Whenever I’m hosting a vegan brunch at home, I like to prepare everything the day before, so on the day itself I just have to arrange it and put it out. No stress, no disappearing into the kitchen, no missing the conversation.
I also have vegetarian and omnivore friends and family. But all these vegan brunch ideas work brilliantly for mixed groups too, not just for vegans. Everything here is easy to prepare in advance and most of it travels well, whether you’re bringing it to a potluck, an outdoor brunch or a work party.
In this post you’ll find seven chapters of vegan brunch recipes and ideas: from the classic German-style spread to South European, English and Southeast Asian inspired options, plus gluten-free choices and ideas for special occasions like Easter or Christmas. Something for every mood and every crowd.
My general rule: always make too much rather than too little. Almost everything keeps well the next day, freezes beautifully or makes a great doggy bag for your guests. Sure, most people roll home from a brunch buffet convinced they’ll never eat again, but by the next morning, that tupperware in the fridge is the best thing in the world.
So, what makes the perfect vegan brunch? Let’s get into it.
I have a standard menu list and some of the top dishes from my fusion kitchen for you!
1. Classic German-style Vegan Brunch
Fluffy pretzel corners
Homemade bread is always a winner, for example these savoury fluffy pretzel corners or fluffy pretzel baguettes. You can prepare them the day before, just put them in the fridge after the second rise. Before the brunch, you just apply the baking soda mixture, and salt and sesame, and bake them.
Bagels
These full grain spelt bagels with hemp seeds are tasty and healthy. You can easily prepare the bagels the day before, keep them in the fridge after the second rise, then before the brunch just apply the plant cream and the hemp seeds and bake.
Pastry
If you’re into pastry, my quick and easy pretzel pain au chocolat might be just right for you:
Pretzel Croissants
Making delicious pretzel croissants is actually much quicker and easier than you’d think! You know that croissant dough from tins in the refrigerated section? It’s usually vegan! So you just open the tin, roll up the little croissants, mix one tablespoon of boiling water with one teaspoon of baking soda and apply the mixture. Sprinkle with sesame and flaky salt, bake according to instructions and serve warm.
What to Serve on the Bread at Your Vegan Brunch?
Eggplant tofu scramble
This delicious scramble can be prepared the day before. Keep it in the fridge and then serve it warm or cold garnished with microgreens or fresh herbs.
Homemade vegan cheese
A delicious cheese recipe is my fermented blueberry cashew cheese. Prepare it the day before and just roll it in the spice mix before serving.
Caprese is an Italian starter salad and an absolute must-have on German brunch. Tomatoes, creamy almond-mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil, salt and pepper are the most important ingredients, and I usually add loads of balsamic glaze.
Or you can serve oven or roasted tomatoes with basil, balsamic and mozzarella, the recipe is also in the blogpost for my almond mozzarella.
Smoked tofu
I’m a big fan of smoked tofu, fried or just like that. With lots of mustard. I particularly like my healthy sauerkraut sandwich with fresh sauerkraut, gherkins and dill.
Fried smoked tofu is really nice on a BLT. You’ll find the vegan BLT recipe here.
Hummus
Hummus always works well. I love this creamy sweet potato hummus with crispy chickpeas. You can store them overnight in separate airtight containers and put the garnishing and the chickpeas on the hummus before serving, so they stay crispy.
Jam
The ultimate combination in my opinion: pretzel baked goods with jam!
This is a store bought apricot jam, but did you know you can make a really quick homemade jam with chia seeds? It works with a lot of fruits.
Fruit, smoothie bowls and granola
Another essential on a vegan brunch is fresh fruit, some lovely apricots or whatever is in season.
You could also prepare little smoothie bowls with fruit toppings to choose. This is a really easy smoothie bowl made of vegan vanilla yogurt and frozen raspberries, and optional bananas. Crumbled freeze-dried raspberries make a nice topping too.
Homemade buckwheat almond granola works well as a topping too.
You could also present smoothiebowls, vanilla yogurt, almond butter, granola, fruit and pancakes with maple syrup on a big platter so your guests can create their own bowls or just graze.
Pancakes
The classic brunch sweets, right? There are countless vegan pancake recipes online, or you can simply get this mixture from Vantastic Foods* and make the perfect pancake stash in 10 minutes with maple syrup, coconut yoghurt and fresh fruit.
Chocolate Sheet Cake
You can bake the base for these quick and easy sheet cakes the day before and keep them in the fridge in an airtight container. You only need to melt and spread the vegan chocolate, garnish it and cut it into bars before the vegan brunch! Here you’ll find 4 beautiful and delicious sheet cake variations.
Drinks
Many people love a glass of prosecco or juice with their brunch. Luckily many of these products are labeled vegan these days, so we’re good.
The most important thing for me is a delicious coffee, but if you want to offer a coffee alternative as well, have a look at my cozy coffee alternatives for your vegan brunch.
2. Vegan brunch for party animals
Those who partied the night before and show up for Sunday’s vegan brunch at 1.30 p.m. all knackered, need something decent to wake them up!
I have hearty homemade wraps for them filled with either sweet potatoes, lemongrass and smoked tofu or my sweet potato skillet with black beans and minced veggie meat. On top of that is apricot-mustard-sauce or vegan sour cream. And that delicious wrap comes with a Vegan Snickers Protein Shake, that you can top up with a double espresso.
You can make the wraps the day before. I usually produce them in large amounts and freeze them, so I always have some at hand for a quick breakfast or lunch. They just need to be warmed up in a pan and you immediately have a soft warm tortilla to fill with anything.
The sweet potato skillet can also be prepared in advance and spend the night in the fridge in an airtight container. Then you just warm it up and top it with rocket salad.
