15 Vegan & Vegetarian Recipe Ideas for Christmas Morning

Check out this round up of vegan & vegetarian recipe ideas for Christmas morning brunch! 

Christmas is coming up next week! The holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year. I love getting festive and decking out my home with Christmas decor, watching holiday movies, nabbing thoughtful gifts for the people I love, doing Christmasy activities like going to light shows, and of course, whipping up & eating lots of seasonal goodies.

Christmas morning is always a special time. This year now that I have a little one who knows a little bit more of what’s going on – as in, she’s been saying, “Ho Ho Ho!” nonstop and has things that she likes that I think she’ll enjoy opening under the tree, versus last year when she was a cranky little newborn who had no idea what was happening – we’re doing two Christmas mornings of sorts.

On Christmas Eve morning, we’re doing a holiday celebration with just my husband, baby and me. We plan to open gifts and have brunch just our little family. And then by Christmas morning, we’ll have road tripped it down to Jersey to spend the holiday with my family. We’ll open gifts all together and have another holiday brunch.

I got to thinking about what I want to make for my Christmas brunches, and decided to create this post to share some holiday brunch inspiration with you!

15 Recipe Ideas for Christmas Morning

1. Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana French Toast {vegan}

French toast screams decadent brunch to me, and what better day to go big than Christmas morning?

To make this French toast sans eggs, we layer sourdough bread slices with banana slices and peanut butter, dip the sandwiches in a chickpea flour + almond milk + vanilla extract mixture, and cook until lightly browned on each side. Then, we melt together some dark chocolate chips, maple syrup and cinnamon to drizzle on top of our stuffed French toast. Get the full recipe here.

2. Healthy Apple Almond Crumble {vegan & gluten free}

This crowd-pleasing crumble uses some healthy baking swaps, including focusing on fruit and cinnamon to naturally sweeten baked goods up, using oats instead of white flour, and using maple syrup instead of refined sugar. Get the apple crumble recipe here.

3. Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes {dairy free & gluten free}

I’m all for adding in some protein to brunch, and these pancakes do so discreetly by throwing vanilla protein powder into the batter. You can tailor these pancakes to your tastes: Leave out the blueberries and add in chocolate chips (which I often do, especially in the cooler weather months when berries aren’t in season), or add an apple compote on top instead of using syrup. I’m not kidding when I say I’ve easily made this recipe 100x! Get the oatmeal pancake recipe here.

4. Apple Pie Granola {vegan + gf}

One fun brunch idea is to create a yogurt parfait bar, where you put out containers of yogurt, different fruits, nuts and seeds, and granola. This apple granola pie granola recipe features oats, hemp hearts, fresh apple, pecans, and dried cherries, and is perfect to make ahead of Christmas.

5. Veggie + Crispy Tofu Old Bay Stir Fry {vegan + gf} 

This simple yet flavorful dish provides a nice dose of veggies, healthy fat and protein. It pairs perfectly with wheat toast, English muffins or biscuits. I actually made this stir fry for Christmas morning last year, and I prepped it the day before and brought it with me to my parents’ house.

Get the veggie tofu stir fry recipe here.

6.  Peanut Butter & Jelly Oatmeal Crumble Bars {dairy free + gf}

PB & J lovers, this one’s for you! These crumble bars are something sweet while still being wholesome. Get the recipe for these PB & J oat bars here.

7. Peppermint Matcha Hot Chocolate {vegan + gf}

Warm up Christmas morning with an energizing cup of hot cocoa! I make this matcha recipe all the time and love how it’s a combo of tea + hot cocoa rolled into one. Plus I’m obsessed with all things peppermint! Get the easy recipe for peppermint matcha hot chocolate here.

8. Banana Foster Waffles {vegan}

I used to love when my grandma made banana foster with ice cream for dessert when I was growing up. It’s what led me to create this [virgin] banana foster waffle recipe, which features an indulgent topping made with banana slices, maple syrup, chopped pecans, cinnamon, brown sugar and butter.

9. Pumpkin Banana Bread {vegan}

This crowd-pleasing vegan pumpkin bread is moist & delicious. It can be made ahead of time, so you could bake it the day before and enjoy it on Christmas morning. Get the recipe for my best ever vegan pumpkin bread.

10. Baked Apples with an Oat Streusel & Maple Butter Sauce {vegan + gf}

Featuring a maple almond butter sauce, these baked apples are fun and they seem kind of fancy, but they’re also healthy & require 15 minutes of hands-on time. Get the full recipe here.

11.  Broccoli Red Pepper Quiche

This recipe is reaching way back in the archives, but I love whipping up a quiche with local, organic eggs and cheeses. It’s always such a crowd pleaser that disappears quickly! I like the combo of broccoli + red pepper, but there are endless veggie options to choose from. Other veggies I use include spinach, green bell pepper, asparagus or zucchini. Get my quiche recipe here.

12. 5-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies {vegan + gf}

Cookies for breakfast? Don’t mind if we do! With 6 grams of protein + 4 grams of fiber in a serving, these chocolate chip almond butter cookies are healthy enough for brunch and bursting with sweet + salty flavor. Get my recipe for these almond butter cookies at Shape.

13. Clementine & Carrot Morning Juice {vegan}

Want to start Christmas morning off nice & healthy before a big holiday dinner? Try making this clementine & carrot concoction – which I refer to as morning sunshine juice because of its bright, beautiful color & the nutritional punch that it packs in one little glass. In fact, this juice contains 350 mg of Vitamin A (which is over 3x the recommended daily amount!) and 159 mg of Vitamin C (about 100 mg is recommended daily). Get my carrot morning juice recipe here.

14. Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Almond Butter Stuffed Dates {vegan + gf}

These 6-ingredient stuffed dates are so cute and tasty – the perfect little something with a cup of tea or coffee if you want to make something light to munch of while enjoying Christmas morning family time. Get the recipe here.

15. Healthy Cinnamon Oat Bread {vegan}

If you’re obsessed with all things cinnamon, you’ll dig this cinnamon oat bread recipe. Think cinnamon roll with a healthy twist!

Tell me.. Are you doing brunch with loved ones over Christmas? Have any favorite recipe ideas for Christmas morning?