Quick Answer: Breakfast everyone picks at during presents: something warm (mini pancakes, cinnamon rolls, bacon), red and green fruit, something creamy, and toppings. Prep on Christmas Eve; build it in 20 minutes.
The four parts
Warm
Pancakes, rolls, baconMade on Christmas Eve, reheated in the morning.
Fresh
Red and green fruitStrawberries, raspberries, pomegranate, kiwi, green grapes, clementines.
Creamy
Yogurt, whipped cream, cheesePlus a mild cheese or sliced ham for the savory crowd.
Toppings
Syrup, jam, chocolate, sprinklesThe part the kids care about most.
You cook the night before, so the cook gets to sit down too.
What goes on a Christmas morning board
- Warm: mini pancakes or waffles, cinnamon rolls, mini croissants or muffins, bacon, breakfast sausages. Cookie-cutter star or tree pancakes are an easy Christmas touch.
- Red fruit: strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate seeds, red grapes, cherries.
- Green fruit: kiwi slices, green grapes, green apple slices (toss in lemon juice so they don't brown).
- Easy to peel: clementines. They look festive and keep kids busy.
- Creamy: vanilla or Greek yogurt, whipped cream, cream cheese, or mascarpone mixed with a little honey.
- Savory: sliced ham, a mild cheddar or Gouda, a wedge of brie, or hard-boiled eggs.
- Toppings: warm maple syrup, strawberry jam, a chocolate-hazelnut spread, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, red and green sprinkles, granola, powdered sugar for dusting.
Make it look like Christmas by grouping the fruit by color, red on one side and green on the other, with white (yogurt, whipped cream, powdered sugar) in between. Tuck in a few rosemary sprigs. For a shaped board, follow the layout in our Christmas tree board or wreath board.
How much to make
This is breakfast, not an appetizer, so plan for people to eat a full meal from it. Per guest: about 3 mini pancakes or 2 mini waffles, 1 cinnamon roll or 2 mini pastries, 3 slices of bacon or 2 sausage links, about 1 cup of fruit and 1 oz of cheese or ham. Kids under 10 usually eat about half.
| Item | 4 guests | 6 guests | 8 guests | 12 guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini pancakes (or mini waffles) | 12 (8) | 18 (12) | 24 (16) | 36 (24) |
| Cinnamon rolls (or mini pastries) | 4 (8) | 6 (12) | 8 (16) | 12 (24) |
| Bacon slices (or sausage links) | 12 (8) | 18 (12) | 24 (16) | 36 (24) |
| Fruit, mixed | 4 cups | 6 cups | 8 cups | 12 cups |
| Cheese or sliced ham | 4 oz | 6 oz | 8 oz | 12 oz |
| Yogurt or whipped cream | 1 cup | 1½ cups | 2 cups | 3 cups |
| Maple syrup | ½ cup | ¾ cup | 1 cup | 1½ cups |
A 12-oz package of bacon usually has 12 to 16 slices, and a can of refrigerated cinnamon rolls holds 5 to 8, so check the count before you buy. Hosting more than 12? Make two boards, one at each end of the room.
Christmas Eve: the make-ahead list
- Pancakes or waffles. Make them, cool them on a rack, and refrigerate them in a zip bag with parchment between layers. Or buy frozen minis, which reheat well.
- Bacon. Cook it until just short of crisp, drain it, and refrigerate it once it's cool. Getting it into the fridge within 2 hours is what matters.
- Cinnamon rolls. Bake them tonight and reheat in the morning, or assemble them tonight and bake them fresh while you open the first presents.
- Fruit. Wash and dry the berries and grapes, peel and slice the kiwi, seed the pomegranate. Store them in separate containers lined with paper towels. Leave strawberries whole until morning.
- Toppings. Spoon the jam, chocolate spread, chocolate chips and sprinkles into small bowls, cover them and leave them on the counter. Jam and spreads go in the fridge.
- Cheese and ham. Slice the cheese, fold the ham, and store them covered in the fridge.
