Passover, also known as Pesach, is one of the most important Jewish holidays. Families and friends gather together and recount the biblical story of Exodus, where Moses led his people out of Egypt. An essential part of the Passover celebration is food, and these recipes will help you enjoy your food while adhering to tradition. For 8 days, people avoid leavened bread, cereal, pasta, and cookies. Traditional dishes, such as matzah, matzo ball soup, and beef brisket, are also served. Here are 25 of my favorite Passover recipes for the next time you gather your family together for a seder.
1. Charoset
Any recipe that calls for apples, walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and wine is a recipe I can support. The trick to turning this recipe into the best charoset recipe you’ve ever had is to chop the apples and walnuts by hand. It gives the charoset the perfect texture that you can’t get with a food processor. Additionally, don’t forget to toast the walnuts lightly before adding them. It makes a world of difference.
2. Brisket
Brisket is a traditional Passover dish that tastes great year-round. As you already know, it takes a while to cook, but nothing beats a flavorful smoked brisket, no matter how long it takes. All you’ll have to do is trim it, season it, wrap it in butcher paper, and set it on the grill to smoke. Once it’s done, it’ll be perfectly seasoned, tender, and juicy.
3. Matzo Ball Soup
Whether you want to make this traditional Jewish soup for Passover, Rosh Hashanah, or a cold, rainy weekend, this recipe is one of the best. It’s simple to follow, and you can prepare parts of it in advance if you’re crunched for time. The Matzo balls are light and buoyant and will float gently on the top of your soup.
4. Tzimmes
Tzimmes means “to make a fuss,” and everyone will make a fuss over this beautiful, colorful, slightly sweet side dish at your next seder. It features root vegetables, including orange yams, white sweet potatoes, and carrots, and dried fruits like apples, prunes, cranberries, and more. Add a splash of orange juice, a dash of cinnamon, and half a cup of honey, and you’ll have something as yummy as it is gorgeous.
5. Matzo Brei (Fried Matzah)
Matzo Brei is basically scrambled eggs with some fried matzo thrown in for good measure. You can also make omelet-style or cake-style eggs and matzo, but I prefer mine scrambled. You can jazz it up a little more by adding cheese, smoked salmon, grilled onions, or your favorite herbs and spices. If you can scramble eggs, you can make this dish.
6. Apple Matzo Kugel
This is an incredible dish, full of sweet, apple-cinnamony goodness. It’s also filled with raisins, dried apricots, butter, orange juice, and brown sugar. If you’re looking for a delicious dessert that doesn’t contain yeast or any other forbidden ingredients, this is one of the best.
7. Roast Chicken
This roast chicken has perfectly crispy skin slathered with mouth-wateringly good garlic and lemon butter. It’s tender, and the inside is moist and unbeatably juicy. It’s herby, garlicky, and served in its own buttery, liquid gold juices. You’ll never want to prepare chicken in any other way.
8. Homemade Horseradish
“Lookin’ for some hot stuff, baby, this evening!” With this homemade horseradish, you’ll have all the hot stuff you can handle. With only some peeled and diced horseradish root, water, sea salt, and white wine vinegar, you can make two cups of this yummy horseradish that’ll set your mouth on fire. Add the vinegar immediately after processing the ingredients if you want a milder version. If you prefer it hot, wait longer before adding the vinegar.
9. Matzo Lasagna
This kosher, vegetarian lasagna is so good; it’s something you’ll want to eat regularly, so bookmark this recipe. It has all your favorite herbs and veggies in it, including onions, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, basil, and more. Smother it in three different cheeses, and you have a restaurant-worthy lasagna that everyone will love.
10. Pot Roast
I love anything I can throw in a slow cooker and forget about until it’s done. It’s the ultimate in cooking convenience. Plus, pot roast is something homey and comforting. This one includes carrots, onions, and red potatoes. It’s made with red wine and Worcestershire sauce to give it a unique, savory flavor that the whole family will love.
11. Cauliflower Rice
Although rice isn’t a leavened food, tradition still forbids most families from eating it at their Passover seders, unless, of course, it’s cauliflower rice. Cauliflower rice is also lighter and healthier than regular rice. It’s perfect for diabetics or those following low-carb or ketogenic diets.
12. Jewish Sweet and Sour Meatballs
If you’re looking for a way to bring a bit of an ethnic flavor to your traditional Passover meal, consider making these sweet and sour meatballs. They require several ingredients and a little time to get right, but they’re a fantastic treat once finished. They strike a balance between sweet and tangy that’ll totally delight your taste buds.
