Christmas Brunch: More Fun, Less Stress
Christmas brunch should be fun for everyone, including the cook. These easy recipes make that holiday magic possible. Sponsored by Campbell's®.
Sponsored by Campbell's®.
Christmas brunch should be the best meal of the holiday. Presents are on the brain; the whole family may be together, and spirits are high. But the stress of feeding an adrenaline-fueled group can easily distract from the holiday spirit.
That’s why we’ve compiled eight festive, low-stress brunch recipes that are as delightful to make as they are to eat. For example, making scalloped potatoes with cream-based soup makes assembly a breeze, and delivers the same lush results as the traditional approach using a white sauce. Or whip up adorable apple dumplings in minutes flat with premade crescent rolls. No matter what food you serve, don’t skip the cranberry spice mimosas, making the cooking process even merrier.
Read on for the eight low-stress ways to feed the morning crowd this Christmas.
Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Breakfast casseroles are some of the most effective ways to satisfy a hungry, impatient group before noon. They’re delicious, ample, and are easy to prepare ahead of time. I love this sausage, toast and egg version, which ties a complete breakfast together with the addition of creamy Campbell's® Cream of Mushroom Soup and gooey cheese, plus some bell peppers for bright, balanced flavor. If you don’t have bell peppers, try substituting tomatoes or even tart, juicy apples.
Slow Cooker Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes are inherently fancy, making them fitting for Christmas. They’re also versatile. While you can load them on your plate alongside eggs and bacon, they’re also a decadent and highly flavorful base for other foods. Try topping them with poached eggs, leftover vegetables, or even just a squirt of ketchup. While this dish can traditionally be painstaking to put together, this recipe uses cheddar cheese soup as a brilliant shortcut, leaving you only to slice potatoes and onions and layer them in a slow cooker before topping with cheese and soup. Because these beauties take four to five hours to cook, you’ll want to tackle them the night before (unless you’re up early on Christmas day)!
Sausage, Mushroom, and Thyme Biscuits and Gravy
Who wants an unwieldy breakfast sandwich when you can have savory biscuits with sausage and mushrooms baked right in? In less than 40 minutes, you can scratch cook these delicious biscuits with just a few kitchen staples, including flour, butter, and cream of mushroom soup. Fresh thyme gives a wonderfully earthy, minty flavor to the biscuits. Still, you could easily go without — or sub in whatever herb you have on hand (cilantro, scallions, or even plain onions would be delicious). A side of eggs or stewed kale could easily make these biscuits into a full meal. You could also instantly whip up some gravy by simply thinning out another can of cream soup.
Cranberry-Spice Christmas Mimosa
Need an infusion of merriment? Look no further than these cranberry spice mimosas. These jewel-like drinks not only look beautiful (especially if you dress them up with a sprig of rosemary or other fragrant garnish), but they also have the flavorful dimension of a full-blown cocktail with the addition of warm, festive spices and orange zest. They’re also very forgiving: Pomegranate, orange, or any other bright juice would work well here. Plain old cinnamon will still pack a punch if you don’t have the full array of spices mentioned, such as ginger and cloves. If you prefer your cocktails on the drier side, feel free to skip the dark brown sugar if you’re already opting for a sweeter juice, like orange or pomegranate, or a sweeter bubbly, such as prosecco.
Gingerbread Coffee Cake
Forget gingerbread houses; let’s make gingerbread coffee cake! Any crumbly, not-too-sweet coffee cake truly shines when loaded up with spices — which is why this ginger-and-molasses-rich version makes for a mouthwatering treat. Nothing says Christmas like gingerbread, and nothing says cozy-morning-with-family quite like coffee cake. While I typically love a slice of coffee cake with a hot cup of tea, this festive pastry would be excellent alongside those cranberry spice mimosas mentioned above. You can serve this cake on its own and still win Christmas brunch, but present it alongside eggs, bacon, and other breakfast staples for a fancy, indulgent spread.
Crustless Quiche Lorraine
Quiche may seem intimidating to make, but, sans crust, it’s more straightforward than frying an omelet. Just mix your ingredients into an oven-safe skillet or dish and bake them. Bacon, eggs, milk, cheese, chives, and cream lend richness to this filling course, which comes out of the oven looking like a pie. While it will certainly stand on its own as a main course, consider serving some crisp mixed greens alongside it, preferably with a vinegar- or Dijon-based dressing, for a balanced meal.
Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
Do you want your Christmas brunch to have that wow factor? Consider these adorable and impressively simple apple dumplings. All you must do is slice apples, which you will coat in cinnamon and sugar (this recipe calls for Stevia, but any sweetener will do), and wrap them in flaky, buttered crescent roll dough before baking for just 20 minutes. If you want to save time, skip coating each apple slice with cinnamon and sugar and dust it over the top of each roll before baking. Or, skip the sugar entirely and serve with peanut butter or jam.