Have a delicious breakfast ready and waiting after the holiday morning fun with these make-ahead Christmas Breakfast Ideas. They’re easy to make and even easier to reheat…and check the boxes for being kid- and parent-approved.
Make-Ahead Christmas Breakfast Ideas
I love a holiday morning when the normal rules go out the window—and the last thing I want is to be stuck in the kitchen cooking while the rest of the family is having fun. So these make-ahead breakfast ideas are perfect for a holiday and are great to make ahead of time.
Each feels special and yet doesn’t require fancy or fussy ingredients or cooking methods.
Each idea can be made 1-3 days ahead and stored in the fridge, or a few weeks ahead and stashed into the freezer. Then, you can thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature and simply be warm through and serve.
Pair these with some cut up fruit, your coffee or tea, and have a happy morning with the family.
(You may also like my Easy Cut-Out Cookies and Salt Dough Ornaments.)
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Tips for Storing Food in the Fridge
- Let any recipe cool fully on a wire rack, then place into a storage container and seal. Store in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- If the food needs to be warmed, place it in a single layer on a heat-safe plate and cover with wax paper. Warm in 15-30 second increments, or until warmed through, to avoid over-heating.
- To add moisture and revive baked foods, sprinkle very lightly with water and cover with wax paper. Warm in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. (Or use a damp paper towel.) You can use this method for egg casseroles, French toast casseroles, and sheet pan pancakes.
- You can make pancake batter the night before—other than banana pancake batter, which can brown as it sits. NOTE: Set the baking powder aside to add in the morning. Cover the bowl of batter tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes so the batter isn’t freezing cold, and stir in the baking powder. Cook as directed in your recipe.
Tips for Storing Food in the Freezer
- Let food cool fully on a wire rack before transferring to a freezer bag or storage container. (If the food is still warm when you put it into the container, it will make steam, which will turn into ice.)
- Remove as much air as you can from the bag, if using a bag.
- Thaw food overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
- Warm recipes for sheet pan pancakes, egg casseroles, or French toast casseroles in a 375 degree F oven for 4-6 minutes or until warmed through. Or warm muffins, quick breads, or sliced casseroles in a single layer on a heat-safe plate in 15-30 second increments in the microwave. Sprinkle very lightly with water to moisten and cover with wax paper. (Or you can use a damp paper towel.)
Christmas Pancakes
The batter comes together in a blender, just like making a smoothie, so it’s very easy. The key to the color? Spinach! But no worries, you can’t taste it. They just taste like a seriously delicious banana pancake.
Bright green and super fun, these Christmas Pancakes are a perfect holiday breakfast to share with the kids. They can be made on the stovetop or in the oven and are packed with nutrition—and yummy flavor!
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Blueberry Yogurt Cake
Like a giant blueberry muffin, only easier to bake, this stores so well in the fridge or freezer.
Bursting with fresh lemon flavor, tenderness from yogurt, and sweetness from berries, this Blueberry Yogurt Cake is the most delicious breakfast or snack—or dessert—to share with the kids. Plus: It’s so easy to make!
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Gingerbread Pancakes
These are great to make in the moment, or fully ahead of time to reheat. We love them with fruit and maple syrup—and whipped cream.
With the fluffiest texture and just the right amount of spice, these delicious Gingerbread Pancakes are a perfect holiday breakfast—or anytime breakfast when you want cozy flavors to share!
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Gingerbread Cake
Tender and with cozy spices, this easy cake is perfect for breakfast. It stores really well in the fridge or freezer so it’s ideal to make ahead and serve.
With mellow, warm spices and a super simple method, this easy Gingerbread Cake is perfectly seasonal and festive. Serve it with decorative sprinkles or add whipped cream or cream cheese frosting.
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Sheet Pan Eggs
This method of cooking a dozen eggs at all once is SO easy and the results are SO delicious. And you can use a mix of toppings to please everyone at your table.
Baking a whole tray of eggs on a sheet pan to use for a holiday brunch, inside breakfast sandwiches, or just as a hands-off way to make breakfast is a total game changer. Here’s my go-to method.
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Easy Egg Bake
This is a super simple frittata (that’s firm enough for babies to pick up and eat) and is delicious on its own or paired with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.
Transform just a few simple ingredients—including a pile of broccoli—into this protein-packed Egg Bake to share with the kids. It’s an easy breakfast or lunch that stores well and is simple to make ahead.
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Bacon and Egg Muffins
All of your favorite breakfast elements together in one little muffin, these savory egg muffins are festive and easy to make.
I like adding the thyme in these for extra flavor, but it’s optional! Be sure to grease your muffin tin well with nonstick spray to help prevent these from sticking to the pan. A nonstick mini muffin pan works best here.
