Easter Menu Ideas 2024
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If you’re on the hunt for Easter menu ideas, look no further. This blog post features 20+ ideas and links to side dishes, main meals, desserts, drinks, and so much more. Happy Easter indeed!
Easter is big doings in the South. I’m not sure if it is as big elsewhere because, well, I’ve never been anywhere but the South on Easter morning. We wake up early on to find what and other treats the Easter Bunny have left us, head off to church, and then to my mother’s house for a wonderful meal and an afternoon of fun. Our spread for Easter is almost as big as it is for Christmas so I like to plan ahead and have most of the work done ahead of time, leaving me time to enjoy the day.
Today I’m bringing you a long list of Easter menu ideas. This post contains recipes for side dishes, dinner rolls, main courses, desserts, and beverages! Just click on the link below each picture to be taken to the recipe. I’m also going to tell you beneath each recipe how far ahead I assemble the dishes in case you want to streamline your Easter as well. This leaves you spending less time in the kitchen and more time with your family, which is what we all want, right?
From The Southern Plate family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful Easter and enjoy a delicious !
Easter Menu Ideas
Side Dishes
Deviled Eggs: A Keto-Friendly Southern Classic
You gotta have at LEAST one tray at Easter because they are so good.
Can make two to three days ahead of time.
Homemade Dinner Rolls (a.k.a Preston Rolls)
For an extra special treat, serve these dinner rolls drizzled with honey!
Make the day of the meal.
Homemade Mashed Potatoes with Evaporated Milk
No list of Easter menu ideas is complete without mashed potatoes. My MeMe’s mashed potatoes with evaporated milk simply melt in your mouth. For something different, opt for a serving of mashed sweet potato instead.
Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole (Cracker Barrel Copycat Version)
Creamy, cheesy comfort food. What more could you want? This is also a great option for .
You can assemble both of these the day before your Easter meal. Bake the casserole in the oven just before serving and reheat the mashed potatoes in the microwave.
French’s Green Bean Casserole
When it comes to Southern side dishes, green bean casserole is a classic I serve with every Easter dinner. This recipe features a rich creamy sauce, crunchy fresh green beans, and French’s crispy fried onions on top.
Assemble up to 24 hours in advance then add the crispy onions before baking on the day.
Macaroni Salad
Mama and Grandmama are ga-ga over this salad!
Served cold like a potato salad, you can make it two days ahead of time.
Rhyming Broccoli Salad With Bacon and Raisins
I love this stuff, my Daddy loves this stuff, my Mama loves this stuff, and my Grandmama loves this stuff. I call it a taste and texture explosion, as it’s simultaneously creamy, crunchy, sweet, and savory. You don’t want to miss adding this to your Easter menu.
Make up to three days ahead of time.
Oven-Baked Mac and Cheese
This mac and cheese recipe is a Southern Plate favorite and a family favorite. We have to have this every year at Easter or the men and children will disown us. There are multiple mac and cheese recipes on Souther Plate, including cauliflower mac and cheese and crockpot mac and cheese too.
Make the day of the meal.
Grilled Asparagus
One of the first vegetables of spring is asparagus, so popping some asparagus on the grill is one of the most popular vegetable side dishes to add to your Easter menu.
Candied Carrots
What should you serve alongside the grilled asparagus? A serving of candied carrots, of course. Two great Easter sides you can quickly prepare the day of your Easter dinner.
Pinto Beans and Ham
This is a great and easy-to-make Southern side dish (or main meal). It’s also the perfect dish to whip up the day after Easter with the leftover ham bone. YUM.
Easter Main Meals
Baked Ham with Easy Peasy Brown Sugar Glaze
When it comes to , the most important is of course An Easter ham is a must on any Southern dinner table. I particularly love this glaze recipe as it only includes 4 simple ingredients.
Bake the ham the day before and reheat.
Mama’s Chicken Poulet (or Chicken Chicken)
In case you’re not in the mood for ham, here is a chicken alternative that is assembled the night before and baked just before serving. Another option is a simple roasted chicken.
Wait a minute, why wouldn’t you be in the mood for ham? ~blinks~ Well on the off chance ya are, here ya go!
