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Ready to create an Easter menu your family will rave about in 2025? We’re sharing our favorite, tried-and-true Easter dinner ideas, featuring everything from succulent ham to vibrant side dishes and irresistible desserts. Let’s make this Easter celebration the best one yet! As an added bonus, check out our sample Easter menu plan at the end of this article.
Traditional Easter Dinner
Every year our family gathers together on Easter Sunday to enjoy a traditional Easter dinner. The main event is always ham. Classic side dishes include a potato dish, a hot vegetable, a fresh salad, and of course, dessert. There are variations each year depending on the number of people coming to dinner, where we are gathering, and new recipes we want to add into the mix.
We have our Easter dinner menu along with the steps to prepare them below. In addition, please look through all of the ideas we have listed here to create your own perfect Easter menu. You can customize your Easter dinner by mixing and matching the dishes your guests will love the most.
Easter Appetizers
As family and friends start to gather, we like to set out an appetizer or two. We’ve handpicked some of our favorites to set out before Easter dinner.
- Deviled Eggs: This is a great way to use all of those Easter eggs the Easter Bunny hid in your yard! The eggs can be prepared the day before to save time.
- Fruit Tray with Cream Cheese Fruit Dip: You’ll love this citrusy, creamy dip that can be prepared a day or two ahead. Serve it with an array of fresh fruits.
- Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus: This appetizer looks complicated, but it’s simply asparagus spears wrapped in a cream cheese mixture and prosciutto.
- Vegan Charcuterie Board: I love offering this appetizer for guests that eat a vegan or vegetarian diet. It can also be made completely gluten-free when using gluten-free crackers.
Easter Salads
The possibilities are endless when it comes to Easter salads. It’s fun to incorporate fresh spring flavors at Easter dinner. We find ourselves using the following salads time and time again.
- Creamy Pea Salad: This crisp, fresh salad adds a vibrant color to your Easter table. Use fresh peas if you can find them.
- Homemade Potato Salad: Tender chunks of potatoes and hard-boiled eggs covered in creamy dressing makes the perfect salad for Easter.
- Nuts About Berries Salad: The sweet berries in this salad complement the saltiness of the ham.
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad: Prepare this salad a day ahead so it can set up well. We like to plate this salad and have it on the table when Easter dinner begins.
- Creamy Cucumber Salad: This simple salad can be prepared in no time at all. It’s perfect for an Easter picnic or as a garden-fresh side.
Easter Main Dish Recipes
According to marthastewart.com, ham became the meat of choice for Easter dinner because it was more readily available than lamb. However, if ham isn’t your main dish of choice, a roast lamb, pork roast, roast beef, or fish can be served for your Easter feast.
- Crockpot Spiral Ham: The star of the show! We love that this can be prepared in a slow cooker freeing up the oven for side dishes and rolls. If you prefer an oven-baked ham, try our Honey Baked Ham recipe.
- Oven Roast Beef : You can’t go wrong with a succulent, classic roast beef at any holiday dinner.
- Stuffed Pork Tenderloin: This delicious pork roast with its savory filling makes a beautiful centerpiece on the dinner table for Easter.
- Lemon Salmon: While less traditional than ham, this tender salmon makes a memorable Easter main dish. It’s flavorful and can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.
Easter Side Dishes
Hot Potato Side Dishes
You can’t serve a ham dinner without a good hot potato side dish. Typically Easter potatoes are served “casserole-style” in a casserole dish with some kind of sauce and cheese. Our readers have commented saying that they have loved serving our homemade au gratin potatoes or our parmesan potato halves with their ham dinners. Decide for yourself what suits your family best! Any of these potato side dish ideas will be a winner!
- Cheesy Potato Casserole: This creamy potato dish pairs perfectly with ham. We’ve served this dish at Easter for as long as I can remember.
- Creamy Potatoes and Peas: New potatoes and peas are a classic combo for an Easter side dish. This dish is prepared on the stove, keeping the oven free for other dishes.
- Homemade Mashed Potatoes: Mashed potatoes are always a favorite and they go with any main dish you are serving.
- Perfect Baked Potatoes: While simple and easy, this is an elegant side dish when served with butter, sour cream, and chives. This is a great vegan and dairy free option. To free up oven space make Instant Pot Baked Potatoes or Air Fryer Baked Potatoes.
- Rice or Pasta: If potatoes aren’t your favorite, try our Lemon Rice or Pasta with Peas as a complementary alternative.
Hot Vegetable Side Dishes
A hot vegetable side dish adds variety, color, and nutrition to an Easter dinner spread. Choose a hot vegetable that will complement the other side dishes on your Easter menu.
- Sweet Sautéed Asparagus: Cooked on the stove, this asparagus is sweet and crisp.
- Frozen Peas: Yes, that’s right, with our recipe you can turn frozen peas into something extra special!
- Lemon Brussels Sprouts: Light and buttery with a hint of fresh lemon, these Brussels sprouts will brighten up your Easter meal.