The sauce only takes 5 minutes, but tastes much better cool from the fridge. The snickers shake is best prepared fresh, but only takes a few minutes.
3. South European inspired vegan brunch
Sometimes a little more sun is an important ingredient as well!
A spectacular pizza-twist-bread with a pretzel crust and pasta salad with juicy tomatoes, spinach, pine nuts and balsamic glaze do the trick for me.
You can put the pizza bread in the fridge overnight after the second rise, then only apply the baking soda and bake it right before the brunch. The pasta salad is ready in 20 minutes anyway.
Amaretto Madeleines go very well with this: They are quick to mix and bake. Just let them cool off a bit and dust them with powdered sugar.
4. English inspired vegan brunch
Baked beans from a can are warm in minutes (check if vegan), and mushrooms can be fried just as quickly. Simply put them in a pan with olive oil at high to moderate heat and fry until brown and crisp. When they’re almost done, add salt and some fresh herbs like oregano. Then fry up some veggie sausages and pour some tea with oat milk 🙂
Another English specialty I really like for my vegan brunch are crumpets. They are little pan breads and quite easy to make. I like this recipe by RecipeTin Eats. You need rings like these to make them. You can make them the day before and just put them in the toaster before serving.
And as for something sweet, how about some earl grey loaf cake with uplifting bergamot essential oil? You can prepare the whole cake quickly the day before and put it back in the fridge fully glazed in the loaf pan and some cover foil. The recipe for the earl grey loaf cake is here.
5. Southeast Asian inspired vegan brunch
Some of my Southeast Asian inspired recipes are great brunch options as well:
Satay skewers with spicy peanut sauce and sesame noodles with smoked tofu, for example! These can be made completely the day before and served cold. Only the red cabbage and parsley should be added right before serving.
You could also make banh mi sandwiches. You just prepare the tofu, sauce and veggies, then everyone assembles their own sandwich: more fun and choice for them, less work for you. If you want to use pink pickled onions, they need to be prepared the day before the vegan brunch. You’ll find the instructions in the recipe.
And for dessert I would suggest some coconut maple bacon muffins. They are not really Southeast Asian inspired- the inspiration came from the vegan donut place round the corner from my house- but I think they fit in well.
You can make the muffins, the frosting and the coconut bacon the day before and keep all three in airtight containers in the fridge. They can be put together in 5 minutes before the vegan brunch.
6. Gluten free options for your vegan brunch
If you also have guests that eat gluten free, this potato omelette with rosemary, spinach, sour cream and pomegranate might make them happy.
You can prepare the vegetables, the “egg” batter and the pomegranate seeds the day before and keep everything in the fridge in airtight containers. Then prepare it in a pan in just a few minutes and assemble before serving.
Or how about a superfood potato salad with apples?
As a gluten free sweet treat, I like to offer my delicious almond butter cups with fleur de sel, they are made in 15 minutes, take another 15 minutes at room temperature to set. You can also serve them frozen, they are edible within minutes.
7. Spring or summer brunch or other special occasions
You can make a cute tiramisu Easter lamb cake for the Easter brunch buffet.
For a birthday brunch I like to put a bottle of homemade vegan baileys on the table:
For a Christmas or winter brunch, how about chai madeleines with white chocolate?
These can also be prepared the day before: bake the madeleines, make the glaze, store them in airtight containers. Just warm the glaze and apply before serving.
FAQ about how to prepare a vegan brunch
What goes on a vegan brunch table?
A great vegan brunch is all about variety: a mix of sweet and savoury that works for everyone, not just vegans. Think freshly baked bread like homemade vegan pretzel corners or spelt bagels with hemp seeds, hearty spreads like creamy sweet potato hummus, something sweet like pancakes or vegan chocolate sheet cake, fresh seasonal fruit and good drinks. A mix of 2 sweet and 3 savoury dishes plus bread and sauce is plenty for 10 people.
Which vegan brunch recipes can be prepared the day before?
This is one of the greatest advantages of a homemade vegan brunch: almost everything can be prepared beautifully the day before. Doughs for pretzel rolls or bagels can rest overnight in the fridge, sweet potato hummus keeps perfectly until the next day, and wrap fillings actually taste even better when they’ve had time to meld. Even the homemade wraps can be pre-baked and frozen. On brunch morning itself, there’s hardly any work left, just arrange and enjoy.
Can a vegan brunch be gluten free?
Yes, absolutely. Many vegan brunch recipes are naturally gluten-free or can easily be adapted. For example, the vegan potato omelette with spinach and pomegranate, the almond butter cups with fleur de sel, or a superfood potato salad with apples, all gluten-free and perfectly brunch-worthy. Mini pretzels for the hummus and wraps are also available gluten-free. If you have guests who eat gluten-free, it’s a good idea to clearly label the relevant dishes so everyone can help themselves without worry.
What can I serve at a vegan brunch without using an oven?
For a vegan brunch without an oven, great options include creamy sweet potato hummus with bakery bread, quick chia jam, smoothie bowls with homemade granola, Banh Mi sandwiches, or a sesame noodle salad with smoked tofu. A no-bake vegan brunch is not only doable, it can be genuinely varied and exciting.
How do I host a vegan brunch when not all my guests are vegan?
The simplest trick: offer familiar dishes in a vegan version. Delicious fresh bread, sweet potato hummus, sesame noodle salad, potato salad with apples, pancakes, cake: these are things that don’t overwhelm anyone and, in my experience, go down very well even with skeptical guests. You don’t need to point out that everything is vegan; just let the food speak for itself.
Your vegan brunch is a buffet? You’ll find more ideas in my blogpost
12 ideas for your perfect vegan party buffet
Would you like a few more tips on how to make food look its best?
You’ll find them in my Foodstyling 101 tutorial
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