35 Delicious Side Dishes For Easter

Many holiday dinners start with biscuits, which is why we're kicking off this roundup with one of the simplest recipes for them in our arsenal. Recipe developer Jessica Morone created these biscuits using all-purpose flour, so there's no need for a trip to the grocery store to pick up self-rising flour. You can work with what you likely already have in your pantry at home.

What makes these biscuits special is one unexpected ingredient: cornstarch. It's an unusual ingredient for this kind of recipe, Morone admits, but it's the key to getting a soft, fluffy texture. These Southern-style buttermilk biscuits only take 15 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes in the oven — no overnight rising and no finicky yeast needed.

Recipe: Fluffy Southern Biscuits

Green beans are an Easter staple. But, year after year, they can start to get a little tired. Breathe new life into that tried-and-true classic with a crispy bacon wrap. The smokiness of the meat comes together with a sprinkle of brown sugar that caramelizes in the oven, finishing the dish with a sweet-savory punch. You could even customize the flavor of this recipe by opting for different varieties of bacon, like applewood, hickory-smoked, or pepper-crusted. To make it, wrap a strip of bacon around a bundle of eight to 10 green beans — an easy portioning hack for serving an anticipated number of dinner guests.

Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans

You've heard of French potato salad, mustard potato salad, and maybe even curried potato salad. But what about potato salad with no potatoes at all? You heard us right — introducing: cauliflower "potato" salad. 

This elevated side comes from Jennine Bryant of The Marshside Pantry, who describes it as a texturally comparable, nutrient-dense, and low-carb take on the beloved classic. Plus, cauliflower makes an ideal vehicle for carrying that potato salad flavor — packed with hard-boiled eggs, lemon juice, red onion, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and fresh dill and chives. It's a light and simple recipe that's wonderful for the upcoming picnic season this Easter.

Recipe: Cauliflower Potato Salad

In case you haven't worked with them before, wax beans are a vegetable in the green bean family, often eaten in the pod like sugar snap peas. These bad boys are visually stunning, boasting vibrant hues from yellow to deep purple. Yet, in contrast to their loud coloring, their flavor is mild and grassy — understated at best, and bland at worst. For this reason, this humble ingredient is often overlooked and simply tossed into a salad. 

But, in this recipe from chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of the eponymous LA-based restaurant Jon & Vinny's, wax beans are the main character. They're sautéed with shallots, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes for a flavorful facelift, and served with wilted baby arugula. This side dish is an easy way to meet your veggie intake quota before dessert hour rolls around.

Recipe: Seared Yellow Wax Beans and Arugula

One of the most enduring yet heavily debated sides on the Easter dinner table has to be Brussels sprouts. According to a study, people may be genetically predisposed to loving or hating the controversial green veggie (via BBC Science Focus). An estimated 50% of people around the world have a variation of a particular gene that makes their palates more sensitive to a unique bitter-tasting chemical compound that is naturally present in the vegetable. But that doesn't mean genetically-unlucky foodies can't enjoy Brussels sprouts — they just have to be prepared extra deliciously. Enter: garlic butter. (You can thank us later.)

Recipe: Garlic Butter Brussels Sprouts

Making delicious roasted veggies is all about nailing the sweet spot between half-raw and overcooked. The dance is even trickier when working with more delicate vegetables like asparagus. But this simple version takes just five minutes of prep time and 20 minutes in the oven, during which you can walk away from the kitchen and socialize with holiday guests. Its low-maintenance assembly makes it a great menu addition if you're the one hosting Easter dinner this year.

For an easy one-pan meal, McGlinn recommends tossing some diced potatoes and a protein alongside the asparagus on a single baking sheet and roasting them all together. You could try that suggestion with quartered Yukon golds and sliced bits of your pre-cooked Easter ham.

Recipe: Simple Roasted Asparagus

Many foodies might argue that it wouldn't feel like a holiday dinner without a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes in the center of the table. We hear you. We see you. We understand. Julia Child made hers with a whopping 30 cloves of garlic. This version by plant-based recipe developer Miriam Hahn doesn't use quite that much, but it's still sure to keep garlic fans pleased at the Easter dinner table.

This mash keeps the potato skins on, which not only adds an interesting textural element but also saves a considerable amount of time — crucial when you're prepping a big holiday meal. Hahn recommends buying organic red potatoes to make sure the skin is pesticide-free and nourishing to eat. This recipe already calls for soy milk, so you could take it a step further and swap out the butter and sour cream for non-dairy ingredients to make a vegan side dish.

Recipe: Creamy Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

This almondine presents an elevated take on a traditional classic. Slivered almonds lend slightly sweet nuttiness and crunch, and salty Parmesan takes the dish's flavor profile up another notch. Other than these ingredients and the green beans, this recipe only requires items that you probably already have lying around your kitchen: lemon juice, salt, pepper, and butter. Plus, it only takes 15 minutes from start to finish.

Recipe: Fresh Green Bean Almondine

Name a more visually stunning vegetable to serve than artichokes — we'll wait. For an Easter meal that will leave your in-laws talking, whip out this elaborate-looking side dish that's surprisingly uncomplicated to make. As Hahn notes, eating a stuffed artichoke is an exercise in patience, fine motor skills, and prolonged enjoyment. Each tender leaf must be carefully pulled from the husk, sucked clean, and savored. There's no "horking it down" when it comes to artichokes.

If you're looking for a recipe that will help facilitate a little more dinner conversation, these Parmesan-stuffed artichokes might be the tool for the job.

