This Harvest Breakfast Braid is the perfect way to start your day! Filled with cheese, pecans, cranberries and apples, this giant pastry has all your favorite breakfast flavors.
Harvest Breakfast Braid
Last year I went to the Pillsbury Bake-off in Las Vegas. I wasn’t a contestant or a judge or anything — I just got to watch! We got to walk around the Bake-off during the contest and taste-test all the entries. Talk about a dream come true!! All the recipes there have already gone through multiple rounds of testing and judging before making it to the final Bake-off, so you know they’re ALL incredible. But this harvest breakfast braid was one of my absolute favorite things I had all day. It would’ve totally gotten my vote for the million-dollar prize! I’ve made it several times since then and everyone always RAVES over it.
- Perfect for a fancy breakfast, like on Christmas morning.
- Beautiful and impressive dish to serve company or take to a party.
- Quick, easy, and family-friendly enough to make for a fun and delicious weeknight dinner.
Here’s all you need: pizza dough, sausage, havarti cheese, pecans, dried cranberries, orange marmalade, and shoot, I just realize I forgot to put my granny smith apple in this picture!
How to Make This Beautiful Breakfast Braid
Line a 15×10-inch baking pan with parchment paper and unroll the pizza dough in the pan.
Press the dough almost to the edges of the pan.
Now spread 1/3 cup of orange marmalade down center of dough.
Top with apple slices…
Half of the cheese… (I used havarti, but you could also use brie or swiss.)
Cooked sausage crumbles… (I like using the Jimmy Dean pre-cooked Turkey Sausage crumbles because it’s easier, tastes just as good, and 60% less fat.)
Top with the remaining cheese…
And finally, half of the pecans and cranberries.
Next cut the dough into 1-inch strips along the sides.
Fold strips diagonally over filling, alternating from side to side, stretching the dough as needed.
Like so!
Bake this at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.
Take it out of the oven and spread the remaining 1/3 cup marmalade over the top and sides of the partially baked dough, then sprinkle with remaining cranberries and pecans. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes longer until golden brown.
Delicious!! This is the perfect holiday meal. You could even make it the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning. Hope you enjoy!!
Harvest Breakfast Braid
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Prep Time: 15 minutes -
Cook Time: 25 minutes
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Total Time: 40 minutes
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Yield: 8 servings 1x
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Category: Breakfast
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Method: Oven
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Cuisine: American
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:Description
This Harvest Breakfast Braid is the perfect way to start your day! Filled with cheese, pecans, cranberries and apples, this giant pastry has all your favorite breakfast flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 can Pillsbury™ refrigerated Classic Pizza Crust
- 2/3 cup orange marmalade
- 1 small Granny Smith apple, cored, sliced 1/8-inch thick
- 6 slices Havarti cheese, cut in 1/4-inch slices
- 1 lb sausage, cooked and crumbled
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 15×10-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Unroll dough in pan. Press dough almost to edges of pan. Spread 1/3 cup of marmalade down center of dough. Top with apple slices, half of the cheese, the sausage, the remaining cheese, half the pecans, and half the cranberries.
- Make cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough to within 1/2 inch of filling. Fold strips of dough diagonally over filling, alternating from side to side, stretching dough as needed. Bake 15 minutes.
- Spread the remaining 1/2 cup marmalade over the top and sides of the partially baked braid. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes longer until golden brown. Serve warm.
Do you think I could use pie crust instead of pizza crust? I couldn’t find the pilsbury pizza crust close to me.
I have made this many times over the years and it is a favorite. I look forward to it every fall. The recipe does fail to mention that your are to sprinkle half the pecans and cranberries inside the braid. I ?use maple flavored chicken sausage and it gives it a smoky fall flavor. For Christmas you can’t beat the combination of cranberry and orange. It evokes Christmassy British mince pies. It never fails to impress and I get asked for the recipe every where I take it.
OMG wooow looks delicious!!!!!
Hello! I know this recipe has been posted for a while, but I just found it :) I am planning to make this for a Christmas brunch. Did the bottom crust get crispy? It seems a lot of liquid would cook out of the apple and make it soggy. Perhaps it escapes out the top as steam??
The name is Tracy…not Tract…lol :)
The walk-thru includes an instruction that’s missing from the recipe. I’ve made this many times and just noticed the omission. The directions in the recipe are missing the following line from the last step: then sprinkle with remaining cranberries and pecans.
Turned out perfect for me in a convection oven.
I just made your Harvest Breakfast Braid. It’s in the refrigerator to bake in the morning and bring to work. I’m sure they will love it. What’s not to love? It looks beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Does this need to be refrigerated once cooked?
