Christmas morning breakfast has one important rule:
It shouldn’t keep you in the kitchen while everyone else is enjoying Christmas morning.
Nobody wants to spend an hour flipping pancakes one at a time while presents are being opened in the next room. The best Christmas breakfasts either go into the oven in one big dish, can be prepared the night before, or require very little attention in the morning.
So this isn’t a list of twelve unrelated breakfast recipes.
It’s a Christmas morning breakfast spread built around five things that work together: an overnight French toast casserole, a savory breakfast bake, cinnamon roll bites, cranberry-orange muffins, and a festive fruit salad.
Make two for a small family. Make three or four for a house full of guests.
And most importantly, do most of the work before Christmas morning arrives.
The One I’d Prepare on Christmas Eve: Overnight Cinnamon French Toast
This is exactly the kind of recipe Christmas morning needs.
You assemble everything the night before, refrigerate it, and bake it the next morning while coffee is happening.
For about 8 servings, you’ll need:
- 1 large loaf brioche or challah
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cold butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Maple syrup for serving
Cut the bread into roughly 1-inch cubes.
Slightly stale bread works particularly well because it absorbs the custard without immediately falling apart.
Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and spread the bread inside.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.
Press the bread down gently so everything gets some custard.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
For the topping, combine pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter until crumbly. Refrigerate separately.
Christmas morning, heat the oven to 350°F.
Scatter the topping over the casserole.
Bake for approximately 40 to 50 minutes, until golden and the center is properly set. For an egg-based casserole, the center should reach 160°F.
Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Put warm maple syrup on the table and let everyone handle the rest.
One baking dish.
Eight breakfasts.
No pancake flipping.
Christmas morning is already improving.
For the Savory People: Sausage, Egg and Cheddar Breakfast Bake
Some people wake up on Christmas wanting cinnamon.
Others want eggs, sausage, and cheese immediately.
It’s best not to make these groups negotiate.
You’ll need:
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 cups cubed bread
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Black pepper
- Salt, as needed
Cook the sausage thoroughly in a large skillet, breaking it into crumbles.
Drain excess grease and let the sausage cool slightly.
Place the bread in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Scatter over the sausage, bell pepper, green onions, and cheese.
Whisk eggs, milk, garlic powder, thyme, and black pepper.
Pour evenly over everything.
Press the bread down lightly.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
The next morning, heat the oven to 350°F.
Bake until the center is completely set, approximately 45 to 55 minutes depending on the depth of your casserole and how cold it is when it enters the oven.
Check the center with an instant-read thermometer; an egg casserole should reach 160°F.
Let it rest briefly before cutting.
You now have your entire savory breakfast in one pan.
Add hot sauce or salsa to the table if your family likes it.
Don’t build everyone’s preferences into the casserole itself.
Christmas morning isn’t the ideal moment to discover Uncle David considers jalapeños a personal attack.
Something Everyone Will Steal Before Breakfast: Cinnamon Roll Bites
These are not intended to replace breakfast.
They are intended to disappear while breakfast is cooking.
You’ll need:
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 3 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 egg, beaten
For the glaze:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Roll the puff pastry lightly into a rectangle.
Spread softened butter over the surface.
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it evenly across the butter.
Roll the pastry tightly from the long edge.
Refrigerate the roll for about 15 minutes if it becomes too soft to slice neatly.
Cut it into small rounds.
Arrange the pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a little space between them.
Brush lightly with beaten egg.
Bake for approximately 14 to 18 minutes, until puffed and deeply golden.
While they cool slightly, mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
Drizzle a little glaze over the warm pastries.
Don’t completely drown them.
The cinnamon filling has already made its case.
These are excellent with coffee and particularly useful when children have been awake since an hour that should legally still count as nighttime.
Make These a Day Ahead: Cranberry Orange Muffins
Cranberry and orange taste like Christmas without needing frosting, sprinkles, or anything shaped like a reindeer.
For about 12 muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Mix in vanilla and orange zest.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the orange juice and milk.
Stop mixing as soon as everything comes together.
Fold in the cranberries.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
Bake for approximately 18 to 22 minutes, until the tops spring back lightly and a tester comes out without wet batter.
Let the muffins cool briefly in the pan before transferring them to a rack.
Fresh cranberries are tart, which is exactly what makes these useful beside a sweet French toast casserole.
If you’re using frozen cranberries, you generally don’t need to thaw them first.
Make the muffins on Christmas Eve and breakfast has one less moving part.
The Fresh Thing the Table Needs: Christmas Fruit Salad
After French toast, sausage casserole, and cinnamon pastry, fruit starts looking surprisingly exciting.
This one gets its Christmas colors naturally.
You’ll need:
- 2 cups strawberries, sliced
- 2 cups green grapes, halved if appropriate
- 2 kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped
- 2 oranges or mandarins, segmented
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- 1 apple, diced
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Combine the orange juice, honey, lime juice, and zest.
Prepare the fruit and gently toss everything together.
Add the dressing shortly before serving.
If you’re preparing the salad ahead, keep the components refrigerated and consider adding strawberries and apples closer to breakfast for the best appearance and texture.
You can also skip the honey if your fruit is already very sweet.
