15 Best Dishes To Make For Brunch That Don't Require Eggs

Eggs (and Wheaties) have always been the breakfast of champions — but they don't have to be on every menu. Maybe you're hosting a brunch for someone with an egg allergy (it's the second most common food allergy in American kids, after all). Or maybe your grocery budget is particularly tight this week. "Eggflation" has decreased since the beginning of 2025, but a dozen conventional eggs still cost more than they used to. If it's Sunday morning and you just don't feel like getting out of your pajamas to go to the store, we've been there, too.

Whatever the reason, an egg-free meal doesn't have to feel like a compromise. All of the dishes that follow prove that brunch can be just as indulgent and filling without a single fried, poached, or beaten egg in sight. From sweet almond pancakes for your most favorite person to hearty 9×13-inch casseroles that feed a crowd, you'll find recipes that work for casual mornings or special occasion spreads. Pour the milk and mimosas, this egg-free recipe round-up has something for everyone.

Homemade pancakes without any eggs? It's deliciously possible with this dreamy mash-up of Moroccan msemen and almond croissants. Traditional msemen are thin, flaky, multi-layered pancakes made from a simple dough that's dipped and dotted with lots of oil and butter. Here, they're folded with a fragrant almond filling and pan-fried til golden-crisp and square around the edges. Serve them as-is hot off the griddle, or top with honey, jam, or a decadent dip of chocolate sauce.

Recipe: Flaky Almond Pancakes

If you've been toasting Thomas' English Muffins your whole life, get ready for a revelation. You can make English muffins from scratch with basic pantry ingredients and a bit of patience — no eggs required. This recipe relies on honey, milk, butter, and two types of flour for a tender crumb and that signature craggy interior. Watch the dough puff into golden, cornmeal-crusted rounds in a cast iron skillet right on your stovetop.

Recipe: Gently Honeyed English Muffins

Cheesy Hash Elegante brings cozy comfort to the table in a trusty 9×13-inch pan. Rooted in Midwestern hospitality, this brunch favorite features 2 pounds of shredded potatoes baked under a velvety blanket of cheddar cheese, sour cream, butter, and condensed soup. It's all topped off with crushed, butter-browned cornflakes for a sweet, crunchy finish. This rich casserole is an egg-free crowd pleaser and the perfect companion to spiral ham around the holidays. Add a simple green salad or a side of fruit, and brunch is served.

Recipe: Cheesy Hash Elegante

This much more approachable version of Pennsylvania Dutch scrapple puts all your favorite meats into one savory loaf of a dish. We're talking chopped and crumbled bits of thick-cut bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, ham, or any other leftover meats you want to use up, for that matter. The savory mix is folded into creamy cooked grits. Everything is chilled overnight, then sliced up and fried to a crunchy crackle right before guests arrive. Breakfast meat scrapple is the ultimate make-ahead move, and it's hearty enough to anchor your brunch spread, whether eggs are on the menu or not. Serve scrapple with hot sauce or maple syrup.

Recipe: Breakfast Meat Scrapple

There are days when you could really use a cheeseburger before noon, and now you can do it in a respectable manner. Cheeseburger Grits Casserole takes every satisfying bit of a burger — the ground beef, the cheese, the toppings — and lays it all on a bed of creamy, hot-cooked grits. This dish is a super smart move for hosts who'd love to mix up the cocktails and mingle with guests instead of nursing a griddle. It bakes up in the oven without any fuss, and the egg on top is absolutely optional. Offer extra tomatoes and bacon, diced pickles, ketchup, and mustard — and have it your way. 

Recipe: Cheeseburger Grits Casserole

For a special occasion brunch, Buttermilk Biscuit Tarte Tatin is an impressive centerpiece that deserves plenty of "oohs" and "aahs." Nobody has to know it's not all that hard to make. Coat apple slices in a homemade maple syrup-caramel sauce, arrange them in a cast iron pan, then top them with a thick layer of homemade buttermilk biscuit dough. The tarte puffs up to a beautiful golden crisp in the oven, but wait for it ... once flipped out of the pan, you'll be treated to a sticky-sweet caramelized fruit topping that drips goodness onto every plate. Serve the tarte wedges warm, with whipped cream, ice cream, or Greek yogurt. It's a show-stopping brunch dessert that just happens to be egg-free.

Recipe: Buttermilk Biscuit Breakfast Tarte Tatin

Fried chicken brings main-dish energy to a trendy brunch buffet where sweet and savory vibes are very much in. Boneless chicken pieces are marinated in buttermilk, dredged in flour and seasonings, and fried til perfectly crisp and juicy. But why stop there? The finishing touch is a homemade hot honey drizzle made with ingredients already in your pantry. For a lighter brunch, serve your fried chicken atop a simple green salad or slaw, and let the hot honey sauce double as dressing. If your guests are expecting something heartier, waffles or biscuits are the way to go.

