The best Mother's Day breakfast ideas are the ones the family can make without Mom stepping into the kitchen: warm croissants, toast with good butter and jam, fresh fruit, eggs and her favorite coffee. Frozen croissants bake at 425°F in 5 to 7 minutes and rest 5 minutes, a slice of croissant loaf toasts from frozen in 90 to 120 seconds, and a crusty sourdough loaf needs 16 to 23 minutes at 430°F plus at least 20 minutes of rest, so an adult runs the oven and the kids handle everything else.
Below: what to serve, sweet or savory; who does what, by age; a breakfast in bed plan; a one-oven brunch plan for the whole family; how much to get; and how to send breakfast to a mom who lives far away.
What to make for Mother's Day breakfast
Before picking recipes, ask two questions: does she like sweet or savory in the morning, and is this breakfast for her alone, in bed, or for the whole family at the table? The answers decide everything else.
- If she likes sweet: an almond croissant, a cinnamon roll, croissant loaf toast with jam, berries with yogurt.
- If she likes savory: soft scrambled eggs, a butter croissant, warm sourdough or baguette with salted butter, a frittata, bacon.
- For her alone: one tray, two or three things, made well. Quantity matters less than the coffee being the way she takes it.
- For the whole family: a table with a basket of pastries, a warm loaf, eggs and fruit, so everyone eats together and nobody is stuck at the stove.
Whichever you choose, let a bakery do the dough. Our croissants, cinnamon rolls and breads are made by the Fresh Baguette bakery team and shipped frozen from our kitchen in Germantown, Maryland. You bake them at home, so even a family that never bakes can put a basket of warm pastries on the table. Our croissants and cinnamon rolls are all in our frozen croissants collection.
Who does what: a Mother's Day breakfast kids can help make
The hardest part of a breakfast made by kids is not the cooking, it is splitting the jobs so that everyone helps and nobody touches a 425°F oven who should not. Here is a split that works:
| Who | Jobs |
|---|---|
| Little kids (about 3 to 6) | Make the card. Wash the berries in a colander. Fold the napkin. Pick one flower for the tray. Carry the jam bowl. |
| Older kids (about 7 to 12) | Set the tray or the table. Spoon yogurt and granola into a bowl. Toast the croissant loaf slices in the toaster with an adult nearby. Spread butter and jam. |
| Teens | Scramble the eggs. Make the coffee or tea. Squeeze the orange juice. |
| An adult | Everything that goes in or out of the oven, and the hot pan if the kids are young. |
Pastries come out of the oven very hot. Our product pages ask for at least 5 minutes of rest before serving, and filled pastries like almond croissants stay hot in the middle longer than outside. Those 5 minutes are a good moment for the kids to finish the card.
A breakfast in bed plan for Mom
Breakfast in bed should arrive warm and quietly. This order keeps everything ready at the same time with one oven and a toaster. The bake times come from the instructions on each product page.
- Turn the oven on to 425°F. Start the coffee. Have the kids wash the berries and set the tray.
- Once the oven reads 425°F, put the croissants on a baking sheet on the middle rack, straight from the freezer with the packaging off. Bake 5 to 7 minutes.
- Take them out and let them rest at least 5 minutes. Scramble the eggs on low heat while they wait.
- Toast a slice of croissant loaf from frozen, 90 to 120 seconds. Watch it closely: the crumb browns fast.
- Pour the coffee last, two-thirds full so it does not spill on the stairs, and carry the tray up together.
On the tray: one plate, one mug, a small bowl of fruit, the card. Put the jam in a small bowl rather than the jar, and slip a napkin under the plate so it does not slide when the tray goes down on the bed. Anything that does not fit goes on the nightstand.
Croissants for Mom's breakfast in bed
Butter, chocolate, almond and Nutella croissants, picked pack by pack for your box. They bake straight from the freezer at 425°F in 5 to 7 minutes.
Shop frozen croissantsA Mother's Day brunch for the whole family, with one oven
If the plan is a later, slower breakfast at the table, add a warm loaf. Breads and pastries bake at different temperatures, so bake the bread first and the pastries last. Count backward from the time you want to sit down:
| Before you sit down | What to do | Oven |
|---|---|---|
| About 1 hour | Start preheating. Set out fruit, butter, jam and yogurt. | 430°F |
| 45 minutes | Once the oven reads 430°F: sourdough loaf, still frozen, packaging off, directly on the middle rack. No baking sheet. | 430°F, 16 to 23 min |
| About 25 minutes | Loaf out onto a rack once the crust is crisp (16 to 23 minutes in the oven). It needs at least 20 minutes before slicing, because it keeps baking as it rests. Turn the oven down. | 425°F |
| 12 minutes | Once the oven reads 425°F: croissants and cinnamon rolls, frozen, on a baking sheet on the middle rack. | 425°F, 5 to 7 min |
| 5 minutes | Pastries out to rest. Scramble the eggs and toast the croissant loaf slices. | Toaster, 90 to 120 sec |
| 0 | Slice the bread, pour the coffee, bring Mom to the table. | Off |
Baker's tip: run a little water over the back of the frozen loaf before it goes in. It helps the crust turn crisp without getting too hard. If you prefer a baguette, our Parisian half baguettes bake at 450°F, directly on the rack, in 6 to 10 minutes, then rest 5 to 10 minutes: bake them first, then lower the oven for the pastries.
