Five favorite weekend breakfast recipes

On weekdays, breakfast in our house tends toward granola, cereal, an egg or two, or the occasional whole-grain frozen waffle, but come the weekends, I've been known to break out the pots and pans and cook more substantial morning meals. When we have a house full of guests, or kids and grandkids, I love to make a big breakfast, but I don't want to spend all morning in the kitchen. I make myself a big cup of coffee, and whip up one of my five favorite weekend breakfast dishes.

Eggs are universal, but that doesn't mean you have to serve them the same old way. Albornia de chayote (in the top photo) combines scrambled eggs with delicate, mild-flavored chayote squash, those light green squash that look like dimpled apples. If you can't find them, substitute yellow squash, pattypan, or zucchini. For a dish you can make ahead, try an egg and cheese casserole, like this version with leek, red pepper and bacon.

A breakfast for one or two, or for just a few, can be a bit more labor intensive. This bacon and egg tartine has the wow factor that comes from grilling bacon right into the bread with a panini press. Add a bit of salad and a hard-boiled egg on top, and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.

Don't want eggs? Go with pancakes. These thin, delicate lemon buttermilk pancakes, splashed with some pure maple syrup, offer a nice alternative to plain pancakes, yet take no more effort to make.

In the house where I grew up, we ate challah every Friday night, and my dad turned the leftover bread into French toast every Saturday morning for breakfast. This completely indulgent, yet not overly-sweet, cinnamon and vanilla challah French toast, made with thick slices of eggy challah or brioche, takes me right back to those wonderful Saturday mornings of childhood.

For more weekend breakfast ideas, use the search box at the top right to look for "eggs", or "waffles", or "egg and cheese casseroles", and treat your guests to a special start to the day.

Comments

Yummmmm! Chayote are wonderful. Here in New Mexico we have a small squash they simply call Indian Squash...small, roundish, mild...perfect with eggs.

I love cooking up special breakfasts on the weekend, especially nowadays because that's when my guy is home to take care of the baby while I get to spend some uninterrupted time in the kitchen. Heaven!

Loving these unique breakfast ideas.

Candy, I'd love to try those Indian squash!

Kare, breakfast is one of my favorite meals to cook (and not just in the morning, of course).

It's bed time in Wisconsin and now I want breakfast! Weekdays are usually pretty rushed, and I do the frozen whole-wheat pancake thing, too. I think French toast is my favorite breakfast, but I MUST have meat with it, to cut the sweetness.

Mimi, French toast is an occasional treat for me, and believe it or not, the maple syrup is the least of it for me. I love challah French toast, for that extra eggy flavor. (And, yes, maybe some bacon on the side.)

I'm starving right now and that Bacon and Egg Tartine has my name on it!

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Everything here looks great!

Kalyn, if for no other reason than to make that tartine, I'm glad I bought a panini press.

Andrea, I never used to eat breakfast when I was younger, but now I absolutely love it and never skip it.

I love to make special breakfasts on the weekend.

Bellini, so do I, and I don't do it often enough. These five dishes are easy, and always feel special.

What a nice selection of heartier breakfast meals - your family must love being treated to them on the weekend. The Albornia de chayote sounds especially good to me. I've never tried chayote before but glad to see that zucchini can be used in its place.

Good read. We don’t have the time to make a quality breakfast during weekdays. We may cook something special on weekends to catch up. Thanks for sharing.