Food and Recipes Holiday and Occasion Food 20 Traditional Easter Dinner Recipes That'll Wow Your Crowd By Southern Living Editors Southern Living Editors Since 1966, the editors of Southern Living have been carrying out the mission of the brand: to bring enjoyment, fulfillment, and inspiration to our readers by celebrating life in the South. We inspire creativity in their homes, their kitchens, their gardens, and their personal style. We are a friend they can trust, a guide to the seasons, a helping hand during the holidays, and a relentless champion of the Southern way of life. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on February 11, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Find the perfect main dish recipe for your Easter brunch, lunch, or dinner with these traditional Easter recipes for ham, lamb, and chicken. Choose a showstopping centerpiece for your spring feast from our wow-worthy selection of main dish recipes. Impress your guests with a Sweet-Hot Plum-Glazed Ham, Ginger Ale-Can Chicken, or Braised Lamb Shanks. Hosting a casual potluck? Our Pan-Grilled Chicken with Fresh Plum Salsa can easily be made for a crowd. A stunning Herb-Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb is sure to be the focus of your traditional Easter dinner. Whether you host a formal sit-down or an easy brunch, you will find the ideal main dish to make your Easter meal memorable. Be sure to check out our Easter side dish recipes for delicious ways to round out your meal. 01 of 20 Glazed Ham with Pineapple Chutney Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Glazed Ham with Pineapple Chutney Don't even think about using that packet that came with your grocery store ham. Wrap the ham in foil for the juiciest results. Don't worry—you'll kick up the heat at the end so the glaze of bourbon, pineapple preserves, and brown sugar can caramelize up to perfection. 02 of 20 Pork Crown Roast Recipe Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Pork Crown Roast Recipe This tangy and flavorful pork roast is the crown winner for Easter dinner. 03 of 20 Honey-Mustard Baked Salmon with Vegetables Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Honey-Mustard Baked Salmon with Vegetables Easter dinner is a breeze with this sheet pan meal, complete with salmon and roasted veggies. 04 of 20 Baked Ham with Brown Sugar-Citrus Glaze Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Baked Ham with Brown Sugar-Citrus Glaze We added some zest to this baked ham by covering it with a citrus glaze made with fresh orange juice and orange marmalade. 05 of 20 Apricot Glazed Ham Frederick Hardy II; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Christina Daley Recipe: Apricot Glazed Ham Start with your ham at room temperature and cover in foil before popping it in the oven. It's the best way to lock in all those delicious juices. When it's time to baste on the golden glaze, remove the foil and let it cook, forming a nice, caramelized crust over the top. 06 of 20 Sweet-Hot Plum-Glazed Ham Southern Living Recipe: Sweet-Hot Plum-Glazed Ham Ham is a staple on Southern Easter dinner tables, and this recipe takes that classic and gives it a new twist. Think of this recipe as bringing the flavors of spring to this family meal. Plum preserves spiked with fresh citrus, ginger, and crushed red pepper update the traditional Easter ham. The orange juice and lime juice add the right combination of sweet and tart, while the honey clings onto the ham to bake into the perfect glaze. You'll love just that hint of red-pepper heat. Garnish it with tropical fruits like kiwi and pineapple for a beautiful look. 07 of 20 Broiled Lamb Chops Recipe: Broiled Lamb Chops This savory lamb chops recipe only requires 10-minutes of hands-on-time, making it the perfect dish for a busy Easter. 08 of 20 Braised Lamb Shanks with Parmesan-Chive Grits Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Braised Lamb Shanks with Parmesan-Chive Grits Let your slow-cooker do the work this Easter. This decadent lamb shank recipe is complete with the ultimate Southern side: grits. 09 of 20 Maple-Bourbon Glazed Ham Photographer: Frederick Hardy II, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Recipe: Maple-Bourbon Glazed Ham This five-ingredient glaze is destined to dazzle your Easter table. It's spicy and sweet, sticky and crunchy, and the best way to dress up a store-bought ham with ingredients you probably already have stocked in your kitchen. 10 of 20 Brown Sugar-Bourbon-Glazed Ham Becky Luigart-Stayner; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio Recipe: Brown Sugar-Bourbon Glazed Ham You know this dish will be a winner when the online reviews include comments like "the glaze is fantastic and delicious." It sure is. This classic recipe for glazed ham is not only delicious, but it is a beautiful dish for your Easter brunch. What's even better is that to enjoy this incredible dish you don't have to plan to spend all day in the kitchen. In three easy steps you can make this ham studded with cloves and flavored with a brown sugar-bourbon glaze. Then slice it, serve it, and settle in to see the happy faces as your family and friends savor every delicious bite. 11 of 20 Joanna Gaines Salmon Recipe Amy Neunsinger Recipe: Joanna Gaines Salmon Recipe Have you ever wished to have dinner in the Gaines household? Here's your chance – kind of. Make Joanna Gaines' beloved salmon recipe for Easter. 12 of 20 Classic Beef Pot Roast Recipe: Classic Beef Pot Roast Grace your dinner table with this hearty pot roast. 13 of 20 Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Recipe: Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe Whip up this savory pot roast in a slow cooker and serve it alongside mashed potatoes. 14 of 20 Ginger Ale-Can Chicken Recipe: Ginger Ale-Can Chicken It is hard to get simpler, or more Southern, than Can Chicken. For this recipe, two whole chickens are marinated in a mixture that includes liquid steak seasoning, rosemary, garlic, and pepper. The chickens then get oven-baked vertically over opened cans of ginger ale until they are perfectly roasted. The secret is that in the hot oven the ginger ale steams, keeping the chicken moist. This easy roasting method also allows fat to drip through and around the chickens, giving them a rich flavor and a beautiful golden-brown color. This will taste great on the table—fresh and hot, it would certainly give "canned chicken" a whole new meaning. 15 of 20 Citrus-Glazed Ham Southern Living Recipe: Citrus-Glazed Ham You may expect baked ham on a Southern dinner table at Easter, but you probably did not expect one that tastes this good. Our citrus-glazed ham is sure to please your family this Easter. The key is what goes on top: a bottle of fizzy, bubbly bottled orange-juice flavored soft drink forms the foundation for a perfect glaze. Pour it on, put everything in the oven, then baste on the pan juices every 20 minutes as the ham cooks. Let it stand for 15 minutes when it comes out of the oven so the juices have time to settle. You'll savor every salty-sweet bite. 16 of 20 Red Pepper, Potato, and Ricotta Frittata Greg DuPree Recipe: Red Pepper, Potato, and Ricotta Frittata If you're looking for a deliciously robust Easter dinner, the red pepper, potato, and ricotta frittata is the way to go. 17 of 20 Pan-Grilled Chicken with Fresh Plum Salsa Jennifer Davick Recipe: Pan-Grilled Chicken with Fresh Plum Salsa The combination of sweet and spicy flavors make this pan-grilled chicken the ideal main dish for your Resurrection Day dinner. 18 of 20 Spring Vegetable Frittata Photo: Jennifer Causey Recipe: Spring Vegetable Frittata With fresh ingredients like asparagus, onion, and feta cheese, this spring frittata will leave you refreshingly satisfied. 19 of 20 Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe with Dressing Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe with Dressing We gave this sheet pan chicken recipe a Southern upgrade by adding chunks of cornbread to the mix. 20 of 20 Herb-Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Herb-Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb Cooking the meat low and slow for just under two hours, removing it from the oven to rest for 30 minutes, then cranking up the heat and returning it to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes results in an undeniably tender leg of lamb with a crisp and utterly decadent herb-and-garlic crust. 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