26 Hangover-Busting Breakfast Recipes for New Year’s Day

All the hangover-friendly breakfast recipes you need to feel like yourself again on New Year's Day.

Updated May 28, 2024

Two Croque Madame sandwiches, topped with sunny-side up eggs on a wooden board on a blue cloth. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

New Year's Eve often brings Champagne, cocktails, and a late evening. This in turn can bring on a head-pounding hangover to start the new year. Get that hangover under control with a hearty breakfast. This collection of recipes includes all manner of eggs, potatoes, migas, and even pho.

Crispy Fried Eggs (and Our Favorite Variations)
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
If you're looking for a simple breakfast that's doable even when you're suffering, it's hard to beat a plate of fried eggs. We have a version to suit every taste.
Crispy Fried Eggs (and Our Favorite Variations)
Scrambled Eggs, However You Like Them
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Fried eggs aren't hard, but doing them well takes a little more finesse than we're capable of after a wild night out. On the other hand, we can pretty much always muster the strength to make fluffy scrambled eggs.
Scrambled Eggs, However You Like Them
Waffle-Iron Hash Browns
Serious Eats / Daniel Shumski
Need something to serve with your eggs? Potatoes are a great way to bulk up your breakfast, and you can't go wrong with perfectly crispy hash browns. When we're feeling a bit too lazy to do the cooking ourselves, we like to use a waffle iron, which automatically ensures a crunchy exterior and smooth, creamy interior.
Waffle-Iron Hash Browns
Scrambled Egg and Cheese Drop-Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches
Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer
Here, scrambled eggs are packed with so much mozzarella (along with a little feta and dill) that you might confuse them for queso fundido at first glance, before getting sandwiched into fluffy little drop biscuits.
Scrambled Egg and Cheese Drop-Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches
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Doritos Migas With Pepper Jack, Tomatoes, and Jalapeño
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
If I happened to have a professional cook around to make me breakfast on New Year's Day, I might ask for a plate of traditional migas. But honestly, if I'm on my own at home, there's no way I'm going to fry up a batch of homemade tortilla chips. If you feel the same, go lowbrow and use crumbled Doritos instead, mixing them with scrambled eggs, onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, and plenty of pepper jack cheese.
Doritos Migas With Pepper Jack, Tomatoes, and Jalapeño
Vegan Migas (Mexican-Style Fried Tortillas With Tofu)
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
I love to drown a hangover in eggs and cheese, and I know many of you feel the same. But vegan eaters get hangovers, too, which is where this vegan variation on migas—made with silken tofu, for a creaminess similar to what you'll find in soft-scrambled eggs—comes in.
Vegan Migas (Mexican-Style Fried Tortillas With Tofu)
Crisp Homemade Granola
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
After a really debaucherous night you might want a mild breakfast instead of a greasy plate of eggs, cheese, and potatoes. One of my top choices is yogurt topped with granola—and if you really want to treat yourself, homemade granola is the way to go. This one uses rolled oats soaked in a surprising ingredient—buttermilk, which tenderizes the oats and seeds and helps prevent excess browning—combined with raw pumpkin seeds, flax, chia seeds, almonds, pecans, dried apricots, tart cherries, and blueberries.
Crisp Homemade Granola
Ultra-Smashed Brunch Burgers With Quick Jalapeño Hollandaise
Serious Eats / Morgan Eisenberg
More into the gut-busting side of the hangover-cure spectrum? Go straight for this epic brunch burger constructed from a crispy smashed patty placed on a toasted, buttered English muffin with bacon, avocado, Colby Jack cheese, a fried egg (!), and spicy jalapeño Hollandaise. It's rich, messy, and over the top, and it's enough to scare any hangover into submission.
Ultra-Smashed Brunch Burgers With Quick Jalapeño Hollandaise
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Rich and Creamy Croques Madames
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Another ultra-rich option, the croque madame is a brunch classic that's made simply by setting a fried egg atop a croque monsieur. If you don't eat eggs, or just don't want to bother with the trouble of making them, the latter is itself a plenty rich sandwich, made with ham, Dijon mustard, and both grated cheese and a silky Mornay sauce.
Rich and Creamy Croques Madames
Sweet Potato, Sage, and Fried Egg Tacos
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
My not-at-all-expert opinion is that carbs are a necessity for soaking up booze, and these tacos have plenty of them. Make them by stuffing warm corn tortillas with sautéed sweet potatoes, then topping with fried eggs. When you break into the yolk, it'll blend with the hot sauce and crema to make a simple but satisfying sauce.
Sweet Potato, Sage, and Fried Egg Tacos
Quick and Easy Huevos Rancheros With Tomato-Chile Salsa
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Huevos rancheros—a plate of fried tortillas, runny fried eggs, and plenty of salsa—is an easy dish that takes only half an hour, even if you include the time to make our homemade tomato and red-chile salsa. It's totally manageable on a hangover, but on New Year's Day, no one will blame you for simplifying the recipe even further by using jarred salsa.
Quick and Easy Huevos Rancheros With Tomato-Chile Salsa
Diner-Style Ham and Cheese Omelette for Two
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
There are times for elegant French omelettes and times for hearty American ones, and I think you know which is more appropriate after you've had one too many glasses of sparkling wine. Far from their creamy, softly-set French cousins, diner-style omelettes feature big, fluffy curds. Feel free to stuff the omelette however you want, but diced ham and cheddar is a good, straightforward choice.
Diner-Style Ham and Cheese Omelette for Two
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Homemade Egg McMuffin
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
I used to live right next door to a McDonald's, so I've eaten more Egg McMuffins in my life than I'm proud of. These days, if I'm craving those same flavors in a better-quality package, I just make the sandwich myself, using this ingenious recipe. There are a couple tricks to keep in mind: Cook the egg in a Mason jar lid ring placed in a skillet to give it the perfect round shape, and wrap the sandwich in foil after assembly, which helps melt the cheese and soften the English muffin.
