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Comforting New Year’s Day Brunch Ideas for a Cozy Morning

ByShontia Goss-Hawkins

The first brunch meal of New Year’s Day marks the beginning of 2026, starting the year with a delicious bang. Face it, after partying the night before, a good breakfast or brunch for those sleeping in is an excellent start to a new year. Most New Year’s chefs focus on preparing greens and black-eyed peas, which can cause breakfast to get overlooked. Don’t starve your family until the New Year’s Day dinner is ready. Pick a recipe below and set the table.

Brunch Pizza

For the kids and picky eaters in the house, you can not go wrong with pizza. The brunch pizza combines your favorite breakfast foods on a crescent roll crust, providing an easy dish that can be prepped in the morning or frozen the night before for a quick breakfast. One of the fun things about pizza is that you can add whatever you like. If the toppings below are not enough, consider adding more protein, such as bacon and ham, as well as vegetables, to create a balanced meal.

Shopping List

  • 1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
  • 1 pound of your favorite breakfast pork sausage
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup frozen shredded hash browns
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese
  • Season to your own preference

Directions

The easy part is you will cook your scrambled eggs however your family already likes, whether it be scrambled hard or soft and fluffy. Next, break your breakfast sausage into pieces and cook it in a non-stick skillet for about 7 minutes, or until no longer pink.

Set your oven to 375, and while it preheats, prepare your crescent roll pizza crust. Pull the crescent roll dough apart into eight triangles and place them with the points facing towards the center on a round pizza pan. Make a small fold on the opposite end of the center of each triangle to create the crust.

Add the cooked toppings on your pizza crust, followed by the frozen hash browns and cheese, and bake until golden, usually about 25-30 minutes.

Bacon, Eggs, and Cheese Stuffed Pancakes

Before starting the New Year’s resolution to lose weight, enjoy a big brunch with stuffed pancakes. It doesn’t sound very easy, but if you use your favorite box mix, you can save time and focus on perfecting the stuffing for your pancakes. If this is your first stuffed pancake, eggs and bacon or sausage are an easy combination to master. But once you are ready to step out of your comfort zone, try different ingredients.

Shopping List

  • A box of your favorite pancake mix
  • 1 cup chopped cooked bacon
  • 2 cups of shredded cheese
  • 3 eggs scrambled
  • 1 stick of butter
  • cooking oil

Directions

Prepare the pancake mix according to the directions on the box. Next, prep a large non-stick pan or pancake griddle. For crispy edges, use cooking oil. For a homemade taste, use butter to cook your pancakes. Drop about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet and let it cook until it starts to bubble.

Now, the fun part: add 1/2 cup of cheese, 1/4 cup of bacon, and 1/4 cup of scrambled eggs on top. Followed by another 1/4 of batter on top of the ingredients, cook for an additional 2 minutes. Don’t forget to flip your hotcake to ensure both sides are cooked evenly. Add a pat of butter and enjoy.

Sunrise Smoothie

If you don’t want your guest to get too full before the main course, serve the sunrise smoothie. Or if you’re looking for something quick and lightweight, a refreshing smoothie is the perfect choice. The only things you need are fruit, a blender, and sorbet, and brunch for two is served. Alternatively, add the drink to complement your New Year’s Day brunch feast.

Shopping List

  • 5 large chopped ripe strawberries
  • 1 cup chopped watermelon
  • 1 cup chopped fresh peach
  • 1 cup raspberry sorbet
  • 1/4 cup of orange juice

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until the mixture reaches a creamy texture. If the smoothie mix is too thick, add more orange juice to thin it out.

Shrimp and Grits

A brunch staple that you can make at home is shrimp and grits. The easy part is cooking the shrimp, but to achieve a good dish, you don’t want your grits to be lumpy and grainy. It’s not a good look for your first meal of the year to be thrown away, as you will not live it down all year.

Shopping List

For the grits

  • 4 cups water
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup quick-cooking grits
  • 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

For the shrimp topper

  • 6 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
  • 1 large minced clove of garlic
  • ½ cup sliced green onions,
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 lb. shrimp already peeled and deveined
  • 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning and your favorite seasoning for taste

Directions

First, prepare the grits by heating the water until it starts to boil, then reduce the heat and add the grits, mixing well and adding salt as needed. Let the grits combination come to a boil again, then cover and cook on low for about 5 minutes. Lastly, turn off the heat and add the butter and cheese mixture until it is melted. Set your grits aside until you need them.

Start cooking your chopped bacon until it is golden brown in a non-stick skillet, then remove it from the bacon grease. Using the same leftover bacon grease, cook your garlic, green onions, lemon juice, and shrimp in the skillet. Let the shrimp cook until they turn pink. Add your Cajun seasoning, bacon, and any other preferred seasonings and mix.

To plate, add the grits on the plate with the shrimp and bacon combination on top. If you have extra green onions, sprinkle them on top for a garnish.

New Year’s Day Brunch Tradition

The best thing about brunch on New Year’s Day is that you can serve it at 1 in the morning or 1 in the afternoon. When creating a brunch menu, the dishes don’t have to be complicated; they need to be tasty. Challenge yourself on New Year’s Day to start a new tradition of a family brunch to welcome in the New Year.

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