Easy Brunch Menu Ideas on a Budget

24+ easy brunch menu ideas on a budget are here! perfect for Mother’s Day, Easter, a baby shower, or any occasion! Easy breakfast lunch recipes that satisfy your savory and sweet tooth. We’re thinking outside of the box with unique finger foods like crack chicken deviled eggs and more.

When Mother’s Day or Easter are approaching I’m always looking for a bunch of great recipes. Here are 14 easy brunch menu ideas to start you off for your occasion. (originally published 5/17, affiliate links present, links to retailer sites may be present)

Typical Brunch Foods

You can always make air fryer breakfast to serve during this middle of break. and lunch time of course. We always have our traditional quiche and a warm goodie like bread pudding, but it’s always fun to try something new that hasn’t been on the menu before.

Baby shower brunch recipes

These are always helpful as well to throw the perfect party since bite sized foods look pretty and add to the decor really. Making finger foods means you can have a little of this and a little of that and not feel so guilty. Some sweet and savory like a Christmas butter board throughout the fun day makes the time more memorable.

If you want to buy the best unique sweet treats I swear by Goldbelly (you can get $25 off your order too). You can order cakes, cookies, bagels and more. Let’s start out with a Fall favorite. These pumpkin cinnamon rolls are always a hit.

Easy Mother’s Day brunch Menu Ideas

Many can be made ahead of time. Then you’re not stressed out cooking and baking all the breakfast recipes all at once. Like let’s take deviled eggs for example, you should think outside of the box. Add cocktail shrimp on top, crab inside the mix, etc… I always like the filling to be super cold too. I mean any stuffed eggs are great for any occasion.

What is a typical brunch menu for a crowd?

Make a few poached eggs to serve when making toast in the oven for a bunch of people, and serve with all the things. A toast bar is actually super fun to create with a crowd. Probably something they’ve never seen before, cheap, and you can serve cold as well as serve to order things like eggs, sausage patties etc to go on it.

You just prep the filling and spoon it into pint size freezer bags. For those that aren’t as thick you can then clip the edge off the next day and squeeze into the hollow egg whites so they’re prepped and pretty. I do the same thing with frosting to pipe on top of a 1/2 sheet cake or cupcakes.

What do you put on a brunch buffet?

No matter what you prepare, remember it’s the thought that counts. If you are the host for an important person in your life don’t make things that will cause you to remove yourself from the event itself. Remember the moment! 😉

What to Serve for a Brunch Spread with Friends

1. Bacon Egg and Cheese Bundt Cake is savory, with blueberry bran muffins that are sweeter make a great duo.
2. A batch of canned peach baked oatmeal is incredible. Add candied pecans to the top for added yum.
3. Air fryer bagels or 2 ingredient bagels baked in the oven are the bomb
4. Chocolate covered strawberries served alongside our donut muffins will be a hit.
5. Our twisted bread wreath is really pretty and delicious

Instant Pot Blueberry Pancake Bites or homemade waffles with huckleberry jam are great. You could even do a whole spread of toppings for one thing like a pancake or waffle bar.

Think of easy breakfast dishes that can be kept at room temperature too when you’re planning things out. Many times you want to have people over for many hours so you don’t want to have to think about “oh no I have to put that in the fridge”. It is best if items can sit and not spoil.

OR if you do have crab deviled eggs let’s say. You can keep them cool for many hours by placing the egg plate on top of another bowl that is filled with ice.

• For instance a dutch baby is always impressive but sitting out for a while isn’t so great. French toast sticks would stay fresher longer and are much easier to make. 

Cooking time is a factor as well. You do NOT want to spend time in the kitchen while the event is going on. Enjoying the get together yourself is important so sweet breads are always a good choice.

Brunch recipes that can be kept at room temperature

Now if you have a young gal who is getting married, ask her what her favorite items are. If she just loves something like cake you could do a full cake bar with ALL THE THINGS. Cakes yes but you could just frost them and have toppings on the side like fresh fruit, sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate chips, etc….

What would you serve for a brunch gathering with friends?

We share here too how to make a charcuterie board. You can make those themed too and that is super fun. You can even make a large one and have little boards set out so everyone can gather what they want and take it to their seat. OR make a dessert candy charcuterie board.

1. Blueberry pie filling dump cake or cupcakes are fun and cheap with only 2 ingredients needed.
   1. This is How to Make a Funnel Cake you can serve with whipped cream or pie fillings to make them over the top wow.
2. Steak Fajita Cups are made in a muffin tin so they are handy to pick up and eat.
3. Mini Fruit Breakfast Pizza
4. California Style Eggs Benedict can be a yummy savory brunch item
5. Our air fryer cinnamon rolls sticky buns are the bomb for sure.

If you are making a few items in the oven at the same time I would add 1 tray of bacon in the oven with aluminum foil, pancakes on another, and eggs on another.

What are Some Cheap Brunch Menu Ideas for a Crowd

For a savory option you can make cheese grits casserole or our copycat Trader Joe’s spanakopita recipe.

1. Easy Brunch Egg Cups
2. Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes can be made with or without chocolate. A great way to use up over-ripe fruit so they don’t go to waste other than just baking them in a bread.
   1. Instant Pot coffee cake is a winner if you want to go beyond the oven and use a small kitchen appliance so you don’t heat up your whole kitchen.
3. Overnight Italian Brunch Casserole is a fun one with rich flavors that can be made spicy a bit if desired.
4. Easy spinach quiche can be made with refrigerated pie crust or tater tots as the crust!!
5. Banana bread pudding is made from scratch with day old bread and can be made with really any fruit you love.
6. Peanut butter and jelly donuts are easier using refrigerated crescent rolls instead of homemade dough. Forget that.

Always have sweet options available because um that is what people will expect. I would suggest having a gluten free brunch item too.

What to Serve for Brunch with Friends

We have more on our Christmas brunch menu here too. As a treat you should make some pressure cooker jam that will impress your guests and only takes 15 minutes using any fruit(s) in season…with bagels it is a great brunch item.

Easy recipes are perfect, and ones that can be cooked and kept in your crockpot like my crockpot breakfast casserole recipe can help as you can prepare them well in advance and have it cook while you’re getting ready.

If you’re preparing for a little one coming and on a budget take a peek at our DIY baby shower decorating ideas post too! Now that you have some ideas for what to eat, check out a great roundup of non-alcoholic baby shower drinks / punches perfect for brunch and any occasion that might come up.

You don’t have to spend a lot to serve a really nice brunch. When it comes to decorating you can find a lot of great table decorations at the dollar store, grab disposable items to eat on there too that are pretty and very inexpensive too. It is all about the thought for these special occasions and that needs to be kept in the forefront.