39 Best Easter Dinner Ideas for 2025
Do a quick search online and you’ll discover that Easter dinner ideas are far from sparse. As perhaps one of the most symbolic meals in our culinary calendars, foodies the world over have concocted countless takes on the traditional Easter dinner.
Be it elevating classic roast potatoes with a simple sprinkle of rosemary or finding novel new glazes with which to dress a ham, there is a whole world of Easter dinner ideas to explore. This makes crafting your Easter dinner menu an exciting prospect, but not one without its challenges.
Narrowing down your main course to just one or two choices is a tough job in itself, and that’s before you begin considering the plethora of Easter dinner sides, appetizers and desserts you’re bound to find.
This difficulty in settling on the perfect menu is the reason that we’ve created this Easter dinner ideas guide: to take the stress out of planning your meal and allow you, your family and friends to dine on only the tastiest Easter dishes.
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- What Is a Traditional Easter Dinner Menu?
- The 39 Best Easter Dinner Menu Ideas
- Elevate Easter Dinner With Culinary Experiences
What Is a Traditional Easter Dinner Menu?
If you live in the United States, you’ll probably recognize a typical Easter dinner menu: deviled egg appetizers, followed by a main course of ham, often glazed, alongside essential Easter dinner sides like roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. Ham may be substituted with lamb, especially at Christian tables, where the Easter food traditions center around the meat symbolizing Christ as the lamb of god.
Of course, modern palates and creative culinarians have found myriad ways to spice up (in some cases, literally) the most quintessential Easter dinner ideas. This means that whether you sit down for Easter dinner to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ or simply to enjoy quality time over great food with your loved ones, the sheer variety of Easter dinner ideas makes it one of the most hotly anticipated meals of the year.
The 39 Best Easter Dinner Menu Ideas
1. Asparagus Tart
A light and flavorful appetizer, asparagus tart is sure to whet your guests’ appetite without filling them up ahead of the main course. This Easter dinner idea is also one that utilizes one of the season’s most essential vegetables.
Puff pastry is indulged with a grated gruyère, shallot and cream cheese spread before being topped with vibrant spears of asparagus, sprinkled with Parmesan and baked.
Recipe Steps: 10
Total Recipe Time: 25 minutes
2. Parmesan-Crusted Potatoes
Whichever meat (if any!) lies at the heart of your meal, adding Parmesan-crusted potatoes to your list of Easter dinner ideas is sure to please your guests. It’s one of those dishes that requires just a few humble ingredients but which tastes like it came from a Michelin-star restaurant.
The best part? This Easter dinner recipe includes a shortcut to perfectly tender potatoes, saving you time to focus on other dishes.
Recipe Steps: 8
Total Recipe Time: 40 minutes
3. Italian Easter Bread
This next Easter dinner idea brings a dash of color to the table that’s perfect for the Easter season. More than that, thanks to the use of a tangzhong dough starter, you can continue to enjoy light and fluffy Italian Easter bread for days after it’s made!
Once baked, the dyed egg at the center of each knot will be soft-boiled, pairing beautifully with the warm, fluffy, slightly sweetened bread. Serving this bread is also a great Easter party idea, offering something fun and festive to your guests.
Recipe Steps: 15
Total Recipe Time: 3 hours 50 minutes (most of which is proofing and baking)
4. Sous-Vide Lamb Chops
If you want to add lamb to your roster of Easter dinner ideas but have never quite managed to achieve tender perfection with the usual leg, sous-vide lamb chops might just be for you. Garlic, rosemary and thyme complement the lamb wonderfully, and since it’s cooked sous-vide (in a vacuum-sealed bag in warm water), it’s hard to overdo it. Slice the cooked rack into chops and sear in a pan, or serve it whole and blushing.
Recipes Steps: 7
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
5. Lemon Kale Salad
Serving lemon kale salad provides a delicious, yet light way to begin your Easter dinner proceedings, without filling up ahead of the main course. Sturdy and nutty lacinato kale is treated to a light but punchy dose of lemon dressing. Toppings of pine nuts and Parmesan finish the dish with a touch of crunch and subtle saltiness.
Recipes Steps: 5
Total Recipe Time: 40 minutes
6. Rosemary Potatoes
If you’ve already settled on the centerpiece but need Easter dinner ideas to enjoy on the side, look no further than this delightfully simple recipe for rosemary potatoes. A simple combination of sea salt, freshly minced rosemary and grated lemon zest embalm boiled and smashed fingerling potatoes. These are then baked to produce a side that’s savory, zesty and crunchy all at once.
