15 Easter Dinner Recipes - Best Easter Side Dishes & Meat Recipes (2024)

Every spring, people all around the world look forward to the feasting and celebration that takes place on Easter Sunday. Especially important to Christians, Easter is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection after three days in the grave. Over the centuries, many dinner traditions have been built around the holiday, some based on faith, and some just on good cooking. Here we will discuss the symbolism of some foods and 15 popular Easter dinner recipes.

Symbolic Easter Foods

Easter Eggs

Probably the most famous and most universally recognized Easter food is the brightly colored Easter egg. In many traditions, eggs are seen as a symbol of new life and represent Jesus’s resurrection. They are a great addition to any Easter celebration, coloring, and hunting for them are great family activities. When you are done using them as decoration, they can be turned into deviled eggs.

Chocolate Easter Bunnies

Chocolate bunnies are another tradition that combines both decoration and fun. The Easter bunny traditionally hides eggs for the children and brings them sugary treats. Rabbits in folklore are often symbols of spring and new life, which coincides with the rebirth themes of Easter.



Lamb

Jesus is often referred to as the “Lamb of God”, and lambs are one of the most common symbols of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. People eat lamb as part of their Easter dinner to honor and remember this.

Bread and Fish

Jesus gave his flesh body for mankind on Good Friday, and to honor that, many Christians, especially Catholics, choose to eat a stricter than usual diet that day. Instead of eating fleshy meats, they stick to fish and often eat lots of bread or pastries.

Traditional Dinner Dishes

1. Roasted Carrots

Fresh carrots coated in honey and brown sugar and then roasted until tender. This Easter Dinner side dish has become a staple because they are so easy and delicious.

15 Easter Dinner Recipes - Best Easter Side Dishes & Meat Recipes (1)

Get Recipe at: lecremedelacrumb.com

2. Coca-cola Ham

There are lots of ways to prepare an Easter ham, but this one is practically fool-proof. A simple glaze of Coca-cola and brown sugar painted on a spiral cut ham and baked.

15 Easter Dinner Recipes - Best Easter Side Dishes & Meat Recipes (2)

Get Recipe at: dinneratthezoo.com

3. Garlic and Herb Potatoes

Roasted potatoes are always a welcome side dish at Easter dinner. Rolled in oil, butter, garlic, and herbs and then roasted until soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.



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Get the recipe at: rasamalaysia.com

4. Bacon-Brown Sugar Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin marinated in a sweet teriyaki sauce rubbed with brown sugar, wrapped in bacon, and baked until it sizzles.

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Get the recipe at: thekitchn.com

5. Oven Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is a quintessential spring vegetable and often found as an Easter side dish. Sprinkled in garlic, parmesan, and just a little bit of lemon juice and roasted until soft.

15 Easter Dinner Recipes - Best Easter Side Dishes & Meat Recipes (5)

Get the recipe at: houseofnasheats.com

6. Easter Bunny Rolls

These cute little bunny-shaped rolls are best when made from homemade yeast dough and then coated in butter while they are still warm from the oven. A great addition to Easter dinner or brunch.



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Get the recipe at: platedcravings.com

7. Bacon Parmesan Beans

Even people who aren’t fans of fresh green beans will think twice before passing on these.

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Get the recipe at: sixsistersstuff.com

8. Broccoli Salad

There are so many recipes for broccoli salad out there, but this one is the best I have found. Full of fresh ingredients and so flavorful, it is a go-to Easter side dish.

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Get the recipe at: ourwabisabilife.com

9. Slow Cooker Maple Glazed Ham

A delicious, juicy ham that only takes minutes to prepare. Once it’s in the slow cooker, you don’t have to worry about it until it’s time to carve.

15 Easter Dinner Recipes - Best Easter Side Dishes & Meat Recipes (9)

Get the recipe at: sixsistersstuff.com

10. Bourbon Orange Glazed Ham

Coated in bourbon mustard and orange glaze this ham is sweet, tangy, sticky, and sure to be a star on your dinner table.

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Get the recipe at: thechunkychef.com

11. Holiday Corn Casserole

This sweet and savory side dish will remind you of cornbread and is so simple to put together.

