You Should Be Making Thanksgiving Brunch Instead of Dinner

By Food & Wine
Updated: November 17, 2015

Whether you like it or not, this holiday season is approaching quickly with Thanksgiving not too far in the future. This year, I thought it would be interesting to combine my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving (how could a holiday centered around food not be your favorite?), with my favorite meal, brunch.

At first, I wasn’t too sure how I would pull that off since the traditional way of celebrating Thanksgiving is with a turkey dinner. But then, I realized how groundbreaking it would be to start having Thanksgiving brunch instead.

You always read articles around Thanksgiving that tell you why eating your festive meal earlier in the day is better for digestion, so Thanksgiving brunch would actually be healthierfor you. Plus, with almost every major retailer starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving night nowadays, who has time to be eating green bean casserole for the millionth year in a row when they could be stocking up on every Christmas scented candle from Bath and Body Works? Therefore, Thanksgiving brunch be the new norm. Hopefully after scrolling through this list, you’ll be just as much of a convert as I am.

This post originally appeared on Spoon University.

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Pumpkin Spice Cookie Butter Waffles

Photo by Eileen Wang

Of course I had to kick things off with a pumpkin recipe. I mean it is Thanksgiving. These pumpkin waffles are a little unconventional, but in a good way, since they’re made with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookie Butter. Need I say more?

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Apple Cider Mimosas

Photo courtesy of thecookierookie.com

What brunch would be complete without a little alcohol? Nothing sounds better than drunkenly watching the parade while sipping on some apple cider mimosas with your grandma on Thanksgiving Day.

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Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts

Photo courtesy of cooking classy.com

If you’re up for a bit of a challenge, I think that making homemade Pop-Tarts would be a definite crowd pleaser at your brunch table, especially if there will be some younger guests at your shindig (or adults that still eat pop tarts regularly, like me).

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Apple Cinnamon French Toast

Photo courtesy of lecremedelacrumb.com

Since apple pie is such a staple for any Thanksgiving dinner, obviously apple cinnamon French toast would be the perfect sweet addition to your brunch menu. If you’re not totally convinced that this is an acceptable replacement for real apple pie, take a look at the picture again. Have you ever seen apple pie that looked that good? Didn’t think so.

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Breakfast Casserole

Photo courtesy of therecipecritic.com

No brunch is complete without some sort of breakfast casserole and this one is pretty traditional, but it definitely won’t disappoint.

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Monkey Bread

Photo by Justin Shannin

For me, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t have monkey bread. My mom makes it every single year, so of course I had to include it on this list. This monkey bread recipe is perfect if you have a large group coming over since it’s super easy to make and is loved by many.

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Caramel Apple Overnight Oatmeal Smoothie

Photo courtesy of runningwithspoons.com

If you’re looking for a bit of a healthier (I say that lightly) option for your brunch menu, try serving this delicious looking oatmeal smoothie.

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Hot Ham and Swiss Croissants

Photo courtesy of lifewiththecrustoff.com

These are also the perfect breakfast item to serve if you have a lot of family or friends in town since you can make them ahead of time and pop them in the oven whenever someone is hungry. Learn how to make some of your own with this savory recipe.

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Baked Apple Cider Donut Bites

Photo by Christian Stafford

This is a recipe that sounds like it would be really difficult to make, but isn’t. If you’re an apple cider donut freak like I am, you seriously need to try this out.

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Iced Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Photo courtesy of sallysbakingaddiction.com

Although I tried not to have too many pumpkin dishes on this list, this is one that I just couldn’t leave out. Freshly baked, warm pumpkin coffee cake sounds like the perfect breakfast item on a crisp Thanksgiving morning.

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