16 Buttery Brioche Recipes You Need in Your Life (2024)

Brioche is the richest of all breads, owing its tender crumb to an impossibly high butter and egg content. It's so decadent that it's sometimes even considered a pastry, belonging in the same Viennoiserie category as Danishes and croissants. These irresistible recipes show off the famously buttery, soft-but-flaky French bread in all different ways — from topping homemade slices with (more!) butter and jam to creatively utilizing store-bought loaves for killer bread puddings and savory toasts. Keep scrolling to discover all the best ways to enjoy brioche.

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Extra-Rich Brioche

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Chef Iliana Regan's buttery brioche is so good that it could be eaten alone, but it's even better slathered with cultured butter and fresh raspberry preserves.

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Pesto and Cheese-Stuffed Brioche Scrolls with Bacon-Tomato Jam

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These savory cousins to cinnamon rolls feature buttery brioche scrolls filled with nutty pesto and salty Asiago cheese. After baking, top the still-warm scrolls with a dollop of homemade tomato-bacon jam. The jam will melt over the warm scrolls, adding a touch of smoky, syrupy sweetness that's balanced by the acid from the cherry tomatoes. Toeing the line between sweet and savory, these hearty pastries are sure to be a crowd favorite; they're best served warm.

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Buttery Brioche Hamburger Buns

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Making homemade buns is easier than you think, and it's a surefire way to impress your family on burger night, or your guests at your next backyard get-together. Let your mixer do the work of bringing the dough together, then shape the soft, pliable dough into buns. Keep the buns whole until you're ready to serve, then toast (or don't!) and get ready for the compliments (and condiments!) to roll in.

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Blueberry Almond Yogurt Toast

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Yogurt toast is sometimes called custard toast, which offers a clue to how the simple mixture of yogurt, egg, and syrup baked on top of a piece of toast beautifully mimics the texture and flavor of French toast or even a cheese Danish. It comes together in just a few minutes, making it an option even on busy mornings.

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Brioche Crab Melts

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Basically a hybrid between a patty melt and a lobster roll, this crab-forward sandwich is indulgent (hello, truffle butter) without being too heavy. The brioche has just the right amount of density to hold chunks of crab that have been sprinkled with Gruyère cheese.

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Jam-Stuffed Brioche French Toast

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At Sqirl, the Los Angeles café with a cult following, owner Jessica Koslow showcases all different types of jam in all different types of ways — on granola, with porridge, layered on top of ricotta toast. And, of course, stuffed into brioche French toast, as detailed in this recipe.

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Brioche with Prosciutto, Gruyère, and Egg

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This open-face sandwich has been a staple on the menu at Suzanne Goin's Los Angeles wine bar, A.O.C., since she opened the space in 2003. Named the A.O.C. Brioche, the dish is composed of melted Gruyère, frisée, prosciutto, and sunny-side-up egg, all piled on top of a thickly cut piece of brioche.

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Chocolate Cream and Orange Brioche Buns

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Tender and lightly sweet, these brioche buns from Timmy Gibbons and Bobby Schaffer of Chicago’s Lost Larson bakery are the perfect canvas for the bold flavors of orange and chocolate. The buns begin with a rich brioche dough that includes a touch of whole-wheat flour, which adds a nutty undertone without distracting from the sweet and buttery base.The chocolate-dipped candied orange slices are an optional but fun topping.

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Egg Salad with Capers and Spinach on Toasted Brioche

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For a more luxe version of this simple sandwich, replace the chopped capers with two teaspoons of white truffle oil. Brioche slices from a rectangular loaf work best here.

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Baba au Rhum Punch

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Chef Paola Velez's take on baba au rhum adds layers of dark rum and fresh fruit flavor to homemade brioche. With almost a cup of top-shelf dark rum between the cinnamon-spiked rum soak and the strawberry-peach Rum Punch Coulis, this opulent dessert is only for adults. Serve warm or at room temperature with scoops of vanilla ice cream to round out the sweet spice notes in the rum.

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Cardamom Baked French Toast

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To make this twist on baked French toast, inspired by the Swedish cardamom-infused buns called kardemummabullar, you'll spread slices of tender, eggy brioche or challah with a sugary cardamom butter, then toast them until lightly golden. Next, the spiced toasts get soaked in a peppercorn-spiked custard that enhances the cardamom flavor even more before it's topped with melted butter and Swedish pearl sugar and baked.

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Mushroom Toasts with Délice de Bourgogne

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Délice de Bourgogne, a triple-crème cheese that's even more luscious than Brie, is topped with pan-roasted mushrooms and herbs in this elegant appetizer from Top Chef winner Kristen Kish.

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Banana Brioche Bread Pudding

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Sweet bananas and buttery brioche come together in this cozy dessert. It's served with fudge and butterscotch sauce to take it over the top.

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Chocolate Brioche with Sichuan Peppercorns

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Gontran Cherrier, who has an eponymous bakery in Paris' 18th arrondissem*nt, spent several years in the pastry kitchen at elite restaurants like L'Arpège and Lucas Carton. So when he creates a bread, he often thinks about pairing it with a dish. He made this light chocolate brioche with foie gras terrine in mind; the Sichuan peppercorns add a spicy, aromatic kick that's good with rich foods. The brioche is also delicious with strawberry jam or quince paste.

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Mini Brioche Lobster Rolls

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These buttery rolls, a delightful play on the traditional lobster roll, are quite substantial, so one per person is plenty, especially if you're serving additional hors d'oeuvres. Cooked shrimp or lump crab is a fine alternative to lobster.

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Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Bread Pudding

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"This Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Bread Pudding is one of the crowd-pleasing mains we consistently serve during the holidays," says food writer Hetty McKinnon. "I started making it a few years ago as a hybrid recipe, inspired by the bread puddings we ate for dessert in Australia and the Thanksgiving stuffing that is served here in America. You can use any bread for this pudding, but I do adore the airiness of brioche."

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