Easter Recipes

Here is our delicious Easter recipes guide for your holiday menu planning. We have recipes for Easter appetizers, delicious Easter morning breakfasts, egg-cellent Easter dinners, and more. We have you covered.

A traditional Easter meal often depends on culture, customs, and the region you live in. If you’re Greek, you may start your meal with avgolemono soup. If you’re Italian, you may be serving Italian Wedding Soup. A traditional American menu often includes ham and potatoes, but if you want something else, there are plenty of things to choose from.

Whatever your plans are this Easter, we’re here to help you put together a memorable menu. So eat, drink, and celebrate spring with these Easter recipes for sides, mains, appetizers, desserts, and drinks.

Easter will next be celebrated on Sunday, April, 2025 and Orthodox Churches will also celebrate Easter on Sunday, April, 2025.

Easter Main Dishes

Whether you want something traditional like ham or turkey, or something less common, we’ve got plenty of main dishes that will make your Easter Meal extra special.

Easter Appetizer & Snack Recipes

These appetizer and snack Easter recipes are perfect for before or after your egg hunt!

Soup & Salad Recipes

Soups and salad might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to your Easter menu but these recipes are reason alone to celebrate!

Side Dish Recipes

Whether you’re serving a holiday ham or short ribs, we’ve got the best side dishes for Easter Lunch or Dinner!

Easter Brunch Recipes

Of course some of the recipes above will also work for your Easter Brunch, but here are some of our favorite recipes to add to the menu!

Easter Desserts

From the beloved chocolate desserts to lighter options with fresh fruit, these Easter Desserts will keep everyone hoppy – er, happy.

Easter Drinks

These Easter drinks will put some extra spring in your step!

Easter 101

Easter Food Traditions

• Eggs: Many years ago, eggs were forbidden during Lent, so Easter Sunday was a was customarily the time to reintroduce them to the table.
• Roast Lamb: Lamb was the main meal of Jewish Passover, and carried over into Easter tradition.
• Chocolate Eggs: One of the newer Easter food traditions, these originated in the 1800s in France and Germany. They symbolize rebirth,, fertility, life, and spring. Fun fact: Cadbury started in 1875!
• Boiled Eggs: Decorating eggs dates back to ancient times. In early Christianity, eggs were painted red to represent the blood of Christ on the Cross, and more recently, cracking the eggs represents the opening of Christ’s Tomb.
• Easter Bread: This bread marks the end of Lent and represents peace and good luck for the coming year. Bread symbolizes the body of Christ. Easter bread comes in many forms across the world. Some are topped with colored eggs, others come in the shape of a dove.
• Hot Cross Buns: Queen Elizabeth I banned these from being served except for at Easter, Christmas, and funerals. She believed they had magical healing powers. The cross on top of the buns represents the crucifixion and are a popular item served at Easter.
• Carrots: Maybe you leave them out for the Easter Bunny, but carrots also represent springtime, and abundance. They are often served as a side dish with Easter Dinner, or transformed into carrot cake.
• Ham: This became a popular meal for Easter because it was so readily available in many parts of the world during early spring. It’s one of the most commonly served items for Easter.
• Pretzels: Pretzels represent prayer and were often consumed as a snack during Lent, up until Easter Sunday. The word Pretzel means “little arms” because it looks like arms locked in prayer.
• Simnel Cake: Made with dried fruit and spices, this cake is topped with 11 marzipan balls to represent the 12 apostles (except for Judas Iscariot).
• Buns & Cheese: In Jamaica and the Caribbean, buns and cheese are and alternative to hot cross buns.
• Fugias: Christians in India make fugias, which are deep fried balls of bread. Yum!
• Difo Dabo: Ethipia has one of the highest populations of Christianity, and Easter is a sacred holiday there. After eating beef and lamb, the eat difo dabo, a round wheat loaf made with milk and honey wrapped in koba leaves and baked in a clay oven.
• Torta Pasqualina: Popular in Italy, this dish is a flaky crusted Easter pie filled with spinach, ricotta, and hard boiled eggs. This transitioned to South America via Italian immigrants, becoming torta pascualina, which is pretty much identical to the Italian version.
• Figolli: This is a sweet almond cake covered with icing or chocolate and shaped into symbols like fish or lambs. This is a popular treat in Malta.
• Fanesca: Popular in Ecuador, this stew combines a number of flavors, includes 12 grains to represent the apostles, and salt cod to represent Jesus. It is often topped with hard boiled eggs, peanuts, fried plantains, or mini empanadas.
• Pashka: In Russia, this thick pudding is shaped into a truncated pyramid with the letters that symbolize the phrase “Christ is Risen”. It is made with cheese curds, raisins, fruit, jam, and spices.
• Mammi: Popular in Finland, this dish is made of water, rye flour, powdered milk, orange zest, salt, and powdered rye malt of dark molasses.
• Capirotada: It is not as popular as it used to be, but capirotada is a popular Mexican bread pudding. Each element representing something from the crucifixion or resurrections and made from Aztec and Spanish ingredients that include salty cheese and clove and cinnamon infused syrup.
• Kalitsouna: In Greece, this is a popular sweet treat. A baked or fried pastry that is made of yogurt and brandy filled with a blend of soft cheeses, orange peel, and cinnamon.
• Jollof: This is a popular West African dish served on Easter. This rice is made with vegetable and tomato paste sauce.
• Pickled Herring: In Sweden, pickled herring is often served up on Easter.