Our All-Time Favorite Easter Sides

By Lisa Cericola
March 16, 2017
Iain Bagwell
If you’re hosting an Easter meal, chances are ham or lamb is at the center of your table. But what about the rest of the menu? We’ve done the work for you by rounding up our all-time best Easter side dishes. These easy but impressive recipes feature spring ingredients like new potatoes, asparagus, and strawberries. And they will be right at home on any menu, whether you’re serving, brunch, lunch, or dinner. Mix and match these delicious recipes to make your own menu, or serve them all as a lovely buffet-style (or potluck!) meal.
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Mini Cheese Grits Casseroles

Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Recipe: Mini Cheese Grits Casseroles

You can prepare the grits the night before and then bake an hour before serving.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Salad

Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Recipe: Strawberry-Rhubarb Salad

Rhubarb and strawberries come together to make a bright, colorful, and fresh dish.

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Warm Asparagus, Radish, and New Potato Salad with Herb Dressing

Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Recipe: Warm Asparagus, Radish, and New Potato Salad with Herb Dressing

Upgrade your potato salad with fresh, colorful vegetables.

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Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Amy Burke

Recipe: Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes

We love the salty, savory flavor that Parmesan cheese adds to this casserole, but you can substitute Gruyère cheese or even an Italian cheese blend (Parmesan, Asiago, Pecorino Romano).

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Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots

Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots

These carrots are so good and so easy to make, they’ll become your new go-to side dish, for holidays and beyond. Roasting brings out the carrots’ natural sweetness, which is enhanced by the simple glaze, made with butter, honey, brown sugar, and spices. Try this recipe with multicolored baby carrots if you can find them.​​​​​​​

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Spinach-and-Romaine Salad

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Spinach-and-Romaine Salad with Cucumbers, Radishes, and Creamy Mint Dressing

Heavier dishes like a roasted ham and scalloped potatoes are best when balanced out by a fresh salad like this one. Crunchy, peppery radishes and crisp cucumbers pair wonderfully with this creamy herbal dressing and tangy feta cheese.

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How To Make The Most Adorable Easter Egg You’ve Ever Seen

Move over succulents, there’s a new trendy plant in town—the cactus. And although you could pick one up just about anywhere (even most grocery stores carry a version of the plant!), it's way more fun to make a faux cactus that’s perfect for Easter, or any spring celebration.

All you need is a mini terracotta pot, some sand, a hard-boiled egg, and a green marker to make this clever DIY from our friends at Real Simple. Pink crepe paper is optional, but we couldn't resist the pretty topper.

To extend the shelf life of this little DIY project (because who wouldn’t want to keep this on their desk or window sill forever?!), use a pin to poke two holes—one on the top and one on the bottom—in an uncooked egg. Then, put your mouth to the top hole and blow the contents of the egg into a small dish, the garbage, or the sink. (Bonus points for no waste and cooking the egg!) Once the egg is emptied, rinse it through warm water to ensure any excess comes out, then let dry. Continue with the craft as instructed below.

You'll need:

  • Vinegar
  • Warm water
  • Green food coloring
  • Hard-boiled egg
  • Mini terracotta pot
  • Masking tape
  • Sand
  • Green marker
  • Pink crepe paper or tissue (optional)

Create the dye bath: Pour 1 cup hot water and 1 tablespoon white vinegar in a wide cup or small bowl. Stir in 20 drops of green food coloring.

Soak egg to desired hue, remove and pat dry with paper towel.

Use a fine-tipped dark green permanent marker to draw spikes or lines.

Cover the hole at the bottom of the terracotta pot with masking tape. Fill with sand and nestle egg inside.

Optional: Cut flower from crepe paper and attach to the top with a glue dot.

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Spring Pea Orzo

Photo: Helene Dujardin Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickie

Recipe: Spring Pea Orzo

This simple pasta salad is perfect for a springtime meal. It’s made with two kinds of peas (green peas and sugar snap) and bright herbal vinaigrette.

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Asparagus-New Potato Hash

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey

Recipe: Asparagus-New Potato Hash

Whether you’re hosting an Easter brunch or dinner, this hash will be a welcome addition to your table. Small red potatoes and asparagus—two springtime stars—combine with creamy farmer’s cheese and a few pantry staples to make a fast and flavorful side dish.

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Strawberry Salad with Warm Goat Cheese Croutons

Photo: Greg Dupree Styling: Ginny Branch

Recipe: Strawberry Salad with Warm Goat Cheese Croutons

You’ll be hard pressed to find a salad that’s prettier—or tastier—than this one. Make the most of in-season strawberries by combining them with tender greens, cucumbers, crispy goat cheese croutons and a tangy Strawberry-Poppy Seed Viniagrette.

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Angel Biscuits

Photo: Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Recipe: Angel Biscuits

No Easter meal is complete without a basket of warm biscuits, especially if you’re serving ham. And these bake up so light and fluffy they practically fly out of the pan.

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By Lisa Cericola