Our 16 Christmas brunch recipes make Christmas Day dishes for that languorous meal that straddles breakfast and lunch that we all know as brunch. Whether brunch is a big late breakfast cum early lunch or a casual buffet style meal that stretches from mid-morning into the late afternoon, we have Christmas brunch ideas for all of you.
I’ve long thought a casual Christmas brunch is a great idea, but only if your main Christmas meal is on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner. Christmas brunch obviously doesn’t work if you’re having Christmas lunch, unless you intend Christmas Day brunch to segue into Christmas lunch?
One of the advantages of a relaxed Christmas brunch is that it is just that. Guests should not have to sit down at a certain time at the table. They should be able to drop by at any time and be able to mingle standing up or sitting down. Being able to call into a loved-one’s home for a catch-up takes the pressure off those already torn between where to spend Christmas meals.
You’ll want a mix of buffet-style dishes that guests can help themselves to whenever they arrive, along with a hot dish or two that you prepare and distribute as individual meals or set down on the table for guests to help themselves to, although in these pandemic times, you might want to opt for the former rather than the latter.
In line with the nature of brunch – a cross between breakfast and lunch – there’s a little overlap with my compilation of best Christmas brunch recipes and the recipes I’ve already filed under our best Christmas breakfast recipes, Christmas salads, and Christmas starters, so you may wish to browse those Christmas recipe collections as well (links below).
Before you scroll down to browse our best Christmas brunch recipes, if you didn’t check our home page before you landed here, we’ve been publishing Christmas recipe collections over the last week that you might also like, including our best Christmas cocktail recipes, best dip recipes for crackers and crudités for festive parties, best Christmas starters, best Christmas salads, and best desserts for Christmas.
Every day between now and Christmas, we’ll be adding more recipes and recipe compilations for Christmas finger food and nibbles, Christmas mains and sides, and ideas for Christmas leftovers, so do drop by and visit again or subscribe (bottom of the site).
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Christmas Brunch Recipes for that Languorous Meal That Straddles Breakfast and Lunch
Russian French Toast Recipe for Grenki
This Russian French toast recipe makes grenki (Гренки) just like my Russian grandmother and mother made and it’s one of the best Christmas brunch recipes as you can make it ahead and keep it warm in the oven.
The Russian take on French toast, grenki is easy to make, with just a handful of ingredients. Eaten for breakfast, brunch or dessert, you can serve grenki sweet, with sugar, honey, golden or maple syrup, sour cream, fruit jam or berries – or savoury with sausages, bacon and tomatoes or smoked salmon. Just don’t forget the dill!
My classic Russian French toast recipe for grenki (Гренки) makes the basic French toast that my baboushka made for me for breakfast – although this Russian French toast breakfast could also be served for brunch or lunch or dessert, as either a sweet or savoury dish.
Russian French Toast Recipe for Grenki Just Like My Russian Grandmother Made
Savoury French Toast Recipe with Pan-Fried Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese and Fresh Herbs
This savoury French toast recipe makes classic French toast – fried bread that’s been soaked in a beaten egg and milk mixture – flavoured with garlic, onion, sea salt, pepper, and a little chilli, piled with pan-fried cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and fragrant dill.
Just as sweet French toast can be treated like normal toast and spread with jams, fruit preserves, honey, golden syrup, and so on, savoury French toast can be eaten with anything that you’d put on ordinary toast, such as ham and cheese or avocado and poached eggs.
For Christmas you could even pile it with smoked salmon, caviar and sour cream, but do try this recipe as well. It’s a fabulous weekend breakfast, brunch or lunch dish and another of the best Christmas brunch recipes.
Savoury French Toast Recipe With Pan-Fried Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese and Fresh Herbs
Perfect Mushrooms on Toast Recipe
Our perfect mushrooms on toast recipe makes the most delicious mushrooms sautéed with garlic and shallots in salted butter and olive oil, finished with a dollop of sour cream and plenty of fresh fragrant herbs. It’s one of our best mushroom recipes, and another of the best Christmas brunch recipes.
