Throw a Lovely Shower Brunch with these Easy Recipes and Savvy Tips

Celebrate a new baby or upcoming wedding and throw a lovely shower brunch with these easy recipes and savvy tips for doing most of the work ahead of time.

Since I recently hosted a bridal shower brunch, I decided to document with pics and notes to share on the blog. Many of the recipes that I used were made days (some longer) ahead of time, which made brunch morning much less stressful.

Make-ahead recipes are hugely helpful if you are hosting a shower. I love being able to pull dishes from the fridge or freezer the morning of a party and simply reheat them and/or place them on serving pieces.

Here are a few of my brunch recipe faves with a few notes on how I made them ahead.

Coffee Ice Cream Punch: I don’t think there is a more decadent, beloved punch than this one. It is super easy to include on any brunch menu. The coffee concentrate can be made weeks ahead, and the punch is put together about half an hour before guests arrive. Here is the post containing the recipe, along with where to get the white confetti Aerin Lauder punch bowl (that I use for way more than punch).

These Blue Cheese Crisps are a Southern Living recipes and are a blue cheese variation on the traditional cheddar cheese straw. And instead of being pressed into straws, they are sliced into thin wafers. #easy #yummy

Below are a few pics of the prep. I made them a week ahead, froze them in freezer ziploc bag, and put them on the serving dish early the morning of the party.

I don’t have a closeup of these after they were baked, but they are pictured on the brunch table. I put them on top of a tall, long stem glass pedestal.

Crustless Quiche Lorraine from one of my fave cookbooks, Perfect Party Food,  is a great brunch dish that I made and froze a week ahead. I took a photo of the recipe and share it below. (If you entertain often, I highly recommend Perfect Party Food, as all the recipes are make-ahead.)

I used another favorite cookbook, Past & Repast: The History & Hospitality of the Missouri Governor’s Mansion, for the Glazed Canadian Bacon recipe (shared below). I’ve made this with Canadian bacon but for this party, I used a Kentucky Legend spiral sliced ham. I made the recipe the night before, covered the glazed ham on the baking sheet with foil, and reheated just before serving.

I turned to Southern Living once again for this Smoky Sausage & Grits Casserole, which can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated. This bakes the morning of the party, so allow time to bake and plans to keep this warm before guests arrive.

I also served a platter of Callie’s Cheese & Chive Biscuits along with some assorted miniature jams. For this brunch, I bought the biscuits frozen, but I love having this copycat Callie’s cheese biscuit recipe when needed.

In the video below, I show my 3 easiest foods for the brunch, all of which can be made ahead and simply displayed on the table just before guests arrive.

The other hostesses brought sweet rolls, fruit, and other items on the menu, which we placed on all of my serve ware. When I entertain, I prefer using my pieces so that the look will be consistent. This makes it easier on other hostesses as well. It is so much easier to pack and take food to a party without having to plate or style it as well.

Below are some of my serving pieces and similar that were used for this brunch.

I hope some of these recipes and tips prove helpful to some of you who might be planning to host a brunch soon. I’d love to hear from you if try any of this, and always feel free to contact me with questions as well. As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed, and stay savvy!!!