We all have traditional foods we eat for the holidays, recipes passed from generation to generation, old family recipes that we cherish and remind us of who we are and where we come from.
For this reason, when I created this list of some traditional recipes from around the world, recipes that many fellow food bloggers were happy to share with me, I tried to avoid the trends of gluten-free, keto, vegan, vegetarian, and other diets that are popular on the internet.
There is a place and a time for all of them, but for Easter, I wanted to bring back the traditional authenticity of the Easter recipes we grew up with and we still love.
When I think of traditional Easter recipes worldwide, I think of appetizers, fresh greens and vegetables, slowly roasted meats, sweet yeast breads, dyed eggs, and beautiful desserts.
Easter is a day to celebrate life and the beginning of Spring. Family and friends gather together and indulge in good foods that are traditional for them.
So, here is my collection of traditional Easter recipes from around the world.
Traditional Easter Recipes From Around The World
We all have traditional foods we eat for the holidays, recipes passed from generation to generation that reminds us of who we are and where we come from. I created this list of some traditional Easter recipes worldwide to bring back the traditional authenticity of the Easter recipes we grew up with and still love.
Leg of Lamb with Fresh Mint Sauce is roasted with rosemary and studded with garlic. It’s the perfect Easter meal or Sunday supper.
This Greek lamb is a perfect meal for entertaining. Slow cook for hours, but with hardly any hands-on attention. Such an easy and delicious way to impress your guests!
Ovelias - Easter Whole Lamb Roasted on the Spit or Souvla - Kopiaste..to Greek Hospitality
Ovelia is a Greek Easter tradition where a whole lamb is roasted on the spit.
Cozonac – a delicious sweet bread typically filled with a walnut filling, is the most traditional sweet thing you will find in every Romanian family on Easter and Christmas. It is normally filled with a walnut-egg white filling, but you can actually find many other ways of filling it according to your liking.
Pasca is a festive Romanian Easter Bread made up of a soft, panettone-like bread filled with a cheesecake center. It is the perfect recipe for a celebration!
Colomba Italian Easter Dove Bread, a delicious sweet yeast bread, bake it with your favorite fillings, chocolate chips, candied fruit, raisins, or even plain. The perfect sweet bread for Easter breakfast, brunch, or even dessert.
Easter Calabrian bread, also known as "Pigna di Pasqua" or "Panareddi di Pasqua," is a traditional bread made in the Calabria region of southern Italy for Easter celebrations. It is often enjoyed with other traditional Easter dishes such as roasted lamb, savory pies, and sweet pastries.
Traditional Russian Easter paskha, a festive dish made of cottage cheese (tvorog), butter, dried fruits, and vanilla. This paskha recipe is healthy and incredibly delicious. Serve it as a spread for sweet Easter bread (kulich) or as a dessert.
Easter Paska Bread – My Nana’s recipe for this Eastern European egg bread. I look forward to making this all year!
Crescia al Formaggio is a traditional Italian Easter bread that is savory and flavorful. This airy and light yeast bread is made with a combination of cheeses and eggs. Your whole kitchen will smell amazing as this Easter bread is baking in the oven.
This fluffy and eggy Italian Easter Bread, Pane di Pasqua, is slightly sweet and bursting with citrus flavors and anise.
Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings are baked around an egg and decorated with icing and sprinkles. Not only are they really easy to make, but they taste absolutely fantastic. Make one large ring if you prefer, but this authentic, traditional Italian Easter bread will elate children and adults alike!
Tsoureki is the traditional Greek Easter bread that’s a deliciously soft, gently sweet yeast bread similar to brioche or challah but with its own distinctive flavor. It’s wonderfully enjoyed on its own when fresh and leftovers make fantastic French toast.
Nana’s Potica recipe – a Slovenian nut roll traditionally served at Easter and Christmas. Make this to give as gifts or for dinner parties.
Spanish French toast, torrijas, is traditionally served during Easter, but there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy this tasty treat any time of year. Soft inside, crisp outside, and gently and warmly flavored, it’ll be love at first bite.
Russian Kulich (sweet Easter bread) is fluffy, fragrant, soft, and aromatic. This recipe is healthier and less time-consuming than the original. This kulich doesn’t go stale for more than 10 days!
Leave it to the Spanish to think of using wine to soak their French Toast! Torrijas are traditional Lent and Easter treats made from soaked bread that is deep-fried and served with cinnamon sugar or honey. You’ll want to give this version of French Toast a try!
If bread and cake got together, fell in love, and had a baby... this would be it! It is a yeast bread that is just sweet enough and almost has a traditional cake's texture. It is amazing that this even works the way it does.
Traditional Italian Easter Pie made with eggs, referred to as pizza Rustica in Italian, is a typical Italian Easter creation. Made with pizza or bread dough and filled with beaten eggs and cured Italian sausage, it’s a fabulous dish that everyone loves.
Torta pascualina is originally an Italian pie that has taken up residence in Argentina and Uruguay as a popular Easter dish. It’s a delicious combination of cheeses, spinach, and egg wrapped up in crisp pastry whenever you serve this. This recipe was created in partnership with the dairy farm families of New England.
Today, I would like to share this Easy Italian Pizza Rustica, aka Savory Easter Pie Recipe, with all of you. This rustic pie can also be referred to as Pizza Piena, Pizza Repiena, Pizzachino, Pizzagiena, Pizza Ghen, Torta Pasqualina… I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Don’t you love regional Italian cuisine?
Flaounes pr. flah-OU-ness (singular flaouna) is a traditional Cypriot Easter cheese bread made with aromatic yeasted phyllo dough, filled with a special Cypriot cheese, called Pafitiko, made during the Easter period, especially for flaounes, flavored with Masticha (mastic resin), mahlepi (mahleb) and mint.
A delicious easy recipe for an Easter Romanian cheesecake.
Traditional Romanian Easter appetizer. This recipe is an easier version of the original one made with lamb meat and organs.
Finnish Cardamom Pulla Bread – A light and delicious loaf of Finnish cardamom bread! This cardamom bread dough is braided into a beautiful loaf and topped with a cardamom wash and almonds. Perfect topped with butter or jam for Easter breakfast or weekend brunch!
Doing this roundup, I learned a lot about other people's traditions and the recipes they use to celebrate Easter.
In my house, we celebrate an American-Romanian Orthodox Easter. Romanians do not have the egg hunting tradition, and I am glad because I live in Minnesota, and when Easter comes, it is usually pretty cold and snowy, which doesn't make egg hunting very pleasant.
We traditionally eat lamb, but chicken is also on the list sometimes. We make the yeast bread Cozonac(you have a recipe in this post), we dye eggs and eat lots of fresh vegetables, salads, and desserts.
More recipes to love
24 Easter Sunday Traditional Romanian Recipes To Enjoy
Easy Romanian Traditional Easter Cheesecake
Recipes To Use Up Leftover Hard-Boiled Eggs From Easter
43 Chicken Soup Recipes Made From Scratch
Happy Easter, everyone!
Christina | Christina's Cucina says
This is a fabulous round up! What a great way to travel the world from our own kitchens! THanks for sharing and for including my Pizza Rustica and Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings! 🙂 Happy Easter!
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Christina, You are very welcome and thank you for your kind words! I just wanted to bring back traditional recipes that people still enjoy. I wish I had more options to choose from, but this is a good collection that I like. Feel free to share it with your social media followers. And thanks for visiting!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
Ooooh, what a treat. I am pinning this to try few over easter.
The Bossy Kitchen says
Thank you, there are so many awesome recipes out there. I really liked doing this round-up. Thank you for visiting and feel free to share it with your social media fans.