Mushrooms, sour cream and dill. Obviously, my Russian heritage is showing. Some of these ingredients are quintessentially Russian – sautéed mushrooms often featured on my baboushka’s big round dining table.
But they also made an appearance on breakfast plates on holidays, whether at home or on camping trips when dad would fry up garlic mushrooms alongside sausages, onions and tomatoes on the barbecue or camp fire.
I love aromatic dill but you can use flat-leaf parsley or your favourite herb. Pile it all onto toasted sourdough and generously sprinkle on some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Perfect Mushrooms on Toast Recipe with Fragrant Herbs and Parmigiano Reggiano
Scrambled Eggs with Sautéed Mushrooms Recipe
This creamy scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms on sourdough toast recipe is made for a late weekend breakfast cum lazy brunch dish and it is easily one of our best mushroom recipes and easily another of our best Christmas brunch recipes.
Whether you use shiitake, classic brown mushrooms, cremini, or portobello mushrooms, which are really just older cremini, smoky sautéed mushrooms atop perfectly moist scrambled eggs and crusty sourdough bread toasted on a griddle pan make for a very satisfying combination.
Of course, a little shaving of fresh black truffles, or even truffle oil, would make this even more special.
Scrambled Eggs with Sautéed Mushrooms on Sourdough Toast Recipe for Your Weekend Eggs
Chorizo Eggs Recipe for Fried Eggs with Chorizo and Chilli Oil and Spring Onions
Our chorizo eggs recipe for fried eggs with chorizo and chilli oil and spring onions on sourdough toast makes a filling weekend breakfast or brunch dish that makes another one of our best Christmas brunch recipes.
Note that there are two main types of chorizo. There is fully cured chorizo which is ready to eat and quite firm to the touch. It’s often sold thinly sliced, like salami to be eaten as tapas. The softer cured cooking chorizo is best for this dish. Fully cured chorizo goes very firm when cooked while the softer cooking chorizo stays relatively soft while releasing all that fatty paprika oil that we love to cook with.
Note that Spanish chorizo is very different to Mexican chorizo, which is always fresh and is meant to be taken out of the casings, crumbled up a little and cooked.
Chorizo Eggs Recipe for Fried Eggs with Chorizo and Chilli Oil and Spring Onions
Fried Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo, Crunchy Potatoes and Spicy Chorizo Oil
Our fried eggs breakfast taco made with soft tortillas, diced fried chorizo, and crunchy potato cubes, drizzled with spicy chorizo oil, makes a very satisfying brunch dish and is easily another of the best Christmas brunch recipes.
You can make the tacos up yourself or serve it DIY style and let guests assemble the things themselves or finish them off with a squeeze of hot sauce, a dollop of Mexican crema or crème fraiche, then wrap them up.
For our readers outside North America who may not be familiar with the idea of a ‘breakfast taco’, it is essentially just a taco in Mexico where tacos are made with soft tortillas, typically corn tortillas rather than the flour tortillas we’ve had to use. In Mexico, tacos are eaten at any time of the day, from breakfast and brunch through lunch to dinner.
Although, it’s north of the border, in Mexican-American and Tex-Mex restaurants, eateries and food trucks in cities such as Austin, Texas, where the term ‘breakfast taco’ was coined. Whatever, it’s a brilliant brunch dish.
Fried Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo, Crunchy Potatoes and Spicy Chorizo Oil
Blini with Smoked Salmon, Dill and Sour Cream Recipe
This Russian buckwheat pancakes recipe makes blini with smoked salmon, dill, sour cream, and a ‘caviar’ of gherkin and radish. These are cocktail size blini that are perfect for snacking and entertaining and this is easily one of the best Christmas brunch recipes you can make.
This style of blini are more like pikelets than pancakes and while I’m using a ‘caviar’ of gherkin and radish that’s inspired by the Russian dish, ikra, you can, of course serve these blini with proper caviar.