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Sausage Egg Muffins
These savory muffins are a great way to feed eggs to a crowd on a holiday morning, and they can be made days ahead.
Whether as a make-ahead breakfast option or a holiday breakfast or brunch to feed a crowd, these Sausage Egg Muffins are such an easy—and yummy—option.
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Cinnamon Muffins
With simple ingredients, natural sweetness, and a super easy stir-together method, these healthy Cinnamon Muffins are a great breakfast for kids. They even have a Snickerdoodle-like topping!
Made with a base of applesauce and whole grain flour, these easy mini muffins are sweet enough to taste like a treat!
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Baked French Toast
Skip standing over the stove and bake up these yummy Eggnog French Toast Sticks in one fell swoop on a sheet pan. They make for a delicious family breakfast and they store well in the fridge or freezer for an easy-to-reheat holiday breakfast.
(Not into Egg Nog? Here’s a Banana Baked French Toast option.)
You can make this recipe ahead of time and warm up a few sticks for a quick breakfast on future days or make the whole batch as a family breakfast.
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Homemade Granola
This homemade granola is way easy and delicious to make, even if you have toddlers underfoot and calling for your attention. And it’s perfect with fruit and your favorite yogurt!
This healthy granola recipe uses applesauce for sweetness and bakes at a lower temperature to lower the risk of burning around the edges. Plus, find an option to make it without added sugar id desired.
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Baked Oatmeal
Stir together this wholesome Baked Oatmeal recipe before bed, pop it into the oven when you wake up, and you can sit down to a hearty bowl of oatmeal with the family without any standing by the stove and stirring!
u003cpu003eThis baked oatmeal has subtle coconut flavors and is just sweet enough to taste like a special holiday breakfast.u003c/pu003e
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Pumpkin Bars
The method is so quick and easy and the result is moist and full of pumpkin goodness. The chocolate chips are a nice touch too.
These bars are tender when warm out of the oven, so do be sure to let them cool completely before slicing.
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Easy Banana Bread
Bake up healthy comfort food with this super easy and super delicious lower sugar Banana Bread. It’s so easy, so good, and is a perfect breakfast to share with the kids—adding a handful of chocolate chips is a fun way to make it even more festive!
Be sure to use super ripe bananas—the more black and brown spots, the better the flavor and sweetness will be!—for the best results here. Adapted from The Salty Marshmallow
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Sweet Potato Donuts
Cozy spices and an easy technique team up in this delicious baked donut recipe.
You can roast the sweet potato up to 3 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake these. Or use canned or jarred puree. (Recipe updated Sept 2021.)
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Apple Pancakes
These are easy to warm up and serve or you can prep the dry ingredients ahead and bake on a sheet pan!
These apple pancakes are hearty and filled with freshly shredded apples and oats, so expect them to have a lot of texture!
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Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Easy and fresh, these blueberry muffins are a perfect way to celebrate. I love lemon flavors in the winter, so these are a go-to…and they work with frozen berries too.
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Gingerbread Muffins
Classic gingerbread flavor in muffin form? So easy and delicious!
With mellow yet flavorful warm spices and a super easy method, these Gingerbread Muffins are (dare I say it) perfect.
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Easy Pumpkin Bread
With a quick stir together technique and hands off baking, this moist pumpkin bread is a delicious way to start the day.
This bread has the classic flavor and moist crumb of a traditional Pumpkin Bread, but with half the sugar. It stores well too! (Heads up: There’s a full can of pumpkin puree In this, so it takes a little longer to bake.)
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Cranberry Orange Bread
Bursting with fresh fruit flavor, this is a holiday breakfast that stores so well in the fridge or freezer.
This delicious Cranberry Orange bread is flavorful and tender—and it works really well to bake ahead and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve it. We love it topped with cream cheese, but butter and honey also work.
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French Toast Casserole
You can use fresh or frozen berries in this recipe and almost any type of bread you like. Top it with plain, vanilla, or lemon yogurt—or whipped cream.
Learn how to make the easiest French toast casserole with this simple method. It works with any fruit and is a great option for using up leftover bread!
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Best Tips for Success
- Make any of these recipes from start to finish up to 3 days ahead and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Warm through to serve, as desired.
- Make any of these recipes from start to finish up to 3 months ahead and store in the freezer in a freezer bag (with as much air removed as possible). Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature and warm through to serve.
- Let a recipe cool completely before storing.
- Learn more details about how to freeze muffins and how to freeze pancakes.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear what you make for Christmas breakfast or if you have feedback on any of these ideas so please comment below to share!
This post was first published December 2020.