Top 25 Christmas breakfast ideas
Senior Food Editor at M&S Food
Heather Taylor
What to eat on Christmas morning
Don’t wait until the main event to begin your festive feasting. A pull-out-all-the-stops Christmas breakfast is the perfect way to punctuate all that present opening. When it comes to festive breakfast ideas, there’s no limit to the flavours and dishes you can choose from.
Serve our Golden Star Galette Waffles (in store from 16 November) with moreish breakfast spreads, like our PB & J Spread, made with peanut butter and a swirl of raspberry jam.
Go for a traditional Christmas breakfast with top-quality smoked salmon and scrambled eggs piled onto toasted sourdough.
Prep some homemade cinnamon buns ahead of time for everyone to tuck into.
Flip some fluffy pancakes or crêpes and choose the tastiest toppings.
Fire up your taste buds with a savoury breakfast (did someone say potato cakes with crispy bacon or full English breakfast pizza?)
Don’t forget the Bucks Fizz, coffee, fresh juices or hot chocolate.
Christmas breakfast essentials
Make-ahead Christmas breakfast ideas
1. Chocolate orange overnight oats
No flavour says 'Christmas' quite like chocolate and orange, and now you can enjoy them in breakfast form in these chocolatey, zesty overnight oats.
2. Apple crumble breakfast muffins
With warm spices, juicy fresh apple and a moreish crumble topping, these muffins will fill your home with a lovely festive fragrance as they bake. Prep the day before and store in an airtight container.
3. Pistachio and dark chocolate muffins
These indulgent muffins are studded with pistachios and raspberry-flavoured dark chocolate – irresistible. Bake then pop in the freezer, ready to defrost when needed.
This is a great make-ahead Christmas recipe packed with oozy cheese, spinach and eggs – ideal if you’re feeding a crowd. Assemble, then bake on Christmas morning.
5. Smoked salmon and croissant bake
Tom Kerridge’s smoked salmon and croissant bake recipe makes a crowd-pleasing get-ahead Christmas brunch, especially if you’ve got a crowd coming. Layer golden croissants, oozy cream cheese, and smoked salmon, then pop in the fridge until Christmas morning, and bake until golden, gorgeous, and delicious.
Sweet Christmas breakfast ideas
6. Lemon and blueberry crumpet doughnuts
Fill our ultimate crumpets with zingy lemon curd and blueberry conserve, pan-fry until golden, and toss in sugar in this easy but impressive sweet Christmas breakfast recipe.
7. Panettone eggy bread with spiced fruit compote
Use up leftover panettone in Tom Kerridge’s indulgent Christmas brunch, served with a spiced fruit compote.
Top golden French toast with an easy chia seed and berry compote, creamy vanilla yogurt and indulgent cashew butter.
Savoury Christmas breakfast ideas
9. Bacon, egg and cheese frittata bagels
Bring the flavours of a New York deli to your table with these hearty loaded bagels, filled with bacon, cheese, eggs and pickles.
10. Breakfast cheese scones What could be better than a freshly baked cheese scone? A giant cheese scone, stuffed with ham and sticky chilli jam, that's what!
With chorizo, serrano ham, and smoky paprika, this Spanish baked egg recipe would be a flavour-packed way to start your festive celebrations, and it’s cooked all in one pan.
12. Savoy and spring onion potato cakes with crispy bacon
Tom Kerridge’s savoury potato cakes, topped with crispy bacon and a runny fried egg, will set you up for a day of feasting.
13. Christmas stuffing breakfast muffins
Don’t save your stuffing for the main event – form into patties to fill English muffins, topped with a dollop of festive chutney.
14. Chilaquiles
Fire up your Christmas breakfast with a bowl of chilaquiles – crisp tortillas tossed in a smoky salsa served with feta, avocado and a fried egg.
Impressive Christmas breakfast ideas
What could be more festive than sweet waffles piled high with rich clotted cream and caramelised pears? Finish with cute mini gingerbread biscuits for a Christmas breakfast that tastes as good as it looks.
16. Breakfast trifle A trifle isn't just for dessert. With a zingy berry chia seed jam, blood orange overnight oats and creamy yogurt, this layered breakfast trifle recipe is guaranteed to elicit 'oohs' and 'aahs' from your guests.
17. Berry cheesecake crumpet traybake
No one will be able to resist this golden, custardy bake with berries and crumpets. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar for a final festive flourish.
Christmas pancake recipe ideas
18. Ricotta hotcakes with salted caramel and clementines
Whisking the egg whites makes these ricotta pancakes extra light and fluffy. They're crowned with festive clementines and pops of ruby-red pomegranate.
19. Caramelised pear and cinnamon crêpes
Give a batch of crêpes a festive twist by flavouring with cinnamon and topping with caramelised pears and chocolate sauce.
20. Pancakes with apples and maple butter
Tom Kerridge’s fluffy American-style pancakes, topped with rich caramelised apples and an irresistible maple butter, will go down a treat.
All the flavours of a mince pie, in giant pancake form, this mince pie pancake recipe means you won’t have to spend ages flipping individual pancakes.
Vegan Christmas breakfast ideas
22. Spiced granola
Whip up a batch of this spicy, fruity vegan granola and keep it in a jar, ready to top with yogurt and fresh fruit for a festive-tasting, healthy Christmas breakfast on the big day and beyond.
For a lighter start to the day (to make room for all the trimmings later) spread our Spicy Guacamole on toasted sourdough and top with crunchy seeds for a flavour-packed vegan Christmas breakfast.
24. Vegan chocolate turnovers Flaky, golden pastry filled with oozy plant-based chocolate spread, these indulgent chocolate turnovers will be devoured faster than you can say 'Merry Christmas'.
25. Mango sticky overnight oats Fancy starting your day with something fresh and healthy before the festive indulgence really kicks in? These zingy mango and coconut overnight oats with chia seeds fit the bill.
Top tips for serving Christmas breakfast
Prep ahead: make a shopping list and stock up on essential breakfast ingredients, like jams and spreads, frozen ready-to-bake croissants and pastries, and baking ingredients.
Embrace sugar, spice and all things nice: use up that jar of mincemeat or festive spices to bring instant Christmassy flavour, whether in porridge, pancakes or scones.
Go for good-quality ingredients: expertly cured Scottish smoked salmon, golden yolk eggs, and a loaf of crusty, slow-fermented sourdough will make your festive breakfast extra special.
Get grazing: feeding a crowd? Set up a DIY breakfast spread with toasted bagels, smashed avocado, smoked fish, fresh fruits, pastries and orange juice. Then let everyone dig in.
Create a Christmas brunch grazing table
Be inspired by the social media trend of turning your home into a café to create this wow-worthy brunch spread. All you need is some brown paper and a marker pen to write down your ‘menu’ options, which can be a mix of homemade and shop-bought.
Try these ideas:
Blueberry crumble muffins from our in-store bakery.
Easy berry granola pots, made by layering Only 5 Ingredients Rhubarb Yogurt, nutty granola and fresh berries in jam jars.
Top rye bread with our Whipped Soft Creamy Cheese and hot-smoked trout.
Make some air fryer egg bagels – halve Sourdough Bagels, then cut the top hole a little bigger. Bake for 2-3 minutes at 180°C in the air fryer to toast them lightly, then top with a handful of grated cheddar mixed with a finely chopped green chilli. Top with the other half of the bagel, then air fry for 5 minutes. Remove from the air fryer and crack eggs directly into the top of the bagel (lift the top half a bit if it seems the egg won’t fit), then return to the air fryer for 7-8 minutes, until cooked to your liking.
Published 18/08/2026
