Easter

Easter is one of those holidays that has the power to gather all the family members in one place. While family gatherings can sometimes come with a few tricky moments, holidays like Easter are really about good food, a cozy atmosphere, and fun traditions that bring everyone together!

And speaking of traditions — did you know different countries celebrate this Christian holiday in some truly unique ways? From painting hard-boiled eggs and hunting for the Easter Bunny to full-on water fights in the streets, Easter customs around the world are all about fun and togetherness.

And when it comes to food, the dishes served vary just as much — with each country putting its own delicious spin on the celebration.

1. United Kingdom 🇬🇧

In the United Kingdom, the star dish of Sunday Easter lunch is roasted lamb, usually served with roasted potatoes or other seasonal veggies. And of course, no Easter meal would be complete without the mint sauce — it’s the finishing touch that ties everything together!

Tesco Real Food
4
Make-ahead spiced lamb
This make-ahead lamb is marinated in yogurt and spices two days before, so the meat is ext ra juicy and tender. This is the only way to serve up Easter lunch this year.
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Prep: 10min Cook: 290min
Ingredients
  • leg of lamb
    2.5 kg leg of lamb or larger
  • lemons
    3 lemons juiced
  • sea salt flakes
    2 tsp sea salt flakes
  • cumin seeds
    1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • coriander seeds
    1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • cinnamon stick
    1 cinnamon stick small
  • black peppercorns
    1 tsp black peppercorns
  • full-fat Greek-style natural yogurt
    150 g full-fat Greek-style natural yogurt
  • bay leaves
    8 bay leaves

Easter marks the beginning of spring, symbolizing rebirth and the start of new life. In the UK, it’s a chance for families to enjoy time outdoors — whether it’s peaceful walks in nature, laid-back picnics, with kids racing around in search of hidden chocolate eggs.

2. Italy 🇮🇹

Similarly to the United Kingdom, most Italian families gather for Easter lunch to enjoy Agnello al Forno (roasted lamb), often served alongside Torta Pasqualina — a puff pastry pie filled with spinach or chard, ricotta, and several whole baked eggs. The pie is loved all over Italy — and honestly, we get it. It’s not just delicious — it’s a total showstopper.

Torta Pasqualina Torta Pasqualina
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spicedblog.com spicedblog.com
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Torta Pasqualina
Torta Pasqualina is a traditional Italian recipe served at Easter. This delicious pie feat ures a puff pastry crust stuffed with spinach, ricotta and eggs – yum!
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Prep: 25min Cook: 60min
Ingredients
  • fresh spinach
    30 oz fresh spinach
  • olive oil
    1 tbsp olive oil
  • white onions
    2 white onions medium, diced
  • minced garlic
    1 tsp minced garlic
  • ricotta cheese
    15 oz ricotta cheese
  • grated parmesan cheese
    1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • kosher salt
    1 tsp kosher salt
  • black pepper
    1.5 tsp black pepper
  • nutmeg
    0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • eggs
    7 eggs large
  • frozen puff pastry
    2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed

The Pope delivers his blessing from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City — a moment watched by millions across Italy and beyond — followed by traditional processions and dazzling firework displays in cities like Florence.

On Easter Monday, Italians like to take it easy. If the weather’s nice, families and friends pack up their Sunday leftovers (because hey — reducing waste is great for the planet) and head outdoors to soak up the warm spring sun.

3. United States 🇺🇸

In the United States, many people consider Easter the most important Christian holiday. They attend Holy Week events like Good Friday and Easter Sunday church services. At the same time, they see Easter as a chance to gather with close family and friends over a delicious brunch or lunch!

Many families center their Easter lunch around baked ham. They often follow it with deviled eggs and side dishes like potato casseroles, sweet breads, and pastries.

Baked Ham Baked Ham
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tastesbetterfromscratch.com tastesbetterfromscratch.com
109
Baked Ham
This easy Baked Ham with pineapple brown sugar glaze is delicious, beautiful, and perfect for anytime from a simple Sunday dinner to holiday entertaining for Easter or Christmas. It's always a crowd favorite!
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Prep: 30min Cook: 120min
Ingredients
  • spiral-cut ham
    8 pounds spiral-cut ham bone-in fully-cooked
  • can pineapple tidbits
    20 ounce can pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple
  • light brown sugar
    0.75 cup light brown sugar
  • ground cinnamon
    0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ground cloves
    0.25 teaspoon ground cloves

A favorite? Carrot cake — often decorated with candy eggs, chocolate bunnies, or little marzipan carrots. It’s a classic that wins over kids and grown-ups alike!

Mini Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Mini Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
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acozykitchen.com acozykitchen.com
470
Mini Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Mini Carrot Cake is the perfect small batch dessert for Easter and spring time! This cake is super flavorful: studded with chopped walnuts, shredded carrot and the perfect balance of spices. This carrot cake is topped with a brown butter cream cheese frosting that is to die for! SO GOOD!
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Prep: 15min Cook: 22min
Ingredients
  • all-purpose flour
    1.25 cups all-purpose flour
  • baking soda
    1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • nutmeg
    0.5 teaspoon nutmeg freshly ground
  • kosher salt
    0.5 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ground ginger
    0.25 teaspoon ground ginger
  • unsalted butter
    0.25 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • oil
    0.25 cup oil neutral, such as avocado, grape seed oil or vegetable oil
  • granulated sugar
    0.5 cup granulated sugar
  • brown sugar
    0.5 cup brown sugar
  • eggs
    2 eggs large
  • buttermilk
    0.33 cup buttermilk shaken
  • carrots
    1.25 cups carrots grated
  • walnuts
    0.75 cup walnuts roughly, chopped
  • unsalted butter
    6 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
  • cream cheese
    5 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • pure vanilla extract
    0.5 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • salt
    pinch salt
  • powdered sugar
    1.5 cups powdered sugar divided
  • heavy cream
    2 teaspoons heavy cream

