April 17 is Easter Sunday: This is not the time for soggy cereal and toast. If you’re celebrating the day with brunch (you know, in between the holiday crafts and copious amounts of candy), might we suggest one of these 52 Easter brunch ideas? They’re festive and spring-y—think kale quiche, feta tart and carrot cake doughnuts—while still being ridiculously easy to prepare, which means you’ll have plenty of time for an egg hunt.
52 Easter Brunch Ideas That Are Quick, Easy and Festive
Published Mar 7, 2022
1. Individual Breakfast Shakshukas
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, <500 calories, vegetarian
While traditional shakshuka calls for serving bread on the side, this riff calls for baking the eggs and tomato sauce in its own bread boats. The carbs-to-protein ratio is on point, and you'll score bonus points for the Insta-worthy presentation.
2. Baked Strawberry And Cream Stuffed Croissant French Toast
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
Decadent? Yes. Impressive? Oh yeah. If there's ever a morning to splurge for the OTT brunch, Easter morning is it. (Cut yourself a break and use store-bought croissants—you deserve it.)
3. Classic Banana Bread
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
We’ve found the perfect use for those sad, sagging bananas you’ve been “saving” on your counter for weeks.
4. Sweet Potato, Bacon And Broccoli Egg Muffins
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <500 calories, kid-friendly, Mediterranean diet, paleo
Want to shake things up? Swap the veggies for whatever you have. Just don’t skip the bacon.
5. Poached Egg With Frisée And Arugula Salad
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, <500 calories, special occasion-worthy
This feels like a fancy restaurant salad even though it’s super easy to pull off in your own kitchen. (Just don’t tell anyone that.)
6. French Toast Sticks
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly
Sure, you could serve these with maple syrup. But we think our honey-vanilla dipping sauce is also worth a try.
7. Avocado Deviled Eggs
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <500 calories, low carb, keto
We really do like green eggs, at least when they’re these delicious bites.
8. Skillet Blueberry Cornbread
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, <500 calories, special occasion-worthy
If a coffee cake and cornbread had a very tasty, crumb-topped baby, this would be it.
9. Sheet Pan Pancakes With Chocolate Chips
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
It’s Easter and you don’t have time to flip pancakes while everyone hunts for eggs. With this sheet-pan wonder, you don’t have to flip a thing.
10. Veggie Niçoise Salad With Red Curry Green Beans
- Time Commitment: 1hour
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
Come for the tender potatoes; stay for the impeccably cooked hard-boiled eggs.
11. Cherry Tomato Galette With Garlic And Herbs
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, <10 ingredients, <500 calories
This is like a fancy pizza that got dressed up in its Sunday best. (Psst: The crust is store-bought puff pastry.)
12. Doughnut Muffins
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
The only thing tastier than a dozen doughnuts? A dozen of these fluffy, sugary treats.
13. Meyer Lemon Loaf Cake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Is it a cake or is it a quick bread? We’re not sure, but we’re definitely having a second slice.
13. Baked Cheddar Pesto Egg Boats
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, sheet pan recipe
Your BEC just reached new heights: These fluffy, cheesy eggs are speckled with pesto and topped with bacon, all tucked inside a crispy-edged ciabatta. The everything bagel seasoning is optional, yet highly encouraged.
14. Tempeh Bacon Bagels
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegan, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
Even non-vegans will gobble up these breakfast sammies. The four-ingredient glaze gives the dish its smoky-meets-sweet, bacon-like flavor.
15. Chocolate Banana Bread Babka
- Time Commitment: 2 hours, 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
She is beauty, she is grace and she is positively going to steal the brunch show.
16. Breakfast Caprese With Soft-boiled Eggs
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <500 calories, <30 minutes, high protein, low sugar
Salad for breakfast is a thing, guys. And it’s better than you’d expect.
17. Deviled Eggs, Three Ways
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein
It isn't Easter without a bunch of deviled eggs. The real question is: What will it be, roasted garlic, sriracha or capers? (The correct answer is all three.)
18. Eggs Benedict With Easy Hollandaise Sauce
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, special occasion-worthy
The secret to making rich, creamy homemade hollandaise lies with your blender.
19. Sheet Pan Eggs With Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese And Dill
- Time Commitment: 32 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <500 calories, low carb, sheet pan recipe
We’ll be the first to admit that cooking eggs for a crowd isn’t the easiest task. Enter this one-pan wonder, which happens to pair splendidly with a mimosa.
20. Nutella Pancakes
- Time Commitment: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Slathering chocolate-hazelnut spread on top of a stack is fine, but we much prefer to stuff it inside. You know, for effect.
21. Eggs In A Basket
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, sheet pan recipe, special occasion-worthy
Since the entire dish is baked in the oven, you can quickly assemble and let it cook while you sip coffee and catch up with guests (or dip into the hidden Easter baskets).
22. Citrus, Fennel And Avocado Salad
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: one bowl, <500 calories
You know how on Easter it’s usually freezing, raining or snowing? Thank God we have citrus to remind us of the sunny days to come.
23. Beet And Goat Cheese Tart
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: sheet pan recipe, <500 calories, vegetarian
A good cook always has a little frozen puff pastry hidden up her sleeve…er…in her freezer.
24. Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly, vegetarian
Store-bought dough will shave hours off the prep time. Tell everyone you’ve been up since 4 a.m.