Recipe: Boneless Fried Chicken With Hot Honey Mustard

Bloody Mary Scones are your favorite brunch cocktail turned into a savory, quick-bread pastry. Featuring fresh-grated horseradish, candied bits of celery, and a sweet and lemony Worcestershire glaze, these tender, crumbly wedges pack all the flavor you'd expect — but they're still a wonderful surprise. For a playful bloody mary-themed brunch, serve your scones with an assortment of briny, pickled vegetables (think stuffed olives, cornichons, or asparagus spears). If eggs are not on the menu, let skewers of chilled shrimp, cocktail sausages, or cubed cheese stand in for protein. 

Recipe: Bloody Mary Scones

When there's no time (or patience) to make your own dough, this semi-homemade sausage bread swoops in to be your brunch hero. Based on the humble Korean sausage-ppang found at Euro-Asian bakeries, these meaty treats artfully come together with canned biscuits, sausage franks, mozzarella cheese, and veggies. Allergy note: The sausage bread topping mix calls for Kewpie mayo, which contains egg yolks. Swap in a plant-based substitute such as Kewpie vegan mayo for comparable creamy-rich texture and umami.

Recipe: Air Fryer Korean Sausage Bread

Cowboy casserole is your hearty, home-baked hero when it comes to feeding a posse. Loaded with Southwestern flavors, this 9×13 dish offers layers of ground beef, bell peppers, corn, green chiles, and cheddar cheese. But the topping literally takes it over the top: an even blanket of tater tots tossed in a smoky, paprika-spiced oil. Creamy, cheesy cowboy casserole doesn't rely on any eggs to set. It bakes up to a comforting, scoopable texture, and it's crowned with a kid-friendly crunch. Grown-up tastes might appreciate a sprinkle of hot sauce or chopped chives.

Recipe: Creamy And Cheesy Cowboy Casserole

Remember when avocado toast was just a trend? It's now a brunch-time classic with endless incarnations. Many versions are topped with yolky eggs, but that's not the only way to wake things up. This zippy recipe calls for a sweet, tangy Italian balsamic vinegar or a more syrupy balsamic glaze. Start with your favorite bread and a perfectly ripe avocado (sliced or mashed). The rest of the add-ons are up to you, but flaky sea salt, fresh-cracked pepper, and balsamic are a must. Cherry tomatoes, roasted peppers, arugula, burrata, and prosciutto could easily transform this toast into a full meal.

Recipe: Balsamic Avocado Toast

Every fancy brunch needs a fresh salad to counterbalance those rich, savory meats and starchy carbs — but skip the boring Caesar. This gorgeous mix of arugula and baby spinach from author Danielle Renov ("Peas, Love and Carrots: The Cookbook") takes salad from afterthought to vibrant centerpiece with the addition of crispy, baked sweet potatoes and pan-seared haloumi cheese "croutons." It's finished with homemade blueberry vinaigrette that your guests will not soon forget.

Recipe: Haloumi and Sweet Potato Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette

This Shrimp and Popcorn Grits recipe from Chef Phillip Foss is designed for speed and kitschy restaurant-level comfort. Surprisingly, it calls for no eggs or cornmeal. The chunky porridge base is made with freshly popped popcorn, heavy cream, Old Bay seasoning, and shredded cheddar cheese. The shrimp topping remains classic, with a quick saute in butter and garlic. Finish each bowl with a few extra pieces of popcorn and a bright squeeze of lemon. Your guests may grant you an honorary Michelin star. 

Recipe: Shrimp and Popcorn Grits

It's time to bring fun back to the brunch table. Enter these air fryer cheese balls: a playful take on the popular Guatemalan dessert, rellenitos de plátano. Here, ripe plantains get mashed with vanilla, allspice, and nutmeg to create a soft, sticky dough. The dough is then rolled into balls, stuffed with cream cheese, and coated in a sweet-crunchy mix of cornflakes, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Yum. You can skip the traditional deep fry mess and cook these delights in your air fryer or conventional oven instead. Drizzle with honey while they're still warm and crispy.

Recipe: Cream Cheese Stuffed Fried Plantains

Consider these three-ingredient bagels a major brunch miracle: no eggs, fermentation, or boiling required. Instead, the dough quickly comes together with equal parts flour and Greek yogurt, plus a couple of teaspoons of baking powder. Lightly knead and divide the dough, then shape each portion into a bagel-sized ring. They're not New York-style bagels, but they'll bake up chewy, golden, and bready without much effort on your part. Serve them warm out of the oven, or split and toasted for extra crunch.

Recipe: Greek Yogurt Bagels