The fruit salad isn’t here because Christmas breakfast suddenly needs to become virtuous.
It’s here because after the second cinnamon roll bite, an orange tastes fantastic.
Choose Your Breakfast Based on How Many People Are Coming
You don’t need all five recipes for four people.
For a small Christmas morning, I’d make the overnight French toast and fruit salad. Add bacon or sausage if you want something savory.
For 6 to 8 people, make the French toast casserole, sausage-and-egg bake, and fruit salad.
For a larger family gathering, add muffins and cinnamon roll bites.
Then put out simple extras:
- Yogurt
- Butter
- Jam
- Maple syrup
- Coffee
- Tea
- Orange juice
- Milk
Suddenly you have a full Christmas breakfast buffet without cooking seven different hot dishes.
The Night-Before Plan
This is where Christmas breakfast becomes easy.
On Christmas Eve, assemble the French toast casserole completely and refrigerate it.
Prepare the sausage breakfast casserole and refrigerate that too.
Bake the cranberry orange muffins.
Wash and prepare any fruit that holds well overnight.
Measure the cinnamon roll filling and glaze ingredients.
Set out serving platters, coffee mugs, plates, and utensils.
If you have a programmable coffee maker, prepare that too.
It may be the most appreciated make-ahead recipe of the entire morning.
Christmas Morning: What Happens When?
Take the casseroles from the refrigerator while the oven heats, avoiding leaving them at room temperature for extended periods.
Bake whichever casserole is most important first.
If both fit comfortably in the oven and your cookware allows proper airflow, you can bake them together and adjust cooking time as needed.
While they bake, make the fruit salad.
Cinnamon roll bites can go into the oven after the casseroles come out, or you can bake them earlier and briefly warm them.
Put muffins into a basket.
Make coffee.
Breakfast is ready.
There is no skillet with eight individual orders.
Nobody has requested eggs “between over-medium and over-hard.”
And you haven’t missed half of Christmas morning.
Want an Even Easier Christmas Breakfast?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with combining homemade and store-bought foods.
Make the French toast casserole yourself.
Then buy good croissants or pastries.
Put out yogurt, berries, fruit, and granola.
Cook one tray of bacon in the oven.
Add coffee and orange juice.
Done.
Another easy option is a breakfast board.
Arrange mini muffins, croissants, fruit, hard-cooked eggs, cheese, yogurt, jam, and small pastries across a large serving board or several platters.
It looks impressive because there are lots of different foods.
The secret is that you didn’t cook most of them.
I see no reason to reveal this.
Three More Easy Christmas Morning Variations
If French toast isn’t your family’s thing, make overnight baked oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, pecans, and maple syrup.
For something especially kid-friendly, make sheet-pan pancakes. Pour pancake batter into a rimmed baking pan, add berries or chocolate chips, bake, then cut into squares. Everyone eats at the same time instead of waiting for individual pancakes.
For a more brunch-like breakfast, make a spinach, mushroom, and cheese strata. It can be assembled the night before just like the sausage casserole.
The common theme is important:
Choose foods that serve everyone at once.
Christmas morning is a terrible time to discover you’ve planned a restaurant-style breakfast menu.
A Few Useful Ingredient Swaps
Brioche can be replaced with challah or another sturdy enriched bread in the French toast casserole.
For the savory casserole, swap sausage for cooked bacon, diced ham, or sautéed vegetables.
Cheddar can become Monterey Jack, Gruyère, or Swiss.
Blueberries can replace cranberries in the muffins, although you’ll lose some of the classic red Christmas color.
Pears can replace apples in the fruit salad.
If you’re serving guests with allergies or dietary restrictions, check packaged bread, sausage, pastry, dairy alternatives, and other prepared ingredients carefully.
You can also keep nuts such as pecans on the side rather than baking them into a casserole when you’re serving a mixed crowd.
Keeping Christmas Breakfast Safe
Make-ahead breakfast casseroles should be refrigerated at 40°F or below.
Don’t leave egg, dairy, cooked meat, cut fruit, or other perishable foods sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if temperatures are above 90°F.
Cook egg-based casseroles thoroughly; 160°F in the center is a useful target for dishes made with eggs.
Cook or reheat other foods to the appropriate safe temperature for their ingredients.
If breakfast is going to remain out while everyone continues opening gifts, put out smaller quantities and replenish them as needed.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow covered containers.
Most cooked leftovers are best used within 3 to 4 days.
What I’d Actually Make on Christmas Morning
I’d keep it to three recipes.
Overnight Cinnamon French Toast would be the sweet centerpiece because nearly all the work happens the night before.
I’d make the Sausage, Egg and Cheddar Breakfast Bake for anyone who wants something savory.
Then I’d put out the Christmas Fruit Salad for something fresh.
The cranberry muffins could already be waiting from Christmas Eve, especially if people tend to wake up at different times.
That’s more than enough breakfast.
Because the goal isn’t to make Christmas morning look like a hotel buffet.
It’s to have something warm and special on the table without spending the entire morning cooking it.
Prepare most of it on Christmas Eve, turn on the oven in the morning, make the coffee, and go enjoy Christmas while breakfast takes care of itself.
