Back in 2004, my sister, my mom and I had Easter brunch recipes published in Taste of Home magazine for their “Getting in the Theme of Things” feature.

The main theme of our meal was Easter bonnets. We had a sweet salad and dessert decorated to look like bonnets. We also served Make-Ahead Brunch Bake and Caramel-Pecan Cinnamon rolls.

In this article, I’ll share the Easter brunch bake main dish and the Bavarian cream Easter bonnet dessert, plus more Easter brunch ideas and recipe links.

Easter egg hunt 2001 — August V hunting Easter eggs, Easter 2001

Easter Brunch Main Dish Ideas

Some classic brunch ideas include:

Hard boiled Easter eggs
Pancakes (you can find our almond flour pancakes here)
Waffles (find a whole wheat waffle recipe with berry sauce here)
French toast or cream cheese stuffed French toast (we cover French toast in our book, Never Buy Bread Again)
Deviled eggs (we have classic deviled eggs and guacamole devils)
Bacon and sausages (bake in the oven for larger quantities)

Our original main dish for our Easter brunch menu was Welsh rabbit, which is made with melted cheese (not rabbit). Taste of Home said “no” to that one, because it wasn’t very pretty on a plate.

Thankfully my sissy was able to come up with another delicious Easter idea, her make ahead brunch bake. This recipe works best when it has time to rest after assembly, so it’s perfect to make a day ahead.

Note: I couldn’t find 7 inch store bought tortillas when I went to recreate the recipe. We ended up using 8.5 inch tortillas, increasing the eggs and filling, and adding a little extra baking time.

Make Ahead Easter Brunch Bake

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This enchilada style brunch bake features rolled up tortillas stuffed with veggies and cheese, topped with eggy goodness.

Author: Lois Jacobsen
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: main dish
Method: oven
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
8 slices deli ham
8 flour tortillas (7 inches), warmed
1–1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

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Instructions

In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, onions and green pepper in butter until tender; set aside. Place one slice of ham on each tortilla. Top each with about 1/4 cup mushroom mixture. Combine cheeses; set aside 1/4 cup. Sprinkle remaining cheese over tortillas.
Roll up tortillas. Place seam side down in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. In a large bowl, beat the flour, eggs, milk, garlic powder, salt and hot pepper sauce until blended.
Pour over tortillas. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-45 minutes or set.

Notes

Note – 7 inch ready made tortillas have become harder to find since this recipe was created. For the photos, we used 8.5 inch tortillas and increased the filling and egg mixture by 1/2, and then baked in a 9×13 baking dish for about one hour.

Since it was a larger casserole, we covered the baking dish with foil for the first thirty minutes of cooking.

Brunch Desserts

Cakes, cookies and cupcakes abound for Easter brunch, but mom used to make goodies like her caramel-pecan cinnamon rolls, Hungarian rolls, or kolache.

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Homemade candies, like these cookie dough truffles, are another favorite. For a lighter option, try a fresh fruit tray.

Easter egg chocolate chip cookie dough truffles — Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles shaped like Easter eggs and decorate with chocolate swirls and sprinkles.

Our Bavarian cream bonnet starts with a lightly sweetened custard base, stiffened with gelatin and folded with fluffy whipped cream.

It needs to chill part way through prep, and again before it is decorated, so make sure to plan ahead.

I used a large bowl to make the top of the bonnet, but you can use any round container that will hold around a quart. Make sure to butter the mold well to make it easier to release the dessert.

For the decorations, I made sweetened whipped cream, and cut fruit slices into flower shapes. The bonnet in the photos has kiwi and mango, but you can use whatever fruit looks best in your area.

The “ribbon” is made out of fruit leather, cut to the correct width.

You don’t have to try and make the dessert look like a bonnet, but the fruit is a nice compliment to the cream.

Easter egg hunt — Dunc and his cousins hunting Easter eggs in grandma’ yard, 2006