- The board and bowls. Set them out on the counter so the morning starts with no hunting.
For the general rules on prepping a board ahead, see making a charcuterie board the night before.
Christmas morning: 20 minutes
- Turn the oven to 350°F as soon as you're up.
- Reheat the warm food. Spread pancakes, waffles and bacon on sheet pans and heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, until hot all the way through. Leftovers and cooked-ahead food should reach 165°F.
- Build the cold side while it heats. Bowls first, then the cheese and ham, then fruit in color groups. Slice the strawberries now.
- Add the warm food last, straight from the oven, and warm the maple syrup for 30 seconds in the microwave.
- Dust with powdered sugar and add the rosemary sprigs.
Keeping the warm food warm
- Put out half, keep half in the oven. Hold the rest in a 200°F oven on a sheet pan and refill the board as it empties. Hot food should stay at 140°F or warmer (USDA).
- Use a warming tray if you have one, with the pancakes and bacon on a platter on top and the cold food on the board beside it.
- Watch the clock on the cold side. Yogurt, whipped cream, cheese and cut fruit shouldn't sit out more than 2 hours. Present opening can easily run longer than that, so put the leftovers back in the fridge.
For the kids
- Let them build their own. A short stack of mini pancakes with a spoon of whipped cream and sprinkles on top is the whole appeal.
- Hide a Santa touch. Mini marshmallows as "snow", a few chocolate coins, or pancakes cut with a gingerbread-man cutter.
- For children under 5, quarter the grapes and leave out whole nuts.
Variations
| Version | Swap in |
|---|---|
| Savory or grown-up | Bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon (see our bagel board), plus a sharper cheese and prosciutto |
| Budget | Frozen mini waffles, a can of cinnamon rolls, bananas and clementines instead of berries |
| Sweet only | Add the leftover cookies: our Christmas cookie board sits nicely next to it |
| Gluten-free | Gluten-free waffles or pancake mix, and check the labels on the sausages and bacon |
| Pregnant guests | Skip the smoked salmon and cook everything until steaming hot |
What to drink
- Hot cocoa, with a topping bar of its own: see our hot cocoa board.
- Coffee and a jug of orange juice.
- Mimosas for the adults: sparkling wine and orange juice. Sparkling cider works for everyone else.
Common mistakes
- Cooking everything on the morning. You'll miss the presents. Cook on Christmas Eve and reheat.
- Putting the warm food out first. It goes cold while you build. The warm food goes on last.
- Slicing the strawberries the night before. They go soft and wet. Slice them in the morning.
- Making too much. There's a big dinner later. The amounts above are a full breakfast, not a feast.
Sources
FAQ
What goes on a Christmas morning charcuterie board?
Something warm (mini pancakes or waffles, cinnamon rolls, bacon or sausage), fresh fruit in red and green, something creamy like yogurt, whipped cream or cream cheese, a mild cheese or ham, and toppings such as maple syrup, jam, chocolate chips and sprinkles.
Can you make a breakfast board the night before?
Most of it. On Christmas Eve, make or buy the pancakes and pastries, cook the bacon, wash the fruit and fill the topping bowls, then refrigerate. On Christmas morning, reheat the warm food and build the board in about 20 minutes.
How much food do I need for a breakfast board?
Per guest, plan about:
- 3 mini pancakes or 2 mini waffles
- 1 cinnamon roll or 2 mini pastries
- 3 slices of bacon or 2 sausage links
- 1 cup of fruit
- 1 oz of cheese or ham
How do you keep a breakfast board warm?
Keep the warm food in a 200°F oven and put out a little at a time, or set it on a warming tray. Hot food should stay at 140°F or warmer. Leave the cold items on the board for no more than 2 hours.
How do you make a breakfast board look Christmassy?
Group the fruit by color: strawberries, raspberries and pomegranate for red, kiwi and green grapes for green, and yogurt, whipped cream and powdered sugar for white. Add rosemary sprigs and a few cookie-cutter star pancakes, or lay everything out in a tree or wreath shape.
