30 Breakfast Ideas to Make Your 2020 Christmas Morning the Best Ever

By MyRecipes
Updated December 21, 2020

While the best thing about Christmas morning is definitely the presents, the second best thing has to be the food!  Even though Christmas celebrations might be a little smaller this year, there's no need to socially distance from a delicious breakfast spread.  Get into the festive spirit by whipping up a variety of these breakfast casseroles, muffins, quick breads, and more.  

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Creamy Brioche and Egg Bake

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Creamy Brioche and Egg Bake Recipe

This stand alone breakfast dish is an upgrade from the usual breakfast casserole. Baking eggs in brioche and heavy cream allows for perfectly set, soft, and runny eggs. Fresh herbs and rich egg and meaty sausage flavors round out this bake and give it irresistible texture. Ask for brioche at your local grocery store or bakery and they are sure to have it. 

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Raspberry and Cream Cheese Danish Roll

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Raspberry and Cream Cheese Danish Roll Recipe

Make holiday mornings even more special with this raspberry danish. Tender, golden dough filled with fruity jam enriched with cream cheese creates the perfect pastry to serve family and friends. Master the jelly roll technique by following the steps in this simple recipe. 

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Sweet Potato and Sausage Strata

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Sweet Potato and Sausage Strata Recipe

Save time in the kitchen on Christmas morning by prepping this dish ahead of time. Bring it to room temperature before baking so it will reheat evenly.

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Sticky Cinnamon Roll Babka Buns

Credit: Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Blakeslee Giles / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis

Sticky Cinnamon Roll Babka Buns Recipe

If you're looking for decadence, you're in the right place. Though the dough requires multiple steps, the result is a bun that is sweeter, stickier, and more gooey than any bun you've had before. Our chefs joke about wanting to take a nap after experiencing the richness of this dessert. Saigon cinnamon is recommended for a stronger spicy-sweet flavor, but regular cinnamon can be easily substituted. Serve with coffee at brunch or as an afternoon treat. 

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Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

The smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls is enough to get any sleepyhead out of bed. On Christmas morning, serve these cinnamon rolls with a tall glass of milk or a cup of piping hot coffee.

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Praline Cream-Beignet Tower

Credit: Linda Pugliese, Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas, Buffy Hargett Miller

Praline Cream-Beignet Tower Recipe

All you need is some great coffee to accompany these delicious beignets! You can make the praline filling and dough up to two days ahead.

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Slab Quiche with Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Onions

Credit: Photo by Ken Carlson, Waterbury Publications, Inc.

Slab Quiche with Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Onions Recipe

My favorite way to entertain is to invite a bunch of friends over and lay everything out on the dining table: vegetables, pasta, quiche, breads, grains—you name it. I put out plates and forks and decorate the table with candles and cute seasonal vegetables—baby pumpkins and bouquets of sage in the fall, bunches of mint and carrots in the spring, bowlfuls of citrus fruit in the winter, and little fairytale eggplant or bright red cherry tomatoes in the summer. It’s casual and fun, and encourages everyone to eat, drink, and socialize at will. Quiche is an ideal player for this kind of setup—it can be served warm or at room temperature and is just as happy on a brunch spread as it is at dinner or in the afternoon with tea.

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Vegetable and Goat Cheese Frittata

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Vegetable and Goat Cheese Frittata Recipe

A veggie-loaded frittata is a great way to use up produce odds and ends. Broccoli is an excellent addition here: The florets poke through the egg mixture and become delightfully frizzled in the oven. Look for refrigerated pico de gallo in the prepared produce section of the supermarket. You can also fold the pico into the egg mixture before cooking; simply drain off the excess liquid first. Serve with a simple salad made with the remaining arugula you bought.

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Smoky Sausage-and-Grits Casserole

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Smoky Sausage-and-Grits Casserole Recipe

You can assemble this up to four days ahead, and keep in the fridge; then let it stand at room temp for 30 minutes before baking.

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Decadent Chai Latte

Credit: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Allison R. Banks

Decadent Chai Latte Recipe

Chai is an Indian spiced tea. This rich version is a wonderful complement to a thick slice of Sweet Potato Pound Cake.

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Cheesy Sausage-and-Croissant Casserole

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Cheesy Sausage-and-Croissant Casserole Recipe

This casserole is rich, delicious, and worthy of Christmas breakfast. Gruyère cheese browns beautifully and adds a nutty flavor to the dish. You can sub Swiss cheese if you prefer.

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Cream Cheese Pastries

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Cream Cheese Pastries Recipe

Pam Lolley, Test Kitchen recipe developer, found this recipe in an old issue of Southern Living and was making this family favorite long before joining the staff in 2003.

