The 13 Best Cooking Tips When Making Brunch

Who doesn't love a good brunch? It's the perfect excuse to sleep a little and work your way into a late-morning plate of all the sweet and savory selections your heart desires. But when you're the person in charge of hosting brunch, things aren't quite as relaxing.

The host wears more than a few hats. You're the friendly greeter at the door, the home chef, and the housemaid that cleans up after everyone leaves. There are endless platters of food to prepare, coffee to be brewed, and friends to entertain. However, if you're equipped with tried-and-true cooking tips, your day should run more smoothly.

You'll want to start by making a plan and sticking to it. By designing a practical menu based on your guests and preparing most of your day in advance, you will set yourself up for success. You can do plenty more, like serving food in a buffet line and preparing drink stations outside your workspace.

While your brunch is all about your guests, you should have a chance to enjoy yourself as well. Luckily, we've hosted several meals and learned a thing or two over the years.

Offering foods based on your guest's dietary restrictions is one way to have plenty of delicious (and safe) options, but providing sweet and savory choices is another excellent way to balance your brunch. When someone shows up to a brunch, they likely aren't expecting a plate of scrambled eggs with toast — they can make that at home, in the comfort of their sweatpants.

Your guests will probably expect a plethora of foods they can pile on their plates. That means offering savory dishes like this crustless spinach quiche recipe or a slow cooker breakfast casserole. It also means serving unique renditions of sweet breakfast foods everyone will love, like eggnog French toast casserole.

The real reason salt and sweets go together so well has everything to do with science. The pair satisfies our biological cravings, which helps our brains need exciting flavors. Adding fun foods that are both sweet and salty will surely take care of their cravings and taste buds. Even if you keep things simple with a platter of sausage and bacon to accompany eggs, along with a platter of little pancakes and waffles, your guest will leave feeling satisfied.

If you plan on having a small group of three to five people in your home for brunch, an intimate family-style breakfast arranged at a table could be a great option. However, if you plan to have a large group of folks for a late morning brunch, your safest bet is organizing a buffet line for them.

A buffet is great for larger gatherings, especially if you host more than five to seven people. It allows your guests to grab food at their own pace while freeing your hands up for other important tasks, like cleaning up, catching up on dishes, and keeping your coffee station stocked.

Make sure you know ahead of time where you plan to lay out your buffet. The spread should be organized in a location that allows a line of people to walk smoothly through without interrupting the flow. Place all of your serving utensils out and ready to go, and don't forget to arrange plates and cutlery at the head of the table so guests can start with the essentials. Begin with savory hot foods, then end with sweet stuff, and remember to space your fruit out to allow for a balance of color.

Luckily, there are lots of foods you can get away with making before the day of your brunch. Taking time a few days before guests arrive to cook certain foods will save you loads of stress the morning of.

No-kneading quick bread recipes or muffins pair beautifully with breakfast spreads and can be baked in advance because they keep well if sealed and stored in the fridge. Strudels, scones, and biscuits should also be made a day or so in advance to avoid using the oven the morning of your brunch. You'll want to save that hot box for breakfast casseroles and other savory dishes that need to be baked.

You can also prep a parfait station a day in advance. Get all the little bowls you need, fill them with choice toppings, and seal them with plastic wrap. Place each bowl over a quarter sheet pan and keep everything cold in the fridge until morning. 

Crepe batters can be made the day before without any issues; however, you'll want to avoid making pancake and waffle batter too far in advance. When leavening agents are used in batters, the longer they sit, the less effective they will become over time.

We can't stress enough how vital eggs are at brunch. You won't get away with having a tasty spread without at least one or two forms of this delicious protein, so if you're going to serve them, consider the best ways to do so.

Cooking your eggs too early is one of the biggest mistakes people make with eggs. Making them a day in advance and reheating them is perfectly safe if done correctly; however, the texture and flavor change dramatically. Avoid serving your guests rubbery, dry, overcooked eggs, and simply cook them before or as they arrive.

There are plenty of tips you need when cooking eggs, but some stand out amongst the rest. Be sure you use gentle, low heat when cooking eggs to avoid burning them, and use plenty of butter; choosing this fat over oil will reduce sticking and enhance flavor.

If you plan on making a big batch of scrambles, crack all your eggs in a separate bowl to catch bits of shells ahead of time and whisk them in your bowl before adding them to the pan. A large whisk will help incorporate air into your eggs and, in turn, give you those light and fluffy eggs you fancy. Finally, whatever you do, don't overcook your eggs.

A small coffee cart is one way to keep your friends and family out of the kitchen, but an entire bar area designated for making cocktails and spritzers will also help. This is excellent if you plan on serving fun morning cocktails and spritzers.

Before selecting standard drinks like bloody Marys and screwdrivers, think outside the box. First, consider the season, weather, and time of year. In the fall and winter, find delicious cocktail recipes that celebrate apples, cranberries, and warming spices. Spiked ciders, mulled wines, and brandy milk punch recipes will taste lovely during those cold months. In the spring and summer, choose in-season berries and fruity juices made with pineapple and passionfruit. Luckily there are loads of delicious brunch cocktail ideas and spritz recipes available.

If you are new to making cocktails, try taking simple recipes you already know, like a screwdriver, and spruce it up. Instead of just vodka and orange juice, add a splash of pineapple or a homemade strawberry coulis for color and flavor. Don't forget to add a strawberry and a pineapple wedge garnish before serving. Otherwise, keep things simple by making one large brunch punch. You'll have a signature cocktail for folks to serve to themselves, and you can make it in advance.

Aside from all those boozy beverages, you should consider providing a few nonalcoholic drinks, too. 

If you aren't exactly fond of making fancy dishes, there are subtle ways to spruce up your feast without going above and beyond. Something as simple as flavored butter or cream cheese will excite your guests.

If you plan on serving a platter of bread, bagels, and croissants, you can easily take the flavor up with tasty, unique kinds of butter and other spreads. Sweet compound butter with infused flavors will give your guests something special to savor in each bite. You can even try your hand at making a butter board which is a sure way to elevate the appearance of your table. A butter board is a wood board with large slathered gobs of butter across the surface, topped with herbs, fruits, and other fun toppings. Serve that with fancy rustic toast, and your entire brunch earns a few extra stars! 

Consider making a simple cinnamon sugar butter or an everything cream cheese spread for a less extravagant approach. Although they are quick and easy to make, your guests will still be impressed and enjoy every bite.