Recipes Steps: 7
Total Recipe Time: 40 minutes
7. Lemon Pepper Salmon
Ready in three simple steps, this Easter dinner idea combines fresh ingredients to elevate the already-indulgent flavor of salmon to whole new heights. We all know that lemon is a natural bedfellow for fish, but it's the fresh thyme, parsley, garlic and, as the name suggests, pepper, that make lemon pepper salmon a worthy addition to your Easter dinner idea shortlist. Simply spread the above ingredients plus a little salt over the top of your salmon and bake it until the flesh flakes.
Recipe Steps: 3
Total Recipe Time: 30
8. Herb-Crusted Lamb Lollipops
Lamb dishes on a list of Easter dinner ideas isn’t all that groundbreaking, but these herb-crusted lamb lollipops elevate the classic protein in a relatively easy way. In fact, the best part about this recipe is arguably the minimal effort and time it takes to make.
Simply sprinkle the chops with a mixture of fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic, plus Himalayan salt and cracked black pepper, then sautée in coconut oil. The resultant chops taste incredible, and your guests needn’t know they only took you 15 minutes to make.
Recipe Steps: 7
Total Recipe Time: 15 minutes
9. Vegan Carrot Cake
Hosting guests with different dietary requirements need not be a daunting task, especially with help from this tasty vegan carrot cake recipe. Not only is this a deliciously sweet Easter dinner idea but it’s also a wonderful way of celebrating the spring season. And while it’s designed for vegan diners, the indulgent creamy frosting and moist cake beneath make it a treat that’s sure to tempt everybody around the table.
Recipe Steps: 5
Total Recipe Time: 52 minutes
10. Easter Deviled Eggs
For those who want to add a dash of color to their table while sticking to a classic theme of the season, we can think of few better appetizers than these Easter deviled eggs. Egg whites colored with pastel hues are filled with a decadently creamy and sumptuously savory egg yolk filling. Garnished with chopped green onions and served up on a platter for your guests to help themselves, this Easter dinner idea is great for pleasing a crowd.
Recipe Steps: 9
Total Recipe Time: 57 minutes
11. Easter Bunny Cake
This Easter dinner idea is one the kids are sure to love! In fact, anybody who’s young at heart is sure to fall for this cute and coconutty Easter bunny cake. Now, the recipe is fairly involved, requiring no fewer than 29 steps. However, there are few desserts more apt for the occasion.
Think tangy cream cheese frosting with a fluffy coconut dusting, all surrounding a delightfully moist carrot cake. Decorated with fondant facial features, including impossibly long bunny ears, this Easter dinner dessert will be the talk of your table. If you're feeling ambitious, you could even turn it into a piñata cake with the best Easter candy hidden inside.
Recipe Steps: 29
Total Recipe Time: 3 Hours (most of which is preparation and decoration)
12. Parmesan Cheese Crisps
Why empty a bag of store-bought chips into a bowl to tide your guests over when you could take just 10 minutes out of your schedule and wow them with your own?
Parmesan cheese crisps are one of our favorite Easter dinner ideas because they require just two ingredients (Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper) and could not be any easier to make. More than that, they’re absolutely delicious, and your guests are sure to appreciate you going the extra mile to ensure everything on the table is homemade.
Recipe Steps: 4
Total Recipe Time: 10 minutes
13. Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon
The perfect alternative to ham for any pescatarians at your table, honey garlic glazed salmon pulls both sweet and savory punches with its indulgent and generous coating of sauce. As Easter dinner ideas go, this one’s fairly straightforward to make as well.
Once you’ve measured the ingredients, simply throw them into a bowl, mix them together, then use the resultant glaze to cover the salmon. From there, it’s a simple case of baking until the salmon flakes. This delicious dinner food idea is finished with a garnish of scallions and sesame seeds.
Recipe Steps: 6
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour
14. Instant Pot Artichokes
If you’re keen to ensure your Easter dinner ideas incorporate seasonal produce, allow us to recommend a recipe for Instant Pot artichokes. The artichokes are trimmed and then steamed to perfection in less than 20 minutes.
They’re next dressed with a combination of lemon juice, melted butter and mayonnaise. Not only does this appetizer taste amazing, the natural shape and layers of the artichokes promise to add a dose of edible wonderment to your Easter table.
Recipe Steps: 8
Total Recipe Time: 13 minutes
15. One Pot Mac and Cheese
Anything with “one pot” in the name is sure to be straightforward, and when you have so many other Easter dinner ideas to prepare in time for your guests’ arrival, a little simplicity can go a long way.
Super easy to make with just five ingredients (including water) and far tastier than any instant version you’ll buy at the store, one pot mac and cheese is sure to be a hit. Just be sure to make enough, since your guests are guaranteed to want seconds.
