Shower your mom with love this Mother’s Day! From fluffy soufflé pancakes to elegant spring pasta and decadent desserts, your mom will enjoy these delicious dishes that you make for her.
Homemade food is a thoughtful gesture that shows Mom just how much she’s appreciated. If you’re skipping the restaurant crowds to create a special moment at home, we have you covered.
From Fluffy Japanese Soufflé Pancakes for a slow morning to elegant multi-course dinners and decadent sweets, we’ve curated over 20 of our best Mother’s Day recipes. Whether she loves traditional Japanese favorites or light spring pastas, you’ll find the perfect dish here to celebrate her.
To all the incredible moms and mother figures around the world: thank you for everything you do!
Nami’s Tips for a Smooth Mother’s Day Celebration
- Get a head start the night before – For recipes like Japanese Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus, chop your vegetables and prep your sauce the evening before. On the day of, you’ll only need 15 minutes of actual cooking time, leaving you more time to spend with Mom.
- Do a practice run – If you are tackling the Fluffy Japanese Soufflé Pancakes for the first time, making a test batch a few days early is the best way to master the meringue and heat control. Ensuring your mixing bowl is greese-free and your egg whites are cold will help you achieve those firm peask and the iconic “jiggle” Mom will love!
- Bring ingredients to room temperature – For the Chocolate Gateau or Japanese Cheesecake, ensure your eggs and butter aren’t cold. This allows the batter to emulsify properly for a silky, consistent texture.
- Create a “drink station” – While you finish up the main meal, set out the ingredients for a Strawberry Matcha Latte. It’s a beautiful, layered drink that Mom can enjoy while relaxing, and it makes the occasion feel like a fancy café experience.
- Keep it warm – If you’re cooking a big brunch, preheat your oven to the lowest setting (around 170°F or 75°C) and keep finished items like The Best French Toast and Matcha Mochi Waffles on a wire rack inside. This prevents them from getting soggy while you finish the rest of the spread.
Breakfast or Brunch
Fluffy Japanese Soufflé Pancakes
Fluffy Japanese soufflé pancakes are tall, cottony stacks that taste like eating a cloud. The secret is stiff-peak meringue folded into the batter, then cooked low and slow with steam. My step-by-step recipe will help you make them at home for a weekend breakfast you won’t want to miss.
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Matcha Mochi Waffles
Level up your weekend brunch with my snowflake-shaped Matcha Mochi Waffles. With lovely matcha and caramelized sugar, they're crispy on the outside and delightfully chewy and bouncy inside for a truly irresistible sensation.
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The Best French Toast
Fluffy and tender on the inside and golden crisp outside, the best French Toast we‘ve ever tasted was during a trip to Japan. I‘ve recreated it here following the chef‘s recipe and tips. Now, you can make this amazing dish at home for breakfast or brunch!
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Matcha Latte
Learn how to make a creamy and frothy cup of homemade Matcha Latte! This steaming hot beverage with green tea powder and your choice of dairy or plant-based milk is packed with antioxidants and tastes better than Starbucks.
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Nikuman (Steamed Pork Buns)
Nikuman is Japanese Steamed Pork Buns filled with juicy ground pork, shiitake mushroom, and cabbage inside. The hot and fluffy buns fresh out of the steamer basket will warm your heart and soul. It‘s surprisingly easy to make this delicious snack at home!
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Brown Butter Banana Bread
Brown Butter Banana Bread takes a classic quick bread and makes it better with one extra step: browning the butter. No softening butter, no bringing eggs to room temperature—just melt, brown, and mix. It's moist, nutty, tender, and easy to mix by hand.
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The Best Homemade Crepes
Learn how to make the best homemade crepes! Perfectly thin and deliciously buttery, they are a staple for a weekend breakfast, brunch, kids' snacks, desserts, or a DIY crepe party! Only 6 ingredients needed.
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Lunch or Dinner
Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando)
With egg salad tucked between slices of white bread, Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando) is a timeless snack you can find in every convenience store in Japan. The creamy filling is bursting with a rich egg-yolk flavor and the shokupan slices are soft and pillowy. Some claim it‘s the absolute best egg salad sandwich they‘ve ever tasted!