I ladle the batter directly into the fry pan or skillet, as I don’t mind if the pancakes look home-made and rustic, however, if you’re serving these for a Christmas party, you can do what Terence does and use silicon egg rings to create these perfectly round discs. You might also like to try one of these non-stick pancake pans with moulds.
Russian Buckwheat Pancakes Recipe for Blini with Smoked Salmon, Dill and Sour Cream
Russian Devilled Eggs Recipe
My Russian devilled eggs recipe will make you a Russian retro-classic which, like chicken Kiev and beef Stroganoff, spread like wildfire around the world, featuring on formica trays of hors d’oeuvres at every swinging soirée from Sydney to San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s and it is easily another one of the best Christmas brunch recipes you can make.
Devilled eggs were a feature of Russian imperial cuisine, laid out on the elaborate spreads of zakuski or hors d’oeuvres on buffet tables overflowing with trays of snacks and small plates. See Terence’s guide to boiling eggs if you need help in that area.
You could pipe the mix into the egg white using a piping bag, but unless you dice your gherkins and purple shallots super-finely, which you should anyway, the mix will get stuck in the bag.
Russian Devilled Eggs Recipe for a Zakuski Table Fit for a Russian Tzar
DIY Russian Mimosa Salad Recipe
My Russian mimosa salad recipe is presented a little differently to the layered salad recipe you might recall your parents or grandparents serving in a big glass bowl – almost like a savoury trifle – or as a kitschy salad cake in the 1970s.
This more elegant version is another one of our best Christmas brunch recipes. Like Russia’s beef Stroganoff and chicken Kiev, the mimosa salad was another Russian dish that travelled the world at a time when most Russians couldn’t leave the Soviet Union, becoming tremendously popular outside the USSR, especially in the Seventies.
While you could certainly serve this Russian mimosa salad recipe in a big glass with a spoon, I like to provide wooden bowls and an array of condiments and encourage guests to upend the glass of salad into the bowl and add condiments and adjust the seasoning to their liking.
Russian Mimosa Salad Recipe for the Soviet Union’s Festive Layered Spring Salad
Traditional Scotch Eggs Recipe with a Thai Inspired Pad Kra Pao Twist
This traditional Scotch eggs recipe for the classic British picnic snack has a Thai-influenced twist inspired by the Thai stir-fry favourite, pad kra pao or pad gaprao.
Scotch eggs are traditionally made with a boiled egg wrapped in seasoned sausage meat, which is crumbed and deep-fried.
Here, Terence has added the flavours of pad kra pao to the minced pork. It’s another one of the best Christmas brunch recipes you can make as these can be made ahead and kept warm in the oven.
It’s fantastic finger food, but it’s also very filling and can soak up the booze for the late-staying brunch guests who arrived mid-morning.
Traditional Scotch Eggs Recipe with a Thai Inspired Pad Kra Pao Twist
Thai Fried Egg Salad Recipe for Yam Khai Dao
Our Thai fried egg salad recipe for yam khai dao makes an addictive salad of crispy fried eggs with sweet tomatoes, purple shallots, crunchy peanuts, fragrant coriander and Chinese celery, chillies, and a salad dressing that’s all at once sweet, sour, tangy, and funky.
When you think of egg salads, what probably comes to mind are creamy boiled egg salads with mayonnaise that have the texture of baby food. This Thai fried egg salad recipe for yam khai dao makes a salad that’s full of so much texture and flavour and a kick of chilli-heat that it couldn’t be more different.
Sweet juicy tomatoes, aromatic coriander, crunchiness coming from the purple shallots, roasted peanuts and Chinese celery stems, a hit of heat from the chillies, crispy fried eggs that soak up a salad dressing that’s sour, sweet, tangy, and funky… this Thai fried egg salad is so simple yet so delicious and it’s absolutely addictive and it’s another one of our best Christmas brunch recipes.