13. Baked Salmon
Whether you’re looking for a main dish for Passover or just for tonight’s dinner, baked salmon is a delicious, nutritious, and relatively healthy choice. Season this one with salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian herb seasoning. Spritz a bit of lemon juice on it, and garnish it with a lemon slice. Pop the whole thing in the oven for about 15 minutes, and you’ll have a light but filling dinner entree.
14. Matzo Granola
Granola is a hard thing for many people to give up, so don’t! Just make it from matzo instead. Throw in plenty of chopped nuts, and add some honey, sugar, coconut, cinnamon, and spices. Bake it until the matzo dries and the coconut turns golden brown. Let it cool completely so that it’ll crisp up as much as possible. Then mix in your favorite dried fruits and add it to your yogurt, milk, or whatever else you enjoy with granola.
15. Harvard Beets
Beets must be cooked exceptionally well for me to enjoy them, but I like Harvard beets. (No, I’m not sure exactly why they’re called Harvard beets.) They’re made with salt, sugar, cornstarch, and cider vinegar, and they look almost exactly like sliced cranberry sauce when done. They pair well with just about any kind of meat.
16. Glazed Carrots
If you’ve ever had glazed carrots from Cracker Barrel, then you’ll love this copycat recipe. They require only three basic ingredients in addition to the carrots, and the glaze gives them a slightly sweet taste that’ll make you want to lick the bowl clean after finishing them.
17. Horseradish Sauce with Beets
This sauce is the perfect way to add a bit of tang and a lot of heat to any sandwich or protein dish. Some people use it as a dipping sauce, but it’s hot, and I prefer to add just a little to my food to give it a kick. Trying to dip my food into it would set me on fire.
18. Easy Coleslaw
Coleslaw is always pretty easy to make, but you can make this Easy coleslaw in five minutes or less. It doesn’t get much simpler than that! You can make homemade coleslaw mix if you like, but it tastes just as good using store-bought coleslaw mix. All you’ll have to do is make the homemade dressing and mix it up. Don’t forget to stick it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before serving it.
19. Passover Popovers
Every time I see a recipe for Passover popovers, I have to play the, “Say that five times fast,” game with the name. It’s just so fun to say. Luckily, they’re also easy to make, and they taste amazing. They’re soft and moist with pleasing outer crusts that are just exactly as crumbly as they should be. You can make them roll-shaped, or you can make them more like muffins.
20. Passover Rainbow Cookies
I know what you’re thinking. “But wait! I thought you said there were no cookies for Passover!” I did say that, and it’s true, but these “cookies” are more like tiny, moist, fluffy layered cakes made from matzo meal. They’ll be a particular hit with the kids because of their brightly colored centers and the rich chocolate glaze on the top.
21. Moist Passover Apple Cake
Everything you need to know about this delicious dessert is right there in the name: Moist Passover apple cake. It has a delightful tartness to it thanks to the Granny Smith apples and orange juice. It’s also sweet, cinnamony, and – as the name says – incredibly moist. Every bite is soft and will melt in your mouth.
22. Cauliflower Chocolate Pudding
Ever wish you could eat something sweet and decadent and have it count towards your daily requirements of fruits and veggies? Now, you can. This indulgent chocolate pudding is made from cauliflower – yes, cauliflower – and contains 10 pitted Medjool dates, as well. It’s vegan-friendly and excellent to the last bite. You can refrigerate any leftovers – yeah, right! – for about a day.
23. Chocolate Matzo Layer Cake
I’m not sure what it is about matzo that lends itself so nicely to making layered sweet treats, but whatever it is, I love it. This cake is like a mixture between tiramisu and ice-box cake. It’s sweet, but thanks to the coffee-soaked matzo layers, it isn’t too sweet. Best of all, it’s 100% kosher.
24. Macaroons
All you’ll need to make these yummy, chewy coconut macaroons is honey, vanilla extract, shredded coconut, salt, and two eggs. They take about 10 minutes to whip up and another 15 to cook. When the coconut turns golden brown, they’re done.
25. Chocolate Covered Matzo
If you’re looking for a lazy Passover dessert that doesn’t take a lot of effort but tastes like a bakery-made delicacy, reach for the matzo, of course. Then cover it in chocolate. Yep, that’s all it takes. Cover your matzo in a melted butter and sugar mixture. Then put kosher chocolate chips on top of it all. They’ll melt and cover the matzo in yummy milk and semi-sweet chocolate. Then you freeze the whole thing and break the matzo into smaller, bite-sized pieces. It’s easy-peasy. Click on a star to rate it!
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