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Classic Mentaiko Pasta
Japanese-style Mentaiko Pasta is one of the most popular wafu fusion dishes in Japan. In this quick and easy recipe, we toss hot spaghetti in a buttery cream sauce mixed with spicy salted cod or pollock roe. It‘s a heavenly, delicious combination! Ready in just 20 minutes.
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Omurice (Japanese Omelette Rice)
Learn to make a classic-style Japanese rice omelette called Omurice. It‘s a home-cooking staple in Japan adored by people of all ages. In my recipe, I‘ll teach you how to make a perfectly creamy and custardy omelette to wrap around savory chicken rice.
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Japanese Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus
Seasoned with soy sauce and flavorful dashi broth, this Japanese-style Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus is incredibly delicious and ready in less than 30 minutes! It’s also gluten-free!
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Spicy Shoyu Ramen
Spicy Shoyu Ramen is a comforting bowl of noodles in a savory soy sauce broth with just the right kick of heat. I’ll share my two key ingredients for depth and umami to create an extra-delicious broth without a long simmer. Make your toppings ahead for quick and easy ramen day!
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Cheese Stuffed Japanese Hamburger Steak
Add a rich and melty surprise to your hambagu with this Cheese-Stuffed Japanese Hamburger Steak. Pan-seared until juicy and tender, these ground meat steaks are smothered in a most flavorful demi-glace pan sauce. Believe me, every bite is a revelation!
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Teriyaki Salmon
Use this quick and easy Teriyaki Salmon recipe to make a light and savory meal any night of the week. Salmon fillets are pan-grilled to tender perfection in the traditional method and finished with an authentic homemade teriyaki sauce.
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Mosaic Sushi
This colorful Mosaic Sushi features sashimi, tamagoyaki rolled omelette, and vegetables arranged in a checkerboard pattern over sushi rice. It‘s a feast for the senses! Despite its exquisite presentation, anyone can make it at home. I’ll teach you an easy method to prepare this modern take on sushi that‘s sure to impress.
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Easy Tonkotsu Ramen Recipe
Make my Easy Tonkotsu Ramen recipe for a delicious bowl of noodle soup just like your favorite ramen shop. I'll show you my pressure-cooker shortcut to make a rich, creamy, and intensely flavorful pork broth from scratch in just 3 hours!
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Desserts or Tea Time
Plum Cake (Blueberry and Peach, Too!)
Make this easy and delicious Plum Cake recipe with simple pantry ingredients! You can also use peaches, apricots, figs, and berries to enjoy this cake all-year round.
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Royal Milk Tea
A popular drink in Japan, divine Royal Milk Tea is easy to make at home with Assam or Darjeeling black tea leaves and milk. You can add sugar or honey to suit your taste. It‘s a delicious beverage to serve hot or iced, or you can use it as a base for boba milk tea!
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Chocolate Gateau (Chocolate Cake)
Moist and rich Chocolate Gateau recipe is a classic dessert found in cafes and pastry shops across Japan. Topped with strawberries and fresh whipped cream, this decadent cake is a beautiful and elegant sweet treat to make at home for any festive occasion.
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Japanese Cheesecake
Japanese Cheesecake is unlike any other—light and cottony, with a signature jiggle. This soufflé cheesecake melts on your tongue: It's creamy and rich, yet airy enough to go back for a second slice. In this recipe, I walk you through every step, from beating the egg whites to the right peaks to cooling the cake slowly so it doesn’t crack or collapse.
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Matcha Brownies
Rich, fudgy, and beautifully green, these Matcha Brownies have a chewy center and shiny, crackly top. With brown butter and white chocolate, each bite delivers a balance of nutty sweetness and earthy aroma—irresistible for any matcha lover!
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Strawberry Matcha Latte
Try my easy Strawberry Matcha Latte recipe for a refreshing afternoon pick-me-up. With fresh strawberry flavor, rich matcha, and generous colorful layers, you can whip up this delicious cafe beverage at home in just 5 minutes.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 1, 2020 and republished with new content on May 5, 2026.