Homemade Egg McMuffin
Sausage Gravy
Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
There are few breakfast items I love as much as creamy sausage gravy, no matter what kind of night it's been. This recipe is fairly standard—roux, pork sausage, milk—but gives you the option of adding chopped fresh sage and red pepper flakes for extra flavor. Don't forget the biscuits! Our two-ingredient cream biscuit recipe is too easy to skip.
Sausage Gravy
Shakshuka (North African–Style Poached Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Shakshuka is an impressive enough dish for a fancy brunch, yet simple enough to make on a rough morning. It's also extremely versatile—our version is made with charred onion, red pepper, and chiles; spices like paprika and cumin; and, of course, tomatoes and eggs, but you can vary the aromatics and spices in accordance with your pantry and your preferences. Spoon some of the sauce over the egg whites before covering the pan to help them cook at the same speed as the yolks.
Shakshuka (North African–Style Poached Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Tamago Kake Gohan (Japanese-Style Rice With Egg)
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Okay, not everyone is going to want to start the New Year off with raw eggs. But those who've had it before know that this Japanese dish is rich, comforting, and incredibly easy to make, so it's a great choice for New Year's Day breakfast. All you have to do is microwave leftover rice; mix it with a raw egg, soy sauce, salt, and a pinch of MSG; and top with furikake and an extra raw egg yolk.
Tamago Kake Gohan (Japanese-Style Rice With Egg)
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30-Minute Pressure Cooker Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Pho is typically eaten for breakfast in Vietnam, and chicken soup is a beloved cure-all in the West, so a morning bowl of chicken pho makes perfect sense to us as a hangover cure.
30-Minute Pressure Cooker Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)
Upside-Down Blueberry Muffin
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Sometimes a sweet breakfast is just what you need to start fighting off a nasty hangover, and this upside-down blueberry muffin does the job well. It consists of a thick layer of jammy fruit complemented by a tender muffin base; once baked in a 10-inch cast iron skillet, it's ready to be cut into wedges and served warm.
Get the recipe for Upside-Down Blueberry Muffin
Savory Green Curry French Toast
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This savory French toast recipe turns out spicy and funky thanks to store-bought green curry paste, which we jazz up with fresh herbs, lime juice, and fish sauce. Combine the paste with coconut milk, then pour the mixture into a pan and soak the bread in it for at least one hour to ensure the curry flavors get right to its core.
Savory Green Curry French Toast
Bengali Rice Porridge With Lentils and Chicken
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
When you aren't at your best, whether due to a hangover or a persistent cold, rice porridge is a great dish to have in your back pocket. This Bengali porridge consists of jasmine rice and lentils, flavored with ginger and turmeric and simmered in chicken stock. Once the grains are tender, add potatoes and chicken thighs to the pot to cook slowly, and prepare a bright cilantro chutney to cut through and balance the rich porridge. It's a dish that will cure your hangover in record time, but you'll crave it even when you're feeling perfectly fine.
Bengali Rice Porridge With Lentils and Chicken
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Hasselbacked Croque Monsieur Bagels
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Cut your bagels like Hasselback potatoes, and you're already halfway to getting hasselbacked croque monsieur bagels on the table. The sliced bagels are stuffed with ham and cheese, then baked and doused with a creamy Mornay sauce.
Hasselbacked Croque Monsieur Bagels
Thick and Fluffy Pancakes From Homemade Pancake Mix
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Few foods so effectively cure a hangover as a stack of tall, fluffy pancakes. These ones are made using a homemade pancake mix, so you don't have to do much thinking. Just combine the mix with several other ingredients, and you'll have breakfast on the table in no time.
Thick and Fluffy Pancakes From Homemade Pancake Mix
Spanish-Style Migas With Chorizo, Peppers, and Kale
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This dish makes a meal out of crispy breadcrumbs, chorizo, and hearty vegetables. Top off the colorful and satisfying combination with a couple fried eggs, and you have a breakfast that'll make you feel alive again.
Spanish-Style Migas With Chorizo, Peppers, and Kale
Fried Egg Sandwiches With 'Nduja Mayo and Broccoli Rabe
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
With just a few special ingredients, you can really take a fried egg sandwich to the next level. The funky, spicy flavor of the 'nduja in the mayonnaise gives you a taste of meat without the need to cook up bacon or sausage, while the broccoli is a sneaky way to give yourself some vegetables when your body needs it most. Reach for sesame seed buns or English muffins to pull everything together, and make sure to keep those egg yolks runny.
Fried Egg Sandwiches With 'Nduja Mayo and Broccoli Rabe
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Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Burrito
Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer
The perfect morning burrito is loaded with all of your favorite breakfast elements wrapped together neatly and tightly in a flour tortilla. Here, we take a classic bacon, egg, and cheese version and toss in potatoes, guac, sour cream, and hot sauce. You'll want to assemble your burrito by layering one ingredient on top of the other so you get a combination of everything in each bite. This Southwestern twist on a classic breakfast burrito, along with our version full of chorizo and refried beans is the easiest (and tastiest) route to full recovery.
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Burrito
Crispy Pork Shoulder Hash With Charred Asparagus and Serrano Chile
Serious Eats / Sasha Marx
Pulled pieces of pork are added to a skillet full of charred asparagus and serrano chiles, plus crispy potatoes seasoned with ground coriander, chile powder, and cumin. Like any good hash, you can serve this to your liking—try it with a fried egg on top or piled into warm tortillas.
Crispy Pork Shoulder Hash With Charred Asparagus and Serrano Chile

26 Hangover-Busting Breakfast Recipes for New Year’s Day

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