Mother’s Day is fast approaching (don’t forget it ya’ll!), 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 ideas to show mom some love!
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!
Some of these recipes are more traditional brunch fare, while others can help create a different/special experience for mom!
Our Favorite Mother’s Day Brunch Ideas
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 more straightforward 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, Sourdough English Muffins, our Multigrain English Muffins, or our Pumpkin English Muffins! Add cinnamon and a handful of raisins to the dough for a sweet twist.
These are impressive enough alongside a batch of our perfect scrambled eggs and some cut fruit!
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!), and shumai. Check out our full list of Dim Sum recipes, and pick your favorites. Also check out the dim sum chapter in our 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?
Mom doesn’t eat pork? We also have a turkey sausage version!
8. A Classic Pancake Breakfast
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 (make it with canned peaches since fresh peaches aren’t yet available—it’s still worth it for the maple cream syrup), or if mom is gluten-free or into healthy eating, 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, 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 waffle! 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. Bringing the smells of a french bakery to mom’s house? Talk about impressive! 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, a cute mug, and maybe a book or her favorite magazine!
20. Chinese Egg Puff Pastry
This is a unique take on eggs in puff-pastry, with spicy chili oil, sesame seeds and scallions. Think of it as a buttery scallion pancake with eggs. Super delicious, surprisingly easy to pull off with some store-bought puff pastry, and it looks impressive too!
21. Fluffy Monkey Bread
For moms with a sweet tooth, this one is a showstopper! Monkey bread is heavenly with a cup of morning coffee, and perfectly shareable amongst the whole family.
22. Egg Tarts
Two versions of one delightful treat—you have the Hong Kong egg tarts, with smooth and glassy custard, or Portuguese egg tarts, with a scorched, caramelized top! Take your pick, and bring them to mom in a nice box or cake plate!
23. Morning Glory Breakfast Sandwiches
Serve your mother the mother of all breakfast sandwiches! Sarah dreamed these up for a grilled cheese competition of all things. From her post: “I can guarantee the following: if you carefully follow the instructions below and do everything I tell you to do in this post, this sandwich will take its place among the best you’ve ever had in your life.”
Conclusion
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. But despite the fact that we’re cooking together all the time these days, our mom still appreciates a home-cooked meal. It truly is one of the best ways to show you care.
Whatever you decide to do / eat / make from all these Mother’s Day Brunch ideas, have a Happy Mother’s Day, y’all!
