18 Passover Recipes for a Delicious Seder
With Passover just around the corner, we've gathered some of our best Passover recipes to fill your Seder table, for both your Seder plate and the meal that follows. There are traditional recipes like Haroset and Jacques Pépin's Chicken Liver Pâté, as well as a stunning Matzo Ball Soup that gets a springy touch with the addition of seasonal herbs and edible flowers. Brisket's on the lineup, as is Chicken, Potatoes, and Leeks with Pine Nut Gremolata for a few impressive main course options. Looking for dessert? How about a boozy Chocolate-Hazelnut Matzo Cake to wrap up the meal? Read on for these recipes and more to make for Passover.
Please note: Some of these recipes call for dairy, flour, and other ingredients that more observant households avoid during Passover. Review each recipe and make substitutions or omissions where applicable, using kosher wine, pareve margarine, and matzo meal as you prefer.
Matzo with Horseradish Butter
Chef Hillary Sterling makes a blistered wood-oven-baked matzo with horseradish butter (swap in pareve margarine instead of unsalted butter if you wish). These crispy, golden brown, bubbly homemade matzo may not conform to the most stringent religious standards, but they definitely beat store-bought.
Haroset
Haroset, a condiment made from fruits and nuts, is traditionally served with matzo during the Passover Seder to represent the mortar enslaved Jews used to build the pyramids. Ingredients vary depending on the region from which it evolved; this version, inspired by Ashkenazi traditions, is prepared with fresh apples, walnuts, sweet wine, honey, and cinnamon.
Shaved Beet and Carrot Salad With Citrus-Scallion Dressing
This gorgeous, colorful salad takes late-winter produce like thinly shaved beets, carrot ribbons, and rounds of juicy clementine and dresses them up for spring with a citrus-scallion vinaigrette so delicious, recipe creator Leah Koenig says, "I sneak it straight from a spoon." With its crisp arugula base and nutty almond topping, this bright salad is special enough to serve at your Passover Seder.
Beef Brisket with Lemon-Oregano Sauce
This brisket gets rubbed with seasonings, braised, and roasted so it's super-tender with a crisp crust; it goes perfectly with the garlicky oregano sauce.
Confit Kugel Wedges
At Vic's, Hillary Sterling leaned on high-quality schmaltz to crisp up these kugel wedges; we opted for rich duck fat, which is easier to source. A drizzle of vincotto, made from simmered grape must that's aged in oak barrels, punctuates the rich kugel with its sweet and tangy bite. Do as Sterling does and serve them with saffron-soaked golden raisins and chicken liver mousse.
Gefilte Fish
Gefilte fish is a dish made from poached, seasoned ground fish and served as an appetizer in Ashkenazi Jewish households, most traditionally during Passover. This recipe starts with a whole whitefish, turning the fillets into flavorful gefilte fish and the trimmings into stock. You can find whole whitefish at some supermarkets and delis, and can ask your fishmonger to grind the fish for you at the store — just make sure to ask them to reserve the bones, head, skin, etc. for making stock.
Herb Garden Matzo Ball Soup
Matzo ball soup gets a glow-up in this version by cookbook author Leah Koenig, with fresh parsley, dill, chives, and fennel fronds in the matzo balls themselves, plus more herbs, lemon zest, and edible flowers adding color and bright, spring flavors to each bowl.
Pomegranate-Lacquered Salmon
A glaze made with a pinch of cayenne, tart pomegranate molasses, cumin, and savory-sweet date syrup gives this gently roasted salmon layers of flavor and a gorgeous bronzed exterior. Choose higher-fat king or Atlantic salmon for best results; if using a skinless fillet, spray the baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray first.
Roasted Carrots
2021 F&W Best New Chef Gaby Maeda's method for making these flavorful roasted carrots starts with sautéing whole carrots with a little olive oil in an ovenproof skillet until they're browned in spots. She then tosses them with butter — sub in pareve margarine here, if keeping kosher — thyme sprigs, garlic, and salt. Finally, the carrots are briefly roasted in a hot oven, creating caramelized edges for texture and turning their interiors soft and creamy, but not mushy.
Hasselback Potatoes
A showstopper, these crisp, smoky potatoes are actually super easy to make. Hasselback simply means the potatoes are sliced to resemble an accordion. The result is a potato with more surface area, which means it cooks faster and emerges from the oven with thin, crispy layers.
Chicken, Potatoes, and Leeks with Pine Nut Gremolata
For the crispiest skin and most flavorful meat, roast bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs over a bed of leeks and potatoes, where they render fat and absorb flavor. A quick turn under the broiler imparts a golden finish to the chicken before it's all basted in pan juices and dressed with a zippy gremolata made from toasted pine nuts, garlic, and parsley.
Carciofi alla Giudia (Jewish-Style Fried Artichokes)
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
At the heart of Rome’s artichoke obsession are carciofi alla giudia, artichokes that are deep-fried until custard-soft inside with leaves as crisp as potato chips. While not as widely known as pasta alla carbonara or cacio e pepe, the golden blossoms are considered one of the city’s greatest culinary achievements, and for good reason. Dressed with nothing more than a shower of salt and a squeeze of lemon, they are incomparably delicious.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Matzo Cake
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
This icebox cake layers liqueur-soaked matzo crackers with chocolate ganache and toasted hazelnuts for a Passover-friendly dessert. This recipe comes from Rochelle Cooper of The Duck and the Peach in Washington, D.C. It’s a family recipe she used to make with her mother for their Passover Seder, but is a delicious option anytime you want an easy, flavorful, no-bake dessert.
Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Lavender
Chef and cookbook author Melia Marden's recipe for roasting boneless leg of lamb uses the classic combo of rosemary and garlic, but gets an unexpected twist with the addition of chopped fresh lavender. It's served with a savory, tart jam made from shallots, Medjool dates, honey, and apple cider vinegar.
Chicken Liver Pâté
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
This silky-smooth pâté recipe from Jacques Pépin is inexpensive and simple to make. The chicken livers are briefly simmered in water with aromatics before they're blended with butter (or pareve margarine) in a food processor. If you have the opportunity to choose, shop for paler chicken livers; they tend to have a mellower, richer flavor than deep-red ones.
Smoky Glazed Asparagus
Chef Nate Appleman swears by coating vegetables with a mayonnaise-based marinade; it creates a beautifully blistered crust when grilled. Here he offers a marinade for asparagus that's also fabulous on broccoli and fennel.
Brisket with Apricots and Prunes
For extra-tender brisket, cookbook author Julia Turshen cleverly uses a damp piece of crumpled parchment as a protective blanket for the meat to prevent it from drying out while it roasts. To get a head-start on holiday cooking, you can make this brisket a few days in advance — cool it to room temperature and refrigerate it in its sauce for up to five days.
Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa with Candied Walnuts
© Kristen Stevens
This simple and elegant dish makes an easy Passover-friendly side, and caramelizing the walnuts only adds five minutes.
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