17 Essential Recipes for a Show-Stopping Easter Brunch

Make-Ahead French Toast Casserole

Don't feel like cooking individual servings of French toast or pancakes on Easter Sunday? This tender, custardy baked French toast casserole is the answer. The casserole can sit for up to 12 hours after it's assembled, making it a great brunch dish to prepare the night before.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns have been an Easter since the 14th century; according to former editor Stella Parks, the recipe for the baked good has been "little more than a common bun spruced up with ingredients significant to the baker." Her version stars chewy apricots, cherries, and candied orange peel, with plenty of yogurt to keep the dough soft and moist.

Lemon Pound Cake

For the best lemon pound cake, go hard on the citrus. This delightfully bright dessert gets its flavor from lemon zest in the batter, a tangy lemon syrup, and a drizzle of lemon juice and confectioners' sugar. It's plenty sweet—but also tart enough to make you pucker.

Smashed Potato Tart

This smashed potato tart captures the bright, fresh produce of spring with melt-in-your mouth tender leeks and asparagus, complemented by nutty fontina and tangy goat cheese. The surprise element in this quiche-like tart is the golden brown smashed potato crust, which takes the place of pastry dough—it’s tender on the inside and delightfully crispy on the bottom. 

Asparagus Quiche

Filled with tender asparagus and creamy goat cheese, this stellar quiche can easily be made ahead for a delightful weekday lunch or a celebratory brunch for Easter or other spring holidays. While many asparagus quiche recipes will have you par-cook the asparagus by blanching it, we choose to roast it here, which reduces the amount of moisture that's added to the filling.

Perfect Quick-and-Easy French Toast

This foolproof version of French toast is easy enough to whip up for a bunch of hungry guests. Thanks to the perfect ratio of egg, milk, and sugar, each slice is delightfully custardy and has crisp, golden edges.

Spring Deviled Eggs

Made with plenty of crème fraîche and mayonnaise, these vernal deviled eggs are rich and creamy. Fresh tarragon gives the filling a herbaceous kick, and a topping of quick-pickled onions provides a pop of color and a satisfying hit of acid.

Classic Yeasted Coffee Cake

With its tender crumb, sweet cinnamon filling, and toasted pecan topping, this coffee cake is the star of Serious Eats contributor Zola Gregory's holiday traditions. A cooked flour slurry called tangzhong helps the pastry stay fresh for longer, and enriching the dough with plenty of dairy and egg yolks gives it its plush crumb.

Green Shakshuka

This vibrant green shakshuka is loaded with fresh herbs, spinach, and spices—a perfect foil for rich, runny poached eggs. Blanching the herbs and spinach with baking soda weakens the vegetable cell walls, making them easier to blend while also helping them maintain their bright green hue.

Caesar Deviled Eggs

Peppery, cheesy, and garlicky, these anchovy-topped deviled eggs evoke the flavors of classic Caesar salad and make for a spectacular brunch appetizer.

Spring Vegetable and Arugula Salad

Cheesy Sausage Breakfast Casserole

No overcooked, rubbery eggs here, just a deeply savory breakfast casserole packed with Italian sausage, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and Gouda. Pre-cooking the sausage and vegetables ensures they're fully cooked and removes excess moisture, preventing the casserole from becoming soggy. Assemble it the night before, and all that's left to do in the morning is bake.

Quiche Lorraine

Packed with nutty Gruyère and smoky bacon, quiche Lorraine is a French classic—and one you can easily prep ahead of time. Our senior culinary editor Leah Colins' deeply flavorful with shallot, garlic, thyme, and lemon zest, which cut through the richness of the custard.

Lemon Ricotta Cake

This subtly sweet cake is a breakfast staple in parts of Italy, where it's enjoyed with an espresso or cappuccino. With bright notes of citrus and richness from ricotta, this cake would be a delightful addition to any springtime celebration.

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe

Making ham isn't hard: Most of them are pre-cooked, which means getting it on the table is really just a matter of reheating. Still, there are certain steps you can take to ensure your ham is juicy and tender. Here, we go low and slow to prevent it from drying out, then glaze it in a tangy sauce of balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb With Rosemary, Garlic, and Mustard Crust

Marinating the lamb overnight in a fragrant mixture of garlic, mustard, olive oil, white wine, rosemary, lemon juice, and salt produces a tender cut of meat that's also deeply flavorful. Let it marinate, then throw it on the grill when you're ready to serve.

Oeufs Mayonnaise (French Boiled Eggs With Homemade Mayonnaise)

Oeufs mayonnaise—a classic French dish—is a simple, elegant appetizer that takes just 20 minutes to make. All you have to do is boil some eggs, halve them, and drape them in a silky homemade mayonnaise.