egg-free brunch ideas

[Splendid Spatula]

I'm coming up blank - well, not entirely, but I'd love some new inspiration beyond bagels - for egg-free, protein-based dishes for brunch. Anyone have any good ideas?

[JoyM]

I'm allergic to eggs so my breakfast options are limited. The chef at the cafeteria where I work makes this potato creation for me that is great -- he takes home fries and sautes them with onions, spinach, mushrooms and ham and then melts cheese over the top.

[alkapal]

sausage and cheese waffles, just suggested on the waffle thread. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6228...

(or is the "egg-free" business pertaining to any eggs? if so, nix the waffles!)

biscuits and sausage gravy?
shrimp and grits?
i like the empanadas idea from kilted cook, too.

[LulusMom]

There is a salmon hash recipe on epicurious that I love. Potatoes, smoked salmon, dill, sour cream. Very good.

[Val]

Somewhat similar to kchurchill's casserole is this Sausage and Potato Breakfast casserole from epicurious, might work for you?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[kchurchill5]

roasted asparagus wrapped with proscuitto and then wrapped with (yes a pillsbury crescent roll) Tacky I know. But they are just really good. It is one of those old fashioned easy recipes. Simple but always good and somewhat foregotten. I serve it with a lemon dill bechemel sauce so no eggs.

[JoyM]

you could do this with strips of puff pastry instead of the pillsbury crescent roll

[kchurchill5]

This was one of these, 2 friends ended up spending the night rather than driving 2 hrs home so in the am I always make breakfast, well in this case in was Sunday brunch. I had eggs asparagus, crescents and ham. So I made some rich scrambled eggs with boursin cheese, these asparagus rolls and bloody mary's with some good link sausage from a local meat market. Really cheap and just good links for breakfast. That was the first for my asparagus rolls. We loved them. The start of a new tradition. Breakfast, Brunch or even an appetizer they are perfect for anything.

[kchurchill5]

Oh absolutely, I would rather do it with puff. I just had crescent rolls and really not enough tme to do much else. That is how they got created. Very good, pretty easy and great flavor. The puff would even be lighter and crispier which would be even better.

[mjfoodlover]

What about just good ol bacon and sausage?

[todao]

You could prepare BaoZi, DimSum (call them what you will) and apply any variety of filling that best suits your purposes. They are eggless and, unless you add nuts, there are not nuts to contend with. They're easy for kids to handle, easy to prepare, require no baking and you can make them in large quantities without much trouble at all.

[Splendid Spatula]

Thanks, everyone, great ideas. I should have clarified - this is potluck with a bunch of families from day-care (so majority of guests are under 4). There are egg and nut allergies represented, so only minorly challenging. But we are already heavy on bread/baked goods, and fruit, so I'm looking at the non-baked end of the spectrum.

[weezycom]

I would consider doing the corned beef rosti. The recipe is here on Chowhound somewhere.

[mvi]

With so many 4 year olds....We used to do a yummy version of a breakfast grilled cheese sandwich. We used whatever cheese the kids liked and ham, if they were ham lovers. You can also substitute bacon. Although we dipped the bread into a couple of beaten eggs so that it was more like French Toast, you don't need to do that. We grilled the sandwiches in a little butter and some syrup to add flavor and sweetness. (Real maple syrup from VT always.) Although all of my kids and their friends have a very sophisticated palate now that they are in their 20s, when they were in pre-school it was a different world, and grilled cheese sandwiches were always met with respect and rapture.

[critter101]

Since there are a lot of 4 and under, how about kid-friendly mac and cheese? Or, some nice creamy chicken or cheese enchiladas, done with flour tortillas. I like them with a green sauce, rather than red.

[KiltedCook]

Cajun Catfish Courtbouillon (sub yer fav white fish)
Any of a multitude of Tapas
Sweet and Savory Empanadas
Chicken or fish soft tacos
Crab Cakes
Polenta Scallops (polenta cut about 3/4" thick, then cookie cut into 2" rounds and pan fried both sides. Serve with a sauce on a dab of lettuce.)
Pork tenderloin sliced paper thin and served cold with a spicy mustard sauce

[sueatmo]

Any of these: potatoes, fresh fruit, yogurt, some sort of pork., homeade granola, cinnamon toast, freshly made oatmeal, buttered biscuits, fresh glazed or sugared nuts, bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwiches, the best coffee you can afford. For the cinnamon toast, you can use whole grain bread to up the protein. You can also find various sorts of English muffins, including whole grain. Have fun.