Recipe Steps: 4
Total Recipe Time: 15 minutes
16. Pomegranate-Glazed Ham With Cipollini Onions
Few things please a carnivorous crowd quite like a ham, especially at Easter. While many households around the country will have their own favorite recipe, this particular Easter dinner idea takes some beating.
Combine pomegranate molasses, honey, brown sugar, allspice and Dijon mustard, plus a little salt and pepper, then use it to glaze the ham before roasting. The accompaniment of cipollini onions elevates this Easter dinner idea to whole new heights.
Simply blanch the onions in order to remove the skins, then when the ham is cooked, remove it from the roasting tin, replace it with the onions and allow them to caramelize in the juice. The sauce in the pan will thicken, and trust us, when paired with some biscuits or bread with which to mop it up, it’s one of the most satisfying Easter dinner ideas on this list.
Recipe Steps: 4
Total Recipe Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
17. Million Dollar Pie
If there is one word to describe this sweet Easter dinner idea, it’d be “rich,” and not only in name. A semi-sweet chocolate mixture is cooled atop a buttery graham cracker crust. This is then covered in the eponymous million-dollar filling — a blend of cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice and zest.
The filling for this million-dollar pie is also laden with crushed pineapple, crunchy pecans and chewy coconut. When it all comes together, the ensemble is finished with vibrant and juicy maraschino cherries.
Recipe Steps: 16
Total Recipe Time: 5 hours 15 minutes (most of which is chilling time)
18. Sous-Vide Prime Rib
If you’ve checked out a recipe for sous-vide lamb chops and found yourself wondering whether the same method could be applied to your favorite cut of beef, we have good news. This Easter dinner idea allows you to bring the indulgent flavor of prime rib to your table, without the stress of potentially overcooking it in the oven.
The sous-vide style of cooking gently brings the meat to temperature, and when it’s cooked, the accompanying au jus sauce makes for a delicious holiday meal. And in case you’re wondering what to serve your sous-vide prime rib with, there are already a number of sides on this list of Easter dinner ideas that would work wonders. Parmesan potatoes, anyone?
Recipe Steps: 8
Total Recipe Time: 6 hours 40 minutes (most of which is cooking time)
19. Berry Chantilly Cake
Imagine a combination of vanilla buttermilk cake, luscious mascarpone, cream cheese Chantilly cream and fresh berries. Sound good? Then be sure to give this next Easter dinner idea a go.
Coated lovingly in Chantilly cream, which conceals the many layers of sponge and mascarpone inside, we won’t lie: this berry Chantilly cake is a labor of love. However, studded with strawberries, raspberries and other berries, this is an Easter-worthy dessert that tastes every bit as good as it looks.
Recipe Steps: 27
Total Recipe Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
20. Quinoa Salad With Feta
As your table groans anxiously under the weight of meat and potato dishes commonly served at Easter, you may be looking for something to lighten the load. If so, try serving up a light and fresh quinoa salad with feta.
Perfect for guests who are mindful of what they eat (or as a guilt-free accompaniment to the more indulgent dishes on your table), this Easter dinner idea is gluten-free thanks to its core superfood ingredient, quinoa. This Easter dinner idea is also incredibly versatile, pairing well with any number of your other favorite vegetables and proteins.
Recipe Steps: 5
Total Recipe Time: 35 minutes
21. Spatchcock Chicken
Another alternative Easter dinner idea to the classic ham or lamb is roast chicken. To keep things convenient and as straightforward as possible, go for spatchcock chicken which sees the meat slathered in seasoned butter and roasted atop a blend of vegetables — all using just one pan. The vegetables include sweet potatoes, baby carrots and Brussels sprouts, but feel free to get creative with your own medley of seasonal delights.
Recipe Steps: 13
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
22. Vegan Pot Pie
If chicken pot pie sounds like an Easter dinner idea you can get behind but you have vegan guests to cater for, consider adding vegan pot pie to your menu. Tender vegetables bathe in a comforting herby sauce, all enveloped in a flaky vegan pie crust that begs to be cracked with eager forks. In other words, chicken or no chicken, this Easter dinner idea is one that diners of all persuasions will enjoy.
Recipe Steps: 9
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
23. Shrimp Risotto
Looking for another Easter dinner idea to feed the pescatarians at your table? Or perhaps you’ve been inspired to add a dash of Italian flair to your Easter spread. Either way, simply serve your guests a bowlful each of creamy shrimp risotto and watch as those bowls become slowly but inexorably cleaned.
