The #1 Brunch Recipe of the Year Is a No-Fail Classic

It tastes like "spinach artichoke dip meets frittata."

Best Recipes 2024: We’re back for our 2nd annual Best Recipes showdown! For 2024 we combed through our more than 55,000 recipes to find a winner in each of the following five categories of Party Food: Champion Mains, Top-Notch Apps, Winning Brunch Bites, Gold Medal Sweets, and Prize-Worthy Sides.

When it comes to entertaining, brunch has to be the most creative (and fun!)  meal to host. The menu can skew sweet or savory, and many of the dishes can be prepared ahead, making the day of the party surprisingly stress free. With the holiday entertaining season fast approaching, there’s no better time to discover a new favorite to share with family and friends, and the Allrecipes team is on the case. The editors combed through hundreds of brunch recipes on the site to find 10 top contenders for entertaining, from ooey gooey cinnamon rolls to easy baked egg cups and even air-fried donut sticks. The Allrecipes community voted on their favorites from that list, leading to our top two contenders, which were then prepared in our Birmingham test kitchen. Those finalists faced off in a ‘Winning Brunch Bites’ taste test showdown, where two expert judges weighed in to determine the winner.

Meet the Judges

For our brunch-off in Birmingham, we brought in a pair of top-tier judges to make the final call. Let's meet them!

Nicole McLaughlin: McLaughlin is a senior producer and on-camera talent for Allrecipes. With more than  20 years of experience in the culinary world, she has a bachelor's in restaurant and hospitality management from the University of Alabama and a culinary arts degree from Johnson and Wales University.

Roscoe Hall: Best known for competing in season 18 of Top Chef, Allrecipes contributor Hall began his culinary journey at Chez Panisse, where he trained under the legendary Alice Waters for two years. His cooking chops have taken him all over the country where he’s worked in kitchens from Portland, Oregon to New York City.

Meet the Two Contenders

Crustless Spinach Quiche: This genius recipe is for everyone out there  who struggles with rolling out pie dough. Instead of a traditional quiche with a pastry crust, the star of this recipe is the melty and irresistible Muenster cheese. The recipe was contributed by ANY14TNS  and has a whopping 3,356 ratings, with an average of 4.8 stars.

Croissant French Toast Bake: This recipe takes a standard French toast casserole and elevates it by swapping blah bread for flaky and delicious croissants, earning it an average rating of 4.9 stars. Unlike other sweet breakfast casseroles, this one does not need to be prepared in advance, making it perfect for last minute visitors! This recipe was developed by our very own Barrett Heald, a recipe tester and recipe developer in the Dotdash Meredith Test Kitchen.

What the Judges Had to Say

Crustless Spinach Quiche: Hall called this “The best breakfast savory dish” while McLaughlin noted it tasted like “spinach artichoke dip meets frittata” but that it might need more of a crust to work.

Croissant French Toast Bake: McLauglin said, “I like that it's crispy on the outside but still creamy on the inside. I also appreciate that it's not too sweet.” Hall agreed, noting the dish was, “French toast-y, full of cinnamon flavor and not too sweet.”

And the Winner Is….

The Crustless Spinach Quiche!

Simplicity and flavor lead the judges to award the ‘Winning Brunch Bite’ to this savory recipe that’s big on simplicity and flavor. The dish comes together in under an hour and uses frozen spinach, which means if you stock some in your freezer, you are only a handful of ingredients away from being able to whip up this dish at any time. Plus, it’s easily adaptable: Swap the type of cheese for whatever you have on hand, and toss in leftovers like diced ham to make the quiche your own.

Plus, it’s a hit with kids, too! Allrecipes community member Louise McKay-Edwards says, "This is delicious. I made it today and my 9 year old daughter almost ate the entire thing. I used regular cheddar cheese, added a little nutmeg, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, some red pepper for color and an 8 ounce container of sour cream. I also added salt and pepper to the spinach. WONDERFUL."

Read the original article on All Recipes.