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Brunch out on Mother’s Day means a reservation made weeks ahead, a crowded dining room and a bill that seems to grow every spring. Brunch at home can be just as special, and Mom doesn’t have to wait for a table.
This menu is built so the rest of the family can pull it off. Most of the dishes are assembled the day before, the recipes share ingredients like eggs, berries, lemons and spinach, and nothing needs special skills.
Below you’ll find the menu at a glance, every recipe, a make-ahead plan and a few ways to keep the total down. Pick a handful of dishes or make the whole spread.
Jump to a section
- The Menu at a Glance
- The Recipes
- Overnight French Toast Casserole
- Ham and Cheddar Breakfast Casserole
- Easy Veggie Frittata
- Mini Spinach Quiches
- Classic Deviled Eggs
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Lemon Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Squares
- Greek Yogurt Parfait Jars
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Fresh Strawberry Lemonade
- Your Make-Ahead Plan
- Savvy Tips for a Cheaper Brunch
- Free Printable: Holiday Dinner Planner and Timeline
- Mother’s Day Brunch Questions
The Menu at a Glance
| Course | Dish | Makes |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet main | Overnight French Toast Casserole | Serves 8 |
| Savory main | Ham and Cheddar Breakfast Casserole or Easy Veggie Frittata | Serves 8, or 4 for the frittata |
| Small bites | Mini Spinach Quiches, Classic Deviled Eggs | 12 quiches, 12 egg halves |
| Fresh sides | Strawberry Spinach Salad, Lemon Parmesan Roasted Asparagus | Serve 8 each |
| Bread basket | Lemon Blueberry Muffins, Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Squares | 12 muffins, 9 squares |
| Light option | Greek Yogurt Parfait Jars | 4 jars |
| Dessert | Strawberry Shortcake or Carrot Cake Bars | Serves 8, or 16 bars |
| Drink | Fresh Strawberry Lemonade | Serves 8 |
A simple menu for six to eight: one casserole, the mini quiches, one fresh side, the muffins, one dessert and the lemonade. That’s six dishes, and most of the work happens the day before.
Prices are from Walmart’s and ALDI’s websites for stores in Columbus, Ohio, checked in October 2026. Ohio’s grocery prices are within about 1% of the national average, so you may pay more or less depending on where you live, and prices change often. Here’s how we price our recipes.
The Recipes
1. Overnight French Toast Casserole
Sweet main. Bread soaked overnight in a cinnamon-vanilla custard and baked under a brown sugar crumble. In the morning it only needs to go in the oven.
Make ahead: Assemble it the night before. Keep the topping separate until baking.
Time: 1 hour, plus overnight chilling · Serves: 8
Cost: Ingredients – $7.01 from Walmart, $6.54 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.82 to $0.88
2. Ham and Cheddar Breakfast Casserole
Savory main. Bread, ham and cheddar baked in an egg custard. It’s the savory twin of the French toast casserole, and it’s assembled the night before too.
Make ahead: Assemble the night before and bake in the morning.
Time: 1 hour (15 minutes of prep) · Serves: 8
Cost: Ingredients – $7.88 from Walmart, $7.26 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.91 to $0.98
3. Easy Veggie Frittata
Meatless main. A fluffy baked frittata with bell pepper, onion, spinach and cheddar, made in one skillet. A good choice for a smaller table.
Make ahead: Chop the vegetables the day before.
Time: 30 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $3.84 from Walmart, $3.45 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.86 to $0.96
4. Mini Spinach Quiches
Small bite. Individual quiches with spinach and Swiss in a flaky crust, baked in a muffin pan. They’re good warm or at room temperature.
Make ahead: Bake up to 2 days ahead and rewarm at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes.
Time: About 45 minutes · Makes: 12
Cost: Ingredients – $5.19 from Walmart, $4.22 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.35 to $0.43
5. Classic Deviled Eggs
Small bite. Creamy, tangy and finished with paprika. They disappear quickly, so boil a few extra eggs.
Make ahead: Boil the eggs and mix the filling the day before. Fill them the morning of.
Time: 35 minutes · Serves: 6
Cost: Ingredients – $0.97 from Walmart, $0.96 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.16
6. Strawberry Spinach Salad
Fresh side. Baby spinach, strawberries, feta and toasted almonds in a honey balsamic dressing. It adds color and something light to the table.
Make ahead: Mix the dressing and toast the almonds the day before. Toss right before serving.
Time: 15 minutes · Serves: 8
Cost: Ingredients – $10.65 from Walmart, $8.04 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.01 to $1.33
7. Lemon Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
Fresh side. Asparagus roasted on one sheet pan with garlic, Parmesan and lemon in about 12 minutes. It’s in season in spring, which is when it’s usually the best buy.
Make ahead: Trim the asparagus the day before.
