St Patrick’s Day brunch ideas
These tasty St Patrick’s Day brunch ideas, ranging from the traditional to Irish-inspired, make the perfect way to celebrate Ireland’s national holiday.
Perhaps due to Ireland’s association with alcohol (did anyone say Guinness?), I had until recently associated St Patrick’s Day with little more than drinking.
My memories of St Patrick’s Day were centered around the Irish pub that was down the alleyway off our main street AND just around the corner from where my daughter’s dance studio was located.
Come the 17th of March, the pub – aptly named the Celtic Inn – would open at some ridiculous hour in the morning so that by the time I took Zoe to her after school dance lesson, the alleyway would be full of drunken men lurching and leering and generally making nuisances of themselves.
I stopped drinking alcohol over 18 years ago now, so you can imagine that the only St Patrick’s Day activity on my agenda was avoiding town as much as possible.
However in recent years I’ve become a lot more focused on the idea of celebrating life.
For me that means making the most of every day: both looking for the simple joys but also the moments that can be made bigger – moments you can rejoice in and use as an opportunity to come together as a family or couple.
That’s why even though it’s super tempting to dismiss holidays or special events as being over commercialized or lacking in meaning – and subsequently let them pass much like any other day – I say no.
I say celebrate!
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But out of all national holidays for countries that aren’t our own, why Ireland?
Let’s back up the bus a little.
St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. Allegedly kidnapped as a child by pirates, he ended up in Ireland where he later became recognized as the founded of Christianity in the county.
Subsequently, St Patrick’s Day is the country’s national holiday (It also happens to be my dad’s birthday, which he uses as justification for a beer or two).
Like many people thanks to the Irish diaspora, I have Irish ancestry.
Therefore celebrating St Patrick’s Day is part of acknowledging our roots.
And brunch is the perfect way to do this.
Brunch is my most favorite meal of the day – either at home or dining out.
It has a more relaxed vibe about it than dinner.
Starting the celebration of a day around brunch is perfect if you want to spend the rest of the day enjoying yourself OR you make a whole day of it and this is how you’re kicking it off.
Want a St Patrick’s Day dinner too? Here’s the perfect St Patrick’s Day dinner menu.
And even if the food is a little calorific, it’s a whole lot better for you than too many pints of Guinness.
So here are the perfect dishes for a St Patrick’s Day brunch.
To make this list, I’ve either taken some classic brunch favorites and looked to see where a more Irish alternative can be had, or used well-known Irish dishes that are suitable for breakfast.
And when that proved too hard, making things green was the next go to.
St Patrick's Day brunch
Enjoy a St Patrick's Day brunch with these delicious recipes.
Savory St Patrick's Day brunch ideas
We'll start off our St Patrick's Day brunch with a trio of dishes: soda bread, scrambled eggs, and Irish boxty.
The poverty in Ireland at times led to most meals being made with as few ingredients as possible.
Soda bread is one example of this. Its traditional recipe includes only flour, baking soda, sour milk and salt.
However this recipe includes some additional ingredients such as sugar and raisins. There's not too much sugar, so it's still a savory bread.
Serve this up fresh, by breaking off chunks and lavishing them with butter.
These scrambled eggs are made with cream to produce a super smooth, rich taste that will be the perfect addition to your St Patrick's day brunch.
Boxty's combination of mashed and grated potato make it cross between a hash brown and a pancake.
They're the perfect thing to serve with those creamy scrambled eggs.
Sweet St Patrick's Day brunch ideas
Finished with the savory dishes? Now it's time to indulge your sweet tooth with pancakes and muffins and maybe a little piece of two of cake.
Not too sweet, these Irish soda bread muffins package up everything good about their big brother and pop it into these muffin-sized bundle of cuteness.
These muffins are made with deliciously natural ingredients (free of refined sugar) and have a rustic, slightly sweet taste - perfect to have with a cup of Irish breakfast tea as you finish up brunch.
Okay, I know cake isn't the most brunch food around.
But check out this recipe and you too will be all over this one.
Just imagine tart, crisp apples in a tender vanilla spice cake with a crunchy sugar topping and creamy vanilla custard sauce.
Go gorgeously green with these matcha crepes.
If brunch so far is looking quite ... yellow... well, now it's time to shake it up.
Rainbows and their pot o' gold are synonymous with Irish culture.
These rainbow pancakes add a sweet, colorful item to your brunch menu.
Time to go green with these matcha scones.
This matcha scone recipe has a green tea flavor and simple, delicious glaze that pairs wonderfully. If you're looking for melt in your mouth scones, you've found them.
Brunch beverages
Time to round off your brunch with a couple of tasty green shake / smoothie options.
You wouldn't think anything you could drink that had spinach in it would actually taste good - but it does.
This smoothie is perfect for kids too.
This creamy, minty healthy shamrock shake is made with wholesome ingredients like spinach, mint, and bananas.
Want a non-dairy option? Well you've come to the right place.
This smoothie is super healthy with a delicious minty taste.
You can celebrate St Patrick’s Day in a fun, family friendly way with an Irish brunch.
These tasty St Patrick’s Day brunch ideas, ranging from the traditional to Irish-inspired, will be a perfect way to kick start your celebration of Ireland’s national holiday.
Check out these St. Patrick’s Day treats and cookies for more holiday goodness.