Vegetarian brunch ideas needed
October 11, 2018 11:39 AM   Subscribe

Help me plan a brunch for four people. One's a vegetarian and eating keto-ish, and the rest of us are flexitarians. Bonus points for things that can be prepped ahead.

My typical plan for having a small group over for brunch is something like bagels, cream cheese, and lox, or I just buy a bunch of pastries from the really excellent bakery near me and serve those with fruit salad. But that won't work for this group.

I'm looking for something that can be mostly prepped ahead, and has a main dish that is keto-friendly but vegetarian (I did not know vegetarian keto is a thing but it is!). The whole meal doesn't need to be keto-friendly, but I'd like the person on keto to feel like they can get a good meal from what I serve.

I was thinking about something like a frittata with fruit salad and toast, but that all seems quite healthy, and I do feel like brunch should have some indulgence to it (also, my frittatas always seem to come out pretty dry). I've looked at a bunch of recipes for egg casseroles, but the ones I've seen that look suitably rich all seem to have bacon and/or hash browns.

Thinking about shakshuka too - never actually made it, though, so please share if you have any recipes/tips for that!

Would love any suggestions for delicious, vegetarian, not-too-carby brunch menu items that can be prepped ahead!
posted by lunasol to Food & Drink (17 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
How about eggs Florentine and hold the English muffin for the keto-eater.
posted by Stewriffic at 11:45 AM on October 11, 2018


I was going to suggest Shakshuka! I use the recipe from The NY Times online. It’s easy and you can definitely prepare the sauce part ahead (I’ve done it). Then when you are ready to eat reheat the sauce and add/cook your eggs. I’d do that with fruit salad, muffins & toast.
posted by newsomz at 11:49 AM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


my veg keto brunch mainstay is a crustless quiche more or less as follows:

a dozen eggs, some cream (sour cream is great), a lot of feta, two packages of thawed, drained frozen spinach, nutmeg, thyme and garlic. A few tbsp of dijon mustard can only help. Basil is nice. A jar of drained sun-dried tomatoes is very tasty but ups the carb count a bit. Green onions are a fine idea. You want to throw some grated, squeezed zucchini in there too, or roasted red peppers? If you want, but it's not necessary. Mix everything well, put it in greased glass 9x13 pan the day before. This waits patiently in the fridge until it's put in oven an hour before guests arrive. Spends c 40 minutes in there, depending on how cold it was when you put it in, etc. (You'll see when it's done bc you'll see the golden browning happening on the bottom through the glass pan, and the surface will be firm.)
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:51 AM on October 11, 2018 [5 favorites]


Cheese is cool with keto, right? I think that anything you make that’s sufficiently cheesy will read as indulgent like you want. I’d just do a big batch of cheesy scrambled eggs with whatever veggies you feel like throwing in. (Sautée veggies, add eggs when veggies are mostly cooked, add handfuls of cheese near the end.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:03 PM on October 11, 2018


My go-to for brunch is always a crustless quiche. Any quiche recipe can be made crustless; just make sure you grease the pan well. I serve it with a fruit salad with sauce. The sauce is made of one container vanilla yogurt (fat free, full fat, whatever), 1 T honey, 1.5 t lime zest.
posted by DrGail at 12:08 PM on October 11, 2018


My go-to for a group meal like this is frittata with spinach, mushrooms, eggs, cheese, and a touch of cream. I pre-sautee the veggies to get them to dry up and then I add them to the rest of the ingredients, season with S&P and herbs, and put it in a well-buttered pyrex and into the oven. The general formula is: for every six eggs, use 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 cup cheese, and 1 cup cooked veggies. It can be scaled up or down with no issue and if you want to get fancier, you can pre-roast veggies and add those.
posted by quince at 12:10 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]


Cauliflower is basically the keto potato. You'll want to squeeze it dry with paper towel if it's subbing for hashbrowns, but as long as it's nice and fresh, the non-keto folks might not even notice. Or you could do just like a quarter of the casserole with the cauliflower if you're not convinced. Or if you want to do roasted potatoes, substitute radishes for the keto person's share and treat them exactly the same; they'll come out buttery and smooth through some magic I don't understand.

For a toast replacement, Trader Joe's gluten free Norwegian crispbread is only 3g net carbs per piece, which is incredibly reasonable for a bread-thing and definitely indulgent if your friend doesn't already know about them. They're great with all the usual toast toppings.

