13 breakfast recipes to start your week off right

© Graphic: Karl Gustafson
Almond pancakes on tie-dye background

You don’t have to wait until a special occasion to create the breakfast or brunch of your dreams—you don’t even have to wait until the weekend if you don’t want to. At The Takeout, we’ve always put breakfast on a pedestal: it’s somehow the only meal of the day where gooey melted chocolate and powdered sugar adorn the entree just as often as cheese and chive do. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate that kind of versatility? Here are 13 breakfast recipes to turn to when you want to make your morning meal the main event.

© Illustration: Emma Mckhann
Illustration of casserole

First you make caramel-like sauce, layer some French bread slices on top, then pour a cinnamon- and vanilla-laced custard over it. The magic happens when you let this French Toast Casserole soak overnight, and then you just bake it in the morning. The 10 minutes or so of night-before prep is nothing compared to the wow factor of eating this casserole the next day. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Danny Palumbo
Photo of breakfast salad topped with egg

Salad for breakfast seems like a paradoxical concept whose design exists solely to annoy you. Salad is, after all, decidedly not a breakfast item. None of us have fond memories of finishing our morning salad in a hurry, then running out the front door to catch the school bus. Still, this Breakfast Salad recipe has been perfected to the point of genius. It combines bacon fat and vinegar to create a quick dressing of sorts. Arugula is the leaf of choice, a bitter green that contrasts the fatty bacon and rich egg yolk. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Alfonse Pagano (Getty Images)
Corn pancakes on griddle

Corn Pancakes work perfectly as a bottom layer for shredded meats, like pork or chicken or even brisket. You can add barbecue sauce or try something like a Thai peanut sauce; alternatively, use them as a substitute for blini and put smoked salmon and sour cream or creme fraiche on top. For veggie lovers, a stir fry can be piled atop these versatile pancakes, too—but at breakfast time, they’re also great with just a little powdered sugar and maple syrup, with berries on the side. Get the recipe here.

© Graphic: Karl Gustafson
Stack of pancakes on plate

These ludicrously decadent Cherry Cheesecake Pancakes should probably be enjoyed as a dessert—but in our chosen reality, they are a healthy part of a balanced breakfast. And if you’re not into cherries, this can be made with just about any fruit you desire. Just remember that fruit is the magic ingredient that somehow transforms these pancakes into breakfast food, so it’s important not to omit it. Get the recipe here.

© Graphic: Karl Gustafson
Fried plantains on plate

These Air Fryer Plantains are a very nice weekday breakfast: a play on rellenitos de plátano (stuffed plantain balls) filled with cream cheese and encrusted with sweet, cinnamon-y cornflake crumbs. Traditionally, rellenitos de plátano are fried, but this recipe is designed for the air fryer, making them an easier way to start your day. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Allison Robicelli
Hand reaching toward cinnamon roll

Do not be dissuaded from trying this recipe for Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls because of the effort involved. Even if they don’t come out right on your first try, failed cinnamon rolls are better than store-bought cinnamon rolls. You’re either going to get big buttery buns with brown-striped spirals, or a sticky, partially raw pan of dough with streaks of cinnamon goo. The worst case scenario here still sounds awesome. Get the recipe here.

© Graphic: Karl Gustafson
Almond pancakes on tie-dye background

These Flaky Almond Pancakes are a hybrid of Moroccan msemen and almond croissants. Unlike croissants, which are fussy to make, msemen are rather easy to prepare, and extremely fun. Keep the extras in a gallon-sized ziptop bag in the freezer; you can quickly zap pancakes in the microwave whenever you need a tasty snack. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Stacey Ballis
Scones covered in gravy on plate

Butter scones require the light touch of a great biscuit maker, but these Bloody Mary Scones use heavy cream as the fat, making them super-fast to pull together. They bake in less than 15 minutes, and they can be sweet or savory, lending themselves to strong flavors like cheese, nuts or onion, or lighter ones like lemon or herbs. Get the recipe here.

© Illustration: Allison Corr
Muffin covered in stout beer

Brewers dreamed up the idea of breakfast stouts so they could combine a stout’s inherent chocolate-roastiness with subtle additions of coffee and maple syrup. Enter these Breakfast Stout Muffins, which evoke the combination of cocoa, coffee, and quiet sweetness that make breakfast stouts sing. This version gets it all right: not too sweet, not too bitter, and with a level of decadence that’s true to the “breakfast stout” name, but doesn’t taste like a morning cupcake. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Stacey Ballis
Pancakes on plate

Onion has natural sweetness, so it’s not out of bounds in a breakfast pastry, and the salty-savory back-note provides some nice counter to a sweet pancake. The sour cream acts as the acid to activate the leavening, as buttermilk does, so you get a nice fluffy cake. And with syrup and butter on top, French Onion Dip Pancakes create the same delicious effect as dunking your breakfast sausage in syrup. Plus, it’s an excuse to make extra dip. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Stacey Ballis
Eggs Benedict grilled cheese on plate

Behold the mashup breakfast of your dreams: Eggs Benedict with Grilled Cheese and Tomato Hollandaise. You start with a traditional grilled cheese sandwich, using extra-thin white or wheat bread so that the ratio of carb to protein to fat stays in perfect balance. Use the cheese of your choice, from sharp cheddar to basic American, nutty swiss, or creamy brie—you do you in the grilled cheese game. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Stacey Ballis
Scrapple on plate with runny egg

A classic scrapple, credited to the Pennsylvania Dutch, is made with off-cuts, trimmings, and offal of a pig. This Breakfast Meat Scrapple is really more like all of your favorite morning side dishes in one: Cooked crumbled breakfast sausage, crunchy bacon, cubed ham, and sliced Canadian bacon are all mixed with grits, chilled and sliced, and fried to a crackly crisp. It’s ideal as a brunch item, since you make it ahead and then just fry it up last minute. Get the recipe here.

© Photo: Stacey Ballis

By placing pre-cooked burgers and classic burger toppings between two layers of cheese grits, you get the best of all worlds: the Cheeseburger Grits Casserole. It is your starch and meat all in one, so you can serve it alongside a bowl of scrambled eggs, or if you are super fancy, you can make a batch of fried eggs to place on top. Get the recipe here.