Between sleeping in, pulling up to a restaurant at a leisurely really-just-lunchtime hour, getting an order of pancakes for the table, and then camping out with the requisite beverages over gossip with friends, going out for brunch is undeniably fun. And yet, it is also maybe the most annoying meal to leave your house for. Not only are there the crowds and the waits, there’s also the math — it costs how much for those eggs and pancakes you could make yourself? (And that’s not even considering the entire prospect of, say, Mother’s Day, which turns restaurant brunch into a contact sport.) So, whether TikTok just blew up your favorite brunch spot or you’re just looking for inspiration for your next ambitious Sunday morning, these are Eater staffers’ favorite brunch recipes to make at home.
Melissa Clark, NYT Cooking
I love crepes, but when I wake up hungry on a weekend morning, the last thing I want to do is stand around coddling batter; hangry is a straight shot to some torn, badly flipped crepes. So instead, I turn to a Dutch baby, which offers the egginess that I crave in a crepe but not nearly as much of the work. You simply mix together the batter, pour it in a pan, and bake until it turns golden and puffy, a transformation that blows my mind every time. While the Dutch baby bakes, you can prepare toppings like mushrooms, sauteed greens, meat, a sunny side up egg, or herbs — whatever you put in a crepe also works here. It’s also a much easier way to serve a crowd since you can cut one big Dutch baby into wedges. I’m partial to savory breakfast, but the same premise applies if you prefer sweet, as long as you swap out the recipe for one without the herbs and cheese. — Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter
Kristina Cho, Eat Cho Food
These scones go hard. I can only imagine the droves of scone haters stacked against them, adamant in their ways after experiencing the letdown of an overly dry, crumbly scone time and time again. But these scones know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve a place at your Sunday brunch table. They’re ridiculously easy to make, especially if you’re the kind of person likely to have a spare jar of green curry sitting in the pantry cabinet. Because they pack a ton of flavor between those flaky layers, they’re great fresh from the oven with only a pat of butter. If you want to go one step further, a swipe of cream cheese and some hot pepper jelly also tastes fantastic. Or, go even harder and riff on Thai Diner’s viral breakfast sandwich by swapping the roti for the scones, which are sturdy enough to cradle the cheesy folded eggs and fresh basil. A link of herbal sausage (purchasable at Thai supermarkets or online) does wonders for highlighting the lemongrass and ginger in the curry paste. — Nat Belkov, design director
Charlotte Rutledge, King Arthur Baking
I was initially skeptical of this recipe’s claim that you could make the cinnamon rolls the day before and they’d be just as soft and moist the next morning. I’ve heard similar promises, only to be met with dried-out confections or, worse, a loaf of bread that had gone moldy. But the tangzhong method utilized here — essentially whisking milk and flour into a paste that helps retain moisture in the rest of the dough — really does work. These cinnamon rolls remain wonderfully fluffy, and all you need to do in the morning is quickly warm them in the oven and top with icing. The ones from the cans will just never compare again. — Jaya Saxena, correspondent
Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen
I love the idea of hosting daytime parties, but hate the idea of getting up even earlier than usual for all the prep. So my go-to brunch recipe for a group is Smitten Kitchen’s spinach and cheese strata, which satisfies the need for an egg dish at brunch but does not require someone (my husband) to stand over the stove cooking eggs to order. As Perelman puts it, this is essentially a savory bread pudding, but what I love is that it holds up well and is still delicious at room temperature. The kick from the mustard is my favorite part, and you could easily add more fillings, like mushroom or breakfast sausage, to make it even more hearty. — Stephanie Wu, editor-in-chief
Maangchi
As someone who over-researches everything, I crawled through the vast expense of the internet and objectively too many cookbooks to find the perfect recipe the first time I set out to make hotteok. Hours later and at least 30 Reddit threads in, I ended where I began — with Maangchi’s simple, and excellent, recipe. The dough for these stuffed Korean pancakes comes together quickly with just water, sugar, yeast, oil, and salt, and rises for an hour before being stuffed with sugar, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts. The final product is doughy and not too sweet, with a contrast in texture from the walnuts, which get enveloped in a hot sugary syrup while the pancake fries up. After making this recipe numerous times, I now substitute a quarter of the all-purpose flour with glutinous rice flour to achieve a chewier texture. — Rebecca Roland, Eater LA associate editor
Yotam Ottolenghi, Simple
Yotam Ottolenghi isn’t known for the simplicity of his dishes (it’s why he needed to create a whole separate cookbook just for actually simple dishes, called… Simple). But this baked egg dish really isn’t that complicated, as it requires just one pan (that you can serve the dish in, no less) and hardly any prep. The cooking method is shakshuka-like, where veggies are simmered and then eggs are cracked directly in to bake. But the flavor profile is an unexpected, sophisticated alternative to a tomatoey shakshuka, with herby leeks and za’atar commingling with salty feta and creamy butter. It’s all the classic Ottolenghi flavor and wow factor, sans the usual labor and headaches. Your brunch guests will be impressed. — Ellie Krupnick, executive director of editorial operations, lifestyle
Additional photo illustration credits: Westend61/Getty Images.