Featuring zucchini and a bright dash of lemon, as well as, you guessed it, shrimp, this satisfying Easter dinner idea takes less than an hour to bring to the table.
Recipe Steps: 10
Total Recipe Time: 45 minutes
24. Keto Beef Stew
While Easter may be one of the key indicators that spring has sprung, the temperatures are, in many states, still low. With this in mind, our next Easter dinner idea promises to warm the souls of all who gather at your table, filling their stomachs with a hearty, low-carb meal that’s packed with nutrients. Served with crusty bread to mop up the broth, keto beef stew is a winter warmer of which your guests are sure to want seconds.
Recipe Steps: 9
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
25. Lemon Cheesecake Bars
When life gives you lemons, make lemon cheesecake bars. That’s how the saying goes, right? Maybe not, but still, if you’re looking for a decadent yet palate-cleansing way to round off your meal, this Easter dinner idea is sure to do the trick.
Deftly walking the line between sweet and tangy, these snack-sized desserts feature a citrusy lemon cheesecake filling atop a buttery graham cracker crust. They’re simple enough to make and are ready in just 45 minutes.
Recipe Steps: 10
Total Recipe Time: 45 minutes
26. Roasted Leeks
This next Easter dinner idea elevates humble leeks to new heights and would work well on the side of most roasts. Flavorful as they are, especially when roasted to the point of caramelization, this specific recipe for roasted leeks sprinkles nutty Parmesan and dehydrated potato flakes on top for a delightful finishing touch.
In all, this recipe requires just seven ingredients and takes less than an hour to cook. This makes roasted leeks a convenient dish to make if you want to save time and focus on bringing other, more complex dishes to the table.
Recipe Steps: 6
Total Recipe Time: 40 minutes
27. Accordion Potatoes
If you’re searching for Easter dinner ideas that will have your guests admiring and praising your kitchen skills, accordion potatoes are for you! Crispy and buttery, with the appearance of a dish you might expect at a Michelin-star restaurant, this side dish is easier to make than you might think.
A garlic butter baste with a sprinkling of Parmesan elevates the intricately patterned potatoes so that they taste just as good as they look.
Recipe Steps: 11
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
28. Honey-Roasted Carrots
This recipe for honey-roasted carrots may well seem familiar, and with good reason. As Easter dinner ideas go, it’s a classic, enhancing the natural sweetness of carrots by roasting them with a dressing of honey, vinegar, oil, thyme, salt and pepper.
Requiring very little effort to make, yet results in the most tasty and tender carrots, if you’re something of a traditionalist when it comes to Easter dinner ideas, be sure to add this to your menu.
Recipe Steps: 6
Total Recipe Time: 40 minutes
29. Frisée Salad
Another Easter dinner idea for those hoping to add some light, springy freshness to their table is a delicious frisée salad. First, toss together crispy bacon, slices of Honeycrisp apple and torn bunches of frisée.
Bring them all together with a punchy vinaigrette and not only do you have a superb Easter dinner idea but you also you have a salad recipe that’s sure to serve you well throughout the spring and summer.
Recipe Steps: 6
Total Recipe Time: 25 minutes
30. Peas and Carrots
Our next Easter dinner idea is yet another springtime classic. Ever watched Forrest Gump? Then you’ll know that peas and carrots are one of those things in life that simply go together.
Frozen peas and diced carrots are treated with butter, shallots, garlic and either chicken or vegetable stock. Seasoned with a dash of salt and pepper to taste, this super-simple side is deserving of a place on any traditional Easter table.
Recipe Steps: 6
Total Recipe Time: 28 minutes
31. Mashed Potatoes With Sour Cream
Forget lumpy and watery clumps of over-boiled spuds. Instead, picture you and your family savoring pillowy clouds of mashed potatoes, delicately seasoned and whipped to velvety perfection.
Delightful mashed potatoes with sour cream are ready in just four simple steps, and the addition of sour cream elevates this essential Easter dinner idea to tangy new levels of flavor.
Recipe Steps: 4
Total Recipe Steps: 40 minutes
32. Green Bean Fries
We beg you — stop boiling your green beans within an inch of their nutritional life! Instead, whip up a batch of green bean fries and watch as your guests wrangle for second helpings.
Steamed until tender and shaken in a delicately seasoned flour mixture, before being breaded in panko and baked, these beans are an addictive Easter dinner idea as they are.
However, with the addition of a homemade Sriracha dip, this Easter dinner idea is sure to become the highlight of your table. Just be sure to make plenty to go around!
Recipe Steps: 11
Total Recipe Time: 35 minutes
33. Lemon Curd Tart
After sampling this guide’s most savory Easter dinner ideas, you and your guests are bound to want something at the end of your meal to help cleanse the palate. And what could be better than citrus?