- Oven Roasted Green Beans: Crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, these green beans are bursting with flavor!
Easter Breads
Nothing quite compares to the aroma and taste of freshly baked bread. Homemade rolls are always a good idea. Our classic Easter bread also looks beautiful on the table.
- Homemade Dinner Rolls: Make an extra batch of these rolls to make ham sandwiches after Easter!
- Easter Bread: This festive bread is similar to brioche bread, the flavor is just a little sweeter. The dyed eggs are raw and cook in the oven along with the bread. So fun to make!
- Pani Popo: These sweet rolls bake in a sweet, coconut sauce. The rolls are soft and fluffy with an almost creamy coconut base.
- Crescent Rolls: This recipe makes a large batch to feed a crowd, or freeze some for later.
Easter Desserts
When it comes to Easter Desserts and Treats, we don’t mess around. These tasty treats can be served along with Easter dinner or even as surprises in Easter baskets. They are as fun to make as they are to eat! We feature our Chessmen Banana Pudding with our menu plan below. Here are a few more of our favorites.
Cakes
Celebrate Easter with a delicious and festive cake. Our most popular Easter cake recipes include:
- Easter Bunny Cake: This adorable bunny cake decorated with fruit is almost too cute to eat.
- Carrot Bundt Cake: A classic spring dessert featuring a moist, carrot cake base and cream cheese frosting.
- Coconut Cream Cake: A light and fluffy cake filled with coconut. A decadent Easter dessert!
- Lemon Pound Cake: A bright and refreshing cake that’s perfect for Easter.
Pies
Enjoy a slice of springtime with our delicious Easter pie recipes:
- Lemon Meringue Pie: The classic tangy and sweet lemon pie with a light and airy meringue.
- Key Lime Pie: One of our most popular pies! The tart key lime flavor really shines in the creamy filling.
- Coconut Cream Pie: If you love coconut, this pie is for you! The cream coconut filling is homemade, not from a pudding mix.
- Sour Cream Lemon Pie: Freshly squeezed lemons and rich sour cream give this pie the perfect amount of tartness and creaminess.
Bars and Cookies
These easy and delicious cookie and bar recipes are perfect for Easter:
- Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies: A variation on chocolate chip cookies, but adorned with the beloved Cadbury mini eggs.
- Easter Sugar Cookies: Decorate sugar cookies in fun Easter shapes and colors.
- Lemon Bars: Every bite of these tangy and sweet lemon bars says, “Hello Spring!”
- Italian Easter Cookies: Decorate them with colorful icing and festive sprinkles for a beautiful and delicious Easter dessert.
No-Bake Easter Desserts
For a quick and easy Easter dessert, try one of these no-bake options:
- Easy Dirt Cake: This no-bake cake has a creamy pudding in the center with crunchy cookie crumbles on top. And who doesn’t love gummy worms on cake?!?
- No Bake Cheesecake: Decadent cheesecake on a graham cracker crust. Top with fresh seasonal fruit.
- Chessman Banana Pudding: A rich, layered banana pudding that is always a hit.
- Chocolate Bird Nests: Crispy Chinese noodles are coated in chocolate and molded into nests. A super easy no bake treat!
Sample Easter Dinner Menu
Here is a sample menu plan for an easy traditional Easter dinner. Slow Cooker Ham, Cheesy Potato Casserole, Sautéed Sweet Asparagus, and a Chessman Banana Pudding for dessert. This is a basic, simple Easter dinner. Add in appetizers, salads, rolls, and additional side dishes from our ideas above, or invite guests to contribute. Follow our preparation and timing guidelines for an stress-free Easter Sunday that you can enjoy cooking and eating with your family and friends.
Easter Dinner Recipes
Click on the images below for the full recipe of each dish and follow preparation timing for a relaxing and enjoyable Easter meal.
Preparation and Timing
- Day before: Prepare the banana pudding and refrigerate overnight.
- Three hours before dinner time: Prepare the ham to cook in the slow cooker. This will take about 10 minutes. The ham will slow cook on low for about 2 1/2- 3 hours and your house will smell amazing.
- One and a half hours before dinner time: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make the cheesy potato casserole. Prep time will be approximately 15 minutes and cook time will be one hour.
- Prepare the asparagus: While the casserole is cooking, rinse and cut the asparagus, set the table, and make any other final preparations for the meal. The asparagus is best when it is hot and fresh out of the skillet, so prepare it about 10 minutes before you are ready to sit down and eat.
Happy Easter!
We hope you’ve found ideas and recipes here that will make your Easter celebrations memorable and special this year. Please let us know if there are traditional Easter dishes you make that you would like to see featured with our ideas. We would also love to hear what you made for your Easter dinner. Thank you!
I love these cheesy potatoes!! They are sooo delicious warm or cold! I fix them for almost all family gatherings they are always a family favorite! I also make the deviled eggs and hope that there are enough on the plate for others to enjoy! I am not the only one who likes to “taste “ them before hand. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Linda
Thanks Linda! It seems like deviled eggs are always the first to go, they are so pop-able!
