coffee cake muffins, these bite-sized baked goods are a brunch party favorite.
13. Serve Breakfast Pizza
Party food comes in all shapes and sizes, and the same thing applies to brunch party food ideas. You can make a breakfast pizza that is perfect for an easy brunch menu for 12. Customize the recipe to make it your own.
Begin with a crust of crescent roll dough and add eggs, cheese, sausage and whatever other breakfast toppings you and your guests will enjoy most.
Quick & Easy Brunch Menu Ideas at Home
14. Breakfast Enchiladas
For quick brunch prep, make a dish of breakfast enchiladas. Fill a baking dish with tortillas rolled around breakfast staples like eggs, sausage and cheese. Cover with a sprinkling of shredded cheese and bake for an easy brunch food idea.
15. Brunch Cereal Bar
What could be a simpler brunch food idea than setting up a cereal bar full of family favorites? Opt for healthy options as well as a few sugary treats to keep everyone satisfied. You can even vary the milk options for those who prefer skim milk or nut milk.
16. Use Frozen Waffles in New Ways
Frozen waffles can be a freezer staple in many houses, but did you know you can elevate them into something special? Create a waffle bar with frozen waffles for family members who wake up at different times, or create a frozen waffle casserole by combining flavorful frozen waffles in a baking pan and baking in the oven.
17. Keep Fruit Salad on Hand
Fresh fruit is a flavorful addition to your at-home brunches. This is something that can easily be made ahead of time and kept in a large, airtight container in the fridge.
Then, when brunch rolls around, you can simply serve up spoonfuls of fruit instead of spending your morning slicing strawberries and bananas.
18. Buy a Dozen Donuts
There aren’t many breakfast food ideas simpler than getting up early and making it to your favorite local donut shop to be home with a dozen donuts before everyone gets up.
Donuts make a simple addition to your brunch menu, and they are perfect for people who like their breakfast more on the sweet side.
19. Combine Waffles and Cinnamon Rolls
If you want to serve waffles at brunch but don’t want the hassle of making waffle batter, try using your waffle maker to press canned cinnamon rolls into gooey and delicious waffles.
20. Make Homemade Granola
Homemade granola is a brunch food idea that can be easily prepped and stored in the pantry until needed.
21. Make Easy Breakfast Sandwiches
Breakfast sandwiches are a good grab-and-go option on busy mornings, but they can make for a quick and easy brunch menu.
Use English muffins, croissants or even bagels as your starting point, and let your family members or guests add meat, cheese and eggs in whatever form they choose.
22. Serve Sheet Pan Pancakes
Pancakes are delicious, but often standing over the griddle flipping flapjacks doesn’t make for a quick and easy brunch menu. Instead, plan to prepare sheet pan pancakes that you can then slice and serve easily.
All you have to do is mix up your batter, add whatever toppings you choose and bake in a sheet pan for easy, large-batch pancakes.
23. Turn Canned Cinnamon Rolls Into a Casserole
This is a simple brunch food idea that makes something special out of canned cinnamon rolls. All you have to do is slice the rolls into pieces and pile them into a baking dish.
Bake for the recommended time and pour the icing over the top when the rolls come out of the oven. Instead of serving up single rolls, your guests can take a scoop of cinnamon roll casserole.
24. Use Tater Tots in Your Casserole
Frozen tater tots or hash browns might seem like an overlooked brunch food idea, but these make a great base for breakfast casseroles or even potato bowls.
Top hot tots with cheese, scrambled eggs and a little bit of bacon for a delicious and easy potato bowl.
25. Bake Your Bacon
Instead of frying bacon in a pan, which can be messy and labor-intensive, use the oven to cook large batches of bacon at once. This simple brunch food idea is a way to make brunch easier on a lazy Saturday morning.
Popular Brunch Food Ideas for a Crowd
26. Serve Breakfast Casserole
Still wondering what are good food items for brunch? You can’t go wrong with breakfast casseroles. Most breakfast casseroles utilize ingredients like eggs, bacon, cheese and ham to create an easy-to-serve dish that is perfect for a large crowd. This is also a popualr crockpot meal meaning that it's a one-pot recipie witrh very little clean-up afterwards!
27. Plan a Waffle Bar
If you are planning brunch for a crowd, a waffle bar is a great way to let everyone make their own brunch at their own pace. All you need to do is mix up a batch of waffle batter and set up a station or two with a waffle iron and toppings.
You can also find trendy mini waffle irons in a variety of shapes or sizes to fit with the theme of your brunch.
28. Make a Fluffy Frittata
Eggs in every form are often a staple of brunch menus, and a frittata is a great way to serve eggs to a crowd. Traditionally made in a skillet, a frittata recipe can be customized to the tastes of your guests.
29. Make Mini Quiches
It might seem difficult to brainstorm an easy brunch menu for 12, but mini quiches are an excellent addition to your brunch party menu for a crowd. Make your favorite quiche, like the traditional quiche Lorraine, and serve it up with fresh fruit for a simple and delicious brunch.
30. Serve Parfait Cups
An easy party tip for brunch is to make parfaits ahead of time in small plastic cups. Your guests will enjoy the chilled parfaits without having to do any scooping and layering themselves, making this an easy brunch food idea for your next party.
31. Serve Biscuit and Gravy Casserole
Biscuits are another breakfast staple, but sometimes preparing them for a crowd can be difficult. Instead, create a delicious biscuit and gravy casserole that you can serve right out of the oven.
32. Enjoy Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
While a loaf of sweet bread might not seem like a traditional finger food, making a pull-apart loaf the night before your brunch is a delicious brunch food idea that is perfect for large crowds.
You can make this sweet treat in a traditional loaf pan or opt for a bundt pan if you need a larger amount for bigger parties.
33. Make Pre-Portioned Grits
Grits are a delicious Southern brunch food idea, but making large batches and keeping them warm for a party can be difficult. Instead, portion out a serving of grits into personal ramekins so that your guests can enjoy the perfect amount.
34. Opt for Bellinis
If you want to impress a crowd with a brunch cocktail that isn’t just a traditional mimosa, try bellinis. These drinks are quite similar to a mimosa, but they are made with peach puree instead. This makes for a great brunch food idea during the hot summer months.
35. Make Breakfast Lasagna
It might seem like a strange brunch food idea, but you can create a savory and spicy breakfast lasagna that is great for brunch and brings something new and unexpected to the table.
36. Bake French Toast in Large Batches
Another easy brunch idea for groups is a large batch of French toast baked in the oven. Turn French toast into an oven-ready casserole and prepare it the night before for super simple brunch prep.
37. Bake Banana Bread
If you are looking for easy brunch ideas for a group, breakfast loves like banana bread or even zucchini bread can be a great option. This is another idea that is good to make ahead of time.
Try toasting slices of banana bread with a little bit of butter on the morning of your brunch party for a warm and delicious treat.
We hope this list of 37 brunch food ideas gives you some inspiration for your next brunch gathering. Whether you are cooking for a crowd or just looking for simple brunch menu items, the sky's the limit.
For even more fun party ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!