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Get the recipe at: twosisterscrafting.com

12. Herb Roasted Potatoes and Beans

These potatoes and green beans are coated in butter, sprinkled with garlic and rosemary, and roasted until golden and delicious.

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Get the recipe at: thegraciouswife.com

13. Asparagus Bundles

Fresh stalks of asparagus wrapped in strips of bacon and baked. There is a reason these are such a popular Easter side dish because they are amazing.

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Get the recipe at: lilluna.com

14. Cordon Blue Stuffed Pork Loin

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Get the recipe at: seekinggoodeats.com

15. Asparagus Gruyere Tart – Featured On The Today Show

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Get the recipe at: hipfoodiemom.com

15 Easter Dinner Recipes - Best Easter Side Dishes & Meat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular Easter dinner? ›

Honey-Mustard Glazed Ham

Here in the United States, one of the most traditional Easter foods is a big glazed ham.

What meat is traditionally eaten for the Easter meal on Easter Sunday? ›

Roast lamb or roast ham is the traditional meat for the main meal on Easter Sunday. Read on for more on what to serve with your traditional Easter roast. Hot cross buns, which are spiced tea cakes, are traditionally served on Good Friday.

What food is good for Easter Sunday? ›

Easter dinner mains
  • One-pan lamb with hasselback potatoes. ...
  • Spring chicken pot pie. ...
  • Roast leg of lamb with garlic & watercress butter. ...
  • Cavolo nero, mushroom, potato & fontina strudel. ...
  • Bay-crumbed salmon with creamed spinach and wild mushrooms. ...
  • Roasted stuffed squash with herby pistachio salsa. ...
  • Slow cooker leg of lamb.

What did Jesus eat for Easter dinner? ›

Local experts believe that Jesus ate simple meals of bread and locally caught fish. Aside from simple meals of bread and locally caught fish, local experts believe that Jesus also ate olives. Local experts believe that Jesus drank wine with his meals.

What is the most popular meat eaten on Easter? ›

Ham is the most traditional Easter meat. Although it's also popular at Christmas and many Thanksgiving tables include ham as an additional meat entree, Easter is when ham fully occupies the spotlight. Most conventional hams are cured with sugar or honey, which significantly raises the sugar levels of the final product.

What not to eat on Easter Sunday? ›

For ages, Christians have avoided eating meat on Easter Sunday. Many individuals, devout or not, continue to eat solely fish on this day. Every year, millions of people around the world observe the tradition of eating fish on Easter.

What do Mexicans eat at Easter? ›

Favorites include Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding), Chile Relleno, Baja Fish Tacos, Camarones A La Diabla, and Crockpot Lentil Soup.

When not to eat meat on Easter? ›

A summary of current practice: On Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent: Everyone of age 14 and up must abstain from consuming meat. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday: Everyone of age 18 to 59 must fast, unless exempt due to usually a medical reason.

What day do you not eat meat at Easter? ›

Christians don't just observe the Friday fast at Easter, throughout Lent it is observed. The idea of the tradition is that Jesus sacrificed his own flesh on Good Friday and thus meat is given up in substitute.

What to bring to Easter dinner as a guest? ›

If you've been invited to someone's home for Easter dinner, it's always courteous to ask the host if they would like you to bring a dish. If they say yes, they may assign you one, or if not, consider suggesting what you could bring, for example, a side dish or dessert to contribute to the meal.

What do Catholics eat for Easter dinner? ›

Traditionally, the baskets are filled with: decorated hardboiled eggs (representing Christ's Resurrection); lamb-shaped butter or sugar (representing Christ as the “Lamb of God”); bread (reminding us that Jesus is the “Bread of Life”); meats, such as ham (symbolic of great joy and abundance), sausage (symbolic of God's ...

What do Mexicans have for Easter dinner? ›

Favorites include Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding), Chile Relleno, Baja Fish Tacos, Camarones A La Diabla, and Crockpot Lentil Soup.

What is the religious Easter dinner? ›

Lamb, eggs, rabbits, bells: What food portrays. The Easter meal, which follows the religious ceremony, is often eaten at midday, bringing the long fast of Lent to an end with a series of rich and sweet dishes. Lamb, which commemorates Jesus' sacrifice, is often served as the main course, as a leg, roast or stew.

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