How To Build A Breakfast Board

Whether you're hosting a brunch, serving breakfast in bed, or want a fun twist on your morning meal, a DIY breakfast board of your favorite breakfast foods makes it easy. Once you share this creative breakfast, brunch, or brinner with your family, it will be a new tradition you all love.

What To Put On A Breakfast Board

Hearty Eggs

Eggs are a breakfast staple and a must-have on any breakfast grazing board. You typically want to avoid messy eggs that require a fork, like scrambled eggs. 

*Note: Baked eggs are my exception because they bake in their own ramekins. It adds to the visual appeal and makes them easy to serve, even though you'll need to provide a fork.

• Baked Eggs - Set whites with creamy yolk in the center, baked in a ramekin. Cute or decorative ramekins are a plus.
• Baked Scotch Eggs - Scotch eggs have double the protein with a hard-boiled egg center coated in Panko breadcrumbs and wrapped in sausage.
• Air Fryer Hard-Boiled Eggs -  You can make easy-to-peel Instant Pot hard-boiled eggs, too.
• Ham Egg Cups - Thinly sliced deli ham makes an excellent boat for a baked egg and crisps up in the oven.
• Hash Brown Egg Cups - Similar to ham egg cups but with a crispy hash brown potato base.
• Deviled Eggs - Last night's leftover deviled eggs are the perfect addition to this morning's breakfast board. 

Meaty Protein

Add some bacon or breakfast sausage to give your breakfast platter a savory element. Candied bacon is sweet and savory, but so delicious and always a favorite part of my breakfast boards.

• Air Fryer Bacon - The air fryer is great for bacon because there's little cleanup and it's ready in a flash.
• Candied Bacon - Thick-cut bacon coated in sweet and sticky caramelized brown sugar.
• Breakfast Sausage - Ground pork, bacon, a blend of herbs and spices, and maple syrup make the best homemade breakfast sausage.
• Air Fryer Frozen Sausage Links - Frozen sausage links cooked in the air fryer taste like they were made from scratch.
• Lil Smokies Pigs in a Blanket - Wrap little smokies sausages in crescent roll dough and bake for the easiest pigs in a blanket.
• Smoked Salmon - A favorite for bagels with cream cheese. I also use it on breakfast sandwiches like my lobster breakfast sandwich.
• Prosciutto - This thinly sliced ham is savory and salty, plus you don't have to cook it.
• Salami - Another great flavor to incorporate into a breakfast sandwich, make egg cups with, or chop and use in a quiche or frittata.

Pancakes, Crepes, Waffles, & French Toast

Miniature versions of your favorite pancakes, waffles, or French toast make an excellent addition to breakfast boards. Instead of pouring the syrup over the top, put it in a small bowl to the side for dipping.

• Mini Silver Dollar Pancakes - These fluffy two-bite silver dollar pancakes are easy to eat and dip in syrup.
• Sheet Pan Pancakes - Make pancakes twice as fast with half the effort, then slice or cut the pancake sheet into smaller pieces.
• Chocolate Pancakes - Make a few mini chocolate pancakes for the chocolate lovers in your life.
• Puffed Dutch Pancakes - These powdered sugar-dusted puffed pancakes are delicious with jam.
• Homemade Waffles - Bonus points if you have a mini waffle maker for mini waffles, but large waffles are still pretty easy to hold and eat. Or, you can cut them into strips, squares, or wedges.
• Bisquick Waffles - A quick and easy way to make fluffy waffles using Bisquick baking mix.
• Homemade French Toast Sticks - All the flavors of French toast in easy-to-hold strips that you can freeze for later.
• Baked French Toast Muffins - Like French toast but in fluffy muffin form, and the syrup is baked right in.
• Dutch Baby Pancakes - Big, fluffy, eggy pancakes cooked to puffy heights in a cast iron skillet. Slice and serve wedges on your breakfast board.
• Strawberry Buttermilk Crepes - A classic breakfast treat that is easy to fold and stack or roll up for serving. Serve with strawberries on the side.

Pastries & Baked Goods

Everything is better with bread! You can keep it simple with buttered toast or biscuits, opt for something sweet like muffins or pastries, or something savory like bacon turnovers or jalapeno scones.

• Blueberry Muffin Bread - A combination of blueberry muffins and homemade bread that tastes amazing with a little butter.
• Cinnamon Apple Bread - Cinnamon apple bread is a fall favorite with a warm spiced flavor.
• Lemon Strawberry Bread - Sweet strawberries and bright citrus flavor, perfect for summertime.
• 2 Ingredient Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers - It doesn't get easier than these 2-ingredient apple turnovers made with canned or homemade apple pie filling. 
• Muffin Recipes - You can't go wrong with any muffin recipe in any flavor. See my full muffin recipe collection here.
• Cheese and Bacon Turnovers - Savory bacon and cheddar cheese baked in tender puff pastry.
• Sausage Cream Cheese Biscuit Bites - A savory 4-ingredient snack with sausage, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese rolled up in a fluffy biscuit.
• Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls - Like the biscuit bites, but with crescent rolls, both are delicious.
• Jalapeno Cheddar Scones - Tender, airy scones in a tangy jalapeno flavor that's as rich and delicious as any sweet scone.
• Bagels - Purchase a bag of your favorite bagels or try your hand at making your own.

