Whether you’re hosting an Easter egg hunt or gathering around the table with family and friends after a sunrise service, Easter brings people together with warmth to match spring’s sunny days. Yet if planning an Easter get-together has you feeling scrambled, let us lend a hand with these ideas for celebrating Easter and decorating your Easter table that’ll leave you plenty of time to enjoy chocolate bunnies and other treats with the people you love.

Easy Easter Recipes

Welcome spring to your table with an easygoing brunch menu that mixes breakfast classics such as fluffy pancakes with light lunchtime favorites, such as these mini cheese casseroles and strawberry-spinach salad with poppyseed dressing.

Although the single-serving casseroles involve some prep time, they will look formal enough for the Easter table. (Don’t have ramekins for the individual servings? You can make this in a 2-quart baking dish – just increase the cooking time to about 50 to 55 minutes.)

The salad is versatile enough to serve at brunch or as one of your Easter dinner recipes.

Mini Cheese Grits Casseroles With Greens

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking grits
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup of half-and-half
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 12 oz. extra-sharp shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 16 cups chopped collard greens (about 1 large bunch)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add grits slowly, whisking or stirring to avoid lumps. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring, until grits are tender and thick. Remove from heat; cover the pan. Let stand 5 minutes.
  2. In another pot, add olive oil, onion and garlic. Saute for ~8 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Add collard greens and saute until wilted down, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. Whisk together half-and-half, mustard, pepper, eggs, egg yolk, and remaining salt. Stir in cooked grits and cheese until cheese melts. Divide evenly among six (8 oz.) lightly greased ramekins. Cover; chill for 8 hours or overnight.
  4. Spread about half the grits in the prepared baking dish. Top with greens, spread the remaining grits over the greens. Sprinkle with more cheese, if desired.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Uncover ramekins. Place on a baking sheet and let stand at room temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes while the oven heats up.
  6. Bake casseroles until edges set and the centers puff, about 42 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes to cool. Sprinkle with chives to serve.

Strawberry-Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Serves: 8 to 10

INGREDIENTS:

Poppyseed Dressing

  • 1.5 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon minced onion
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad

  • 2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 2 (6 oz.) packages of fresh baby spinach

Toppings (optional)

  • Sliced red onion
  • Candied pecans
  • Feta or goat cheese
  • Chopped cooked bacon

DIRECTIONS:

  1. The dressing: Pulse the first 5 dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth (about two or three pulses). While the blender runs, add the oil in a steady, slow stream. Process until smooth. Stir in seeds. Chill for 24 hours.
  2. In a large bowl, combine strawberries and spinach. Toss lightly with 1/2 cup of dressing just before serving.
  3. Serve with remaining dressing and optional toppings for guests to add as desired.

Enjoy These Tasty Easter Dinner Recipes

A sit-down Easter dinner is a prime occasion to unveil a traditional ham or leg of lamb recipe—or add a twist to create your own traditions. Either of these Easter dinner recipes make an elegant centerpiece for your holiday meal.

Sweet & Spicy Glazed Ham

Serves: 10

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup plum preserves
  • 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1 (7 lb.) bone-in ham, smoked and fully cooked
  • Pineapple, green onions, or sage leaves for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. The glaze: Mix the first 7 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until preserves melt and mixture blends well. Pour half into a microwave-safe bowl.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim excess fat on ham to 1/8-inch thickness. If desired, cut a diamond pattern into the ham by crisscrossing long, shallow cuts. Place ham on a wire rack in a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil—brush ham with glaze from saucepan.
  3. Bake ham, uncovered, on the lower oven rack for 1 hour, 30 minutes, basting with glaze from saucepan every 30 minutes. Then loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer in the thickest portion registers 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Baste every 30 minutes.
  4. Let ham stand 15 minutes before slicing. Microwave preserved plum mixture for 1 minute or until heated thoroughly. Serve ham with the warm glaze. Garnish as desired.

Lemon-Herb Salt Roasted Leg of Lamb

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/3 cup fresh rosemary leaves, loosely packed
  • 1/3 cup fresh oregano leaves, loosely packed
  • 3 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 (5 to 7 lb.) bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Pulse the first 5 ingredients in a food processor for about 2 to 3 minutes or until blended. Rub over lamb. Place lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. Chill for 12 to 24 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Let lamb stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Brush lamb with olive oil, garlic powder, and ground cumin.
  3. Bake lamb for 45 minutes. Then reduce temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
  4. Let lamb stand 20 minutes before serving. Serve with roasted vegetables such as carrots, sweet onions, and beets.

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth with this Easter Dessert Recipe

This refreshing citrus tart stands out from all the chocolate that Easter brings, making it a delightful Easter dessert recipe.

Double Citrus Tart

Serves: 8 to 10

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
  • 5 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 (14 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 large eggs, separated
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons monk fruit granulated sweetener, honey, or cane sugar
  • Fresh mint leaves and lemon and orange slices for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Stir together the first four ingredients. Press evenly into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Set aside.
  2. Whisk together coconut milk, orange juice concentrate, lemon juice, and egg yolks until blended.
  3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. At medium speed on an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into coconut milk mixture. Pour into prepared crust.
  4. Bake tart for 20 to 25 minutes, just until filling sets. Remove to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
  5. Cover tart; chill for at least 4 hours.
  6. To serve, remove the tart from the pan and place it on the serving dish. Beat whipping cream and granulated sugar at medium speed until stiff peaks form—dollop around tart’s edges. Garnish as desired.

Setting a Festive Easter Table

With your Easter menu well in hand, use a few of our Easter decorations to add that final festive touch.

Celebrate Easter’s warmth and renewal by placing spring flowers and wreaths such as arrangements of silk dogwood flowers, olive branches, and rose blossoms near your dining area. Add a spring table centerpiece with other cheery flowers, a bowl full of clementines, or a grouping of taper candles in silver or clay candle holders.

Dress the table with spring table decor such as a tablecloth or table runner in a botanical pattern or openwork floral design, decorative three-tier trays, and serving platters that look as lovely as your Easter meal. Tie it all together with table settings, including sparkling glassware, stainless-steel silverware, and cloth napkins in soft Easter hues of green, lavender, yellow, pink, or turquoise.