Ham is always a favorite! I love this crockpot recipe because it keeps the ham moist, has a nice flavor from the sauce on the outside and of course it is prepared while you are at church!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Linda
We as everyone else had the t radio nap ham. We definitely had potatoes we had potatoes every nie. Of course we had several vegetables like green beans, broccoli, and corn. The dessert had to be pie for my dad, but the real star was the bunny cake. My mom had a mold for the bunny and it was all decked out in white icing and covered in coconut. The best part of dinner was having all of us together. My four brothers and one sister, my grandmother/( who I miss every day for the past53 years), and sometimes Sister Christina my cousin and Monsigner? Herman Brieght. Now we each have our own traditions but I do miss the family get togethers. Hope your Easter holiday holds A lot of good memories.
I love banana pudding and I adore the King Chessmen cookies. I lived in Greece for many years and it would not be Easter without sweet cheese pies, lamb, goat, and a sweet braided bread with a red egg in the middle as a decoration. Easter is the best time of the year in Greece and I don’t think there is a Greek food I don’t like. I try, since moving back to the states, to always have a few Greek dishes at Easter such as an egg lemon soup and fried sweet cheese pies.
I want to try all your recipes! Each looks like a winner 100%. Being disabled, I will pick at least 2 to add to my husband’s menu.
Growing up, our Great Aunt had at least 7 or more families over after church. Mother’s always contributed, but what a feast she had! A huge table and non stop food passing of everything. I was a big girl when I got to sit at the big table.
I have 2 crock pots. So I’m going to try the slow cooker ham with glaze and the potatoes au gratin. Winners for sure.
Wishing all a Blessed Easter.
My favorite Easter dinner is leg of lamb with scalloped potatoes and asparagus. Then maybe chocolate pots de creme for dessert 🙂
Much as I love Ham and Roast Beef, I would go for Leg of Lamb for Easter. It was my family tradition growing up and is still a favorite..
My traditional Easter meal is ham. I like corn casserole, yams, grandpas party potatoes, and some good macaroni and cheese. I like this banana pudding recipe. I’ll try it. I am not much on desserts. But my family enjoys them!
My usual Easter Dinner consists of Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Corn Casserole, Salad, Rolls and 2 or 3 Desserts.
This looks absolutely delicious and easy yo prepare.
BAKED HAM, MASHED POTATOES, TORTILLA PINWHEELS WITH CREAM CHEESE AND SWEET PEPPERS, GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE, CINDY’S 4 BEAN CASSEROLE, FRESH ROLLS, DEVILED EGGS, FRESH FRUIT SALAD, CARROT CAKE, CHOCOLATE LAYERED PUDDING DESSERT– WE USED TO GATHER WITH LOTS OF FAMILY MEMBERS AND HAD EVEN MORE CHOICES. SOMEONE ALWAYS BROUGHT A NEW RECIPE THEY WERE TRYING OUT. SO FUN.
We usually have a spiral ham with deviled eggs glazed carrots mashed potatoes and fresh hot rolls. Then we have hot apple pie Al a mode. We use the ham bone to make ham and beans for another meal.
I love Ham, Potato Salad, Baked Beans , corn pudding, Rolls, Coconut cream pie and a coconut cake. Usually have peas, deviled eggs, pickled beets, and a few other sides .
My traditional Easter meal is a ham, mashed potatoes with corn on the cob and fresh green oh and homeaid biscuits n gravey. Mmmmmmyummy for my tummy good stuff.
I have ham, potato salad macaroni and cheese, string beans and deviled eggs. I color the eggs with food coloring. I have brown sugar pie for dessert
This year I will make yeast rolls from the recipe you had
They are easy and delicious 😋 Happy Resurrection Day❤️✝️
Ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and dinner rolls just that simple..
I love all these recipes. I especially love the banana pudding recipe and plan to make it for our Easter dessert
I don’t have many traditional Easter memories regarding food, but my grandmother used to always make deviled eggs. Oreo delight is also an amazing thing down here in the south, it’s always gone too quick!
I’ve never heard of 4 layer banana pudding but sounds delicious, I must try it!
My family Easter celebrations have been hit and miss throughout my life so I can really say I have am absolute favorite, but I do like spiral ham and I must be pretty original because I’ve only thought of wrapping it with tin foil and heating it in the over, lol.
My favorite is the Honey Baked Ham in the Crock pot, the 4 layer banana pudding is the BEST as is all your reciepes. I love the homemade bread and of course the kids and babies enjoy making the cookies and Easter treats. Thank you for sharing all your homemade receipes for me to share with my children and as they grow up, they will share them with their children. Happy Easter & May God Bless You All.
I love a glazed ham with some lovely veggie sides like root vegetables, green beans and Brussels sprouts! Also, some fresh, warm rolls. Dessert can be anything from lemon squares to cheesecake or pavlova!