Mother’s Day is fast approaching (it’s this Sunday ya’ll—don’t forget it!), and while getting mom some flowers or a gift is great, nothing says love like food! And not just any food––BRUNCH. Here are some of our favorite Mother’s Day Brunch recipes to prepare this upcoming weekend.
Brunch: The Answer to The Gift Dilemma?
It’s a big conundrum, especially for a holiday meant to celebrate the woman in your life who may have already swatted away your offers to buy gifts with the following responses:
- Sounds expensive. Are you saving enough?!
- It takes up too much space./Where would I put it?
- Oh, I already have one of those!
- I like my old [insert potential replacement gift idea here], thank you very much.
- etc.
If (like us) your mom has responded to your badgering about Mother’s Day in any of the above ways, and you’re at a bit of a loss, we say:
A delicious and lovingly prepared home-cooked meal might just be the way to go!
When we were little kids, Sarah and I always prepared breakfast in bed for our mom, which always seemed like the storybook thing to do.
We’d make some dry toast with a selection of jams and butters, some sunny-side-up eggs, and pan-fried frozen sausage links––accompanied with a few scraggly blooms plucked from the garden.
(Back then, it was probably more about how artfully we arranged everything on the breakfast tray than the quality of the brunch.)
While our mom always appreciated it, the stakes got higher over the years as our cooking chops improved. And it’s true that we’ve become pretty good cooks since then. So here are a few ideas to show mom you care with…what else? A delicious meal.
Some recipes are more traditional brunch fare, while others can help create a different experience for mom. If mom is Chinese, you could even perhaps prepare a breakfast item from her childhood, or just show off your Chinese cooking chops!
Our Favorite Mother’s Day Brunch Recipes
1. Cheesy Kale Prosciutto Brunch Melts with Eggs
These little kale prosciutto brunch melts are easy to prepare, but make for a festive and unique family brunch! Want to go the extra mile? Make your own English Muffins with Sarah’s recipe. Believe me, it’s easier than you think!
2. Elvis French Toast
If you’re really looking for the *treat-yoself* factor, this Elvis French Toast is the pinnacle of the brunch arts. Peanut butter, banana, bacon and a generous pour of maple syrup will make sure everyone is pleasantly sugar buzzed and food coma-d enough for mom to enjoy a peaceful and harmonious Mother’s Day.
You can also make our Stuffed French Toast! Equally decadent with layers of cinnamon cream cheese and banana. Mmm…
3. Homemade English Muffins
Remember those aforementioned homemade English Muffins? Well they’re a total game-changer, and they can go with practically whatever you’re looking to serve.
They are truly surprisingly easy to make, hard to mess up (an important distinction, folks), and way tastier than anything store-bought. You can make the basic English Muffin recipe, our Multigrain English Muffins, or our Pumpkin English Muffins! Add cinnamon and a handful of raisins to the dough for a sweet twist.
4. Ratatouille Brunch Bake
This Ratatouille Brunch Bake is an oldie but a goodie (you can tell from the photo quality!). Roasted ratatouille veggies come together for a healthy and satisfying skillet of baked eggs, perfect with toast and bacon.
5. Huevos Rancheros Nachos with Avocado Crema
Nachos for breakfast? Yes please. This is another very old recipe, but one that we haven’t forgotten. If you’re a larger family, this is a great option. Everyone can help themselves!
6. A Homemade Dim Sum Brunch
If you wanna really impress the moms out there who love Chinese food, how about preparing a dim sum brunch at home?
Some of our favorite recipes include our deliciously flaky Roast Pork Puffs, as well as har gow, Vegetable Dumplings (vegan!), shumai, and Hong Kong egg tarts. Check out our full list of Dim Sum recipes, and pick your favorites. Also check out the dim sum chapter in our new cookbook! Don’t forget to serve brunch with plenty of hot tea.
7. Homemade Breakfast Sausage
Your search for the perfect breakfast sausage recipe ends here, folks. This blend of ground pork, herbs, and spices from our aunt (my dad’s middle sister) yields juicy, tasty breakfast sausage patties that hit all the right notes. Just look at that spread—you can already see it on a breakfast tray, can’t you?
8. Bills’ Blueberry Pancakes
Who doesn’t love pancakes for breakfast? My dad’s recipe for blueberry pancakes is delicious. You could also try his Apple Cider Pancakes, Peach Pancakes (worth it for the maple cream syrup), or Gluten-free Buckwheat Pancakes!
9. Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Need a little something sweet to add to your savory brunch spread? This apple cinnamon coffee cake has been made the rounds amongst Woks of Life readers lately, and everyone loves it!
Layers of sweet crumb, jammy apples (reminiscent of apple pie), and moist tender cake come together in the perfect sweet treat.
10. Sichuan Potato Cakes with Eggs
For moms who enjoy a bit of spice or something a little different, try these crispy potato cakes with Sichuan spices. A little spicy, a little floral/numbing…these are perfect when counterbalanced with a rich fried egg.
11. Peanut Butter & Jelly Scones
These peanut butter and jelly scones are the perfect salty/sweet baked good to go with a cup of mom’s favorite coffee or tea.
12. Sesame Scallion Waffles
No list of Mother’s Day Brunch recipes would be complete without some kind of wafffle! These sesame scallion waffles are definitely a different take on this classic brunch favorite. We love them so much, we make big batches and keep leftovers in the freezer to toast whenever we want one.
13. Chinese Breakfast Egg Pancakes (Ji Dan Bing)
How about taking mom on a little trip to the streets of China with this Chinese street food breakfast recipe? These egg pancakes go great with a tasty hard boiled Chinese Tea Egg on the side.
14. Shortcut Tortilla “Jian Bing”
This Tortilla Jian Bing Wrap is a similar recipe, but involves using a flour tortilla instead of making your own dough. The result, however, really hits the spot if you and/or your mom is missing that satisfying Chinese street food breakfast treat!
15. Shanghainese Brunch Feast
Really looking to impress? Whip up a full on feast of Shanghainese brunch favorites, like Dou Jiang (Soy Milk Soup), You Tiao (Fried Dough), Soup Dumplings, Shengjian Bao, Stir-fried Rice Cakes, Rice Rolls (Ci Fan), Sesame Pancakes, and/or Shanghai Wonton Soup!
16. Chinese Bakery Brunch
Prepare some of your mom’s favorite Chinese Bakery buns to serve with coffee or perhaps some Hong Kong Milk Tea! You could even make mini versions of each bun, so everyone can try a variety. Some of our favorites include:
- Chinese BBQ Pork Buns (Baked Cha Siu Bao Recipe)
- Chinese Hot Dog Buns
- Pineapple Buns (or this version with roast pork filling)
- Ham & Cheese Buns
- Pork Sung Buns
- Coconut Buns (Chinese Cocktail Buns)
- Cinnamon Raisin Buns
17. Homemade Croissants
My dad took my mom’s milk bread dough and turned it into deliciously flaky, perfect croissants. Looking for something a little more substantial? Try our Ham & Cheese Croissants!
18. Tea Eggs
This recipe might win you nostalgia points with your Chinese mom! In Beijing, these tasty eggs were available from street vendors at any time of day, but we often enjoyed them for breakfast on the way to or from the market to do our shopping.
19. The Best Banana Bread
If you’re looking for something you can easily deliver to your mom’s house Little Red Riding Hood-style, look no further than this incredibly moist banana bread. Just make sure to bake it the day before, so it has time to get that beautiful moist sheen on the outside. Package it with a bag of her favorite coffee and a cute mug!
Whatever you decide to do / eat / make, have a Happy Mother’s Day, y’all!