Mother's Day breakfast ideas she will actually want
An almond croissant and a bowl of berries
Our almond croissant is filled with a house-made almond cream and topped with sliced almonds for a real crunch. It is the most generous pastry on the plate, and it needs nothing else but strawberries or sliced pears next to it.
Croissant loaf toast with butter and jam
Our Butter Croissant Loaf is croissant dough baked as a loaf and wide sliced. It goes from the freezer into the toaster for 90 to 120 seconds and comes out sturdy and crisp with a caramelized edge. Spread it with salted butter and our wild blackberry jam, and cut it in half so it is easy to eat in bed. This is the job to give an older kid.
Warm cinnamon rolls
Our cinnamon rolls are rolled with cinnamon and brown sugar and finished with a simple glaze. They bake on the same sheet as the croissants, at the same 425°F, for the same 5 to 7 minutes, so one batch covers both.
A French tartine
A warm baguette or a thick slice of sourdough, split, with salted butter and jam, served with a bowl of café au lait. It is a classic French breakfast, and one of the easiest to make for her.
Savory: eggs, a butter croissant, and something green
Soft scrambled eggs with chives, cooked slowly in butter, next to a plain butter croissant and a few slices of avocado or a small green salad. If she likes a heartier plate, add bacon from a skillet or a slice of ham.
A make-ahead dish
If the family wants a hot dish without a morning rush, assemble an overnight croissant or French toast casserole the evening before, refrigerate it and bake it at 350°F in the morning, before the oven goes up to 425°F for the pastries. The stovetop frittata is the savory alternative that keeps the oven free. Feeding the whole family in spring? See our Easter breakfast table.
Drinks
- Her coffee, exactly the way she takes it. Ask ahead if you are not sure.
- Fresh orange juice, or a mimosa for a late brunch.
- Tea in a real pot, for the tea drinkers.
- Hot chocolate for the kids, so they feel part of the celebration.
The almond croissant
Filled with a house-made almond cream and topped with sliced almonds. 5 to 7 minutes at 425°F.
See the almond croissantHow many pastries to get
We plan on about two pastries per person when they are the main event, and one each when there are eggs and fruit. Our packs come in fixed sizes: butter and chocolate croissants come 3 per pack, cinnamon rolls 3 per pack, almond and Nutella croissants 2 per pack. For the Parisian version, see what the French eat for breakfast.
| Breakfast | Pastries | Packs |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast in bed for Mom | 2 for her, plus extras for the helpers | 1 almond croissant (2) + 1 butter croissant (3) |
| Family of 4 at the table | 8 | 1 butter croissant (3) + 1 cinnamon roll (3) + 1 almond croissant (2) |
| Family of 6 | 12 | 2 butter croissant (6) + 1 cinnamon roll (3) + 1 chocolate croissant (3) |
Add a sourdough loaf or a pack of half baguettes for the table, and a Butter Croissant Loaf for toast. A box holds 4 to 12 packs (boxes from $89). In their sealed packaging, our breads and pastries keep in the freezer for up to 6 months, according to our FAQ, so you can order ahead and keep everything in the freezer until the big morning.
When you cannot be there on Mother's Day
If Mom lives in another city, you can still give her the breakfast. Our bakery gift card is a $120 credit that lets her build her own box of breads, croissants and baked goods, with the flavors she likes. It reaches her by email on the date you choose, and it carries your personal message, so it can arrive on Mother's Day itself. All our gifting options are on our bakery gift boxes page.
Shipping is free on every order. We deliver to the Eastern US: the East Coast, plus Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee and part of Illinois. She can check her zip code on our site before building her box.
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Mother's Day breakfast questions
What is an easy Mother's Day breakfast kids can make?
Toast, fruit and pastries. Kids can wash berries, set the tray, toast croissant loaf slices from frozen in 90 to 120 seconds with an adult nearby, and spread butter and jam. An adult bakes the croissants at 425°F for 5 to 7 minutes and lets them rest 5 minutes before anyone picks them up.
What do you put on a breakfast in bed tray?
Less than you think: one plate with a warm pastry and eggs or toast, one mug filled two-thirds full, a small bowl of fruit, a napkin under the plate and a card. Food that does not spill travels best up the stairs.
What can I make ahead for Mother's Day?
Wash and cut the fruit, set the tray or the table, and assemble an overnight casserole the evening before if you want a hot dish. Frozen croissants and cinnamon rolls need nothing the night before: they go straight from the freezer into a 425°F oven in the morning.
Is breakfast or brunch better for Mother's Day?
Breakfast in bed suits a quiet morning for her alone, and it is quick: once the oven is hot, pastries bake from frozen in 5 to 7 minutes and rest 5. A brunch at the table suits a big family or a later start, and it is worth adding a warm sourdough loaf, which needs 16 to 23 minutes in the oven and at least 20 minutes of rest.