Make-Ahead Brunch Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated April 25, 2017
© KAREN MORDECHAI
Make-ahead brunch recipes—like a baked banana-walnut quinoa and oatmeal casserole, cinnamon-raisin almond flour muffins and a spaghetti frittata—are perfect to prepare the night before, and just heat up before your brunch party guests arrive.
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Blueberry Breakfast Parfait

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Blueberries add the perfect sweet bite to this healthy breakfast parfait. You can't beat the combination of fresh berries, yogurt and granola.

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Brownie Bites

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These wheat-free, butterless brownies are decadent and dense. "It's really, really hard to make a good vegan brownie," says chef Erin McKenna. Her first efforts using applesauce and vegetable oil were cakey or fluffy. It took her six months of making small adjustments to perfect them.

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Banana-Walnut Baked Quinoa and Oatmeal

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This banana-nut baked quinoa and oatmeal breakfast casserole is a wonderful way to use overripe bananas.

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Gluten-Free Brown Sugar Monkey Bread Muffins

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Silvana Nardone rolls pieces of her fantastic gluten-free bread dough in melted butter and cinnamon-sugar to make pull-apart monkey bread. The ingredients in this recipe are available at a well-stocked health food store.

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Crumb Cake with Pear Preserves

Con Poulos
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Adding pear preserves to this streusel-topped coffee cake makes it especially moist and delicious.

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Nori Granola

© Kristin Casemore
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Blogger and cookbook author Heidi Swanson makes her superaddictive, crispy, savory snacking granola with oats, cashews, fennel seeds and plenty of salty nori.

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Spaghetti Frittata

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Almost any leftover spaghetti will work for this fast recipe, lending its own character to the final dish. Some of our favorites to use here are pasta carbonara, pesto or a simple marinara.

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Strawberry-Almond Scones

Con Poulos
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When baking these scones, be sure to use whole wheat pastry flour, which is less dense than whole wheat flour. Mixing in some all-purpose white flour also lightens the texture of the scones, so they're more delicate and tender.

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Roasted Brussels Sprout and Gruyère Quiche


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Seasonal quiche is a staple on the brunch menu at Cakes & Ale in Decatur, Georgia. Among chef Billy Allin's cold-weather favorites is this one, packed with cheese and quartered brussels sprouts.

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Back-to-School Raspberry Granola Bars

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Karen DeMasco's crumbly soft, jammy-sweet bars travel well, so they're ideal for school bake sales. She says, "They are quick to put together with pantry staples, and everyone seems to love them." They're delicious made with any flavor of jam, as well as the raspberry preserves called for here. (Recipe adapted from The Craft of Baking.)

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Cinnamon-Raisin Almond Flour Muffins

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Chewy raisins and a delicious buttery streusel topping add texture to these crumbly almond-flour muffins.

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Asparagus and Bok-Choy Frittata

© KAREN MORDECHAI
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When making an Italian frittata, don't limit yourself to traditional ingredients. The Asian flavors that fill this version offer a real change of pace. Cook the eggs on top of the stove or in the oven --but be sure to use moderate heat so they don't turn rubbery.

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