Our Favorite Easter Menu Ideas of All Time

Family Easter Dinner

Spring Salad with Berries and Bacon — Johnny Autry; Food and Prop Styling: Charlotte L. Autry

Recipe: Sweet-Hot Plum-Glazed Ham
Recipe: Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe: Oven-Roasted Asparagus
Recipe: Spring Salad with Berries and Bacon
Recipe: Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls
Recipe: Classic Coconut Cake
Recipe: Blueberry-Lemon Iced Tea

Plum preserves spiked with fresh citrus, ginger, and crushed red pepper update the traditional baked ham. A creamy casserole of scalloped potatoes and tender Oven-Roasted Asparagus round out this family-pleasing menu. Sliced strawberries, bacon, and a tangy vinaigrette make our colorful Spring Salad with Berries and Bacon (pictured) a perennial holiday favorite. Warm, fluffy rolls straight from the oven are a must-have on Easter Sunday, and our Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls take the stress out of holiday cooking. And of course we wouldn't even think about having Easter without a coconut cake! The best part about this layered delicacy is the creamy coconut filling.

02 of 08

Laid-Back Easter Sunday Dinner

Recipe: Top-Shelf Chicken Under a Brick
Recipe: Roasted Tomato Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe: Creamy Broccoli Slaw
Recipe: Strawberry-Spinach Salad
Recipe: Double Citrus Tart
Recipe: Classic Sweet Tea

This easy menu brings together familiar ingredients in fresh new ways. After church, slip the chicken on the grill and the mac and cheese in the oven. Prep for the Creamy Broccoli Slaw is minimal thanks to store-bought broccoli slaw mix. Put the finishing touches on the citrusy tart, toss the slaw, and pour the iced tea. And there you have it, Easter dinner made easier thanks to some pre-planning and simple prep work.

03 of 08

Elegant Easter Menu

Recipe: Glazed Spiral-Cut Holiday Ham
Recipe: Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Recipe: Hot Potato Salad
Recipe: Field Pea, Corn, and Bacon Salad
Recipe: Brown Butter Easter Egg Blondies

This easy and elegant menu keeps things classic, but with an extra helping of flavor and color. Make your Easter celebration truly special with a Spiral-Cut Holiday Ham. This meaty main is already fully-cooked, leaving you with more time on your hands to whip up one of our three homemade glazes instead of using the sugary store-bought packet. Hot Potato Salad will make a wonderful addition to your Easter spread, combining the flavor you've come to love in traditional potato salad with a warm and cheesy twist.

04 of 08

Easiest Easter Ever

Recipe: Herb-Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb
Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
Recipe: Goat Cheese-and-Spring Onion Grits Soufflés
Recipe: Strawberries-and-Cream Sheet Cake
Recipe: Strawberry-Mint Tea

Any cook can conquer these fresh, celebratory recipes. For the main dish star, roasted lamb is surprisingly no-fuss. Simply season the meat the meat an hour before you pop it in the oven. Trust an instant-read meat thermometer to ensure the lamb is the perfect rosy pink in the center. The roasted green beans add a pop of color to the plate. A cheesy and fresh grits soufflé is worthy of special occasion. This side dish is the perfect blend of comfort food taste and company-worthy presentation. Juicy strawberries on our easiest ever shortcake complete the fresh springtime menu.

05 of 08

The Easter Potluck

Asparagus Quiche — Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos

Recipe: Tangy Potato-Green Bean Salad
Recipe: Creamy Spring Pasta Bake (Julia's Pasta Bake)
Recipe: Basic Deviled Eggs
Recipe: The Ultimate Chocolate Pie
Recipe: Lemon Sherbet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting (Pam's Citrus Cupcakes)
Recipe: Asparagus Quiche
Recipe: Champagne Punch

Want to plan an everyone-pitches-in meal that still looks stunning? Here's how. Start off by choosing a theme for your gathering. Let guests know if you're planning a traditional holiday buffet or a casual get-together. Know your numbers: Decide how many appetizers, sides, and desserts you will need based on the number of people attending. Keep it organized (no duplicate dishes!) and ask guests to sign up. Make a list—two green vegetables, three starches, one chocolate dessert—and ask guests to take one. Communicate this however you feel comfortable: Make phone calls, email a sign-up sheet, etc. If your crowd will be looking forward to Aunt Susan's famous squash casserole, then ask her to bring it to the party. On Easter, label the dishes so everyone knows who brought what. Don't forget to be prepared with essential serveware, as every guest won't remember to bring a slotted spoon or pie server. Lastly, plan for leftovers. Should guests divide up any food that remains? Are to-go plates approved? Leave it up to the person who made the dish. Stock up on extra paper plates, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap so you're also prepared for the meal's end.

06 of 08

A Laid-Back Easter Lunch

Baked Ham with Brown Sugar-Citrus Glaze — Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Spinach-Artichoke Dip
Recipe: Carrot Soup with Pea Pesto
Recipe: Sautéed Radishes with Bacon
Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus
Recipe: Baked Ham with Brown Sugar-Citrus Glaze
Recipe: Angel Biscuits
Recipe: Mini Coconut-Key Lime Pies

Gather the whole family for a beautiful spring meal that celebrates the best seasonal ingredients. Keep your guests satisfied when they arrive with a fresh dip. Start the meal with a beautiful spring soup. All three side dishes showcase colorful spring favorites like various radishes and asparagus. Covered in sugar-citrus glaze, this ham recipe is a showstopper worthy of the center of the table. The dough for our heavenly Angel Biscuits can be refrigerated until you're ready to bake. Finally, end the meal with a heavenly dessert of miniature Key Lime pies. They can be made ahead, too!

07 of 08

A Beautiful Easter Brunch

SL 2018 Easter Menu - Biscuits w/ all the Fixings — Photographer Victor Protasio Food Stylist: Torie Cox Prop Stylist: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Recipe: Buttermilk Biscuits with Ham
Recipe: Mini Cheese Grits Casseroles
Recipe: Potato-Bacon Hash
Recipe: Fresh Fruit Salad
Recipe: Coconut-Carrot Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Recipe: Ginger-Orange Mocktails

Make this wonderful celebration with an easy-to-prepare spread of ham biscuits, springtime salads, and a festive punch. The good news for busy hostesses? The biscuits can be cut and frozen up to two weeks in advance. We used a small 2-inch biscuit cutter, so you may want to bake extra. We served our cheese grits casseroles in mini ramekins for a more formal look and easier serving than a casserole dish. Our potato hash holds up better on a buffet than a bowl of mixed greens, but still includes plenty of spinach. A lightly spiced, sheet-cake twist on carrot cake was made for feeding a crowd and travels well if you've been assigned dessert duty at someone else's house. Keep your sparkling punch from getting watered down while it stays cool with pretty lemonade ice cubes.

08 of 08

Easter Made Easy

Recipe: Glazed Ham with Pineapple Chutney
Recipe: Southern Cobb Salad with Cornbread Croutons
Recipe: Asparagus with Cheese Sauce and Herb Breadcrumbs
Recipe: Potato Salad with Dijon and Scallions
Recipe: Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Zest and Buttery Almonds

Choose a classic main dish and four go-with-anything sides to design a memorable holiday menu. The ham is delicious on its own, but the spiced pineapple chutney takes it to another level. Use fresh (not canned) pineapple, and don't move the fruit around in the skillet too much at first. You want it to char a bit. If you go with the lamb, the secret is to cook it low and slow and then turn up the heat so the exterior can brown and form a crust. The result will be wonderfully crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

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