25. Green Shakshuka
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, <500 calories, special occasion-worthy
The original is made with tomato sauce, but we like to mix things up every once in a while. (We never skip the crusty bread for dipping, though.)
26. Slow Cooker Mediterranean Frittata
- Time Commitment: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, slow cooker recipe, <500 calories
Drop everything into the slow cooker the night before, then wake up to brunch ready and waiting for you.
27. Mini Carrot Cakes With Cream Cheese Frosting
- Time Commitment: 2 hours
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
If you're going to serve a post-brunch dessert, Easter is the time to do it. And mini carrot cakes? C'mon, they've got to be bunny-approved.
28. Cherry-almond Baked Oatmeal
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: one bowl recipe, crowd-pleaser
Oatmeal is usually reserved for weekdays. This baked version, however, is special enough to serve to a crowd.
29. Monkey Bread Danish
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
Cinnamon streusel, meet cream cheese filling. You’re going to be best friends, we can tell.
30. Bacon-wrapped Eggs
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd pleaser, low sugar, low carb, keto
When it comes to entertaining, we’d be lost without our muffin tin. These babies are going to disappear the minute you pull them out of the oven.
31. Waffle Iron Sweet Potato Hash Browns
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, <10 ingredients, <500 calories
The ratio of crispy-to-soft spuds is going to rock your world. (The three-item ingredient list will too.)
32. Bacon, Egg And Cheese Breakfast Muffins
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
They’ll think you made regular old muffins until they take a bite.
33. Roasted Potato Galette With Crème Fraîche And Smoked Salmon
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <500 calories, special occasion-worthy
We’ve never met a potato recipe we didn’t like, but this one takes the cake. Pile it high with all the fixings and wait for the oohs and ahhs.
34. Kale Quiche With Cheddar-rice Crust
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, gluten-free, vegetarian
The easiest way to get your requisite greens is to bake them into a pie.
35. Carrot Cake Doughnuts With Cream Cheese Glaze
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Is it breakfast or dessert? All we know is that it’s delicious, no matter when you eat it.
36. Whole-wheat Feta Tart With Caramelized Onions And Herbs
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, vegetarian
The easy press-in crust and quick filling make this impressive savory pie a no-brainer addition to your spread.
37. Spicy Orange-honey Glazed Ham
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <500 calories, sheet pan recipe, special occasion-worthy
Glazed ham for brunch? On Easter, it’s fair game. Green eggs optional, Sam I Am.
38. Sunday Morning French Toast
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, one pan recipe
It’s a classic with the best kind of twist: A whole batch is made in one pan, so you can skip the frying-slices-at-the-stove thing.
39. Johnnycakes With Rhubarb And Sour Cherries
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, <30 minutes, special occasion-worthy
Rhubarb season will be gone in the blink of an eye, so take advantage if you’re fortunate enough to get your hands on some.
40. Maple Candied Bacon
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
Sweet and salty is our favorite flavor combination.
41. Joanna Gaines’s Asparagus And Fontina Quiche
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, <10 ingredients
It’s not a real brunch until a gorgeously flaky quiche hits the table.
42. Giant Cinnamon Roll
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
You have two options here: Slice it into pieces and plate it like a fancy-pants, or set out forks and let everyone dive right in.
43. Asparagus, Pea And Ricotta Tarts
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 minutes, <500 calories, low sugar, special occasion-worthy
Spring produce + store-bought puff pastry = the crowd-pleaser that looks much more sophisticated (and time-consuming) than it is.
44. Quiche With Gluten-free Sweet Potato Crust
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, gluten free
We guarantee at least one person at the table won’t be eating gluten. Luckily, this will please the whole guest list.
45. Mini Citrus Monkey Bread
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
They’re even better than the ones from that upscale bakery down the street.
46. Everything Bagel Tomato Galettes
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
Quick, easy, cute and ready to eat straight out of the oven. You might want to make a double batch.
47. Layered Smoked Salmon Dip With Mini Bagel Chips
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, 10 ingredients, low sugar
Everything tastes better when it’s three times smaller, even bagels and lox. This also takes ten minutes to put together, so everybody wins.
48. The Best Potatoes Au Gratin Ever
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, vegetarian
If you’re going the savory route, we highly recommend something cheesy or potato-y. If it checks both boxes, even better.
49. Sheet Tray Pancakes With Peaches And Strawberries
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <500 calories
You can swap the fruit for whatever looks best at the farmers market.
50. Slow-cooked Salmon
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, low carb, high protein
Not everyone is a ham person. We get it. Serve them a fancy (yet secretly easy) fillet of salmon instead.
51. Broiled Citrus Ricotta Toast
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, 10 ingredients, <500 calories, vegetarian
Regular old buttered toast just won’t cut it on a holiday, but add a schmear of ricotta and honey-soaked citrus and now we’re talking.
52. Glazed Blueberry Cake
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
Cake for breakfast? We wouldn’t dare. Cake for brunch, on the other hand…
More Stories You'll Love
The 7 Best Store-Bought Pizza Doughs, Taste-Tested & Reviewed
The 13 Best Store-Bought Dips to Stock up on Ahead of the Super Bowl, Tested & Reviewed
The One Grocery Store Snack Martha Stewart Can't Pass Up
The 15 Best Restaurants in Beverly Hills
The 30 Most Romantic Restaurants in NYC for Your Next Date Night
Here’s What to Cook Every Night This Week (February 6 – 12)