4. The Balkans 🏔️

In the Orthodox parts of the Balkans, the main Easter meal is typically a late breakfast or brunch. That’s because the morning is spent with kids running through the neighborhood, searching for eggs and sweets. The meal begins with a playful competition: each family member picks an egg — dyed on Good Friday — and tries to crack someone else’s. The winner? Whoever’s egg stays uncracked. The prize? Unlimited bragging rights for the day.

As for the dishes served at breakfast — take your pick. Eggs, roasted ham, spring onions, and crunchy radishes are just a few of the staples on the table.

When it comes to dessert, every household has its favorite. One classic? Vanilice — bite-sized sandwich cookies filled with jam. Simple, sweet, and absolutely delicious!

curiouscuisiniere.com curiouscuisiniere.com
10
Vanilice (Serbian Little Vanilla Cookies)
Vanilice are bite-sized Serbian Vanilla Cookies that are seriously addicting. With a nutty sweetness and a soft jam filling, they're the perfect recipe to add to your next cookie platter! For best results, this dough needs to be chilled for 2-3 hours before cutting and baking. These cookies are traditionally made 1-2 days before serving, to allow the flavors to meld together and the cookies to soften.
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Prep: 120min Cook: 11min
Ingredients
  • powdered vanilla sugar
    1.5 c powdered vanilla sugar
  • walnut halves
    2 c walnut halves
  • vegetable shortening
    0.5 c vegetable shortening
  • salted butter
    1 stick salted butter softened
  • sugar
    0.75 c sugar
  • egg yolks
    2 egg yolks large
  • pure vanilla extract
    2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • lemon zest
    1 tsp lemon zest fresh
  • unbleached all purpose flour
    2.5 c unbleached all purpose flour
  • jam
    0.5 c jam apricot or rosehip are traditional

5. Mexico 🇲🇽

In Mexico, the spotlight isn’t on Easter Sunday, but on the entire week leading up to it. During Semana Santa (Holy Week), people celebrate with colorful, meaningful traditions that reflect both their faith and rich cultural heritage. Instead of painting eggs, many decorate their homes and streets with vibrant, hand-made creations that fill communities with holiday spirit.

Many families take Semana Santa off to travel, and schools close for the week too — which explains why it holds a special place in kids’ hearts.

Many families serve Bacalao during this time — a beloved salted codfish stew cooked with potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. But it’s not the only favorite on the table. Tamales, lime and coriander rice, and shrimp cooked the Mexican way are crowd-pleasers too.

gran.luchito.com
28
Bacalao
Bacalao a la Vizcaina is a very traditional Mexican dish normally served over the New Year in Mexico or sometimes on Christmas Eve as well. This salted cod recipe dates back to viceroyalty times where Spanish and native ingredients from the new world were combined to create dishes like this. This is why you can see the use of capers, olives and salt cod that are not typically Mexican, combined with the tomato and pickled chillies that are native ingredients of Mexico. Bacalao is one of those special dishes that has been preserved by grandmas in Mexican families and passed on from generation to generation. It takes a bit of time to prepare, but this bacalao recipe is worth every minute. When you get to enjoy salted cod at New Year with a bit of crusty bread to dip into the juices, it’s epic! This is one of those dishes that tastes even better when reheated, too. A few things to remember on how to prepare bacalao: – It’s very important to soak your salted cod fish for at least 24 hrs, preferably 48 hrs, and to change the water from time to time. This not only helps to get rid of the excess salt but rehydrates your cod, making it much easier to prepare. – Add the olives just before it goes into the oven. – Be careful when adding salt, as the cod will still be salty. – A few extra things that are sometimes added at the end are skinless roasted red peppers, cut into strips, or toasted almonds. – Serve hot with crusty bread, a glass of sparkling or white wine, and always some pickled chillis too. We recommend serving with Gran Luchito Jalapeño and Pineapple or for a spicier chilli try Gran Luchito Fire Roasted Serranos.
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Prep: 2880min Cook: 90min
Ingredients
  • salted cod
    300 g salted cod
  • onions
    4 onions cut into half moons
  • garlic cloves
    5 garlic cloves minced
  • olive oil
    250 ml olive oil
  • tin of peeled plum tomatoes
    1 tin of peeled plum tomatoes
  • Chipotle Paste
    1 tablespoon Gran Luchito Chipotle Paste
  • capers
    0.33 cup capers finely chopped
  • pimento stuffed olives
    1 cup pimento stuffed olives
  • parsley leaves
    1 handful parsley leaves freshly chopped
  • crusty bread
    1 loaf crusty bread cut into slices
  • 1 jar Gran Luchito jalapeno and pineapple taco topping

No matter where you are in the world, Easter is a moment to pause — to celebrate new beginnings, enjoy time with loved ones, and maybe share a few meaningful (and delicious) traditions. Whether you’re honoring long-standing traditions or just here for the chocolate, we’re wishing you an Easter filled with peace, joy, and plenty of good food!