Whether it’s a salad, potato dish, or sauteed or roasted vegetables, the best Easter side dishes are not only crowd-pleasers but represent the arrival of spring: baby carrots and new potatoes, tender sweet peas and pea shoots, verdant asparagus, and lots of bright, fresh herbs. Here are 21 of our favorites.
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RecipeArtichokes Cooked Under a Brick
Artichokes open up like flowers and become crisp at the edges but stay tender in the middle when pressed with a heavy brick. First you will need to trim them down to their hearts, and then poach them in a simple court bouillon, which can be done ahead of time. They sometimes break into pieces when pressed, but that’s part of their charm. -
RecipeSourdough Discard Biscuits
The water from the starter replaces buttermilk or cream in these biscuits, making them a little lighter, but thanks to the fermented flavor and adequate amount of butter, they still taste indulgent. -
RecipeLuxurious Potato Gratin
Rich with cream and butter, and aromatic with herbs and garlic, this gratin uses a French way of cooking potatoes that transforms the everyday tuber into an indulgent treat. It’s a classic dish that never fails to please. -
RecipeSpring Salad with Strawberries
The season’s best produce is highlighted in this zesty, healthful starter. -
RecipeRoasted Asparagus with Almond-Thyme Crumbs
This simple spring side is dressy enough for Easter dinner, but quick and easy enough for a weeknight. -
RecipeThree Pea Sauté with Scallions and Pistachios
This quick and easy side shows off the sweetness of peas, enhanced with a little heat from Aleppo pepper. -
RecipeButter-Braised Radishes
This simple, flavorful braise yields luscious, tender radishes. Their peppery-sweet taste is offset by tangy cider vinegar, rich butter, and just a pinch of sugar. They’re a delicious accompaniment to roast pork or chicken. -
RecipeKnotted Dinner Rolls
Soft, rich, and worlds better than store-bought, these gorgeous, buttery dinner rolls are easier to make than you may think. In fact, describing how to shape them is more difficult than actually doing it. Look here for step-by-step photos for shaping them or watch our video on shaping and baking these dinner rolls, as well as Cloverleaf, Parker House, and Butterflake, all made with this same dough.
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RecipeQuick-Braised Baby Artichokes with Garlic, Mint, and Parsley
This classic Roman dish includes two of the artichoke’s best friends: fresh herbs and lemon juice. Its simplicity requires the freshest artichokes you can find.
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RecipeCreamed Potatoes and Spring Onions
For best results, look for potatoes with a uniform 2- to 2-1/2-inch diameter. Cooking them whole with the skins until just tender helps them keep their shape when they’re added to the sauce. -
RecipeFlaky Buttermilk Biscuits
For a few delicious variations on this recipe, check out Cheese Biscuits, Fresh Herb Biscuits, and Caramelized Onion Biscuits.
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RecipeHam, Leek, and Cheese Bread Pudding
This savory strata-like dish works well as part of an Easter brunch or dinner. Choose your favorite style of ham to tailor the dish to your taste. -
RecipeCreamy Savory Grits with Grilled Spring Onions
For many southerners, grits aren’t grits unless they are finished off with ample butter before serving. Though butter does deepen flavor and add creaminess, this vegan version truly competes with “traditional” grits any day. The first step to creating rich, silky grits is soaking them in liquid overnight. Cashew cream added towards the end of cooking yields velvety grits with deep flavor. -
RecipeApricot Tabbouleh with Cilantro and Toasted Almonds
This recipe puts a sweet and crunchy twist on the classic Mediterranean grain salad. It’s delicious with lamb or roast chicken. -
RecipeBlackened Sugar Snap Peas with Garlic and Mint
These quick seared snap peas add an unexpected dimension to the familiar spring vegetable. Serve with grilled swordfish, tuna, or Grilled Chicken with Black Olive Vinaigrette.
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RecipeGlazed Carrots with Tarragon
Carrots are the iconic glazed vegetable, but the tarragon here is an update that offsets their intense sweetness. These are a great accompaniment for just about anything. -
RecipeBarley Salad with Peas and Asparagus
Fresh peas, sugar snaps, and asparagus imbue this simple grain salad with the essence of spring. Pearled barley takes about 30 to 45 minutes to cook; you can also substitute a quicker-cooking grain, such as quinoa or rice.
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RecipeCucumber, Fennel & Roasted Potato Salad with Parsleyed Yogurt
This chunky Mediterranean-inspired salad of spring vegetables is a perfect pairing with roast lamb or chicken.
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RecipeMaple Pan-Roasted Baby Carrots
For this recipe, baby carrots are ideal, but you can also use mature carrots if you cut them down to size (see tip below). Do not use bagged "baby cut" carrots. You start cooking the carrots on the stovetop and then move them to the hot oven to roast. The direct heat of the stovetop jump-starts the caramelizing of the carrots.
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RecipeCaesar Salad Bites
These fun hand-held romaine leaves hold all the flavor of a Caesar salad without needing a fork, so they’re a perfect party food or starter. The jammy quail eggs temper the tartness of white Spanish anchovies; you can substitute regular canned anchovies if you like. Instead of croutons, crispy baked Parmesan cheese crisps add crunch. -
RecipeAngel Biscuits
Angel biscuits are a cross between traditional short-dough biscuits and yeast-dough dinner rolls--the best of both worlds. The tender biscuits have that irresistible yeasty aroma and tang and can be split and pulled apart into thin layers. They’re perfect for mini sandwiches and they keep well, too.
