So, you’ve been invited to a breakfast potluck. You could resort to your usual chocolate chip pancakes (yawn), but why not spice up the menu? I have just the recipes that are not only delicious, but also sure to impress even the harshest brunch critics. Some of them are packed with protein, while others are a breeze to make ahead—even for beginners. Behold: 32 easy, unexpected breakfast potluck ideas that will feed and delight a crowd, from sheet pan eggs with smoked salmon to pizza dough cinnamon rolls.
32 Breakfast Potluck Ideas That Are Total Crowd-Pleasers
Mmm, croissant French toast
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Published Jul 19, 2024
Half Baked Harvest
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
- Serves: 8
"A stand mixer will make this recipe come together the fastest, but you can also use a hand mixer," PureWow senior food editor Katherine Gillen assures. "If you don’t have sour cream, don’t sweat. It can be swapped in equal amounts for plain yogurt, mascarpone cheese or even buttermilk."
2. Sheet Pan Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese and Dill
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, keto-friendly
- Serves: 12
Sure, it's easy to cook eggs for one. But preparing them for a crowd doesn’t have to be an all-day affair, either. These ingenious sheet pan eggs—with all the fixings of your favorite bagel sandwich—are proof.
3. Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, nut free
- Serves: 6
What’s a potluck without at least one casserole? Instead of cooking all of your breakfast favorites—eggs, potatoes and bacon—separately, it'll save you time (and dirty dishes) to let the slow cooker prepare them in one fell swoop.
4. ‘Everything Bagel’ Cauliflower Rolls
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, vegetarian
- Serves: 8
These cuties won’t weigh you down like regular bread, but don’t worry: They still break and taste just like the real thing. Did I mention you only need six ingredients to make them?
5. Sheet Tray Pancakes with Peaches and Strawberries
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 6
Anyone can make flapjacks the old-school way, but these take pancakes to a whole new level. Best of all, there’s absolutely no flipping required.
6. Kale Quiche with a Cheddar-Rice Crust
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 6 to 8
Quiche may be breakfast classic, but the impossibly crisp cheese crust is what makes this recipe one of my new morning go-tos. (I'm betting it'd be even tastier crowned with crispy prosciutto, too.)
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, vegetarian
- Serves: 9
Oh no, you forgot to make something for tomorrow's potluck brunch! This recipe that calls on store-bought pizza dough will certainly save the day.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, <10 ingredients
- Serves: 6 to 8
I can almost guarantee that no one will think to bring bacon to a potluck, despite it being essential. You're sure to surprise with this sweet recipe that’s way easier to make than you might think, promise.
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, vegetarian, keto-friendly
- Serves: 4
This breakfast potluck idea stars two foods that you probably have in your kitchen at this very moment. It's time to (finally) put them to good use with this creative, savory recipe that's both keto-friendly and gluten free.
10. Mini Cauliflower Crust Breakfast Pizzas with Spicy Garlic Honey
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: gluten free, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 4
In case you didn't know, pizza for breakfast is definitely a thing. With sunny side-up eggs and homemade spicy garlic honey, these mini pies are officially brunch- or breakfast-ready.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: gluten free, nut free, vegetarian, keto
- Serves: 4 to 5
Consider this a marriage of two of your absolute favorite breakfast foods. This surprising recipe is full of creamy richness and key splashes of lime juice and hot sauce.
12. Sunday Morning French Toast
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, vegetarian
- Serves: 6
Even picky kids will ask for seconds. Cut the loaf of Italian bread hasselback-style (meaning not all the way to the bottom), so the slices stay attached and the cinnamon-laced custard doesn't pool at the bottom of the dish.
13. Slow Cooker Mediterranean Frittata
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, slow cooker recipe, vegetarian
- Serves: 6
It may look fancy, but it takes almost no effort to execute. You basically just drop all the ingredients into the Crockpot and voilà (but your guests don't need to know that).
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free
- Serves: 10
Fact: Everyone loves sliders. So why wouldn’t your guests go gaga for these handhelds topped with breakfast sausage, cheese and eggs? Pair them with roasted potatoes, dressed greens or fresh fruit.