Blackberries with cream come to mind as a keto-compatible fruit dish, if the serving size isn't huge. While you're at Trader Joe's, they've got crème fraîche with a very low carb count.

Cheese is indeed very keto-friendly. I'd personally call it a staple. Just watch for randomly high (greater than 1g/serving) carbs on any pre-shredded cheeses, because they're not adding anything to the eating experience and thus just obnoxious.
posted by teremala at 12:18 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


You may have noticed everybody's recipes have cream or sour cream in them - that is important to help with the "dry" fritatta texture and make it seem more indulgent, adds the sense of richness without the meat.
posted by aimedwander at 12:19 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]


I do eggy pie (eggs + heavy whipping cream) with an enormous quantity of butter-roasted sliced mushrooms, a bag of spinach (sauteed with loooots of garlic), and crumbled goat cheese (feta will work too but it's not as silky and zingy). Do not skimp on the salt, it wants a lot of salt. If you happen to be somewhere you have access to summer-grade tomatoes still, lay slices gently across the top before it goes in the oven and they will crinkle prettily and taste nice.

Serve with avocado (toast-eaters can apply to bread) and a salad with a mustardy vinaigrette. If you want to be fancy, make frico (do not worry about shaping them - I make quarter-sheet size ones and break into pieces to keep in a bag in the fridge, they look so interesting anyway it doesn't need extra fanciness) to serve as a crunchy element.

Fathead dough bagels are not bagels but they are good. I also make fathead flatbreads to use in lieu of tortilla/naan/cracker/chip scooping food.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:23 PM on October 11, 2018


Another idea - zucchini or summer squash fritters, in lieu of hash browns, though actually they're thinner, more like a savory pancake. Recipes (1,2) can do any type of squash, may include cheese (I recommend zucchini and goat cheese!), and can easily sub almond meal for the small amount of wheat flour used as binder. Can serve as thin pancakes, as thicker "hash brown" patties, or cook in a waffle iron.
posted by aimedwander at 12:24 PM on October 11, 2018


Make this frittata recipe. I know it has bacon in it, but you can completely omit (or substitute other interesting ingredient like maybe mushrooms or bell peppers) - what really takes it to the next level is the ooey-gooeyness of the gruyere, the combo of corn and jalepeno and the final broiling to give you a nice browned cheesy topping.
posted by peacheater at 12:50 PM on October 11, 2018


My mom's made a chorizo breakfast casserole like this with Soyrizo before and it was fantastic:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chorizo-egg-casserole/
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:16 PM on October 11, 2018


I don't have a specific recipe but I can tell you soyrizo is my usual secret weapon when I need to make vegan food taste great even to meat-eaters, and soyrizo+eggs+cheese is even better.
posted by waffleriot at 1:49 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]


Another vote for shakshuka or eggs in purgatory or menemen (a Turkish version of eggs scrambled with peppers, onion, and optional cheese or meat). I don't bother with a recipe when I make it but this one looks similar to what I do, although I use Aleppo pepper or the Turkish equivalent instead of paprika/pimenton. Çılbır is another wonderful Turkish egg dish: poached eggs in thick garlicky yogurt with Aleppo pepper-infused melted butter. Some people add dill to the yogurt as well.

All of these go nicely with bread/toast for soaking up the yolk, but are still perfectly good with a green salad or by themselves.
posted by karayel at 3:35 PM on October 11, 2018


Just a quick comment that not all vegetarians like mushrooms (because they taste like meat, IMO). I don't like them but that's what people and restaurants often serve when they hear "vegetarian." You might check with your vegetarian to make sure fungus is fun for them!

That SAID, this lentil pate is the best, and it's full of cremini mushrooms (somehow, I don't taste them in this). It's elegant, it's rich and a bit decadent (but still healthy!), and it's devoured every time I make it for a group. https://www.marthastewart.com/316635/lentil-pate You can make it all ahead (a bit time-consuming; hazelnuts and green lentils essential), serve with crackers or whatever.

The frittatas I make have a. potato, onion, and artichoke hearts, b. leek and fresh spinach, c. roasted vegetables (Ina Garten's is good).
posted by mmw at 5:54 PM on October 11, 2018


Deviled eggs. Also good as egg salad stuffed in endive.

Huevos rancheros.

Beans on toast can be made fancy-like and the keto friend could be given a bowl, skip the toast and still have a good meal.
posted by 10ch at 6:37 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


Baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms, swoon!
posted by Empidonax at 8:04 PM on October 11, 2018


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