Call me basic, but my two favorite things in life are pumpkin and brunch. And I will proudly shout it from roof tops. Fall is upon us, and school is upon us, so naturally, the best thing to do is make a killer brunch that showcases the best of fall without taking up a lot of your precious time.
Another great part about this menu is that it’s completely vegetarian. The baked oatmeal is even vegan (without the whipped cream). If you miss having meat or fancy catering to meat-lovers, add some pancetta, bacon, or prosciutto to the pumpkin toast. Now that your mouth is watering, dig into the menu (they’re in the order that I recommend you plan to make the dishes).
Mini Pumpkin Nutella Muffins
A crispy crumble, moist pumpkin cake, and a little pop of chocolate inside. These are an indulgence, but they are tiny so that makes it okay? Portion control all the way. You only need to bake these 10-13 minutes, so you could totally prep the batter the night before and then bake them in the morning (or you could just make them the night before).
Mini Pumpkin Nutella Muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Mix together egg and sugars. Then add pumpkin, butter, and vanilla.
Gradually add dry ingredients to wet. Mix until just combined.
Grate and add zucchini. I used bottle gourd because it was cheap and available at the farmer’s market. (It’s an awesome zucchini substitute.)
Fill the cupcake liners halfway with batter, top with about a teaspoon of Nutella. Cover with more batter.
Bake for 3-5 minutes on 425° F, then reduce heat to 350° F and bake for another 10 minutes or until a toothpick poked through the center comes out clean (or just covered with Nutella).
Vegan Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal just got even easier. One bowl, no eggs broken in the process, and so easy to prep the night before. If you’re really low on time the day of your brunch, it also reheats well if you want to bake it the night before.
#SpoonTip: I adapted this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie, make sure to check her other oatmeal recipes out.
Vegan Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 380° F. Line 8 x 8 inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
Combine rolled oats, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
Add milk and vanilla extract. Add craisins.
Pour into pan and smooth over.
Bake at 380° F for 24 minutes, then turn oven off and let sit in oven for 20 minutes. This allows the oatmeal to get a nice crust without drying out.
Pumpkin Toast
Not pumpkin french toast, pumpkin toast: the better version of avocado toast. Top it however you want it, but make sure to season the pumpkin so it’s a little bit spicy and a smidgen sweet.
After I made this, I realized that the toppings would be a great way to spice up a toad-in-a-hole (aka egg-in-a-nest) as well. Add cheese to toast while your egg is cooking and then spread pumpkin mixture around the egg. Then top with toppings till your heart’s content.
Pumpkin Toast
Ingredients
Instructions
Mix pumpkin, spices, garlic, and sweetener in sauce pan.
Fry egg (overeasy is best), and spread your toppings of choice on your toast.
Apricot Pumpkin Seed Parmesan Salad
You are going to want a mouthful of this salad more than you want to say its mouthful of a name. Lots of dried fruits and nuts make this a crunchy, sweet, chewy way to eat salad for brunch. Do not forget the drizzle of balsamic!
This is so easy, you don’t need a recipe. Just combine thawed frozen apricots, pumpkin seeds, cucumbers, walnuts, craisins, raisins, parmesan, and balsamic. Have enough time to whip up your own dressing? Try one of these.
As you can see, this brunch is anything but basic. You are sure to impress your friends whether they love the PSL or not, but it’s not so complicated that it will take the entire weekend to prepare. With recipes that you can prepare the night before and ones you can throw together quickly in the morning, you can embrace pumpkin and fall even at the busiest of times.