Happy February! Now that everyone’s finished up their January detoxes, I thought I’d share with you my go-to brunch recipes for a crowd so you can think about indulging this month! We have hosted an annual holiday brunch the last three years and about 60 or so people have trickled in and out of our small house each time. FYI, I love entertaining, but we do not have a lot of indoor space. We have a patio in our backyard and I tell my guests ahead of time to dress appropriately, as the party will be mostly outside. We do this for our kid’s birthday parties too, despite the season, because it’s all we have to work with so get creative and work with what you got!
Ok, so back to the food. Cooking for a large crowd can be daunting, but brunch is one of the easiest meals to host in my opinion. You can mix in savory and sweet dishes that everyone will love! And you can make and/or prep a lot of the dishes ahead of time. I usually start on Wednesday or Thursday before a Saturday brunch.
Food Menu
Here are my staple recipes and some tips I’ve learned from making them!
Cheesy Bacon Spinach Quiche – http://www.thekurtzcorner.com/2014/05/cheesy-bacon-spinach-quiche.html
Tip: I made two of these the day before and put them in the fridge. Then I re-heated them in the morning at 200 degrees once everything else was cooked just to keep them warm. Cover with foil so they don’t brown too much.
Egg Sausage Casserole – https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/breakfast-sausage-casserole-2165813?_branch_match_id=640340784944847554
Tips: I made four of these for this year’s brunch and let them soak overnight before baking the morning of. The picture is of them pre-soak. I change the order of how the ingredients go in the pan. I put half of the bread crumbs on the bottom, then half the cheese, cover with sausage, then the other half of the bread crumbs, and top with the remaining cheese. Lastly, I pour the egg mixture over top and pat it down with a spatula. I also use milk instead of half and half and sometimes throw 1 extra egg in! You can use whatever sausage you like. I suggest ground spicy or italian sausage or ground turkey sausage. I usually do some casseroles with pork and some with turkey depending on my guests.
Banana Bread Cookies – https://www.meatloafandmelodrama.com/frosted-banana-bread-cookies/
Tip: I made these a few days before the brunch. They are an absolute hit!! Store them in tupperware in the fridge and pull out in the morning so they can get back to room temperature before serving.
Banana Bread – https://www.scrambledchefs.com/perfect-banana-bread/
Banana Bread Crumble – https://thelatinahomemaker.com/cinnamon-crumble-banana-bread/
Tip: I only use the crumble part of the second recipe and put it on top of the first banana bread recipe above. The crumble on top is key! You can make this ahead of time as long as it’s tightly sealed.
Monkey Bread – https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/grannys-monkey-bread/
Tip: I made this the morning of because it was hard to get the center cooked through when I prepped it ahead of time. It says you can prep it the night before and lay it out in the morning, which I did for several hours one time, to get it back to room temp, but I think it was still too cold and it took forever to cook.
Apple Crumb Cake – https://omgchocolatedesserts.com/cinnamon-apple-crumb-cake/
(not pictured because I didn’t make the crumb cake this year, but I’ve made it for past ones and several others times. It’s very good!)
Tip: I made this a couple days before the brunch and it stays fresh if it’s tightly sealed. I did not refrigerate.
Other easy items to buy:
- Donuts from your favorite local donut shop – cut them in fourths
- Bagels from your favorite bagel shop – cut them in fourths (put out butter and cream cheese)
- Fruit Salad
- Easy Green Salad – I just do mixed greens, thinly sliced cucumbers, shaved parmesan, olive oil, and a citrus vinaigrette.
Drink Menu
Can’t forget about the drinks!! I made a speciality drink this year and plan to from now on. It was nice to have something warm on a cold winter day and was also very festive for the holiday season.
Spiked cider – https://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/easy-hot-spiked-mulled-apple-cider-recipe/
Tip: This is the recipe I started with, but I didn’t have most of the ingredients. I left out the star anise and whole allspice and instead of ginger root and whole cloves, I used a few drops of my Doterra Ginger essential oil and Doterra Clove essential oil because I had those on hand. I did both a batch in the crock pot (about 1.5 the recipe) and another batch on the stove (about 1.5 the recipe). It turned out great and was super easy! I also made a small virgin batch for my pregnant friends!
Note: If you are going to cook with essential oils, make sure they are safe to ingest (most on the market are not because they are not actually 100% pure plant extracts so be very careful!).
Mimosa & Bloody Mary Bar
Coffee/Cream/Sugar
Beer
Bottled Water
And there you go, you now have yourself a nice brunch party! You can pick and choose what you want to serve (I switch off some of the sweeter breads/cakes each year) and slowly start prepping a few days before. I know for me, being able to split it up and start cooking a few days out makes it much less stressful and much more doable. Most of these items are fairly quick to make so it’s not a huge undertaking either!
I hope you enjoy some of these recipes! Comment below with how they turn out or if you have other favorite brunch recipes to share!
Xo,
Hillary
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