28 Passover Recipes To Fill Your Table

Passover is the Jewish festival in celebration of the Jews' freedom from slavery and flight from Egypt. Although traditions vary throughout the world, the basics are as follows: The holiday lasts a total of seven or eight days (depending on where it's being celebrated), and the first night of Passover begins with a ceremonial dinner, called a Seder, where the story of the exodus is told.

The food and wine customs are elaborate, and they differ between regions and families — which is why we've rounded up a variety of special dishes and desserts to fill the table after the Seder plate has been shared. One of our favorites? This celebration-worthy brisket. Most braised briskets are made with just the flat. Ours is a whole cut (which includes the flat and the point), that is braised in white wine and chicken stock with a mix of sweet onions, leeks and pearl onions. The result is super tender meat with an almost French onion soup-like sauce that is perfect for a Passover crowd.

Charoset (or haroset) is an integral part of the Passover Seder plate, representing the mortar the Jews in ancient Egypt used when forced to build for the Pharoah. This is an Ashkenazi version, but there are many versions around the world and every home prepares it a little differently. Sephardic versions can also include dried fruits or desiccated coconut and other nuts or spices.

This gluten-free cake can be enjoyed at room temperature, but chilling it totally transforms the texture and makes it super-dense.

Kugel is a traditional Jewish dish often served at holidays. At Passover, a savory potato kugel is most common—a noodle kugel isn’t allowed because pasta isn’t kosher for Passover. This recipe hits all the traditional notes using schmaltz (chicken fat) to cook the onions and a dairy-free egg custard to hold the kugel all together. But instead of shredding all the potatoes I use frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, which are a great shortcut when you’ve got a whole dinner to make!Save Recipe

"Every nationality has some kind of chicken soup. It's one of the simplest meals you can make and almost everyone can find a chicken and some vegetables to cook up a big, satisfying pot of soup for the family. Some people even ascribe magical medicinal qualities to chicken soup, and who am I to disagree? The Greeks have a chicken and lemon soup called avgolemono, Italians make tortellini en brodo, the Vietnamese have pho and, of course, the Chinese make egg drop soup with chicken broth. I grew up on chicken soup with matzo balls, so that's my particular favorite. The broth starts with whole chickens and vegetables, plus fresh herbs like parsley and thyme, an entire head of garlic and lots of salt and pepper. I simmer it away for hours while I futz around the house and make some easy matzo balls. I end up with a rich, delicious soup that will delight everyone on a cold night!" says Ina.

Macaroons of all sorts are a cherished sweet of the Passover holiday, but this recipe takes the timeless combination of flaked coconut and chocolate to a whole new level. A crust of crispy yet chewy macaroon is blanketed in a layer of fudgy brownie. We recommend holding off on the whipped cream if you're enjoying this dessert after meat.

Potato latkes are an essential part of Passover, but the whole house smelling like fryer oil is not. This recipe promises all the crispy pleasures of classic latkes, without the muss and fuss of big pans of hot oil.

This version of pillowy gnocchi uses finely ground matzo meal in place of the usual semolina or all-purpose flour, making them a comforting dish for a Passover meal. Like traditional Northern Italian gnocchi, we use starchy potatoes in the dough, bind it with egg, then form the mixture into bite-sized dumplings that get a quick boil. Sage and butter is a classic Italian sauce for gnocchi and is ideal for a Passover dairy menu. You can serve it as either an entree or hearty side dish.

These simple tea cakes are the perfect post-seder treat, but we won't tell if you make an extra batch for breakfast the next day.

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend made with toasted sesame seeds, thyme, marjoram and sumac.

Inspired by the flavors of classic Ashkenazi charoset, these dairy-free mini apple crumbles have a delicious cinnamon-and-walnut crumble topping. They’re served in small ramekins for individual portions and are a delicious ending to a Passover, Rosh Hashanah or other holiday meal. The recipe makes four servings, but feel free to use slightly smaller ramekins to serve six (just bake them a few minutes less).

Do you have more leftover matzo than you know what to do with after Passover? Don’t let it sit in the back of the cabinet — turn it into a crunchy, golden granola that’s a cinch to make. This recipe is simple and satisfying: Crumble the matzo, mix with oats, walnuts, and a touch of spice and coat with a simple maple-honey syrup. Bake until toasty and stir in dried apricots and raisins. It’s easy to adapt, too: Switch up the nuts, spices or dried fruits to suit your taste. It’s a clever way to give matzo new life and make breakfast (and snacking) a little more interesting.

Sweet potatoes, turnips, fennel and onions are coated in a sweet honey mixture and roasted along with the turkey.

Molly says, "During Passover, we avoid leavened bread, but I wanted to top this spring salad with a carby crouton-like element, so these popovers were born…out of matzo meal and the secret weapon, schmaltz, aka chicken fat, aka liquid gold. They burst with savory chicken flavor and pop up beautifully."

Cinnamon buns have never been kosher for Passover, until now! Top classic matzah brei pancakes of eggs and matzah with cinnamon, brown sugar and a generous swirl of cream cheese icing to create your new favorite Pesach sweet breakfast!

Here's a great way to turn a classic comfort dish into a Passover-friendly crowd pleaser. Matzo is swapped in for pasta and layered with matzo-coated eggplant, creamy ricotta, homemade tomato sauce and (of course!) lots of mozzarella. It just might become a staple for many holidays to come.

This sweet-and-salty holiday treat made with matzo is so delicious, you'll probably want to make it all year.

This hearty dish combines two Passover favorites, brisket and matzo, in a fun, meaty recipe that's loosely based on Italian bolognese. To make easy work out of shredding the brisket for this ragu, we opted to braise it whole in the oven until it's fall-apart tender. Kosher meats are quite salty, so we don't specify salting the brisket before searing it. If you're using non-kosher meat, however, we recommend that you sprinkle it with salt before browning it.

If you celebrate Passover or eat gluten-free, you'll agree: Baking without all-purpose flour is no piece of cake. Our test kitchen chefs tweaked this recipe 10 times to get it right. At first the cake turned out too dry and dense (like many flourless cakes). Upping the potato starch gave the cake a softer texture, but without any leaveners the result was like a thick cookie. Then the chefs discovered the secret: They folded beaten egg whites into the batter, and the cake became light and airy.

Matzo brei, best described as a mix between scrambled eggs and Passover-friendly French toast, is a breakfast favorite during Passover (and the rest of the year, too, if we're being honest). Pro tip: Try swapping salt and pepper for cinnamon and sugar to make it even more delicious.

No one will know that there's no leavening in this cake. For the best texture, be sure to use matzo cake meal (not matzo meal) and kosher potato starch.

These old-school ice cream sandwiches have a secret ingredient: matzo! These sandwiches make the perfect treat for Passover — but they're so good, you might want to have them year-round.