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24 recipes for a magnificent Easter feast

Hot cross buns, oven-braised lamb, Greek Easter soup, asparagus sides and, of course, carrot cake.

Hot cross buns, oven-braised lamb, Greek Easter soup, asparagus sides and, of course, carrot cake

Brittany Toole · CBC Life ·
Top down shots of 3 foods. Left: a baking dish of Parker House rolls; centre: braised lamb shank on a plate of roasted carrots; right: a platter and 2 small plates of asparagus, leek and chickpea salad.
(Owais Rafique Marketing Inc.; Dhivya Subramanian)

If you're still finalizing your feast for this weekend, we've got a long list of recipes that would be welcome at an Easter table. Whether you're searching for something new to add to the mix, a different take on a family favourite, or another sweet for your dessert spread, we've got ideas!

Instead of devilled eggs, consider Sohla El-Waylly's go-to — a devilled-egg dip. Or use fresh spring produce for Marcella DiLonardo's asparagus gratin or Dhivya Subramanian's asparagus, leek and chickpea salad. 

Jazz up your baked ham with a raspberry-chipotle glaze or, if ham isn't for you, we've got recipes for braised lamb, a lentil shepherd's pie and a lasagna that's an Italian pasta master's secret weapon. 

And we have traditional recipes for both Easter and Orthodox Easter — which fall on the same day this year — like hot cross buns and the Greek Easter soup magiritsa.

For dessert, I highly recommend our classic carrot cake. I turn to it year after year and am always impressed with how well it turns out. My colleagues have heard me sing its praises many times, but it's a really good cake.

Devilled egg dip 

Closeup on a bowl of light yellow dip with orange trout roe on top. The bowl is sitting on a platter with Ritz crackers next to it. Behind it, a person wearing a lime green dress scoops into the dip with a cracker.
(Photography by Laura Murray)

Tzatziki

Closeup on a white yogurt dip on a black plate, with an olive in the middle of the dip. The plate is on a brown surface.
(Photography by Alison Slattery)

Hot cross buns

Top down shot of a wooden tray with hot cross buns.
Fruit, spices, apricot glaze, a poem, what's not to love? (The Great Canadian Baking Show)

Parker House rolls

Top down shot of a white baking dish of 5 Parker House rolls. A roll is sliced on a plate with butter on it.
(Photography by Owais Rafique Marketing Inc.; styling by Matthew Chin)

Greek Easter soup

Overhead shot of a white bowl of Greek Easter Soup (magiritsa) topped with fresh dill and sitting on a white and blue cloth.
(Photography by Christos Sourligas)

Herby egg salad 

An above shot of two slices of toasted bread topped with egg salad and herbs on a plate.
(Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Slow-cooker scalloped potatoes

Overhead shot of a slow cooker filled with scalloped potatoes.
(Credit: Christian Lacroix)

Rice and peas

Overhead shot of a plate of rice and peas with bowls of sliced limes and green onions next to it.
(Photography by Owais Rafique Marketing Inc.; styling by Matthew Chin)

Asparagus, leek and chickpea salad

Overhead shot of a platter with a salad of asparagus, leeks and chickpeas on a pink surface. Hands serve some of the salad onto one of the 2 small plates of salad sitting next to the platter.
(Photography by Dhivya Subramanian)

Asparagus gratin

overhead shot of a baking dish filled with asparagus gratin
(Photography by Marcella DiLonardo)

Loubia bil zeit

Overhead shot of a blue platter of green beans braised in tomato sauce and topped with pine nuts and cilantro. It's sitting on a pink tiled surface.
(Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Lamb, apricot and pine nut pilaf

Overhead shot of a plate of pilaf
(Photography by Leila Ashtari)

Baked salmon with fennel and blood orange

Overhead shot of a mint green serving platter with baked salmon, fennel, orange slices and green olives on it.
(CBC Life)

Pork loin roast with spicy chimichurri

Overhead shot of a sliced roast pork loin on a wooden cutting board sitting on a white table. A bowl of chimichurri sits next to it.
(CBC Life)

Lasagne verde alla bolognese

closeup on a large piece of cheesy lasagna. multiple layers of pasta are visible and the top layer is crispy. it's on a brown plate on a beige surface.
(Photography by Eric Wolfinger)

Cider and mustard braised lamb shanks

Overhead shot of braised lamb shanks sitting on a bed of roast vegetables on a plate. The plate is on a table that's set for a meal and a plate of roast potatoes sits next to the lamb shanks.
(CBC Life)

Escovitch red snapper

2 side-by-side images, left: Dwight Smith sitting at a table with a plate that has Escovitch red snapper on it. He's smiling to camera and giving a thumbs up. Right: Closeup overhead shot of the red snapper on the plate, topped with bell peppers.
(Photography by Dwight Smith)

Raspberry-chipotle glazed ham

A glazed ham on a wooden cutting board with some slices cut from it.
(Photography by Florence Grunfelder; food styling by Sabrina Falone)

Lentil shepherd's pie 

Top down shot of a casserole dish with a lentil shepherds pie. The top is covered with slices of potato and sweet potato.
(CBC Life)

Brined and roasted turkey with simple pan gravy

Closeup on a roasted turkey sitting on a wooden cutting board with a small dish of gravy next to it, all sitting on a table.
(CBC Life)

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing

A carrot cake with one slice cut from it. It's sitting on a white plate on a wooden table. The slice of cake is on a blue plate in front of the full cake.
(CBC Life)

No-bake quince and mascarpone cheesecake

Closeup top down shot of a circular cheesecake on a marble surface. The cake is covered in orange slices of candied quince.
(Photograph by Mickaël A. Bandassak)

Vegan tiramisu

Overhead closeup shot of tiramisu in a white baking dish on a pink background.
(Photography by Gabriel Cabrera)

Saffron-almond baklava

Four baklava squares on a dessert display with chopped almonds and threads of saffron sprinkled on top
(Photo by: Darren Goldstein/DSG Photo)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brittany Toole

Brittany Toole is an associate producer at CBC Life.

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