23 Passover Recipes for a Delicious Seder (2024)

20 Passover Desserts for Your Holiday Seder

Wine-Braised Brisket

A few classic ingredients—mustard, lemon, and dry white wine (not the usual red)—give brisket a lively spring flavor that's just right for Passover.

Classic Latkes

Though latkes are typically a Hanukkah treat, they also make a perfect accompaniment to the Seder meal. We use potato starch rather than flour in these potato latkes. It makes them Passover-friendly and also gives them a better texture.

Bibb Lettuce Salad with Horseradish Dressing

The bite of horseradish is unmistakable in this salad, but it's mellowed by tender, subtly sweet Bibb lettuce leaves, hard-boiled eggs, and even a little honey.

Salt-and-Pepper Matzo

For a five-minute passover side, brush matzo with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, sumac, and thyme. Bake until warmed through, then serve.

Lemon Horseradish Sauce

Here's a quick, no-cook sauce to serve with gefilte fish or a roast entrée.

Salmon and Cod Gefilte Fish

Our modern take on the Passover classic that is gefilte fish transforms this often divisive dish into elegant quenelles. The egg-shaped bundles are made with salmon and cod rather than the traditional carp or pike.

Herb-Coated Beef Tenderloin with Roasted-Garlic Aioli

Our herb-coated beef tenderloin is the easy and delicious Passover entrée your holiday table deserves. It's served with a make-ahead creamy garlic aioli that can't be beat.

Chestnut Haroset

No Passover Seder plate is complete without charoset. Our version of this crunchy, cinnamon-apple chutney puts a twist on tradition by swapping in chestnuts for the usual walnuts. The result is a rich, buttery flavor that balances savory and sweet, and pairs perfectly with matzo. Save time by assembling it a day ahead—the acid in the wine will keep the cut fruit from browning—then, relish every bite.

Carrot-Beet Horseradish

Definitely the most colorful condiment around! This quick, two-ingredient accompaniment to gefilte fish can also be used with any dish that needs some zing.

Test Kitchen's Favorite Matzo Ball Soup

A classic, our favorite matzo ball soup uses an enriched homemade broth that simmers for hours, producing a rich base. Each portion stars one big, fluffy dumpling.

Braised Chicken With Lemon, Olives, and Potatoes

This easy braised chicken dish makes a change from that Passover favorite, brisket. It uses chicken thighs and requires just 10 minutes of prep.

Roasted Beets With Orange and Thyme

Sweet and earthy, this easy side dish of roasted beets makes a colorful addition to the Passover table. The beets are tossed in honey, orange juice, red-wine vinegar, and fresh thyme before serving.

Haroset-Braised Short Ribs

You can braise these short ribs up to five days in advance. Cook the apples and carrots in the spiced Manischewitz braising liquid just before serving, then finish with toasted walnuts and fresh parsley.

Potato Kugel Gratin

This riff on kugel, a traditional Ashkenazi dish, swaps the usual egg noodles for russet potatoes. The casserole gets its glorious golden-brown crust from matzo meal (and a few minutes of broiling).

Olive-Oil Mashed Potatoes

This silky mash proves you don't need to load potatoes with heavy cream to make a delicious dish. The flavor of good extra-virgin olive oil and sautéed garlic and rosemary complements the russet potatoes.

Herb Relish (Schug) and Matzo

Although the bitter herb at the Seder table—meant to symbolize the bitterness of slavery—is often horseradish or romaine lettuce, in the Sephardic (or Mediterranean) Jewish tradition, it can also be an assertive green, one with bite. That's why we've included a herb relish made with parsley and cilantro, as well as a salad composed of escarole, radicchio, and frisée, served with matzo.

Haroset-Stuffed Hens With Gravy and Sweet Potatoes

A mixture of apples or other fruit, nuts, and spices, haroset signifies both the hardships of slavery (its texture evokes the bricks and mortar used by the Israelites) and the sweetness of liberation. While it's commonly served as a condiment (much like chutney), here we use it to flavor the stuffing tucked into Cornish hens.

Matzo Spinach Lasagna

Matzo stands in for the noodles in this unleavened lasagna. Parmesan, lemon zest, and nutmeg perk up the ricotta filling while fresh lemon juice peps up the frozen spinach. The resulting layered dish is irresistible.

Arugula Salad With Radishes and Caper Vinaigrette

Arugula and radishes symbolize the traditional bitter element on a Seder plate in this simple salad. The elegant dish gets an extra-green glow from celery and parsley leaves and a tangy punch from a lemon-caper vinaigrette.

Tzimmes

This delicious stew—appropriately named tzimmes (Yiddish for "a big fuss")—is a Passover tradition. Our version gets its dulcet flavor from sweet potatoes, dried apricots, and prunes.

Matzo-Ball Soup With Leeks

Seltzer and baking powder keep the matzo balls nice and fluffy, while schmaltz (chicken fat) adds richness to this take on the Passover classic.

Braised Brisket With Carrots, Garlic, and Parsnips

Garlic pulls double duty in this brisket recipe—it's minced for the braising liquid and roasted whole to serve alongside the meat. A bevy of vegetables—parsnips, baby carrots, and red pearl onions—round out the platter.

Matzo Latkes

For a different and delicious take on latkes, this recipe uses egg matzo—and they are served with smoked salmon and homemade horseradish cream.