[kchurchill5]

I make a potato, pancetta and spinach casserole with ricotta.

Roasted bacon wrapped potatoes with a spicy red pepper sauce

Bacon pizza with a creme fraisch base or something similar, spinach and mushrooms and onions and cheese

Poached salmon is great

Wraps with veggies, a no egg substitute and salsa and maybe quacamole

Bread rolls with cinnimon, spice, sugar and nuts baked and melted

Fruit salads are great with a orange liquor and mint for a summary twist

Grilled sausage is always great, even wrapped with some cheese in a quesadilla like. Cut in wedges easy and quick and good hot or room temp

Hash, chicken spicy with peppers, veggies, potatoes white and sweet, some savory spices and cheese.

[Splendid Spatula]

Can you tell me more about your potato, pancetta and spinach casserole? that sounds tasty!

[kchurchill5]

Sure, I saute some onion, pancetta, garlic and then layers with the thin sliced potatoes and frozen spinach. Here is my recipe. I add a little chicken broth and a little extra cheese some gruyere but swiss would be just fine and gouda even better. I it is a great hearty casserole without egg.

Pancetta, Ricotta, Potatoes, thin sliced, 1 small onion thin sliced, 1 teaspoon garlic (optional), Gruyere, 1 box of frozen spinach, Chicken broth, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
s/p to taste, Fresh rosemary 1 teaspoon minced

7 medium potatoes thin sliced, I keep skins on if you want. I peel them
1 large onion thin sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 lb bacon or pancetta (I prefer pancetta) chopped or diced
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups grated gruyere or gouda (gouda gives a smokiness, gruyere a nutty flavor)
1 box of frozen spinach drained and chopped
1 cup milk, I like 3/4 cream 1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

I like to pan saute the pancetta, onion and garlic in a large saute pan. Cook until semi soft and add the potatoes. I a bowl mix the ricotta, rosemary, pepper and salt, spinach, and 1/2 the cheese. Mix well. In a 13x9 baking dish sprayed with pam or greased add 1/2 the potato mix, then 1/2 the cheese mix. Repeate. Mix the milk and broth and pour over the casserole. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover and bake 45 minutes on 375 and then remove foil and bake another 10 minutes until the cheese melts and gets bubbly and brown.

NOTE: One time I had to add a little extra broth, the other time it was fine. Just check half way through. The variety of the potato and size of that as well as the onion does make a slight difference. I just ended up added another 3/4 cup broth and it was perfect.

No eggs but the cheese and the potatoes give it a natural thickness.

Enjoy I always love it! I stuff portabellos with zuchinni, tomato, eggplant, onions, summer squash, and anything else, some bread crumbs, cheese to make it a great simple stuffed pepper. You can use just a simple parm with some wonderful fresh tomatoes. Even corn, scallions. Any of your favorites will work, grill or bake. It goes great with the potatoes.

Roasted tomatoes is a favorite with this as well. I cut thick and sprinkle with oregano, s/p and balsamic marinate 15 minutes and roast. A great side with the potatoes

[Margerus]

Hi, just found this string of emails re: egg free brunch. Your potato casserole sounds great. Do you think chicken sausage would be okay in lieu of bacon? My guests don't eat pork.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Miso soup, fish, rice, tea.

[goodhealthgourmet]

critter101 and i are on the same page - i was thinking poached salmon or crepes...or even blintzes. low fat ricotta with berries is another option.

[danielle]

hmmm... suppose this depends on how american the brunch needs to be

could do a french-ish brunch w/ baguettes, jam, cheeses
also maybe different kinds of smoked fish and cured meats

also, does the brunch need to be breakfasty foods? could you lean it a little further towards lunchy things? this would probably give you more options...

[LaLa]

When my favorite brunch place has peel and eat shrimp it makes me so happy....that and a bloody mary!

http://tinyurl.com/le5dgf

[critter101]

Are you talking about not serving any egg dishes (quiches, stratas, etc), or any dishes containing eggs, such as crepes?

[milklady]

I love making tofu scramble. Cold poached salmon is also great.

[kubasd]

love tofu scrambles! use a black bean and corn salsa in with the tofu and use a little tumeric to give it the familiar yellow color, delicious!