I love this recipe! I like to do it with Brie and I also use peach preserves instead of orange marmalade. So good and impressive looking!
I made this this morning for a work breakfast, I made 3 of them but should have done 4! It was a hit! I prepared it the night before and baked it once i got to work. At the store I opted for provolone cheese because they didn’t have any Havarti. I also used candied spicy and sweet pecans because that’s what I had in my cupboard :)
My only cons were that the parchment paper started to burn pretty badly, i’m assuming it was because of the marmalade melting out and puddling up. Maybe I used too much on the bottom. So I had to try to pull off the parchment paper off each one :) But even with that slight problem I will be making this again! My work said they would like to pay me to make this once a week for everyone! So they loved it, and I work with a bunch of people who are huge fitness fanatics who eat very healthy on a normal basis! That being said do you have an idea on what the nutritional value would be?
Can ground beef be substituted for the sausage? If so, would you recommend seasoning it (with just salt and pepper, or anything in particular)?
Can I use home made pizza dough in place of the Pillbury? We prefer homemade to store bought items….healthier for the kids…
Thanks..
J
Of course! :)
It’s only April and I couldn’t wait for Christmas it’s in the oven now!
Anxious to try this. Looks great! Any suggestions for side dishes?
I noticed a typo in your instructions… #4. should read “Spead the remaining 1/3 cup (not 1/2 cup) marmalade over the top and sides of the partially baked braid.”
Can’t wait to try!
I made it this morning for New Year’s Day. It is fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Amanda. It will be added to my special breakfast/brunch list.
I made this for a brunch potluck. It was sooo good! It also looked beautiful on the buffet line. I didn’t use nuts since I wasn’t sure about allergens in all the people. I used half golden raisins since I didn’t have enough craisins. Our marmalade from Trader Joes was not a hit on toast (too bitter)but worked wonderfully in this, got all caramelized and good. I thought the combo looked a bit odd when I saw the recipe but I am really glad I made this.
Thanks for the great recipe, I have liked all I have tried from here and that doesn’t happen very often!
I made this for Christmas morning breakfast and it was a HUGE hit! I made it the night before and baked it in the morning plus I used red pepper jelly instead of marmalade. I will definitely make this again.
This looks soo divine can’t wait to make it. Does the pizza dough u use rise and puffs up? Coz usually it does! How does it stay so pretty laced?
This looks amazing but time consuming to make on Christmas morning. Any suggestions on how to make it ahead, freeze it and them baking in that morning?
Do you think we could assemble it, and then freeze it? Would you take it out the night before to thaw in the fridge or just put it from freezer to oven? That would change the baking time right?
Or is it better to partially bake it (15 minutes) and then freeze it?
Hi Erica! I’ve never frozen it or even made it the night before, but if you try it let us know how it turns out. :) Good luck! :)
I made this up CHRISTMAS EVE then popped it in the oven when we started to open presents and it was fantastic! Definitely yes you can make up the night ahead.
OMGoodness Kevin&Amanda!!!! This is beyond words…but here I am babbling anyway, go figure. This is DEFINITELY on my Christmas morning hit list…however, not sure I can wait that long. On my way to Wal-mart for the turkey scrumbles!!
Oh. My. Stars! I made this Saturday morning for breakfast since we had company for the weekend. I should have made two!! Definitely a keeper!
This looks great! I am a vegetarian so will leave out the meat (or add a meat substitute). Not a orange marmalade fan though. What do you think would be a good jam or preserves substitute? Thanks!
Grape? Apple? :)
Hello,
This looks yummy!
Can I omit the meat?
Thanks
Definitely! :)
I was left speechless at this delight
this looks great and the variations are endless!
I’m thinking this could be a great dish to bring to my cousin’s on Christmas Day. Festive looking too!
Savory and sweet! This is such beautiful and delicious dinner or breakfast idea!
OMG I SO LOVE THIS! It’s perfection! Pinning!!!!
I can’t wait to make this!! LOVE!
Perfect breakfast! Loving the Fall flavors :)
OMG this is gorgeous!! I love harvati with apples. It just all sounds so flavorful!!
This looks soooooo good!! Love these flavors :) xo
I so want to make this for dinner! It’s way better than the boring salad I had planned. :)
I want this so badly! It looks absolutely delicious.
Loving this breakfast idea! Looks so fun to make too!
This looks wonderful!! Did you just use one apple?
Hi Carol! Yes, as the recipe says, I used “1 small Granny Smith apple.” Hope this helps! :)
I love all the yummy flavors in this!
Good gravy this looks awesome! I just suggested a brunch get together with a friend for the holidays, I know what I’m making! :-)