Christmas Breakfast Ideas for crowd

[alysee]

In 2019 when we moved back to my home province, we started a Christmas Day breakfast tradition with my family. Obviously, 2020 put a damper on it that year but we are implementing it again this year. Of course, this year we have also had changes. We are a vegetarian family now(but will serve meat) and we are hoping to do foods that don't require a lot of people touching items so things served with spoons is ideal. 

I have come up with a Veg Hashbrown Casserole, Sausage Hashbrown Casserole and fruit salad. Any other ideas? My mom suggested croissants and ham and sliced cheese but would people adhere to the forks? I don't trust the kids 🤣. 

[City Mouse]

If you eat eggs, you could do a French toast casserole. 
I would enjoy a pot of oatmeal with different things to add in.

Edited December 4, 2021 by City Mouse

[lmrich]

I like to make breakfast sandwiches - egg McMuffins, sausage or egg and cheese biscuits, and/or morning burrito. You could do the same with croissants. I make them ahead of time, wrap them in foil and then heat them back up in crockpots. Individually wrapped and variety for lots. 

I serve with fruit salad and hashbrowns or grits (but I doubt those are popular in your neck of the woods). 

[lynn]

I always make  these for Christmas morning https://rhodesbakenserv.com/monkey-bread

[HomeAgain]

I get lazy on Christmas morning.  I either make cinnamon rolls or biscuits and gravy, mostly because both can be done the day before and minimal work the day of.  The rolls sit on the counter to finish rising and then bake, the biscuits are made day before and the gravy finished day of.  Both get served with coffee, cocoa, yogurt, and fruit.  If my family liked it I'd do overnight french toast.

[alisoncooks]

This crescent roll cream cheese bake is yummy.  Sometimes I sub pumpkin spice for the cinnamon.  Both are good. 

[Slache]

Fruit salad.

[alysee]

2 hours ago, City Mouse said:

If you eat eggs, you could do a French toast casserole. 
I would enjoy a pot of oatmeal with different things to add in.

I had to Google French Toast casserole. It looks delicious. I bet the kids would love it which is a bonus. 

[alysee]

1 hour ago, lynn said:

I always make  these for Christmas morning https://rhodesbakenserv.com/monkey-bread

I forgot about monkey bread. Definitely adding that to the list. 

[KatieJ]

As I am definitively not a morning person, I would bake sweet breads ahead of time, muffins requires less touching.

banana bread

date nut bread

cranberry orange bread

Etc. 

[Spryte]

I think we are going to do an overnight baked french toast this year, and I will make a fruit salad as well. 

We also must have Little Smokies - the beef ones - with yummy mustards. Growing up, we had these wrapped in crescent rolls but everyone is allergic to the wheat part now, so we just have the smokies. 

Looking for more make ahead savory ideas that can be popped in the oven.

[ScoutTN]

You can make hash brown and egg casserole in muffin tins to have individual portions. 
 

Egg casseroles are very filling!

[Ali in OR]

In pre-Covid times, our church used to do a brunch potluck the Sunday after Christmas where almost every dish was a sausage/egg/cheese casserole. The last couple of times I took a 9"x13" pan of baked oatmeal with apples and blueberries, mostly because I have to watch my saturated fat and this is my daily breakfast--those sausage/egg/cheese bakes aren't appealing to me anymore. Well it turns out that many people preferred the baked oatmeal, including the vegetarians (it's meat-free but not vegan).

Edited December 5, 2021 by Ali in OR

[Hoggirl]

1 hour ago, Ali in OR said:

In pre-Covid times, our church used to do a brunch potluck the Sunday after Christmas where almost every dish was a sausage/egg/cheese casserole. The last couple of times I took a 9"x13" pan of baked oatmeal with apples and blueberries, mostly because I have to watch my saturated fat and this is my daily breakfast--those sausage/egg/cheese bakes aren't appealing to me anymore. Well it turns out that many people preferred the baked oatmeal, including the vegetarians (it's meat-free but not vegan).

Recipe, please?

[KungFuPanda]

I've done breakfast burritos for a crowd.  Spicy sausage, potatoes, scrambled eggs, onions, and bell peppers in a big electric skillet.  Cheese, sour cream, and salsa are on the side.  You can even break down the hot components even more if some people don't eat meat.

[popmom]

8 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I've done breakfast burritos for a crowd.  Spicy sausage, potatoes, scrambled eggs, onions, and bell peppers in a big electric skillet.  Cheese, sour cream, and salsa are on the side.  You can even break down the hot components even more if some people don't eat meat.

Yes! My fave. In south Texas they are called breakfast tacos. My kids made this when they were home for Thanksgiving. 
 

