Most mornings, breakfast around here offers the kids the usual options…toast, oatmeal and if we have it: cereal. At least once a week though, I like to make a real breakfast. It is a bit more challenging with a large family but I have discovered some recipes and tricks that work really well.

As our family has grown, there are some things that have become more difficult to make. I only have a 5 egg poacher, so if I make eggs Benedict, I use that for some and for the others, I cook an egg inside a red pepper ring (to give the right shape). Eggs Benedict is still a lot of work for this many people, so it doesn’t happen often!I also used to regularly make crepes or waffles, but I have to stand at the counter for many hours to make enough to feed our brood!

Omelettes are hard to make for a large group. Only the small ones seem to cook properly, so it becomes another time consuming one to attempt.

Over the years, I have come up with some easier solutions for yummy breakfasts that feed us all or that can even feed a huge group for brunch. If you are looking for ideas for a large breakfast, you’ve come to the right place!

Family Breakfast Tips:

For cooking bacon – cooking it in the oven on a baking tray is the easiest way to cook a larger amount at one time. There are many ways to do this (crumpling tin foil and laying it on top so that the grease goes into the crinkles in the foil is one) but the one I tend to opt for is to twist it and lay it on a baking tray. I cook it in the oven until it’s as crispy as we like it.

The theory behind the twisting is that it cooks more uniformly. Here is a before and after picture of my twisted bacon!

Hashbrown Casserole – There are many variations and they can be cooked in the crock pot or the oven. This is the recipe that I make most of the time because it is EASY and FAST and only has a handful of ingredients!

Hash Brown Breakfast Nachos – These are so good and can feed a group or in our case, our whole family! You can make it exactly like I do or you can top it with scrambled eggs, diced green onion and crumbled bacon. Either way, it’s pretty incredible!

Scramble – Fry up some hash browns, add some eggs, crumbled cooked bacon, cheese, and a few veggies (onions and peppers work well).

Frittata – I don’t follow a recipe for this one, but this is loosely how I make it:

Saute onions or leeks, red pepper, zucchini or asparagus. Chop up some jarred artichoke hearts. Lay all the veggies in a casserole dish. In a bowl, mix together 10-12 eggs, about 1/2 cup sour cream, some milk, a cup or so of swiss cheese, rosemary, and pepper. Pour over the veggies. Bake at 350° for an hour.

Breakfast Sandwiches – This time, I made these to freeze and have on hand but the trick to making these for a large family lies is two things…cooking the eggs in the oven in a muffin tin and laying out all the English muffins on a cookie tray and broiling them. Layer an English muffin, a cooked egg (seasoned), cooked bacon or cooked sausage patty, a slice of cheese, and another English muffin.

 In order to freeze them, I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and then put them into freezer bags so that they could be taken out one at a time.

All in one – This recipe I found here and tweaked it a bit. Basically, it’s hash browns on the bottom of the muffin tin, then an egg, bacon and cheese. An all in one breakfast and I can fit two muffin trays in my oven at a time, so can make 24 in one go. Visit the original for the complete recipe.

Bird’s Nest with a Bonus – We’ve been making these forever. I can make 16 at a time (two trays of 8 each). First, lay bread out on cookie sheet. Butter the side facing up. Take a round cookie cutter or use a glass and cut out a hole in each piece of bread.

Break an egg into each hole.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 350° depending on how set you like your eggs.

Here’s the fun part…take the cut outs from the bread, drizzle them with honey, sprinkle apple pie spice or cinnamon on top and bake those as well for a little treat!

All in One Breakfast Casserole – This is a great one because it can be made the night ahead. It’s also good because you can follow the recipe exactly or use whatever you happen to have in the fridge! It feeds our whole family and then some.

Another one of my absolute favourite things to make for a crowd is Paula Deen’s French Toast Casserole. I have to warn you though…it is amazing and not for those watching their waistlines! Seriously, delicious! It’s great for a brunch because you can make it the night before and just cook it up beforehand. I use baguette slices instead of french bread because it stretches a bit further that way.

I also will sometimes make up a huge batch of pancakes or buttermilk waffles, tripling the recipe. Then I will freeze them by laying them flat on cookie sheets and once frozen, into freezer bags and back into the freezer. This way, they don’t stick together. Then I warm them in the oven and serve with brunch.

What are your favourite things to serve for a large breakfast?

And for those weekday mornings? Make Ahead Breakfasts are a huge time saver for busy moms!