Thai Fried Egg Salad Recipe for Yam Khai Dao, a Deliciously Addictive Crispy Fried Egg Salad
Best Breakfast Salad Recipe with Soft Boiled Eggs, Bacon, Avocado, Sautéed Mushrooms, and Pickles
Our best breakfast salad recipe makes a healthy-ish breakfast salad with soft boiled eggs, avocado, crispy bacon, mushrooms sautéed in the bacon juices, crunchy lettuce, sweet cherry tomatoes, and bright tangy pickles.
It’s easily another of our best Christmas brunch recipes as you can make a big salad and serve it on a platter that can be left on the buffet table and guests can help themselves. Or you can portion it in the kitchen and distribute it in bowls.
It’s another dish that is both filling yet light, ensuring your Christmas brunch guests will make it until Christmas dinner.
Best Breakfast Salad Recipe with Soft Boiled Eggs, Bacon, Avocado, Sautéed Mushrooms, and Pickles
Breakfast Nachos Recipe with Fried Egg, Avocado, Escabeche, Chilli and Spicy Salsa
Our breakfast nachos recipe with fried egg, avocado, escabeche, chilli and spicy salsa makes a cheesy nachos topped with homemade Mexican escabeche or mixed vegetable pickles, vegetarian bean chilli, spicy tomato salsa, avocado slices, and sour cream.
It makes a fun, filling weekend brunch if you’re in need of comfort food – or a hangover cure – which makes this another one of our best Christmas brunch recipes.
Like the salad above, you can leave this on the buffet for guests to help themselves or – perhaps a better option in pandemic times – you can divy it up in the kitchen and serve it on small plates.
Breakfast Nachos Recipe with Fried Egg, Avocado, Escabeche, Chilli and Spicy Salsa
Easy Scrambled Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo and Mashed Avocado
This quick and easy scrambled eggs breakfast taco recipe with avocado and chorizo makes a deliciously light yet filling breakfast taco – or brunch taco! – that feels healthy thanks to the avocado.
These come together quickly, and can be served DIY-style with an array of garnishes, salsas and hot sauces, which makes things fun.
They’re even more fun for brunch when you can wash them down with a couple of micheladas. This is definitely one of our best Christmas brunch recipes.
Easy Scrambled Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo and Mashed Avocado
Frittata Recipe with Chorizo and Caramelised Onions for Weekend Eggs
This frittata recipe with chorizo and caramelised onions is another one of our best Christmas brunch recipes. It’s another dish that can be left on the buffet table for guests to help themselves to or you can serve it on individual plates with slices of crunchy toasted baguette brushed with virgin olive oil and a light side salad.
The frittata can be made ahead and reheated or made on the day and served straight away. While some people like a cold frittata, with chorizo in this frittata, it’s better warmed to let any remaining fat in the sausage warm up.
Most Italian chefs use a cast iron skillet for this, however, unless you have that skillet really worn in, there’s a good chance that the frittata will stick. I prefer a non-stick French skillet, a deep pan that has a stainless-steel handle. Just don’t forget to wear oven gloves when handling it.
Frittata Recipe with Chorizo and Caramelised Onions for Weekend Eggs
Mexican Migas Recipe with a Twist for the ‘Migas Tortilla’
This Mexican migas recipe with a twist makes a ‘migas tortilla’ made with homemade crispy tortilla chips and it is another one of our best Christmas brunch recipes. In Mexico, migas is a scrambled eggs dish that uses up stale corn tortilla or wheat flour tortillas made into crispy tortilla chips.
Inspired by the Spanish egg and potato tortilla, we’ve created an inauthentic Mexican migas recipe, which we’ve called a ‘migas tortilla’. Instead of scrambled eggs with homemade crispy tortilla chips, the eggs are set into a form that more closely resembles a Spanish potato tortilla or Italian frittata.
We could have called it a Mexican-style frittata. Whatever you want to call it, it’s absolutely delicious. Sprinkle it with Mexican cotija cheese and serve with pico de gallo – a simple salsa of finely chopped tomato, onion, green chillies, and coriander – and hot sauces, such as Tapatio and Cholula which are a couple of our favourites.
Please do let us know if you make any of our best Christmas brunch recipes in the comments below as we’d love to hear how our recipes turned out for you.
