Get creative with a fun and festive bagel brunch board! Check out these easy Brunch Board Ideas for serving a delicious mid-morning feast for friends and the whole family.
Charcuterie boards are nice. But BRUNCH charcuterie boards? They're the BEST boards of them all!
A lot of boards out there are over the top and, quite frankly, stressful to put together for the average person. We believe you do NOT need to spend a lot of money or a lot of time chasing fancy ingredients to make a tasty, beautiful brunch board.
In this post, we'll share some tips for putting together an easy brunch charcuterie board that's delicious and gorgeous – and will easily feed your friends and family.
It's a great way to celebrate special occasions like Mother's Day or a baby shower, or for a simple get together with friends.
Jump to:
🥑 What is a brunch board?
A brunch board is a play off the more traditional charcuterie board. Instead of a large wooden board being filled with various cuts of meat (charcuterie), this breakfast charcuterie board is filled with your favorite breakfast foods and brunch treats!
Some people call these brunch charcuterie boards. You can call it a bagel brunch board or just a brunch board.
🍓 Ingredients to make the best brunch board
Here are a few ideas for ingredients to add to your brunch board. You are not limited to these brunch board ideas. Use these as initial inspiration and as a jumping point, then add in your own favorites!
Bagels - Bagels are a great addition to any brunch board. In fact, they're the ultimate brunch item: they allow guests to make their own sandwiches from the cream cheese, bacon, smoked salmon, herbs and veggies. Use full size or fun size mini bagels.
Cream cheese - If you can find whipped cream cheese, use that. It's easier to spread onto bagels than regular cream cheese. I also like to offer a dairy-free cream cheese option as well.
Bacon - No brunch is complete without crispy bacon, whether you use thick center-cut bacon or vegan bacon, it's sure to be a crowd favorite.
Smoked salmon/lox - This is a wonderful way to add protein to your brunch board. And you can usually find smoked salmon or lox at your local grocery store.
Hard-boiled eggs - Sliced hard-boiled eggs are perfect for brunch boards. Use the Instant Pot 5-5-5 Method for cooking hard-boiled eggs for easy-to-peel eggs!
Red onions - Slice them thinly then fan out near the other bagel toppings. If you like pickled onions, some people like serving those with bagels and lox too.
Capers - Capers add salty, briny pops of flavor and are perfect for topping bagels and lox!
Radishes, Cucumbers, Tomatoes - slice and serve veggies like these are great for brunch boards!
Fresh fruit - In-season fresh berries like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are great options, as are orange slices. And they're fantastic, healthy sweet additions to any brunch board. They can also be used to easily fill in any open spaces on the board.
Grapes - Green, red, and/or black grapes are a sweet, easy-to-eat addition to any brunch board.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
Here's how to make an epic brunch board.
- Grab a large board. Start by placing items like cream cheese, dips, jams and jellies, and nuts into smaller bowls and place them in different parts of the board.
2. Next to the cream cheese bowl, creatively place the bagels, smoked salmon, red onion slices. Place the capers in a small bowl and place near these ingredients.
3. Lay the bacon slices, hard boiled egg halves, and avocado slices near these ingredients.
4. Near the dip bowls, place the cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and any other vegetables you want to include.
5. By the jams and jellies, place any scones, muffins, breadsticks and crackers.
6. Fill in any empty spaces with smaller items like the bowl of nuts, as well as the blueberries, strawberries, and grapes.
7. Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon wedges.
👩🏻🍳 Brunch tips and FAQs
You can use any large tray, platter, plate, serving bowls, or baking sheets - the possibilities are endless!
There are some ingredients you can prep in advance, but you'll want to keep everything refrigerated until you're ready to assemble the board.
Food to make in advance:
- Slice fruits and vegetables
- Make homemade dips, sauces, and jams
- Make hard-boiled eggs
Food to make just before assembling your brunch board:
- Cutting/slicing avocados
- Making bacon or homemade sausage patties
In general, try not to have any food out at room temperature for more than two hours. If your event lasts longer than that, keep some of each food store in the refrigerator and only place some of the food out on the board. Then check in on the brunch board and replenish as needed with fresh ingredients from the fridge.
🥂 Best brunch wine pairings
Brunch is made for wine cocktails. Try my Tropical Rosé Sangria, Raspberry Belinis, or Raspberry Mimosas.
This brunch bagel board is also made for bright and light wines. Serve a refreshing Rosé, Pinot Grigio, or Albariño.
Sparkling wines like a Sparkling Rosé, Prosecco or Cava would also be absolutely delicious with this brunch board.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make a fabulous brunch board? For this recipe, you just need a few basic kitchen tools:
Extra large wooden board - You can use a cutting board or any large clean wooden board. You can also use a large platter instead.
Bowls - Use small bowls of various sizes to contain ingredients like dips, sauces, nuts, and . You can also use small bowls to corral round food, like blueberries, capers, and olives.
Serving utensils - Have a variety of small tongs, small serving spoons, butter spreaders, and appetizer forks available to make it easy for guests to pick up the food.
Cheese knives - If you're including cheese that needs to be sliced, add a small cheese knife or two by the cheese. These cheese knife sets often come in handy!
More charcuterie board ideas
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Bagel Brunch Board
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 slices cooked bacon
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced in half
- 6 bagels, cut in half
- 8 ounces whipped cream cheese
- 6 ounces smoked salmon or lox
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 Tablespoon capers
- 3 avocados, sliced
- ½ cup your favorite veggie dip
- 2 cucumbers, sliced
- 1 bunch small radishes, sliced
- 4 roma tomatoes, sliced
- 1 small bunch grapes
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 cup marcona almonds or other almonds
- ¼ cup your favorite jam or jelly
- 1 lemon, sliced into wedges, for serving
More optional brunch board ideas
- mini scones, mini croissants, mini muffins
- mini pancakes, mini waffles
- breadsticks, crackers
Instructions
- Start by placing items like cream cheese, dips, jams and jellies, and nuts into small bowls. Place those bowls in different parts of the board.
- Next to the cream cheese bowl, creatively place the bagels, smoked salmon, red onion slices. Place the capers in a small bowl and place near these ingredients. Lay the bacon slices, hard boiled egg halves, and avocado slices near these ingredients.
- Near the dip bowls, place the cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and any other vegetables you want to include.
- By the jams and jellies, place any scones, muffins, breadsticks and crackers.
- Fill in any blank spots with the bowl of nuts, and the blueberries, strawberries, and grapes.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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Colleen says
Charcuterie is a family tradition for gatherings but we haven't done a brunch board. This is on our Easter weekend plan now. Thanks for all the helpful tips!
Andrea says
So perfect for my upcoming easter brunch. This gives me so much more confidence putting together a visually appealing brunch!
Beth says
My family loved this for brunch for Easter. Such great ideas too.
Casey says
OMG this is going to be such a hit at my Easter brunch. So many ideas to mix and match!!!
Sandra says
These ideas for brunch boards are so well though out and you tips are so helpful! I could've reached right into the screen for that smoked salmon. Will definitely be using this as a resource for our Easter weekend brunch! Thanks!