Recipe: Parmesan-Stuffed Artichokes

Picture this: You join your family's Easter gathering carrying a basket. There's a decadently draped linen dish towel covering what's inside. No one can see what you've brought, but its sweet aroma fills the kitchen immediately. "My! What did you make?" asks Grandma. She gently lifts the towel and lets out a little gasp. You've brought homemade dinner rolls — and they're still warm.

Admittedly, these rolls do require nearly two hours of prep time to make, so they're not a great choice for last-minute home cooks to throw together in a hurry. But we think you'll find that the preparation is very much worth the extra effort. And the use of whole wheat flour results in a charming golden-brown hue.

It's also easy to convert the recipe into a vegan-friendly one. When making the dough, you can use any type of milk or dairy-free option, and swap out the butter for a plant-based alternative. Additionally, if you stay away from honey as part of a vegan diet, you can substitute it with pure maple syrup here.

Recipe: Honey Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

In the food world, "burnt" can sometimes be a good thing. The word might conjure up warlike flashbacks to failed sauces or sad-looking cookie sheets that are impossible to scrape clean. But don't get it twisted. "Burnt" can also describe the perfect s'mores marshmallow — or these showstopping carrots with brie.

For this recipe from Chef Tim Love of Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, fresh carrots are cut up, given a deep char, and tossed with a simple yet delicious glaze comprised of Brie, honey, lemon juice, and red pepper falkes. The result is a full kaleidoscope of the gastronomic flavor spectrum: sweet, smoky, spicy, tart, and cheesy. (Your family's Easter dinner table never looked so intriguing.)

Recipe: Burnt Carrots with Brie

This isn't your average cornbread baked in a casserole dish. This old-fashioned hot water version is shaped into patties that are fried to a golden-brown crisp on the outside, while staying soft and moist on the inside. As an added bonus, this cornbread only requires pantry staples (cornmeal, sugar, salt, and cooking oil) — making it a low-cost recipe for entry-level bakers. Hahn recommends slathering the patties in butter and honey.

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Hot Water Cornbread

Simple dishes can sometimes be the most difficult to get right. Luckily, home cooks have tried-and-true recipes like this one. This cast iron pan-fried asparagus lets its flavors speak for themselves. The naturally earthy and slightly bittersweet taste of the vegetable shines when complemented by lemon and garlic. This side dish's uncomplicated flavor profile makes it a chameleon, pairing perfectly with pretty much any entrée and any side on your Easter dinner table.

Recipe: Cast Iron Pan-Fried Asparagus

These smashed spuds feature exteriors baked to a golden-brown crisp and creamy insides. To make them, you have to physically flatten down the parboiled tubers with the bottom of a glass cup — a genuinely satisfying task. From there, the potatoes get baked in the oven. Afterward, you're free to dunk 'em in your favorite dipping sauce. Garlic aioli, ranch, blue cheese dressing, a quick béchamel, or any other creamy sauce would function well here.

Recipe: Crispy-Edged Smashed Potatoes

Another killer way to serve veggies this holiday — introducing: copper penny carrots, no actual pennies required. The dish features carrots that are soaked in a combination of tomato soup, vegetable oil, white vinegar, and sugar. According to Shungu, this recipe has been around since at least the 1970s, and it's likely graced an Easter dinner table or two since then. Shungu's own mother reaches for this recipe on holidays. 

Accompany those delicious carbs and meats with an equally flavorful vegetable side dish. Plus, copper penny carrots add a pop of warm orange color to your spring feast and take less than 30 minutes to whip up.

Recipe: Copper Penny Carrots

These roasted potatoes are seasoned with a Greek-inspired spice blend including lemon, oregano, thyme, basil, cinnamon, and garlic. Dip the wedges in garlic aioli, ketchup, mayo, remoulade sauce, au jus, or whatever your palate prefers. This side pairs well with heartier entrées like an Easter ham or meatloaf. It's also fine to reheat and enjoy later on — a major bonus for those indulging in holiday leftovers all week long.

Recipe: Lemony Roasted Potatoes

If you made the grilled corn on the cob with garlic butter we mentioned earlier, keep that grill hot. Now, we're grilling artichokes... and lemons. Seems like an odd combo? As recipe developer Sher Castellano explains, "the char on the leaves gives an earthy flavor [to the artichokes, and]... the char on the lemon gives it the perfect amount of sweet and acid."

Hitting the halved lemons with a quick grill caramelizes their natural sugars, adding a sweet depth to their characteristic sourness. This flavor profile marries well with the artichokes when the charred citrus is squeezed on top of them, resulting in a vegetable side that's complex to the palate and ready to please Easter guests.

Recipe: Grilled Artichokes

Don't freak out: Funeral potatoes aren't only for funerals. This comforting, filling, and economical dish is as easy to make as it is to enjoy. For starters, it demands an inexpensive shopping list: potatoes (or frozen hash browns), cream of chicken soup, shredded cheese, sour cream, butter, and corn flakes. No fancy cooking technique or close monitoring is required either.

All of the ingredients — except for the corn flakes — are mixed together and placed into a casserole dish. The cereal is crushed into small pieces and then combined with some melted butter to create a crispy layer that's spooned on top of the potatoes. After 40 minutes in the oven, the simple composition metamorphoses into a stick-to-your-ribs dish straight out of your comfort food dreams. In fact, calling funeral potatoes a "side dish" at all honestly feels a little weird. It can keep a belly full all day long and satisfies even the pickiest of eaters at the Easter dinner table.

Recipe: Cheesy Funeral Potatoes