Time: Under 20 minutes · Serves: 8
Cost: Ingredients – $10.01 from Walmart, $9.90 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.24 to $1.25
8. Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Bread basket. Soft muffins with lemon zest, blueberries and a quick lemon glaze. Fresh or frozen berries both work.
Make ahead: Bake the day before and glaze in the morning.
Time: 35 minutes · Makes: 12 muffins
Cost: Ingredients – $4.42 from Walmart, $3.91 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.33 to $0.37
9. Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Squares
Bread basket. Soft baked oatmeal with blueberries, cut into squares. A hearty option that’s easy for kids to pick up.
Make ahead: Bake up to 2 days ahead and serve at room temperature or warmed.
Time: 45 minutes · Makes: 9 squares
Cost: Ingredients – $4.82 from Walmart, $4.18 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.46 to $0.54
10. Greek Yogurt Parfait Jars
Light option. Vanilla Greek yogurt layered with berries and granola. Set out the parts and let everyone build their own.
Make ahead: Layer the yogurt and fruit the night before. Add the granola right before serving so it stays crunchy.
Time: 10 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $5.35 from Walmart, $5.24 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.31 to $1.34
11. Strawberry Shortcake
Dessert. Tender homemade biscuits with sugared strawberries and whipped cream. Every part is made ahead and stacked at the table.
Make ahead: Bake the biscuits and sugar the berries the day before. Whip the cream in the morning.
Time: 40 minutes, plus 30 minutes for the berries · Serves: 8
Cost: Ingredients – $9.06 from Walmart, $8.42 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.05 to $1.13
12. Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Dessert. Spiced carrot cake baked in one pan with cream cheese frosting. One pan cuts into 16 bars, so it’s the pick for a bigger group.
Make ahead: Bake and frost the day before and keep refrigerated.
Time: 50 minutes · Makes: 16 bars
Cost: Ingredients – $4.64 from Walmart, $4.27 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.27 to $0.29
13. Fresh Strawberry Lemonade
Drink. Fresh strawberries blended into homemade lemonade. Four ingredients and one pitcher serve eight.
Make ahead: Make it the day before and stir before serving.
Time: 15 minutes, plus chilling · Serves: 8
Cost: Ingredients – $6.97 from Walmart, $6.59 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.82 to $0.87
Your Make-Ahead Plan
- A week ahead: Choose the menu and check the pantry for flour, sugar, oats, baking powder and vanilla. Write the shopping list.
- Two days before: Shop. Bake the mini quiches and the oatmeal squares.
- The day before: Assemble the casserole. Bake the muffins, the shortcake biscuits and the carrot cake bars. Boil the eggs and mix the deviled egg filling. Sugar the strawberries, make the lemonade, mix the salad dressing and trim the asparagus.
- 90 minutes before brunch: Heat the oven and bake the casserole. Set the table.
- 30 minutes before: Fill the deviled eggs. Whip the cream. Glaze the muffins. Rewarm the quiches while the casserole rests.
- 15 minutes before: Roast the asparagus on a sheet pan, toss the salad and pour the lemonade.
Savvy Tips for a Cheaper Brunch
- Pick one main. One casserole feeds eight. Two is generous, not necessary.
- Let the recipes share. Eggs, milk, butter, lemons, strawberries, blueberries and spinach show up across this menu, so you buy fewer things and use all of them.
- Compare fresh and frozen berries. The muffins and oatmeal squares work with frozen blueberries, which saves the fresh ones for the dishes where they show.
- Use the bread you have. Day-old bread is better than fresh in both casseroles.
- Skip the specialty drinks. A pitcher of homemade lemonade and a pot of coffee cover everyone.
- Fold it into the week. Plan the brunch as part of your regular shop instead of a separate trip. Our weekly grocery budget guide shows how.
Free Printable: Holiday Dinner Planner and Timeline
Changing the menu or the serving time? Write in your own dishes, work out the oven schedule and fill in the make-ahead timeline on this free planner. It works for brunch as well as dinner.
Holiday Dinner Planner and Timeline
Two pages: your menu, an oven schedule and a make-ahead timeline from a week out to the last hour. Free, with no sign-up needed.
See all of our free printables.
Mother’s Day Brunch Questions
How much food do I need for brunch?
Plan on one serving of a main dish per person, two or three small bites, a spoonful or two of each side and one dessert. For six to eight people, one casserole, one small bite, one side, one bread and one dessert is plenty.
What can the kids make?
The parfait jars, the lemonade and the strawberries for the shortcake are all kid-friendly jobs. Older kids can mix muffin batter and fill deviled eggs.
What time should brunch be?
Late morning works well, between 10:30 and noon. It leaves time to bake the casserole without an early alarm.
Planning ahead for Dad? See our Father’s Day dinner menu.