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Double-Berry French Toast Casserole

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Linda Hirst

Double-Berry French Toast Casserole Recipe

Dress up traditional French toast by transforming it into an indulgent casserole featuring a sweetened berry-and-Chambord-flavored cream cheese mixture and whole fresh strawberries.  

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Holiday Ham with Apricot Glaze

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Holiday Ham with Apricot Glaze Recipe

Refrigerate any leftover ham in individual servings. In the days after Christmas when your house is still full and your energy is waning, this will make it easy for guests to fix a meal on their own.

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Festive Fresh Fruit Salad with Mint-Lime Simple Syrup

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Festive Fresh Fruit Salad with Mint-Lime Simple Syrup Recipe

This colorful fruit salad features fresh strawberries, kiwi, grapes, and raspberries.  The Mint-Lime Simple Syrup may be kept in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Use leftovers in cocktails and to sweeten iced tea. Or spoon it over any fresh fruit.

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Blueberry-Sour Cream Muffins

Credit: Iain Bagwell Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Blueberry-Sour Cream Muffins Recipe

When our crumbly-crisp topping meets the light, fluffy belly of this muffin, you'll swoon.

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Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Credit: Oxmoor House

Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Prep this the night before for an easy breakfast or brunch. Find turkey sausage in the freezer section of the supermarket with other breakfast meats.

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Spicy Chorizo and Lima-Bean Scramble

Credit: Jeffery Cross; Styling: Robyn Valarik

Spicy Chorizo and Lima-Bean Scramble Recipe

This Mexican-style skillet dinner makes a good brunch too. If you can find large yellow canned limas--a variety known as butter beans--choose those over the smaller green limas; they have a deeper, richer flavor.

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Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut Bites

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut Bites Recipe

Wash these warm, sugary doughnut bites down with a shooter of ice-cold chocolate milk. 

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Sweet Potato Pancakes

Credit: Stephen Devries; Styling: Claire Spollen

Sweet Potato Pancakes Recipe

This delicious twist on traditional pancakes is a wonderful way to use up leftover mashed sweet potatoes.  

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Buckwheat Gingerbread Muffins

Credit: Thomas J. Story

Buckwheat Gingerbread Muffins Recipe

Earthy buckwheat is blended with ginger, spices, molasses, and toasty-tasting brown rice flour to make an unexpectedly light muffin that's great with sour cream or butter. Be scrupulous in your timing with the food processor; overprocessing buckwheat flour can make the muffins mushy.

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The Original "Pam-Cakes"

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

The Original "Pam-Cakes" Recipe

Some people toast special occasions with Champagne, but at Southern Living, they often celebrate with "Pam-cakes." Developed by the Southern Living Test Kitchen's Pam Lolley, these flapjacks are deceptively light, unbelievably fluffy, and impossible to resist.

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Chocolate Latte

Credit: Jim Franco; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell

Chocolate Latte Recipe

End your morning with this decadent Chocolate Latte. Don't forget the whipped cream!

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Any Flavor Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck

Any Flavor Buttermilk Coffee Cake Recipe

Customize your topping with any fruit-nut combo. We like plum preserves, sliced plums, and almonds, or strawberry jam, sliced strawberries, and pecans.

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Spiced Caramel Cider

Credit: Oxmoor House

Spiced Caramel Cider Recipe

If you'd prefer a beverage with less spice, try substituting apple juice for the apple cider. It's fantastic either way.

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How to Make Overnight Caramel French Toast

This decadent French toast with caramel gets lightened, but without losing the rich flavor everyone loves.

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Sausage, Vegetable and Egg Scramble

Credit: David Malosh; Styling: Gerri Williams for James Reps

Sausage, Vegetable and Egg Scramble Recipe

Keep it simple with a great breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and veggies.

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Ham and Gruyère Belgian Waffles with Sautéed Pears

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Kira Corbin

Ham and Gruyère Belgian Waffles with Sautéed Pears Recipe

While traditional Belgian waffles are made with yeast, we use beaten egg whites to give these salty-sweet waffles their light, airy texture and crispy exterior. For freezing and heating instructions, see below.

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Coffee and Brown Sugar Bacon

Credit: Annabelle Breakey; Styling: Randy Mon

Coffee and Brown Sugar Bacon Recipe

Everyone loves waking up to the smell of coffee and the smell of bacon, and the flavors are pretty awesome together too. Add some molasses-y brown sugar, and you'll reach bacon nirvana.

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Mini Apple Cider Pound Cakes

Mini Apple Cider Pound Cakes Recipe

Finish the cakes with one of the three toppings: Streusel Topping, Bourbon Glaze, or Lemon-Sugar Glaze. You'll want to toss together the Streusel Topping before you start baking, but both glazes can be prepped while the cakes cool.

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