If you’ve ever been in Charleston on a weekend, then you know that brunch here is an event. Charleston just does brunch so perfectly. If you’ve never experienced brunch here, then the next time you visit you need to book yourself in to try out one of the many, many dedicated restaurant brunch menus. And yes, you WILL need a reservation. Like I said, brunch here is an event!

Before we get to the menu, here’s a little table decor inspiration for you. I’ve always thought that winter greens and bright citrus colors look so beautiful together and they make for a naturally gorgeous tablescape. Below I’ve shared a dreamy winter brunch table setting from the Aiken-Rhett home in Charleston as an example.

I’ve put together a mixture of recipes from our own home and recipes from some of my favorite go-to cooks. So whether you’re looking for some full menu inspiration or just need one more dish to add into your meal, I hope you find something that looks delicious to you in this list.

The Drink.

In the south, if you’re hosting a special meal you have to have a signature drink. In my family the signature drink of brunch is Orange Julius. And the best part is that it’s effortlessly delicious. I’ve also included the option to make this a mimosa by adding chilled champagne. This drink is perfect for a winter brunch as the months of December to February mark the harvest time of many citrus fruits.

Orange Julius (With Mimosa Option)

Ingredients:

• 3 C. Ice
• 2 C. Milk
• 2 C. Orange Juice
• 1/4 C. Sugar
• 1 t. Vanilla
• Optional: Chilled Champagne

Method:

Add the first 5 ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This drink is creamy and frothy, but begins to separate after a while so you may need to stir occasionally.

If you want the mimosa version, pour the blended mixture into a glass and top with the chilled champagne. It’s sparkly and creamy at the same time. So good! Serve garnished with orange slices.

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The Savories.

Okay, on to the rest of the brunch line up. This is where the real meat of the meal is. Literally. Below is a list of all the savory dishes I’m including in the menu:

• Sweet potato biscuit sandwiches with ham, blue cheese, and peach preserves
• Cheesy bacon and spinach grits casserole
• Crab, roasted red pepper, and spinach frittata

So that you’re not prepping and cooking all of this on the morning of, the busiest parts of this menu can be done the day before. You can make the sweet potato biscuits ahead of time so that only the assembly is required on the day. The grit casserole can be completely assembled the day before so that you can just pop it in the oven when you’re ready to eat. You can also roast and chop the red pepper for the frittata and store it in a container so that it’s ready to be tossed in with the rest of the ingredients. Easy easy easy!

Southern Sweet Potato Biscuit Ham Sandwiches

Don’t be intimidated about the idea of making your own biscuits. The active time in making these is only 25 minutes, so you can whip these up and be moving on to the next item pretty quickly.

For the biscuits, I use a recipe I found in Southern Living magazine. You can find the recipe online here.

Assembling the Sandwiches:

Slice each biscuit in half. Add a generous amount of ham onto the bottom half, and the peach preserves and blue cheese to the upper half. Alternatively, you could serve these biscuits along with a selection of toppings as part of a create-your-own biscuit sandwich board!

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Cheesy Bacon & Spinach Grit Casserole

I found this recipe a few years ago and have included it my list of go-to breakfast side dish recipes ever since. This is one of my dad’s favorites, so he asks for it every time they visit.

These grits are sooo good, and so cheesy, and the spinach and grits just make it taste extra delicious. You can find the recipe here!

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Crab, Roasted Red Pepper, & Spinach Frittata

Brunch in Charleston always comes with some fresh seafood dishes, like shrimp and grits or crab cake eggs Benedict. But because this brunch menu already includes a biscuit dish and a grit dish, I thought I’d incorporate some fresh crab meat into my go-to frittata recipe. I love making frittatas because they’re so easy and they’re a great way to use up whatever veggies you have in your fridge. I especially love using goat cheese in frittatas because it makes them light and creamy, but if you’re not crazy about goat cheese then mascarpone cheese would also do the trick. I started using mascarpone in my dishes after living in Italy. It’s a great mildly flavored option that can add creaminess to a dish without being heavy.

Ok, onto the recipe…This one’s on me 😉

Ingredients:

• 8 Eggs
• 1/3 C. Milk
• 1/4 t. Salt
• 2 Red peppers, roasted and chopped
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 2 C. Spinach
• 8 oz. Lump Crab Meat
• 2 oz. Goat Cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 to roast the red peppers. Cut them in half and remove the insides. Line a baking sheet with foil and then place the peppers face down on the foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the skins are darkened. Remove from the oven and turned the temperature down to 400. Promptly peel off the skins. If they don’t come off easily, place the paper halves in a sealed container or bag for about 10 minutes to steam and loosen the skins. Once peeled, chop and set aside.

2. Whisk the eggs, milk, and salt together then set aside.

3. Heat a drizzle of oil in over medium heat in a cast iron skillet. Add the diced onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic, spinach and roasted peppers and sauté until the spinach wilts.

4. Add in the crab meat. Season with salt and pepper. Evenly spread the veggie-crab mixture around the skillet.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and lightly shake the skillet to evenly distribute the mixture. Do not stir! We don’t want scrambled eggs. Remove from heat.

6. Crumble the goat cheese evenly over the skillet, then transfer to the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes (until the eggs are set). Serve immediately.

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The Sweet.

Overnight French Toast Casserole with Bourbon-Maple Syrup

Brunch has to come with a good sweet dish to balance out all the savory options, and this Overnight French Toast Casserole from Southern Living is the perfect choice. It’s made the day before so that all you need to do in the morning is pop in this in the oven. You can serve it along with the savory dishes, or you can bring it out separately with some coffee after you’ve cleared the savory dishes out of the way – dessert style. Either way, just be sure to serve it straight from the oven while it’s nice and warm!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Leave a comment if you try any of these recipes (or the whole menu!) and let me know what you think!