 Satisfying Fruit

Think sliced strawberries, bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, kiwis, blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries. Candied fruit can be a fun addition if you want your board to have a little extra pizazz.

• Candied Orange Slices - Excellent in the morning with tea or for snacking.
• Candied Lemon Slices - Sweet and tangy candied lemons add a delightful pop of citrus flavor.
• Tanghulu - The sweet candy shell on these strawberries gives them the best crunch.
• Roasted Berries - These sweet and syrupy berries are great for biscuits, pancakes, waffles, and so much more.

Condiments

Once you've chosen the main foods for your board, you can add a few slices of cheese or nuts and your condiments. Pick sauces and spreads that complement the other flavors on your board.

• Blueberry Syrup - My homemade blueberry syrup can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries.
• Strawberry Coulis - This sweet strawberry sauce is perfect for dipping French toast sticks.
• Maple Syrup - I always opt for pure maple syrup. It's worth the price tag because it tastes so much better than imitation maple syrup. Check that the label says 'maple' and 'pure' or 'Grade A'.
• Honey - You can add it to your tea or drizzle it over your croissants.
• Butter - Let the butter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving so it's easy to spread.
• Jelly or Jam - Your favorite fruit jelly or jam for biscuits, pancakes, toast, or croissants. My stewed rhubarb is also amazing.
• Cream Cheese - Spread cream cheese on mini bagels and top with anything from fruit to smoked salmon or prosciutto.
• Goat cheese - Goat cheese is soft and easy to spread, plus it comes in tons of tasty flavor combinations from sweet to savory. 
• Peanut butter (or nut butter, or Nutella, or my pepita pumpkin seed butter) - Grab individual servings at the store or place in a small dish for your board.

Equipment Needed To Make A Breakfast Board

• The 'board'. The most essential part of a breakfast board is the board itself. It doesn't have to be wooden. It can be a classic charcuterie board-style wooden board, a clean cutting board, a serving platter, or a circular serving tray (these are often metal) as long as there's plenty of room for all your breakfast goodies.
• Ramekins or small bowls. You make an excellent charcuterie board without any ramekins, but they help with the presentation and keep berries from rolling all over the place. Small ramekins are also ideal for jams, jellies, and any other condiments.
• Spreaders or butter knives. Short spreader knives are ideal because they can rest in a ramekin, whereas butter knives are long and will fall out. However, they do work fine if you don't have small spreaders.

🔪 How To Make An Easy Breakfast Board

Step 1: Prepare cold foods. Slice fruit and cheeses and pour sauces into ramekins. Cold foods can wait in the fridge while you prepare the warm foods, but have them ready to go.

Step 2: Prepare hot foods. Bake your pastries, cook your eggs, and fry your bacon. Reheat anything you made in advance. Utilize different kitchen tools like your air fryer or pressure cooker so that everything is ready and warm at once. 

Step 3: Assemble. Grab your serving board or platter and add any bowls of sauce or condiments. Place your eggs, protein, baked goods, and fruit around the condiments (keep like items together in clusters). Make sure your board looks good and full. 

Step 4: Perfect presentation and serve. Fill in any gaps with a handful of berries or nuts, add any necessary spoons or spreaders for condiments, and find a good spot to serve your breakfast board. Sprigs of fresh herbs make a beautiful garnish.

💭 Tips For Making The Best Breakfast Boards

• Balance sweet and savory. A great grazing board has a mix of flavors like crispy bacon with fresh berries, or cheese with jam, so there’s something for everyone.
• Use bite-sized. mess-free foods. Mini pancakes, mini cinnamon rolls, petite scones, sliced fruit, chunks of avocado, mini chocolate chips, and hard-boiled eggs make serving easy and mess-free.
• Spreads and toppings. Provide butter, jams, honey, and syrups to let guests customize their bites. 
• Arrange with color and height. Layer food, group similar items, and use bowls for dips to make the board visually appealing and easy to navigate. This is where your creativity comes in; make sure it looks good to you.
• Don't forget the drinks. A cold glass of orange juice or a hot cup of tea or coffee on the side is the perfect finishing touch.

Ready to build your breakfast board? Let me know in the comments what must-have foods you’d add, or snap a photo and tag me (I’d love to see your creations!).

📖 Recipe Card