21 Recipes for a Memorable Easter Dinner

We have the main dishes, sides, and desserts that will wow the guests at your Easter dinner table. Whether you’re looking for something classic, or for a new dish to add to the mix, these are 21 of our favorite recipes for the holiday.

By
Carrie Havranek
Carrie Havranek
Carrie has 10+ years experience as a food writer, editor, and recipe developer. She is the author of Tasting Pennsylvania and a contributor to Simply Recipes since 2017.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
and
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated March 22, 2022
Easter Recipes

Easter means it's officially spring, and spring means fresh eggs, lamb, asparagus, and the first sweet fruits of the season!

Whether you’re looking for something classic, or for a new dish to add to the mix, here are some of our favorite recipes for the Easter table.

  • Roast Leg of Lamb

    Sliced Roast Leg of Lamb with pink center
    Elise Bauer

    Nothing quite heralds spring like serving a leg of lamb at Easter, especially one with a citrus rosemary marinade that’s seared and slow roasted.

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  • Glazed Baked Ham

    Side view of a cooking ham with a bone in and sitting on a cutting board.
    Elise Bauer

    The beauty of ham is that it’s already cooked when you purchase it; you just need to warm it up and give it a little flavor. Choose from two glazes—one with honey and thyme, the other, sweet hot honey mustard.

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  • Brown Sugar Baked Ham

    Brown Sugar Baked Ham
    Alison Bickle

    There's more than one way to bake a ham, and lots of brown sugar surrounds this one so no glazing is necessary. Buy a ham that's bigger than you'll need because leftovers are mandatory.

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  • Pork Crown Roast

    Crown Roast of Pork
    Elise Bauer

    Make your holiday feast extra special with this roast that's not as intimidating as it looks. The butcher does most of the hard work, and you'll get all the credit for these savory pork roast ribs that look so fancy.

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    Continue to 5 of 21 below.

  • Classic Rack of Lamb

    Rack of lamb cut into chops on cutting board

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    Get your butcher to "French," or expose the bones, on the rack of lamb for you, and you skip the hard work. You'll just need to season it with rosemary, thyme, and garlic then add some olive oil before you carefully roast it in the oven.

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  • Oven-Roasted Salmon, Asparagus and New Potatoes

    Oven-Roasted Salmon, Asparagus and New Potatoes
    Elise Bauer

    This is the perfect meal for a small Easter celebration. Use just one sheet pan to cook the entire meal that features fresh salmon and seasonal asparagus. Line the pan with parchment paper, and clean up is a snap!

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  • Feta-Brined Roast Chicken

    Feta-Brined Roast Chicken
    Irvin Lin

    Chicken for Easter? If it's as special and delicious as this feta-brined roasted bird, why not? Chicken soaked in feta cheese brine, the liquid that feta cheese comes in, is some of the best chicken you've ever tasted!

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  • Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

    Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
    Lisa Lin

    Wrap the asparagus in prosciutto, roast in the oven and you’ve got a salty-sweet side dish at the ready.

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    Continue to 9 of 21 below.

  • Deviled Eggs

    Best Deviled Eggs
    Elise Bauer

    These springtime (and picnic and potluck, let’s be honest) treats take their name from the little bit of heat from some Tabasco sauce mixed into the filling. Addictive!

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  • Crispy Parmesan Potato Stacks

    Lisa Lin

    Parmesan and garlic season these muffin-tin baked potato stacks. The recipe is simple to double or triple depending on the number of guests you'll have. Count on one to two stacks per person.

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  • Mashed Rutabaga with Sour Cream and Dill

    Mashed Rutabaga with Sour Cream and Dill
    Elise Bauer

    This alternative to mashed potatoes works well on the side of ham, beef, lamb, or chicken. It's creamy, hearty, and frugal—great for a crowd. Although rutabaga season is in the fall, they keep really well, and you should be able to find them in early spring, just in time for Easter.

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  • Roasted Radish and Feta Salad

    Spring Roasted Radish and Feta Salad for Easter
    Sally Vargas

    Radishes are abundant in spring, and roasting them turns their crunchiness and bite into juicy and sweet. Tossed with vinaigrette and feta, they're an unexpected but wholly appropriate Easter side dish.

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    Continue to 13 of 21 below.

  • Roasted Broccolini With Creamy Mustard Sauce

    Roasted Broccolini Creamy Mustard Sauce
    Trent Lanz

    Add these simple greens as an Easter side to any main dish, and you've seriously upped the nutrition of your feast in just 20 minutes. You do need to soak the cashews for 2 hours before you roast them, but that's all hands-off time.

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  • Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

    How to Make Mac and Cheese in the Slow Cooker
    Nick Evans

    If your oven is in use for hours with the main course, using your slow cooker to make a mac and cheese side is a smart idea. Throw all the ingredients in your slow cooker and forget about them for the next 90 minutes.

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  • Easy Sautéed Spinach

    Wooden spoon scooping up cooked spinach recipe.

    Simply Recipes / Natalia Vela

    This quick side dish comes together just in time for dinner. Fresh spinach with olive oil and garlic cooks in just 5 minutes. Once it wilts, it's done.

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  • Classic Green Bean Casserole From Scratch

    green bean casserole from scratch for Easter dinner
    Megan Keno

    No cans of soup go into this version of the classic holiday favorite—the creamy, mushroomy, green bean casserole. Even the fried onions are homemade, but it is absolutely worth the effort. It's easy to omit the mushrooms out of allergy concerns, too.

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    Continue to 17 of 21 below.

  • Lemon Meringue Pie

    Lemon Meringue Pie
    Elise Bauer

    Easter dinner isn't complete without something sweet! This lemon meringue pie is a classic – tall, billowy meringue with tart lemon curd underneath.

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  • Carrot Cake Cupcakes

    Carrot Cake Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
    Elise Bauer

    If you're trying to do a little bit of prep each day leading up to Easter, add these treats to your menu. Bake the perfectly spiced carrot cupcakes with chopped walnuts (or leave the nuts out) up to 2 days ahead of time, and then frost them the day you're serving.

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  • Rhubarb Berry Pie

    Rhubarb Berry Pie
    Elise Bauer

    Tart rhubarb, sweet strawberries, and raspberries fill this pie that's a perfect ending to your Easter meal. It's easy, delicious, and full of spring goodness.

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  • Strawberry Shortcake

    Strawberry Shortcake with whipped cream
    Elise Bauer

    Fresh strawberries, homemade biscuits, and just-whipped cream come together for a simple but classic dessert that says spring is definitely here.

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    Continue to 21 of 21 below.

  • Hummingbird Cake

    Side view of a blue plate with a tall slice of southern hummingbird cake and a cake on a cake stand behind it.
    Annika Panikker

    If impressing your guests is the goal, this cake is the way to achieve it. Stack three layers of spiced pineapple-banana cake with cream cheese frosting and top with pecans. It's one of the sweetest, most scrumptious cakes around.

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