Made with a shortbread crust and filled with a decadent, tangy-sweet lemon curd filling, serving lemon curd tart is the perfect way to round off your menu of more savory Easter dinner ideas.
Recipe Steps: 7
Total Recipe Time: 50 minutes
34. Sous-Vide Pork Tenderloin
As you’ll probably have guessed by now, we’re a big fan of the sous-vide style of cooking, especially when it results in Easter dinner ideas as tasty as a sous-vide pork tenderloin. Simply dress your pork with slices of fresh apple, sprigs of rosemary and thyme, salt, pepper and garlic, pop it in a vacuum-sealed bag and then place it in the bath of warm water.
The sous vide will bring your meat to your desired temperature, without exceeding it, and hold it there until you’re good and ready. When the time comes, simply sear the meat and serve.
Recipe Steps: 6
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
35. Peach Cobbler Cheesecake
This novel Easter dinner idea combines two of the nation’s favorite sweet treats to form one supremely indulgent dessert. Making peach cobbler cheesecake requires some 21 ingredients and, be warned, you’ll need to carve out a good chunk of time to see it’s prepared properly. But it’s worth it! Think creamy cheesecake, juicy peaches and a sumptuous cinnamon-infused crust. What’s not to love?
Recipe Steps: 9
Recipe Time: 6 hours 55 minutes (most of which is baking and chilling)
36. Orange Olive Oil Cake
Bring a dose of “rustic Italian” to your table with this next Easter dinner idea. While it is sweet, orange olive oil cake shows restraint with the amount of sugar it incorporates, instead allowing the zesty orange to do most of the talking.
While the preference is to use blood oranges, whose fragrant, bittersweet profile and vibrant pulp give this cake an edge in both flavor and presentation, regular oranges will also do just fine.
Recipe Steps: 9
Recipe Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
37. Asparagus Wrapped In Prosciutto
Another use for those scrumptious seasonal spears, this Easter dinner idea sees asparagus wrapped in prosciutto for a tempting appetizer that’s unlikely to remain on the table for long. The cured ham slices are first dressed with a mixture of cream cheese and sour cream.
Once they’ve been wrapped around the asparagus, the whole ensemble is dusted with a mixture of salt, pepper and garlic powder, then broiled to crispy perfection.
Recipe Steps: 8
Total Recipe Time: 29 minutes
38. Greek Chicken Thighs
Put a Mediterranean spin on your list of Easter dinner ideas with a delicious platter of Greek chicken thighs. At the core of this dish is a Greek yogurt-based marinade, packed with texture and flavor thanks to additions like lemon (zest and juice), ginger and garlic, plus cumin, paprika, coriander and more. With the light charring from the grill and the freshness of that delicious Mediterranean marinade, this Easter dinner idea promises to bring a hint of summer to your table.
Recipe Steps: 5
Total Recipe Time: 35 minutes
39. Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
Featuring bright and fresh lemon and studded with blueberries, lemon blueberry pound cake is the perfect showstopper to wow your friends after an already praise-worthy meal. Lemon juice and zest fill the cake batter to bursting with citrus flavors, while a sticky lemon glaze adds a decadent finishing touch to this sweet Easter dinner idea.
Recipe Steps: 16
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour 14 minutes
Elevate Easter Dinner With Culinary Experiences
If you’re feeling inspired to take on some of these delicious Easter dinner ideas but don’t have much confidence in your kitchen skills, then why not consider taking a cooking class near you?
Led by renowned chefs, these classes promise to teach you the tips, tricks and industry hacks required to take your home-cooking game to the next level. Or, if you prefer learning from the comfort of your own home, there are also plenty of online cooking classes for you to choose from.
Perhaps you’d prefer not to cook at all. After all, why spend the day in the kitchen when you could be enjoying the company of your friends and family? If that sounds more like your ideal way to spend the day, then our final Easter dinner idea is to let somebody else take care of the food for you.
There are lots of private chefs near you who’d be more than happy to prepare a gourmet feast for the occasion. All you need to do is specify the menu, then sit back as your chef takes care of the rest — from grocery shopping to the dreaded clean-up afterward.
In short, there is an abundance of Easter dinner ideas to make this year’s meal your most special yet. It could be that you’re building an entirely new menu from the ground up. Or, you may simply wish to tweak your existing recipes (pomegranate-glazed ham, perhaps?). Either way, with this guide to the best Easter dinner ideas at your disposal, your Easter meal is sure to become one of the year’s most important culinary occasions.
For even more ways to explore your favorite foods, check out other experiences happening on Cozymeal.
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