Easter dinner? Celebrate spring!

15 recipes for Easter dinner

March 30, 2021

Easter dinner is as much a celebration of spring as it is a religious holiday. It is often a meal of traditional Easter foods such as eggs (a symbol of rebirth), lamb (a symbol of spring) and hot cross buns (the cross a symbol of, well, the cross). And because it falls in the spring — usually the first Sunday after the vernal equinox — the meal often features fresh spring produce such as asparagus, artichokes and peas. Ham — ready to eat in the spring after curing through the winter — often replaces the lamb here in the United States. Homemade rolls or biscuits typically grace the table and you’ll surely want potatoes, perhaps roasted crispy or with herbs. An Easter soup makes a nice starter. At the end of the meal, a carrot cake can be a subtle reminder of the Easter Bunny — the ostensible source of those chocolate eggs. Easter falls on March 27 this year.

Everything spice deviled eggs

Deviled eggs are bite-sized flavor bombs that offer a study in both texture and balance. The sprinkle of everything bagel spice that garnishes these ties all the flavors together.

1 hour 15 minutes

Makes 24 deviled eggs

Mayeritsa Greek Easter Soup

Authentic Mayeritsa is made with lamb heart, lungs and other organ meats. These days adaptations such as the lamb shanks or neck bones called for here are permissible.

Active work time: 30 minutes Total preparation time: 1 1/2 hours

Serves 8

Asparagus with egg and anchovy

This asparagus is dressed simply with hard-cooked egg, anchovy, shallots, olive oil and fresh lemon juice. The dish is finished with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

35 minutes

Serves 6

FD.#7.042695c.Lamb Mandatory Credit: Lawrence K. Ho/The LA Times

Roast Lamb With Fresh Peas and Turnips

Russ Parsons’ recipe for lamb served with braised peas and baby turnips is a spring classic.

4 hours 30 minutes

Serves 6

Pork tenderloin roasted in rosemary salt with with fingerling potatoes.

Pork tenderloin roasted in rosemary salt with fingerling potatoes

The pork tenderloin comes out moist and tender and, along with the potatoes, suffused with a gentle, almost haunting, fragrance of rosemary.

50 minutes

Serves 4

Chipotle- and orange-glazed ham

Sweet and spicy, this glazed ham is a perfect centerpiece for a holiday feast.

2 hours 10 minutes

Serves 10 to 12

Drop Biscuits

These rich and creamy biscuits provide all the comfort of traditional flaky biscuits but without the hassle of rolling and cutting them out.

25 minutes

Makes about 15

Hot Cross Buns

Even before you taste the citrus in these tender buttery hot cross buns, you can smell it in the glaze.

4 hours

Makes about 20 buns

LOS ANGELES, CA., MARCH 22, 2018-- Recipe: a spring saute for Evan Kleiman latest Cucina Italiana column. It's a dish of 6 separately cooked spring vegetables. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Spring sauté

Everything in this dish is green, albeit of different hues. The shapes and forms vary, including the complicated artichoke, the layers of asparagus tips and the hidden geometry of peas.

1 hour

Makes 4 to 6 cups of mixed vegetables

Springtime Peas

Fresh whole sugar snap peas and shelled English peas make for a great combination of textures and flavors.

15 minutes

Serves 6

Easter Herbal Potatoes

New potatoes roasted with herbs make a great accompaniment to the Easter lamb or ham. But these aren't just any roasted potatoes; the herbs are inside them.

1 hour

Serves 4