Here’s a selection of fresh and festive vegan Easter dinner recipes, plus brunch and dessert, for a full range of menu selections. These bounteous plant-based recipes celebrate the holiday as well as the arrival of spring.
Easter and Passover share two common ideas: Each holiday heralds the arrival of spring, though from different symbolic perspectives. Both holidays, however, connect those who celebrate to their cultural roots.
The festive meal following Easter services marks the end of the austere Lenten period, the forty days of self-denial and repentance leading up to Easter. As the northern hemisphere awakens to spring, so the practitioners of the Easter holiday are ready to celebrate after the austerity of Lent.
The fresh produce of early spring is highlighted in the recipes ahead — leafy greens, asparagus, carrots, and bright, citrusy flavors.
Do you want even more? Here are a few more round-ups from across the vegan web:
- 30+ Vegan Easter Recipes That Are Guaranteed to Impress
- 31 Vegan Easter Recipes
- 45 Best Vegan Easter Recipes
Brunch
Vegan Chickpea Deviled Tomatoes: If you no longer eat eggs but have a craving for the retro classic, deviled eggs, you’ll really enjoy these completely vegan deviled tomatoes. The combination of chickpeas, nutritional yeast, and vegan mayo add up to a fairly egg-like flavor and consistency. A wonderful Easter brunch dish or appetizer.
Blueberry and Praline French Toast Casserole: This a luscious vegan French toast casserole will delight your friends and family as a year-round weekend or holiday brunch treat.
Spinach or Arugula Scrambled Tofu: Here’s a colorful and tasty spinach or arugula scrambled tofu that’s festive enough for a festive Easter brunch.
Soups
Vegan Cream of Cauliflower Soup: A lovely introduction to Easter dinner, you can enjoy this creamy bowl of comfort in fall and winter as well.
Carrot-Ginger Soup: Classic carrot-ginger soup is made easier by using baby carrots, eliminating the need for a lot of peeling and chopping. And that’s a great thing when you’re preparing a big holiday dinner!
Simple Spring Vegetable Soup: A straightforward spring vegetable soup featuring potatoes, carrots, and peas in a light, mildly seasoned broth, this is a light first course for an everyday or festive spring meal.
Main Dishes
Roasted Seitan, Peppers, and Portobellos: This delectable preparation of roasted seitan, colorful bell peppers, and portobello mushrooms is simple enough to make for a weeknight meal and festive enough for any special occasion.
Classic Vegan Meatloaf: Here’s a vegan meatloaf using Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground, but if you want to try a whole foods approach, you’ll find a version using beans and nuts in the recipe’s variations. If you’re feeding a crowd, double the recipe!
Spring Vegetable Tart: This vegetable tart is practically effortless to make and gorgeous to behold. It two generous rectangular tarts, and is a festive offering for a vegan Easter menu.
Chickpea Sheet Pan Pie: Cradled in a flaky, golden crust, chickpeas and green peas commingle with the classic French mirepoix of onion, carrots, celery, and savory spices.
Orange Roasted Tofu with Baby Carrots and Almonds: Sprightly citrusy flavors infuse orange roasted tofu, making it a fantastic special occasion or company dish.
Lasagna-Like Pasta Casserole: An easy vegan pasta casserole that has all the great flavors of lasagna with less hassle, this dish is perfect for a special occasion meal.
“Beefy” Vegan Holiday Pot Roast: A vegan pot roast made with portobello mushrooms is hearty, warming, and easy enough to make for a weeknight meal — yet festive enough for the holiday table.
Salads
Watercress Salad with Oranges and Cucumber :This simple watercress salad, embellished with oranges, cucumber, and sprouts is a lovely way to highlight this delectable leafy green.
Avocado and Radicchio Salad with Lime Vinaigrette: Sometimes, it’s the combination of ingredients rather than a lot of ingredients than makes a great salad. Case in point, this colorful salad that’s a gorgeous addition to a festive meal.
Tricolor Potato and Arugula Salad : This colorful salad combines three kinds of potatoes with the peppery greens for an earthy flavor with plenty of eye appeal.
Festive Beet and Carrot Salad:The classic beet and carrot salad is made even tastier with chopped walnuts and parsley. It brightens everyday meals and dresses up holiday fare.
Side Dishes
My Big Fat Greek Asparagus: A simple yet bold presentation, this Greek-inspired asparagus dish is richly flavored with olive and sun-dried tomato tapenade.
Sesame Roasted Asparagus
If you’d like an even simpler asparagus preparation, here you go — you need not even link through to a formal recipe.
1. Trim about an inch off the bottoms of a good-sized bunch of medium-thick asparagus spears; scrape the bottom halves of the spears if the skin looks thick.
2. Arrange on a lightly oiled baking pan and drizzle with a tablespoon or so of dark sesame oil.
3. Roast in a preheated 400º to 425º F oven oven until tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 15 to 20 minutes. Once out of the oven, arrange on a serving platter. Season gently with salt and pepper and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if you’d like.
Maple-Roasted Baby Carrots
Here’s another side dish that’s simple enough to present right here. This is one of the easiest and most delightful things you can do with carrots —and it’s a good bet that kids will love it.
1. Combine a 16-ounce bag of baby carrots with about 1/4 cup maple syrup. Add a tablespoon or so of safflower or sesame oil for a richer flavor. Sprinkle in some cinnamon, toss well to coat, and roast in a 400º to 425º F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
2. Once out of the oven, you can add some chopped walnuts or pecans and/or dried fruit, such as raisins or sliced Turkish apricots. Or just sprinkle on some very finely chopped parsley or cilantro for extra eye appeal.
Lemony Rosemary Roasted Potatoes : Potatoes embellished with rosemary is actually an old Roman preparation, so this is a dish that’s often served at Easter. How fitting!
Desserts
Ultra-Moist Amazing Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake: This Hannah Kaminsky masterpiece is perfect for holiday gatherings like Easter, when you want to pull out all the stops.
Vegan Deep Dark Chocolate Truffle Pudding: Wow your guests with Laura Theodore’s vegan chocolate pudding that tastes as decadent as a rich chocolate truffle. Silky smooth, thick, rich and super chocolaty— this is a flawless dessert that will impress the chocolate fans in your life.
5-Ingredient Apricot Bars: Laura Theodore’s tasty 5-ingredient vegan apricot bars are easy to make, while also being easy on the wallet. The sweetness comes from the apricot preserves, and rolled oats provide the crunch.
Lime-Flavored Vegan Thumbprint Cookies: These might just be the best vegan thumbprint cookies I’ve ever had! The slightly tart lime-flavored cookie dough contrasts deliciously with sweet jam.
Unbaked Vegan Fudgy Chocolate Brownies: You won’t believe how easy it is to make these unbaked vegan chocolate brownies, rich with nuts and sweetened with dates. There’s no need for added sugar, and these treats are flourless, gluten-free, and altogether rich and yummy.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles: These luscious and deceptively easy truffles will remind you of sneaking bites of raw cookie dough from the bowl as a kid, but because they’re egg-free, they’re completely safe to eat without any baking.
Vegan Lemon Poppy Muffins: Nutty and pleasant-tasting, poppy seeds are a wonderful addition to breads, rolls, bagels, and cakes. Not to mention muffins — these easy vegan lemon poppy muffins make the point easily and deliciously.
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