To be clear I no longer live in south TX, but I’ve been forever blessed by the breakfast taco. 😂

[alysee]

6 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

In pre-Covid times, our church used to do a brunch potluck the Sunday after Christmas where almost every dish was a sausage/egg/cheese casserole. The last couple of times I took a 9"x13" pan of baked oatmeal with apples and blueberries, mostly because I have to watch my saturated fat and this is my daily breakfast--those sausage/egg/cheese bakes aren't appealing to me anymore. Well it turns out that many people preferred the baked oatmeal, including the vegetarians (it's meat-free but not vegan).

We eat baked Oatmeal at least 3 times a week here. I didn't even think of it because we have it so often but you're right, I bet lots of people would enjoy it. 

[Pippen]

1 hour ago, alysee said:

We eat baked Oatmeal at least 3 times a week here. I didn't even think of it because we have it so often but you're right, I bet lots of people would enjoy it. 

I'm not a huge egg eater so I always appreciate another breakfast option when casseroles are served.

[Eos]

We always do Dutch Babies which are the opposite of easy for a crowd.  However, I just found this! https://dawncamp.com/2015/09/the-dutch-puff-breakfast-for-a-crowd/ and also appreciate the "puff" moniker as eating babies has never appealed.  It's actually better if you make the batter the day before.  We eat them with chunks of lemon to squeeze on and powdered sugar, but they're yummy with syrup and jam too.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Eos

[alisoncooks]

I’ve bookmarked this sheet pan (large batch) pancake recipe for future use…

https://www.thekitchn.com/sheet-pan-pancakes-recipe-23059380

(We like pancakes but man, I hate making them!)

[Spryte]

4 hours ago, Eos said:

We always do Dutch Babies which are the opposite of easy for a crowd.  However, I just found this! https://dawncamp.com/2015/09/the-dutch-puff-breakfast-for-a-crowd/ and also appreciate the "puff" moniker as eating babies has never appealed.  It's actually better if you make the batter the day before.  We eat them with chunks of lemon to squeeze on and powdered sugar, but they're yummy with syrup and jam too.

Yum! I love Dutch babies! Love the puff name, too. If we could only make them allergy safe, it would be heavenly. I hope these turn out wonderfully.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Spryte

[Ali in OR]

@Hoggirl This is what I make each Sunday--my breakfast for 6 days of the week. I no longer add the brown sugar for myself but I would for serving it to others (and the flaxseed meal is just for me too--that could be left out for others). This is the 8"x8" square pan version which I double for a 13x9 version.

Baked Oatmeal

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup applesauce
6 Tbs flaxseed meal
2Tbs brown sugar

Beat that together then add:
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder

Mix that then add:
1 cup milk
3 cups oats (not quick oats)

Mix that then add:
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 apple peeled, cored, diced

Once that is all mixed, spray pan with Pam, spread and smooth the oat mixture in the pan, then bake at 350° (takes 35 min in my convection oven). I cut my 8x8 pan into 6 servings and each morning I put one serving in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.

[AmandaVT]

Thank you for this @Ali in OR! I eat oatmeal on the weekends, but don't have time to make it during the week. This looks like something I could take to school with me and heat up. 

[cjzimmer1]

I don't have food suggestions but a serving suggestion.  Could you make 2 islands of food and have meat items at one and non meat at the other?  I think people would be more like to set down utensils from one section to another than to carry it that far.  Especially if you are able to create a big space between them. 

[TechWife]

I learned a new trick this weekend that might help. I discovered using muffin tins to portion size scalloped potatoes/potatoes au gratin. It worked beautifully.

I can see this trick being useful for:

French toast casserole

Magic quiche

breakfast/egg casseroles 

potatoes of different kinds - mashed, Shredded for hash browns, etc.

We made tongs available for pick up and everyone used the tongs. Another option would be to put cupcake liners in the muffin tins & that would help limit accidental touching. 

This is the recipe I used for the potatoes: https://pin.it/vtTyQbx

ETA: you could also put cinnamon rolls in cupcake liners to bake. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by TechWife

[LifeLovePassion]

My go to list: 

Monkey bread

baked oatmeal

Egg bake (hashbrowns, chopped veggies, eggs, shredded cheese)

Fruit

Muffins (they are great at the local grocery store...and they are jumbo so I cut them in half or quarters because people like to sample multiple flavors)

Juice, multiple kinds...cranberry is good this time of year

 

Other ideas:

Hashbrown casserole

cereal bar and milk

oatmeal bar

egg burrito bar (scrambled eggs, tortillas, bacon or sausage, salsa, shredded cheese)