Sometimes, the greatest gift you can give is a few more hours of sleep and a lavish homemade breakfast on the table—or served in bed.
Mother’s Day brunch is a classic for a reason, but staying in for a late homemade breakfast can be just as celebratory and special. Below, we’re sharing some of our top recipes, with a range of cuisines, difficulty level, and sweetness for you to choose from.
While sweet breakfasts have their time and place, let’s not forget savory in the mix. From cheesy to eggy to umami, these chef-created savory breakfast recipes are perfect for moms who prefer salt over sugar in the morning.
Servings: 8–12
Time: 9 hours
Difficulty: Hard
First up: something novel for your breakfast table. This recipe from Chef Derrick Flynn of Este in Austin begins with an enriched yeasted dough and ends with a chèvre-mushroom cream, roasted potatoes, more mushrooms, and a sprinkling of quesillo, all layered in a Baking Slab.
Almost as novel as the all-day Brioche Tart itself, the Baking Slab is a new kind of Bakeware designed with and for Chef Nancy Silverton. It’s great for slab pies, but this recipe demonstrates its true versatility. And while this particular tart is definitely a labor of love, on Mother’s Day that’s kind of the point.
Servings: 2–4
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
This recipe for a traditional, delicious Mexican breakfast consisting of fried corn tortillas topped with cheese comes to us from friend, collaborator, and Chef of Austin’s Suerte and Este, Fermín Nuñez. While Chef’s recipe doesn’t include a fried egg, feel free to add one (preferably cooked over easy) to mix the yolk with the creamy tomato and chile piquin sauce for a truly transformative bite. A Saucier is an essential here, serving double-duty to both fry the tortilla strips and later coat them in sauce.
Servings: 1, but easily multiplied
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
One of the simplest recipes on this list is also the most rewarding, with plenty of modifications available to make it even easier. Chef Yara Herrera’s recipe for salsa verde is more than worth taking the time to make, but you can always use store bought. From there it’s just a matter of scrambling eggs, assembling each plate, and being shocked at how simple cleanup is thanks to Non Stick.
Chefs and home cooks alike use this professional-grade Non Stick for everything from searing to sautéing, but its most obvious selling point is the ease with which it cooks delicate proteins like eggs and fish. The recipe serves one, but with some basic math you can scale it up to serve everyone.
From cinnamon to powdered sugar, sweet is synonymous with breakfast for special occasions. The following chef-created breakfast recipes are all perfect for moms with a sweet tooth, kids who prefer extra syrup, or brunch gatherings where no table is complete without a dessert disguised as breakfast.
Servings: 12
Time: 4 hours
Difficulty: Medium
It has been suggested that Apple Cider Donuts are a seasonal dish, and it is sacrilege to serve them outside the months of October, November, or December. All due respect, but no—and Chef Audrey Schieb of Austin’s The Salty Donut would agree. As long as you can find good apple cider—and that “good” really is important here—there’s no reason to deny yourself one of the greatest pleasures on earth: fresh apple cider donuts, golden brown and freshly emerged from a Dutch Oven, and drenched in a chai spiced glaze.
There’s certainly no need to deny your mom, either—if there’s ever a time to go through the rigamarole of deep fat frying, it’s to celebrate her, right?
Servings: 12
Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Medium
Everyone loves pastries, but no one really wants to be the person to fetch them on a weekend morning. This recipe from Chef and Baker Elise Smith features a make-ahead dough, so you can still keep Mother’s Day a leisurely affair while indulging in some fresh-baked buns. These are a straightforward take on a classic, with a quick maple-bourbon caramel and a cinnamon-nutmeg spiced filling. Prepared in a 9x13 Baking Dish, you’ll be sure to have leftovers for a few special weekday breakfasts.
Servings: 4
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
A breakfast staple, these lemon blueberry pancakes from the Made In Kitchen are just as fluffy as your favorite box mix, take just as little time to assemble, and are easy enough for little ones to assist with. The Carbon Steel Griddle makes cooking these and a side of bacon or sausages easy, and lends a diner-style feel without the need to change out of your pajamas.
Servings: 4
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Courtesy of Chef Brooke Williamson, this tasty, tropical take on the Dutch baby is like a vacation in a bite. A slightly more elevated (but nevertheless simple to put together) version of the pancake, Dutch babies are assembled and cooked in one pan—making this the perfect recipe to break out an oven-safe Non Stick Pan or naturally non stick Enameled Cast Iron Skillet.
Servings: 64
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Homemade jam does not get the respect it deserves—not only is it a cinch to pull together (about 15 minutes!) but it also concentrates and intensifies the flavors of the fruit you use. Because you’re able to modify the amount of sugar, you can ensure that the resulting preserves actually taste like fruit they’re made from—or whatever add-ins you feel like. Even if all you do is whip up some eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, or prefab biscuits, homemade jam is one of those small luxuries that instantly makes everything feel a bit more pampered.
The classic choice is to make jam in a Copper Saucier, which has a heightened conductivity so you can rapidly simmer the preserves without imparting a “cooked” flavor, but our Stainless Clad option will work just about as well.
While these chef-created cocktail recipes aren’t quite a balanced breakfast on their own, they certainly spice up any breakfast in bed or brunch spread. Enjoy responsibly, either served with breakfast or mixed up while making it.
Servings: 1
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Moms simply love Prosecco, and they’re not wrong! A brunch without bubbly is just breakfast. According to friend and mixologist Brian Sandahl of Heavy Muddle in Austin, there’s really no improving the original recipe for the iconic Aperol Spritz—just a bit of Prosecco, Aperol, club soda, and orange and you’re good to go. We mostly agree, except for one serving suggestion—spritzes always taste better in chilled Wine Glass. (And like the Aperol Spritz, our crystal glass stemware hails from Italy.)
Servings: 1
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
It’s like an Aperol spritz, but not. This not-too-sweet spritzer relies on Campari (another Italian apéritif) and dry white wine for a balanced, slightly bitter refreshment. Easy to make and even easier to drink, this cocktail is a deceptively potent recipe from Heavy Muddle’s Brian Sandahl. Light enough for warm weather and downright fun, serve it in a chilled Wine Glass with an elongated stem to keep things icy.
Servings: 1
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
This lower-ABV Mexican lager-based cocktail takes the Bloody Mary’s daunting ingredient list—alcohol, tomato juice, Worcestershire, and other pantry lurkers—and transforms them into a savory beer-based beverage that everyone can get behind. Clamato lends a briny, umami punch thanks to its clam juice and MSG content, while the Tajín rim adds a final layer of salty, spicy, citric complexity. If your mom enjoys a Bloody Mary now and again, introduce her to the Michelada (served, obviously, in a beer glass).
Whether your mom has a sweet tooth, prefers savory breakfasts, or is more excited about the cocktail served alongside it, the perfect Mother’s Day brunch is somewhere on this list. While you figure out what it is and what cookware tools you’ll need to pull it off, we’ve got one more idea—why not give your mom breakfast in bed and the cookware used to prepare it?