15. Pumpkin Pie-Stuffed French Toast
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 6 to 8
Dessert first thing in the morning? Don't mind if I do. This sweet breakfast potluck idea will score you major points with the PSL-loving brunchers at your table.
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 12
The only thing better than one pull-apart bread? Single-serve pull apart breads that don't require sharing. Grab some pizza dough at the grocery store and you’ve already done half the work.
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 12
Baked instead of fried, these babies are made with real Champagne, and therefore pair beautifully with your morning mimosas. If you have a bottle of flat bubbly in your fridge, you know what to do with it.
18. Leek, Kale and Goat Cheese Strata
- Time Commitment: 8 hours and 35 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, vegetarian
- Serves: 6
Not all breakfast potluck ideas need to be sweet. Exhibit A: This strata featuring eggs, bread and cheese. Assemble it the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight, then bake it for 30 minutes the next morning.
19. Breakfast Nachos
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 6
We've tried a lot of different takes on nachos, but none of them compare to this version that puts frozen waffles front and center. Top them with sweet and savory favorites alike (I'm partial to avocado and red onion).
20. Pancake Balls
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, vegetarian
- Serves: 4
Also known as Danish aebleskiver, these fluffy pancake balls are ready in just a half-hour. And let’s be honest, everything is better in miniature form. (P.S.: You'll need an aebleskiver or takoyaki pan to pull this one off.)
22. Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Pastries
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, nut free, pescatarian
- Serves: 9
I love a sweet pastry as much as the next foodie, but a savory pastry like this one, packed with smoked salmon and cream cheese, is definitely more my speed. Might I suggest finishing them with everything bagel seasoning and capers?
23. Fruit Salad with Citrus Honey Dressing
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 6
The only cooking this refreshing breakfast potluck idea requires is warming honey and lime juice together for a few minutes on the stove. The rest is all assembly. Yup, you can thank me later.
25. One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, dairy free, vegan
- Serves: 9
One bowl and ten ingredients, all plant-based. You really can't lose, friend. If you want to sub real eggs for the flax eggs, use two in place of the flaxseed meal and water.
26. Blueberry and Ricotta Skillet Cake
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, vegetarian
- Serves: 6 to 8
Go ahead, eat cake for breakfast (and top it with all the confectioners’ sugar your heart desires). A mix of almond meal, sorghum flour and cornmeal keep this breakfast potluck idea gluten free.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein, make ahead
- Serves: 4
Packed with eggs, bacon, cheese, potatoes and avocado, these handy burritos are bound to keep your guests full 'til lunch. Serve them with all the salsa, sour cream and hot sauce you desire.
28. Vegetarian Breakfast Tacos
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: gluten free, <30 minutes, vegetarian
- Serves: 8
Have guests who don't eat meat? No problem. Made with gluten-free tortillas and topped with black beans, cherry tomatoes and poached eggs, these will be a crowd favorite (even among the carnivores).
29. Berry and Cream Cheese Croissant French Toast Bake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, vegetarian, kid-friendly
- Serves: 8
This make-ahead dish features soft, buttery, flaky croissants and fresh fruit. I totally won’t judge if you add extra cream cheese to the filling—in fact, I encourage it.
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: no cook, <30 minutes, make ahead, kid-friendly
- Serves: 5
These gluten-free, kid-friendly poppables are an easy way to feed breakfast to a crowd. Most importantly, you won't need to turn on the oven to make them either; they can be chilled or frozen until serving.
31. Chicken-Ranch Breakfast Hash
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, gluten free, nut free
- Serves: 5
Both Whole30 and Paleo, this one-pan beauty is packed with protein, potatoes (to keep you full longer) and spinach, because greens never hurt. Indulge without a sink's worth of dirty dishes looming while you eat.
32. Herby Everything Cheddar Swirl Buns
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
- Serves: 12
Fact: There’s nothing you love more than everything bagel seasoning. Combine it with cheddar cheese and basic, store-bought pesto, and you’ve got the dough filling of your dreams.