This recipe must be assembled the night before and baked just before the meal.
Easter Dessert Recipes
Impossible Lemon Pie Recipe
This is the MUST HAVE pie each Easter and one of the easiest pies you’ll ever bake (I promise).
Can make up to two days ahead of time.
Fresh Strawberry Pie
with fresh strawberry pie. I love this pie so much, Mama always makes two so she can send one home with me. She told me this morning that she’s making them later this week for Sunday! WEEE! I also have recipes on Southern Plate for strawberry Jello pie and strawberry cream pie. Pick your poison!
Banans in Red Stuff
What a delightful dessert! Serve it as a side salad along with the meal if you like.
Make no more than one day ahead of time.
Grandmama’s Coconut Cake With No-Fail 7-Minute Frosting
This is my Daddy’s favorite cake for Christmas and Easter. Some folks around here call it “rotten cake” because it is so good you want folks to think it’s rotten and keep it all to yourself!
Can make it three days ahead of time.
Carrot Cake Blondies
One of the most popular Easter recipes, instead of a traditional carrot cake, why not try these delicious carrot cake blondies?
They can be made and stored in the fridge up to 3 days in advance.
Cream Cheese Mints
How cute are these Easter-inspired cream cheese mints? They’re the perfect Easter sweet treat or snack.
Cream cheese mints will last up to 14 days when stored in the fridge, so you can definitely make these ahead of time.
Easter Drinks Menu
Finally, here are some recommendations for drinks to add to your Easter menu. Firstly, it’s not Easter in the South without sweet tea, of course. Other refreshing drink options include watermelonade and fresh strawberryade.
More Easter Treats
Before you go, you might want to check out these other blog posts. Here are 15 recipes that use leftover ham and fun kid-friendly Easter activities (plus even more Easter recipes). Have a great Easter, folks.
Spring is nature’s way of saying,
“Let’s party!”
~Robin Williams
My mouth is watering, and I JUST ate lunch. You’ve got all my favorites in this post – I may need to make a hashbrown casserole immediately. I live up north (near Chicago) and we do exactly what you do on Easter (the hunt, church, going to mama’s house for the day).
You’ve got me all excited for the big day, and I can’t wait for a really hot day to make your StrawberryAde. Can you believe it snowed here last night? I hope it all melts by Sunday morning. Can’t have snow on Easter!
everything looks delicious… I got my Easter menu planned out this morning! Now it’s time to go grocery shopping 🙂
Thank you for all your wonderful ideas and recipes. I love your humor. I live in Missouri but am ask if I am from the south! Hillbilly talk I guess!
Anyway can you tell me how much splenda you use in place of sugar? My husband would like tea made with splenda.
Thank you so much!
I believe I talk about that in the tea post itself so be sure and check it out if you have time. The trick to using Splenda instead of Sugar is to always use just a tad bit less, this helps avoid that artificially sweetened flavor :). So, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, I’d measure out one cup of Splenda and take out a tablespoon or two. Also, make sure you don’t pack your splenda, it should be light and fluffy 🙂
We have Splenda tea every single day at my house, hope you like it!
Gratefully,
Christy
P.S. I use generic Splenda, too!
I’ve been married almost 2 years. Last Easter, I based my Easter dinner off of many of your recipes, including Jordan rolls and homemade mac & cheese. It was so wonderful, this year I’ll be hosting 15 people at Easter and will have exactly the same menu. I can hardly wait!
The lemon meringue pie is to die for! Seriously, I get tons of compliments every time I take it somewhere. I always want to pretend I slaved over it for hours 😉
You read my mind Christy! I was just wondering what I was gonna take to our family Easter potluck, and then this post popped up in my reader!
Last year I made the Coconut Cake and lucky for me we “forgot” it in the fridge and I “had” to take most of it home.
Think I can pull that one off again?
I just got your book and everything I’ve made from it has been a huge hit with the family 🙂 This weekend I made your chicken poulet it was wonderful . Me and hubby our having leftovers for lunch today . Just talking about it makes me want to go heat it up right now 😉 . Also, Ham must be on the table at Easter in our family !